Tips On Accessible Gardening

 Anyone, if they want to, can garden. Appropriate design, that is design that understands and incorporates the wants and needs of the individual, is the key. 

Gardening is the act or, as I prefer the art, of growing plants. While not all gardens are works of art, the designer, using basic design principles, incorporates the seven design elements (line, shape, form, space, texture, value and colour) when creating a garden.

What plants the gardener grows is a personal choice and the variety of possibilities is vast. The most successful gardens embrace diversity and employ a wide palette when laying out a garden.

All too often, people when they think about a garden, visualize flowers and-or vegetables planted directly into the ground in neat and straight rows.

There is nothing wrong with this image and many successful gardens adopt this design. 

However, it is only one of a number of ways plants can be grown.

This article begins an ongoing series that will look at how to create accessible gardens. Future articles will explore specific design considerations, garden tools specifically adapted to enable people to enjoy all gardening has to offer.

Gardens generally consist of two components, hardscape and softscape. 

Softscape is the living plants the gardener grows, vegetables, herbs, tress and so on.

Hardscape is the non-living elements, benches, ornaments, lights, paths and so on. Today and next week we will focus on hardscape.  For the home garden, a pathway enables people with varying mobility concerns, to experience the garden, directly.

The minimum width of an unobstructed pathway should be 0.90 m. The minimum width of a two-way wheelchair traffic passage is 1.50 m. The preferable width is 1.80 m. In the home garden, it may not be necessary to build a path that caters to two-way traffic.

The slope of an accessible path should not exceed 1:20. Pathways with a slope of more than 1:20 should be designed as ramps. A ramp may be needed if the property is sloped.

What materials must be used when creating an accessible pathway?

First the surface of the pathway needs to be well constructed and must provide firm, non-slip, level access.

 Do not use loose materials, such as gravel. Asphalt is a low cost and low maintenance material that provides durability. Weed maintenance may be necessary as over the years asphalt may crack. Asphalt, by itself, is not attractive, however, it can be surfaced with other materials to increase its visual appeal.

Asphalt paths may also act as a heat sink which can play both a positive and negative role in a garden.

Tarmac is another option. Tarmac refers to a technique or approach to paving that involves crushed rock or gravel held together with heated tar. 

There are other alternatives to asphalt and tarmac and I suggest taking time and reviewing the overall garden plan and the site itself before deciding on any material.

What is a Weed?

 

A weed is...

“A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Most gardeners would not agree with Emmerson. They see weeds as an enemy. One which they will go to extreme lengths to vanquish. They will even wage chemical warfare in desperate attempts to rid their lawn and garden of any invaders. 

There is no need to go to the extreme to reduce the weeds in the garden bed. First, instead of seeing weeds as an enemy, view them as an opportunity. An opportunity to get outside and enjoy the weather while getting some exercise.

There are a number of great tools that have the sole purpose of removing weeds. Buy one you like and put it and you to work. Most of us can use some exercise, so turn your garden into a home gym and shed a few pounds while growing healthy and happy plants.

If you do not want to weed, then there are several ways to prevent weeds from becoming a problem in the first place.

The first and most important thing to remember about growing any plant is that healthy soil makes for healthy plants.

I have stated this before and repeat it now, because the next reduce weeding technique I will mention, is close cropping. Close cropping involves placing plants closer together than the planting instruction recommend.

This cuts down on the vacant space available for weeds to colonize. It will also increase the yield the gardener receives from the garden. A true win-win strategy. Close cropping demands healthy soil.

I have planted greens close together and it worked, no weeds and plenty of leaves for salads and so on. Also, peas and beans have provided a superior yield and reduced work when planted closer together than suggested.

Close cropping is a great planting method for gardeners with little space, a desire for a good yield and no time to weed.

Now this next method requires a bit of time at the beginning but can save much effort once the garden is planted. I have discussed it before, the no-till garden. Simply, do not dig or till the garden site, use successive layers of newspaper or cardboard, straw and mulch to create the garden bed. If you build this no-till bed high enough it can be placed just about anywhere, more next week.

If this method interests you start saving newspapers now, depending upon the size of the garden you will need a good stack of paper to get the job done.

The last method is one I have only tried once and am eager to do again. Hügelkultur or mound culture involves digging a pit then filling the bottom with logs, gradually adding smaller branches, compost and then soil until the desired height is reached.

