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I love when Justin has an extra day off. It’s always such a good day. Quiet. Relaxed. Each doing our own thing but coming together throughout the day for games and meals and movies.
I’ve been reading Gaia’s Garden
Justin spent most of the weekend in the yard, waffling between boredom and relaxation, unsure what to do with himself. Enjoying it. I think he is beginning to see the possibilities of how grand life could be if we could meet our goals and he could be at home.
Remember all these hopeful photos? It’s finally starting to look like I’ve imagined it. I think I need to make some more hopeful photos, slightly more filled out perhaps.
Then:
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And now:
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We laid down straw. Big mistake. We’re working on removing it. (Here’s my Five Reasons Not To Use Straw in your garden.)
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You can see where we began to replace the straw with compost and cedar mulch.
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Justin’s strawberry patch (more strawberries have been interplanted throughout the front and back):
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The backyard; most of the broccoli was pulled, the irrigation redone, some perennials planted amongst the trees, more seeds in the beds, the onions and garlic are about to bloom and our peppers and a few tomatoes are flowering:
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I have so many more photos of tiny artichokes and pumpkin blooms and a new grapevine and and and…
Maybe another day. Right now I’m ready to move.
I'm Tara Wagner, life coach and creator of the Digging Deep process, where I coach women out of survival mode to recreate their lives and families.
I started reading Gaia’s Garden a year ago but stopped because I didn’t have any land yet to start a garden. (I tend to forget everything I read if I don’t have an immediate use for the skills.) Anyway, the book has inspired me and introduced me to the idea of permaculture, which I was having trouble defining prior.
But now that we have some yard to start playing with, I’m going to pick it back up. Currently reading Great Garden Companions and I *love* how simple she’s making it for me to plan my garden!
Nice work in the yard!
It is raining here right now!
Yard is looking great! Just curious, why was the straw a big mistake?
why was the straw a bad idea?
I’ll post my thoughts about the straw soon guys.
I swear we might have twin brains. I was just taking a tub and trying to remember where I stashed my Gaia’s Garden. We’re working on designing my postage stamp backyard and I figured I could peruse it again. It’s one of our most read books
How fabulous does it look! I remember those early photos, indicating the promise ahead. How satisfying to see all that green. I was just chatting yesterday with a bloke about how gardening is an adventure, a journey. He was trying to get it all right, and perfect, and I said, that’s like wanting life to be that way. The trials and errors and challenges are part of the fun, and what makes succeses even more sweet I think.
Wow what an awesome project. That is so cool. Thanks for sharing pictures and being an inspiration.