Gardening from a Clean Slate

The last year has brought some big changes for me…

I got married, became a stepmom to 3 really great girls, lost two of my three beloved elderly dogs…  and moved to a new area.

Okay, it’s not really “new” – I grew up here, but left 25 years ago. Never thought in a million years I’d come back. But then, a cute guy I knew from high school sent me a friend request on Facebook… and here I am. 🙂

The life I had built for myself during 14 years of living alone doesn’t exist anymore.

At 42, I’m starting over again. 

The move meant I had to start from scratch with my gardens, too. No longer did I have the luxury of growing my herbs and veggies in 2′ high raised beds filled with beautiful, rich topsoil where everything I planted seemed to reach science fiction freaky proportions. (I’m not going to lie… it was awesome! :))

Nope. This year I was starting with a clean slate. 

Since I prefer to use “lasagna gardening” techniques (building UP vs digging down) – we put in six 8′ x 4′ raised cedar beds, each 8″ high. The foundation for my new lasagna beds was broken down cardboard boxes (from the move), topped with layers of organic peat, top soil, and manure.

Of course, by time the soil ingredients settled in, I was left with only 4 -5″ of growing medium. In a year of heavy rain and cooler-than-normal temperatures, none of my plants achieved the immense size or productivity I had taken for granted in previous years…

But on the flip side, what I learned from this year of starting over has been invaluable. 

Not just from a gardening perspective (which was HUGE) – I’ve found most of these lessons apply to life in general, as well.

Bottom Line: Starting over from scratch is overwhelming. 

My vision for our new life here is big. It includes beautiful gardens and landscaping, with winding walkways, relaxing water features, and unexpected focal points tucked away out of plain sight.

This vision also includes a fully functional hobby farm with chickens and horses and gardens full of vegetables, herbs and landscape plants to sell.

(And garlic. Lots and lots of garlic, but that is a story for another day).

None of that exists yet (except the horses and the beginnings of the vegetable and herb garden). Today, we have a hodge-podge of perennial plants stuck in beds waiting for me to find their permanent homes.

It’s not pretty… but in my vision, it is.

It WILL get there. I know this for sure because I’ve done it before. Created something from nothing, I mean. It’s just going to take some time… and a heck of a lot of work.

For me, the hardest part is always getting started… moving from the “planning” phase to the “doing” phase.

I’m excited for what lies ahead.

Care to join me? 🙂 If so, let’s connect on Twitter: @HomeFarmGarden or Facebook:  Facebook.com/HomeFarmandGarden