While we were passing through Portland recently after dropping my son off at a filmmaking camp, my daughter and I stopped at our favorite bookstore, Powells. It’s an amazing place to get lost among books and we always spend hours browsing the shelves.
What did we bring home this time? A huge stack of gardening and backyard farming books. I almost bought a book about raising chickens — I can totally imagine having a hen or two. Seeing chickens on the front steps of my dream farmhouse made me smitten with the idea.
Wendy Posard
What would Jack & Lily think of chickens?
I think they would love them!
We’ve been planning zones for our backyard and have largely decided what will go where. I’m certain I want a vegetable patch in one corner, though that may wait until next year — I have more enthusiasm than time at the moment. I also picture a few climbing roses and a couple of fruit trees to complement the space.
For now, we’ve collected a variety of plants to inspire what my daughters and I are calling our secret garden — a special spot for the girls. At the moment, Jack claims it as his own special garden.
Our yard is a thin layer of soil over rock, so I’ll be hiring help to dig planting holes. I love buying plants but not the backbreaking work of digging through rock. Still, seeing the plants arranged in little groupings motivates me to buy more — I’m hoping to get everything in the ground by August.
I still use my potting table and enjoy container gardening — planting in pots is one of my favorite gardening activities. I love gardens filled with potted plants, especially boxwoods, with crushed gravel paths weaving between them.
Jack and Lily adore running around the yard while I pot plants. Their favorite pastime is digging, which explains Lily’s perpetually messy face. They’re so good at it I sometimes joke they could dig all the holes I need for our new plantings.
Do you have a backyard garden? What are your favorite things to grow?