Photos For A Grey Day

 

Is A PDC Necessary?

 

Permaculture is a holistic, nature-inspired design methodology that can be used grow food, build businesses and create communities.

There are a number of reasons why a permaculture course is valuable. Permaculture design can assist you to reduce your ecological footprint while saving you money, time and energy. This illustrates a permaculture concept- taking one action and accomplishing three or more tasks.

If you are interested in learning more about permaculture, I recommend that you begin with an introductory course. This allows you to find out if you are intrigued enough to develop you knowledge and skills further or if you just want to take what you know and apply it your your daily life and work.

Unless you want to become a teacher or permaculture design consultant, the intro course is all you need.

However, if you seek more and want to consult and or teach then further work and learning is required.

If you have your own land and want to grow all or much of your own food, the intro course will help you decide whether or not this is a realistic goal. If you are convinced that you can indeed grow the food you need than it is time to take a closer look at the permaculture design certificate (PDC). 

The PDC is also essential if you wish to become a permaculture teacher or to take more advanced permaculture design courses.

The Smart Gardener

 I never actually stop gardening. I do not think about it all the time. When I talk about gardening in this context, I am considering a bigger picture. How will the garden season evolve over the next few years is one question I consider? What will a changing weather system bring to the growing season? What can we grow that will thrive and feed our families?

The weather has a direct and often an immediate impact on all living things, including the farm and the home garden. An unanticipated frost or cold snap can kill those tender annual vegetables. A prolonged dry spell may, at first, help plant roots grow as they go deeper and deep to find precious water. However, without irrigation, the crops will wither and die.

The last few years have presented the region with some unusual weather. I do not know what is to come but I do believe in being prepared.

There are steps we can take to keep our environment viable, even when the local weather presents us with challenges. For example, Synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pest killers destroy all life in the garden. In addition, the runoff pollutes streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and eventually the ocean. Use organic fertilizers.

Take care of the soil for without it the garden will not produce. The health of what we eat depends upon the health of the soil it is grown in.

Honey bees are at risk. No pollination and our available food supply shrinks significantly. Honey bees are not the only pollinators. Bumble bees and mason bees also help our food grow. Learn about them and what to plant to feed them and keep them visiting our gardens.

Growing food organically addresses these issues to a great extent but we need to go beyond organic if we are going to be able to produce, fresh, local, healthy food during a period of changing weather conditions.

Permaculture design is a holistic, nature-inspired design methodology. Permaculture design enables us to create human environments which are modeled after natural process and drawing upon both modern and indigenous technologies. 

Smart gardening involves understanding that repeating the same activities year after year, in a changing environment, will lead to frustration and failure.

The smart gardener knows how to create a garden that is resilient, or, in other words, can withstand the drastic shifts in local conditions. Growing food, for many gardeners, is often repeating the same actions year after year, even if the previous year was a disaster due to too little or too much rainfall, cooler temperatures than expected and so on.

The grower continues to plant the same annual plants. The exact location of the plants may be shifted. Tomatoes and potatoes are grown in a different spot than the previous year, but they are still grown.

The use of annual food plants means the beginning of the gardening season can be a busy one. Backyard gardeners are often rushed, trying to prepare the soil and get the plants in on time.

Garden Planning: A Winter Activity

 The urge to garden appears long before the growing season begins. I feel the need to plant, something, anything while is still covered in snow. When the temperatures are hovering around zero Celsius.

It is even too early to start seed indoors.

Cucumbers may not be the best plant for the novice but if you know what they need and make the effort to see they get what they need you can grow them and just about anything else. The following short list will give you some tips for growing some of the vegetable garden essentials.

Cucumbers:

The cucumber is a demanding plant. They have an extensive root system that requires regular watering and good healthy soil to grow best. The plant will tolerate a variety of soils but it will do best in a loose well-drained soil that is complemented with organic matter such as well-rotted manure or compost before planting. The soil pH should be between 6.0 and 7.0.

Strawberries:

There are four basic types of strawberries. They are June bearing or spring bearing, ever bearing and day neutral.

The fruits of day neutral plants and ever bearers are usually smaller than June-bearers fruit.

June bearing strawberries are classified into early, mid-season and late varieties.

