Friday, February 27, 2009

Things you don't question...

I enjoy my vegetable garden. Last year we had a very nice consistent crop of beans, peas, beets, chard, kale, lettuce, and some others. I still talk often about not knowing what I'm doing with vegetables however that is because I have known many organic farmers who still say they don't know what they're doing after twenty years or more. That said, my true love is in Ornamentals.

So I rearranged our vegetable garden this year. I terraced the slop and moved it back a bit so that I could plant ornamentals above the wall.

I realized that below the wall would be the perfect spot to plant tomatoes. They could pick up all the radiant heat from the stone. Before I thought of that I had been pretty excited about planting some Japanese Forest Grass at the base of the wall. So I kept an area clear for tomatoes and started to plant around it. When I was almost done I thought again about the tomatoes and realized they would be much happier above the wall where they would get a lot more late afternoon sun. The wall would actually shade them pretty earlier in the summertime afternoons. Obviously I found a couple choice plants for the spot, antique roses that I've been saving for something perfect. I planted the first one and dug the hole for the second. As I picked it up it told me that it didn't want to be down there, it wanted to be on top of the wall. Now this is a special little rose so it's deserves a say in things but I was saving the spots above the wall for tomatoes right? Apparently not.

The lesson is when a sweet little rose tells you what it wants you should listen. Souvenir de St. Anne will be absolutely charming up there backed by a Skyracer Moor Grass and a Mid-Winter Fire Dogwood. Plus you can sit on the wall and smell it!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Intro to new blog

Gregory here, I am starting this blog as a source for my many thoughts that don't fit into my other Blog, The New Parents Organic Garden Blog, which is most easily seen from my website www.nativerootdesigns.com. You can also find out all about Native Root Designs at the website. In short we are a seattle based organic gardening/landscaping company.
I have found that I think a lot about a very wide range of issues and would like to practice writing about them. I do not intend this Blog to be any sort of finished writing material it is more a source for me to vent ideas in writing.
I look forward to reading any and all comments!
Thanks!

Enjoy...