A garden is always changing, always evolving.

My garden has evolved throughout the 18-plus years I have lived in this house. One would think that with such a small garden I would have completed the main look by now but there is always much more to do as I attempt to transform my new ideas on to the landscape. This year, for the first time, I have put all my spring/summer, 2009, projects on paper but with no strict deadlines other than finishing by the end of the year. The plans are:

1 - Build a trellis along the back wall of my house to support my purple passion vine. I don’t know what I was thinking when I attempted to grow this vine along a thin length twine; healthy flowering vines need stronger support to grow fully.

2 - This corner of the garden definitely needs a face-lift. The giant white bird of paradise is overgrown and the bench needs a paint job (my wife wants a new one but that is NOT going to happen since it’s not in the budget). I want to make this corner a more inviting place for tranquility and meditation. I have an extra Water feature in the garage that would be perfect for this corner but I would need to buy a solar water pump to power it (and my wife says THAT is not in the budget!).

3 - Expand my vegetable garden for the fall growing season. I need to take out some of the grass and add enriched soil (maybe from my compost).

(old picture)

4 - Finally, the biggest project is for the front garden. I get a lot of nice comments from my neighbors and visitors about my front garden and as a gardener it is satisfying to see other people enjoy the work I put into my garden. Since it’s the most visible, the front garden is definitely always a work in progress. My plan is to expand the front garden, reducing the amount of grass and adding more sun-loving and drought-resistant plants. I am also thinking about enclosing the garden with a small iron fence–not to keep people out but to make the area cozy and inviting. This project would be the most expensive of the four and we will have to see whether the budget will allow it at the end of the year!