Onions:

Onions are not all the difficult to grow. First off, you have two types of onions, summer onions and winter onions. Summer onions are fresh onions that come in yellow red and white and have a fairly thin skin.

These are the sweet onions, the ones that you are most likely to find in your sandwich or salad. It is their high water content that makes them sweet.

Companion Planting:

Companion or compatible planting is the first step towards understanding plant communities and how designing you garden as a functioning community of plants that benefit from each others’ company is a natural model that increases your garden’s vitality.

Perhaps, one of the oldest plant communities that we know of is the Three Sisters, beans, corn and squash. It is a First Nations planting method that goes back for several centuries and is often associated with the Iroquois.

You will succeed if you feed the soil organic material such as compost, by the way compost is a great way to reuse kitchen scraps (vegetable) that you might otherwise toss away and turn grass clippings and fallen leaves into food for your soil.

You will succeed if you place the garden where the plants get the sunlight they must have; vegetables need at least six to eight hours of sun each day. Tomatoes and peppers love sun and heat so consider this when planting them.

Vegetables need water and you cannot always rely on the rain, so install a rain barrel and plan for those dry id-summer days. Speaking of planning, make a rough sketch of what will go where before you plant and this will guide you through the planting.

Seed packages give the gardner all the information required to plant correctly. read the pack follow the instructions. be sure put the right plant in the right place. Water when needed.. Nature does a great deal of the work for

Nature does a great deal of the work, but now and then you do have to lend her a helping hand.

Flowers For Beauty

 

Over the years I have designed and grown a wide range of gardens. They ranged from a one pot with tomatoes and basil on my balcony to a 1 acre commercial operation. One reoccurring question raised through all these various gardens’ projects over a 17 year period is whether to grow flowers or not.

I am not talking about edible flowers but flowers that are grown purely for ornamental or ascetic purposes either as cut flowers for the table or bouquets or dried flowers for various craft purposes.

To clarify the discussion further, I am not discussing commercial growing of cut flowers or flowers for drying, both of which could be solid business opportunities, but rather flowers grown purely for personal use and ascetic qualities.

There are gardeners and then there are gardeners; some will only grow food and scoff at those who grow, for example, gladiolas. Te glad has no edible value but it perhaps one of the most beautiful flowers that I have seen.

I have grown glads in containers on my balcony and in the backyard, just so I could have them to cut and bring inside to admire.

I remember on evening some years back I was sitting on my balcony looking up at the sky when I noticed a small bird hover near the deep red glads growing in the container. It was a hummingbird. It paused in its flight and gave me a look that said hey what you are doing here this I my space.

The hummingbird bird came back at approximately the same time every night for a week. Now that is what I call a good reason to grow flowers; to attract these winged jewels.

The group of gardeners who want to grow only food; or plant trees will argue that growing flowers for purely aesthetic purposes is a waste of time and resources (soil, water) but I simply cannot agree.

Beauty is a function and one that deserves our respect and attention. Spend, even20 minutes, in a backyard near the flower garden, feel the sun warming your face, hear the hum of the bees and watch the butterflies float from plant to plant and you will see the value that beauty brings. The dance of life is taking place before your eyes.

Besides a cutflower garden can attract the beneficial friends, (bees and other insects) to you garden that will help you do the work.

My perspective is this; if you have enough space for a garden then take a diverse approach, grow the vegetables that you want for your table but add a few herbs and a few cut flowers into the mix so that your garden will not only provide a greater bounty for your table, but so that you set out a portion for your garden helpers.

The successful gardener does not work alone. Another saying that is worth remembering here is that we do not live by bread alone; vegetables will feed your hunger but flowers will feed your heart. A thriving garden is a mixed planting garden, Herbs, flowers, trees, all have a place.

Water. Are we Running Out

 This was written awhile back, but the continued attempts to make water a commodity, raise the question why is water not considered a human right?

t is four in the morning and the call of nature pulls you from your dreams of lakes and ponds, flowing rivers of endless water, you feel the need and get up and head for the bathroom. When finished you flush and head back for bed.

Later that morning, you are pouring yourself a cup of coffee; the water came from you kitchen tap and little effort was needed to get it.

Later that day, you reach into the fridge and get the water jug or take out a bottle of water that you purchased at the grocery store when you last bought your groceries. Neither action takes much time or thought.

