Outdoor Projects 2011

Happy Monday everyone! I was outside trying to finish my compost pile that I am making out of bricks and it started storming. So.....what's a girl to do but come inside and show you what has been accomplished outside so far this year.

I was flipping through one of my free gardening magazines that I snagged at a garage sale (love it when I can find those for free!), when I saw something I knew would have to become part of the Calderons' backyard. It was a design for a formal English herb garden with brick pathways. Soon after I saw this article and asked dear hubby if he thought it was possible for him to squeeze this one little, tiny project onto his already full plate, I was driving in town and I saw a beautiful old brick house being torn down. I thought to myself "I wonder what they do with those bricks". I couldn't stop thinking of it so I called my uncle Vince who works for the city. He informed me that they throw them away. Well, dear friends...that didn't sit well with me. It seemed like such a waste. Dear uncle Vince knew the guy in charge of the demolition and gave him a call and he told me I could come get all I wanted after the crew was done for the day. So for three nights Miguel, Alex, Stephen, and myself gathered bricks and hauled them to my house. The bricks were porous so we had to buy block sealer and seal each one before we could even use them. So after lots of sealing, measuring, cutting and hauling this is the finish result......





I love it!! Miguel did such a fantastic job I think. Some day the whole thing will be filled it with herbs but we have to start somewhere so the blank spaces we laid newspaper to kill the weeds and then put black mulch over that. The middle part will have chamomile growing around the pillar whenever it decides to sprout. Ohh...and this little, tiny project took about one month. =/ (Sheepish smile) Between rain and it taking so long to seal and cut the brick it took a bit long than expected.

We also used the bricks to make path ways between my vegetable garden. Miguel has one more path to complete but I wanted to show you all so pretend it's completely finished. =)

Next Miguel is going to link the herb garden to the vegetable garden with a pathway and then next year we are going to construct an archway overhang over the pathway and grow grapes. We are also going to do some type of wall around the veggie garden and I am going to plant perennials all around it.

I also found something I have been waiting a long time for......

It's my dwarf lemon and lime trees. I was soooo sooo excited to see that Lowes did get some in so I don't have to pay $75 to have them shipped. They smell amazing and will look so awesome in my kitchen when it is finished. I love the pots they are in as well. I got those at a garage sale for $2 each and they screamed "Plant your lemon and lime trees in me!" So, I listened and did just that.

This is the view of my side garden that I put in just last year. It's doing great. If you look real close, I even have lettuce growing in it. Not quite sure how that happened, but it's good!

Everything took a little longer than expected this year but I feel like my dreams for the outside are starting to take shape. Now to just put in the stone patio, plant more trees, more flowers, etc. etc. But you know what, I love it! I don't even mind weeding most days. I love to grow things I have discovered. I sure don't garden by the book and I am sure I make lots of gardening no-no's but I am enjoying this process. So, how about you all. Did you enjoy gardening? Do you have flowers or a veggie garden? Any tips or hints for this amateur? And of course no post would be complete without my little girl. Here she is at a parade we had in town. She loved it and Miguel and I loved watching her having so much fun. God bless you all and make the most of today!