As the leaves begin to change, I find myself already thinking about next Spring's gardens. Last year at this time, we were focused on finishing our house. This Summer, we focused mostly on the outside. I started my little kitchen garden outside my kitchen door, which is the little door you can barely see on the left side of the porch. In it, I planted jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes, Big Boy tomatoes, several different herbs (cilantro, bush basil, marjoram, chives-chives-chives, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme--seriously!), a pot of nasturtiums and lots of marigolds. Along the side and front of the porch, the kids and I planted different herbs, some perennials, swiss chard, lots of tomatillos and lots of basil. In the front of the house, we planted a whole host of perennials, including Hollyhocks, Balloon Flowers, several different types of sage, butterfly flowers, hyssops and horehound, chamomile and echinacea, and a bunch of things I can't remember right now. Next year, I hope to revive my deep beds, filling them with onions, peas, lettuces, cilantro, broccoli, peppers, and whatever else I fancy. And I will move the tomatoes to a larger space ( I never allow enough room for tomatoes), create a Rabbitat with lettuce and nasturtium gardens for our bunnies, and plant a sunflower house like we did a few years ago.I think I'll re-do the porch beds, moving the herbs and keeping the perennials, lining the beds with allysium and petunias. I think I'll like that neater look better.
And I plan to move the tea garden into our native wildflower area as soon as the flowers fall off.
Bard has bugged me for several years to create a "snacking and sipping garden" like the one proposed in Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots, so we'll carve out a spot for that. And I definitely want to plant a vine garden, filled with cucumbers, watermelons, canteloupes and pumpkins.
Are you thinking about next year's garden already?