When it comes to our lawns and gardens, many of us have developed some water wise skills and are becoming aware of the importance of water conservation.

For some, this has carried over into our homes and how we use water to prepare our meals and dispose of our personal; waste.

But for many millions of people worldwide, the convenience of turning on the tap and having cool, drinkable water readily available does not exist.

Dirty water is a leading cause of illness and death; globally, a child dies every 15 seconds from causes related to dirty water.

Now if you and I conserve water this will not help those who do not have ready access to water in any direct sense, but if we begin to treat water as the essential resource that it is; a resource that everyone needs access to then things can begin to change.

Water is essential to life like food is; however, while we may last up to three weeks without eating, we will only live for three days without water.

In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) through a proclamation by the General Assembly on December 10 with a count of 48 votes to none with only 8 abstentions.

Included in that Declaration is Article 25 this says;

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Water was not included.

Grow A Great Garden,

 How do you grow the best organic garden ever? It is easier to do this than many people think. We tend to get lost in the word organic and the need for organic products to be certified but this does not apply to food you grow for your own personal consumption. So get past the word organic and think about what makes a garden grow and flourish. In other words, how do you grow the best damn garden ever?

The following steps will take you from no garden to a bountiful garden that uses no artificial ingredients aka organic and produces gorgeous flowers, healthy herbs and delicious vegetables.

Step One: Seeds.

Use heritage or heirloom seeds, you get the vegetables you plant or quality seeds will produce quality plants. The heritage seed will breed true to the parent so there are no surprises.

Heirloom seed and heritage seed are used interchangeably. They both refer to an open-pollinated cultivar that was commonly grown for many years but is not widely used in industrial agriculture.

Be sure to plant the seeds according to the instructions on the seed pack. If you keep a garden journal, you will be able to record how well your planting works and make adjustments as you learn.

If you want to save seeds then choose heritage as you will get what grows and no surprises.

Step Two: Soil.

The successful gardener knows that the main gardening chore is to grow healthy and vital soil. Healthy soil produces healthy plants. If you compost, then you are already producing a prime ingredient in the organic garden; one that when added to the garden bed or containers feeds the soil and provides what your plants need to thrive.

If you do not compost, I suggest getting started but until your have a supply for the garden, consider buying some organic compost from a local garden centre or plant nursery. The money is well invested.

Step Three: Sun.

This is actually the first thing you do, be sure to situate the garden bed in a location where the plants will get the amount of sunlight they need to grow and produce the herbs, flowers and vegetables you want. Most vegetables require six to eight hours of sun per day as do most herbs and many flowers. Locate the garden properly and much of your work is done.

Step Four: Mulch.

Applying mulch to the garden bed is an effective way to conserve water, reduce weeding and enhance your garden’s fertility. There is a wide array of material that will make good mulch; I have used straw, for example, to great effect.

Basic Gardening Tasks:

On a regular basis you will need to;

1- Water, if it does not rain you will need to water your garden. If possible do this in the morning. Water long so the water goes deep, you are watering the plant roots so give the water time to sink in. If you can not water in the morning do it after supper. Avoid mid-day watering as the sun will dry the bed out before the water sinks in. got a rain barrel, no, they are a great way to conserve water.

2- Inspect the garden at least three times a week. You are looking for changes. Unwanted visitors or leaves changing colours for example are warning signs that problems are beginning, early detection can save the crop.

3- You can also deadhead flowers while inspecting the bed and pull any weeds that may have set root.

Harvest each crop when it is ready and remove any flowers or vegetables that have fallen to the ground. This keeps bugs away and makes sure you get the food before it is overripe. I set aside a few plants for saving seeds, this way I ensure that the following season I have a supply of the best seeds from the plants I enjoy.

You can have the best garden ever without overworking yourself, plan carefully and when it comes to size, if it is your first garden, start small and let it grow was your time and skills do.

Lilies< A Garden Tale

 

Lilies

Lilies are scene stealers. Wherever they are planted they will grab the garden visitor’s eye. If you are seeking fragrance, form and colour then the lily is your choice.

They look great at the back of a border or standing alone in clumps. There is a large variety to choose from and the gardener can find one or many to suit their site. Lilies are not difficult to grow and the reward they give those who plant them goes far beyond the minimal labour and time invested.

