Whitney's Garden (Part 1)

I am so excited! My friend, Whitney, mentioned to me that she wanted to start a garden in her back yard. I'm even more excited because she asked me for some help and I cannot wait! Whitney has a medium sized back yard with great potential and a space already set aside for a good sized flower garden and another section for an herb garden. The soil just needs to be softened and mixed up and then it will be ready to plant! Being the planner that I am I went a little crazy the other night and drew up a floor plan of sorts for her back yard including her flower and herb gardens as well as a fire pit, veggie garden (or three) and a possible solution to her grass growing problem. I went through my catalogues and picked out the flowers and veggies that would likely compliment her back yard and style the most- although the real fun will be going through the catalogues with Whitney and letting her pick out her favorites!

Whitney's back yard:

• Full sun 90% of the day with some shade on the far end.
• Mostly grass, spotted- difficulty growing.
• Grapefruit tree.
• Medium sized Tree.
• Two Palms in the back right corner.
• Two cactus in front of the palms.
• Gravel under the living room window about 6 ft by 12 ft.
• Covered Porch the remaining length of the house. BBQ, Mister.
• Back left corner has an empty area of gravel.
• Cinder block walls around the yard.
• (Two med/large dogs)

Whitney's back yard's potential:

• Fire pit to the left, middle of yard with stepping stones from porch to pit.
• Herb garden and flowers in the back left corner in the wagon wheel design.
• Flower garden in the space below the living room window with nook for chair and table. brick or stone pathway walking down the middle of the garden to allow for access to side of house as well as access to the nook.
• Raised veggie gardens to line the three walls, about 2-3ft wide.
• Added ground cover flowers and one tall, climbing flower in the back right corner by the plams.
• Privacy wall half the length of the covered porch using a lattice and climbing plant.
• Climbing plant to hide the left pole supporting the covered porch.
• Pots of plants trailing onto the grass and porch to allow the garden to blend into the house and yard.
• Hanging/trailing plants on the beams.
• Climbing plant on the left wall in the flower garden.
• Sunflowers to add coverage of the back wall.
• Birdbath underneath the tree with bird feeder in tree.
• Flowers around the base of the tree.
• Plant clovers in the left side of the yard to add green cover in the grass area.
• Moon garden in pots near the fire pit.

Suggested Herbs:

• Basil
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Sage

Suggested Veggies/Fruit:

• Cherry Tomato
• Husky Tomato
• Roma Tomato
• Baby Red Potato
• Potato
• Yellow and Red Onions
• Garlic
• Jalapeno Pepper
• Bell Peppers
• Broccoli
• Lettuce, Head and Romain
• Beans
• Peas
• Concord Grapes
• Apple Tree (Speciality)
• Pear Tree (Speciality)
• Cucumbers
• Celery

Suggested Flowers:
Climbers:

• Passion Flower
• Cup and Saucer Vine

Flowers:

• Amaranth "Oeschberg"
• Calendula "Art Shades"
• California Poppy "Orange"
• Flax "Charmer Mix"
• Nemophilia "Penny Black"
• Poppy "Black Swan"
• Poppy "Heirloom"
• Standing Cypress (In front of Living room window)
• Sunflower "Double Shine F1"
• Zinnia "Starbright Mix"
• Feverfew (relieves headaches)
• Geranium "Peppermint"
• Lavender "Provence"
• Pink- Clove "Mrs. Sinkins
• Sweet Assylum "Snow Princess"
• Wallflower "Fairlady"
• Creeping Thyme
• Sweet Pea "Black Knight"
• Lakespur

Moon Garden:

• Moonflower
• Night Jessamine
• Night Phlox "Midnight Candy"
• Petunia "Rainmaster"

Catalogues Used: Territorial Seeds (Veggies/Fruit) and Select Seeds (Flowers)
I can't wait to sit down with Whitney and hear what her ideas are for her garden and to share mine. This is going to be so much fun making her back yard into a sanctuary!
~Birdie