The genus Lilium are herbaceous flowering plants that usually grow growing from bulbs but can it is possible to grow them from seed. Liliacae, or the lily family has There are approximately 110 species. So you can see that there really is much to choose from for your garden.

The lily makes an excellent cut flower and will brighten a hallway or side board, in a small vase alone or arranged with other flowers.

The pink stargazer is a personal favourite. A few years back, I decided to try an experiment. One of the numerous things I enjoy about gardening is the fun you can have trying different ideas. My plan was to grow a stargazer indoors in my living room. We had a window alcove that received ample light and as the room was already a plant haven, I just had to know. So I planted three.

All three reached a height of approximately four feet and all bloomed. The fragrance was magnificent, for a time, that is, after three days of 24 hour perfume, it was getting a bit much and the amount of pollen these beauties produced was truly amazing.

They had to go. We’d wake up in the middle of the night choking and one look from my wife said it all, bye, bye stargazers.

The lily has been around for millennia and dates back more than 3,000 years. It was not until the 1500s that other varieties besides the Madonna lily became known

The Chinese were among the early growers. Lily in Chinese is said to mean “forever in love”. I do like the sound of that as it makes the lily a truly romantic flower. To the Assyrians the lily was a holy flower.

The lily, in Greek poetry, stands for tenderness. The lily has been said to be the voice of the muse and there is a Greek myth that tells us how the lily was born from the milk of the goddess Hera. To Christians the lily symbolizes pure love.

If you are owned by a cat, beware, cats and lilies do not get along as the lily is toxic to our feline companions.

So toxic that a cat will suffer if even a small amount is consumed so if you have cats, no lilies.

Lilies are reputed to have medicinal properties for humans.

Growing Lilies:

Lilies are a good container plant and thus ideal for a patio or small space garden. For best results, plant single large bulbs (10-12cm/4-5in diameter) in 20-23cm (8-9in) pots, or you can plant three to four smaller bulbs (5-8cm/2-3in diameter) in 23-25cm (9-10in) pots. Be sure to allow 5cm (2in) between bulbs. You will need deep pots to grow lilies.

If you are looking to add curb appeal to yoru property two or three lilies in a stylish container near the front entrance of your house will enhance the visitor’s first impression.

Lilies are from one of three distinct classes and are divided according to color range, period of bloom, hardiness, and orientation of the flowers. The different classes can be combined in the same in the same plot but it is always a good idea to know what you have.

The three varieties are Asiatic hybrid lilies, Oriental hybrid lilies and species lilies. The species lily is the hardiest and is hardy to zone 3.

I’d like to hear your lily stories.

Grow Your Own Food-Grow What You Can.

 

Are food prices rising where you shop?

 

How do you cope? If you are not already growing at least some of your own food, then now is the time to get started.

I believe that anyone that is anyone who wants to can garden. This is the classic, if there is a will there is a way scenario and of all the activities that we can devote our time and attention to, gardening is one that allows for creativity and individuality.

Far too many people do not have backyards or have only a little space to grow anything. Size does matter but do not let that deter you, even A small space garden can be quite productive.

Your first step is to get to know the space where you garden will be; in particular, how much natural sunlight does it get none, all day or somewhere in-between? Once you know that you can start to develop a plant list selecting plants that thrive in the amount of sunlight that you have available.

Now how big is that space; room for one container or can you set up a small backyard market garden?

Already a gardener and growing some vegetables, it is time to take a look at what you are producing and ask yourself, rather than my current plant choices what could I grow that will be edible and increase my family’s food security?

How much space does your present garden occupy? Can you make it bigger? If you could enlarge do you have the time and means to take care of it, so no waste takes place?

When considering the space you have available, think up. Take a minute and look up instead of along the ground, vertical and not horizontal.

We grow beans on poles and peas why not expand that list. When you make the choice to grow vertical your small space expands, growing up means growing more.

If you have no room to grow your own food security garden, yard sharing may be your answer. Find out if there is a yard sharing program in your community and join up.

Growing together helps all parties to enhance their food security and builds good neighbours. Community gardens are another possibility, look and ask around your neighborhood, are there a community garden you can join?

Now is the time to get gardening, care for the earth and grow your own food security garden at the same time. The cost of oil will continue to rise; will you be able to buy food as it does?

Permaculture ABC

 Permaculture is an ethically based design methodology. The word permaculture was coined by its co-founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Permaculture is formed from two words permanent and agriculture.

A is for Ant. Ants help to protect the garden from Aphids.

B is for Bee. Both honey bees and bumblebees help the garden to grow. Bees pollinate the plants so the plants will produce fruit and vegetables.

C is for Chickens. Chicken give eggs and help to recycle food and yard waste.

D is for Ducks. Ducks eat slugs and snails that want to eat your vegetables.

E is for Ethics. Permaculture design is based upon an ethical foundation: people Care, Earth Care, Fair Shares.

F is for Food Forest. A food forest is a garden modeled upon a forest.

G is for Gardening, garden, and gardener. Gardeners are growing food, herbs and flowers in the garden.

H is for Hügelkultur: Hügelkultur is raised garden beds filled with rotten wood and covered with soil and compost. These raised beds require little attention after the seeds are planted.

I is for Insects. Not all insects are bad, some help the garden grow, be able tell a friend from a foe.

J is for Jam. Jams are made from berries that grow in a garden.

K is for Kale. Kale is a green leafy plant that you can grow.

L is for Leaves. When the leaves fall from the trees, rake them up and put them on the garden. This keeps the garden bed warm.

M is for Mulch. Mulch protects the garden. Leaves, straw, and even cardboard can be used as mulch.

N is for Nitrogen. Nitrogen is a naturally occurring chemical which helps plants grow.

O is for Oxygen. People need oxygen. Plants give off oxygen during the day.

P is for Permaculture.  The word permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. It is a combination of the words permanent and agriculture.

Q is for Queen. Honeybee hives have a Queen bee.

R is for Renewable Resources. Use and value Renewable Resources is one of the Permaculture Principles.

S is for Seeds. Seeds planted in the Soil will become the vegetables you have with your Supper.

T is for Trees. Trees provide us with oxygen, food, shelter, shade and fun.

U is for Urban Agriculture. Urban agriculture is growing food in the city.

V is for Vegetables. Carrots, potatoes, radishes, turnips, cabbages and beets are all vegetables you can grow in the garden.

W is for Worms. Worms work the soil creating tunnels so air and water can get to the plants’ roots.

X is for Xylem is a type of tissue in plants that carries water.

An example of xylem is the material that moves water and some nutrients through a plant.

Y is for Yield. A Yield from the garden are the vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers you harvest.

Z is for Zero Waste.  Create no waste is a permaculture principle.

Your Lawn: Why?

 

Lawns, they are everywhere. I go for a walk and block after block there are lawns. Churches, schools, private homes, businesses all have space that could be growing food either communally or individually but are not.

Some are well kept and look pretty but how many resources are used to keep them looking that way? Why, is this happening when you can grow food and have an attractive site at the same time?

Apple trees look great on a front lawns.

If you do not want to eat them yourself or do the work, engage someone to do it for you. It should not be hard to find an individual or a food bank who might be willing to pick apples for free and save you the labour while doing something good for others.

Backyards can be converted from empty spaces that suck up water to food forests. The backyard food forest meets not only you and your family’s needs but provides food and shelter for butterflies and songbirds.

The first step is to determine what purpose your yards serve. The front yard is typically the show piece, where curb appeal may be the main goal. Also, and this you will want to check before starting any renovations, municipal bylaws often control what you can grow, so find out before digging.

However, an herb garden can be a thing of considerable beauty especially if it is mixed with edible flowers. Tomatoes and basil may be an unusual combo for the front yard but grow them in attractive containers and enjoy both the visual and nutritional benefits this arrangement can provide.

A small orchard composed of dwarf fruit trees, can be a strong design statement for the front yard as well as giving you fruit you can readily pick.

Moving around back, what purpose does this space serve? The backyard is where family and friend gather, children play and pets roam. You may want to keep some of it for that purpose, but the rest can be converted into an organic vegetable garden.

If you are starting your first garden or if you are simply adding another bed to an existing garden, there are a few things that you can do that will not only reduce the work that you do but will help create the conditions that will enable the plants you select to flourish.

So go outside and look at your front and back yards how much lawn do you really need?