Pics of when I redesigned my mother's garden in 2011.

[Alfredo]

Hello everyone,

Below are pics of when I redesigned my mother's garden in 2011. She had it planted in the ground against a long fence with Boston Ivy growing on it, which throughout the growing season would grow into her vegetable garden and get entwined with all her tomato plants...it was quite a mess, she was constantly trimming that boston ivy. I always wondered why she never just moved her garden away from the fence with all that ivy.

Toward the end of the 2010 growing season though, we noticed another type of ivy growing into her garden,...yes poison ivy...what joy.

Well, after removing both the boston ivy in her garden and the new poison ivy (end of 2010) I decided her garden should really be placed away from the fence with the numerous ivys growing on it. I eventually convinced her to try a raised garden bed (as she liked how my raised garden bed was over at my place), but it's probably more likely because I would be the one doing all the work in the redesign of her garden too...lol... Here are the pics of that project in the spring of 2011: (Warning: There's a lot of pics)

momsgardenapril16-2011.jpg Mom's garden against the fence of Boston ivy, before project starts. April 16, 2011.

step1diggingoutirisapril16-2011.jpg Step one, cut back Boston ivy and digged out irises. April 16, 2011.

movedirisweedsivy-2011.jpg Moved irises and removed weeds.

removedoldgardenapril16-2011.jpg Removed anything that was still growing in her old garden against the fence.

irisplantedmulchedapril16-2011.jpg Irises moved and planted against the shed and mulched (note: My mother likes that red mulch, I'm not too crazy about it, her garden though so). April 16, 2011.

iris2011.jpg Close-up of mulched irises.

iristwo2011.jpg Front view of mulched irises in front of the shed.

iristoplant.jpg Agh...too many irises to plant!
2nsirispatchapril16-2011.jpg A second Iris patch made.

irispatch2011.jpg A third Iris patch made.

moreiris-2011.jpg Close-up of the third iris patch.

woodframe4raisedbed.jpg Wood frame is cut and nailed together for the raised garden bed frame, I set it into place for where her new garden will be (away from the fence with Boston Ivy).

tillingsoilmay1-2011.jpg Tilling the soil about a foot and a half deep. May 1st, 2011.

fillingraisedbedwcompost-2011.jpg Filled the frame with several bags of compost and a couple bags of top soil (mostly compost though). Mixed all that in with the loosened soil in the ground. The frame is 8 inches high btw, filled it up to about 6 inches.

hostasmarigoldsplantedmay10-2011.jpg Variegated Hostas planted and mulched along the fence with Boston Ivy. Dwarf yellow marigolds planted around the border of the raised garden bed.

irisblooming-2011.jpg Irises are starting to bloom.
closeup-2011.jpg Close-up

vegherbsplantedmay22-2011.jpg Several Vegetables and herbs planted.

may27-2011.jpg Grass seed is sown in on bare areas surrounding the raised garden bed.

grassgrownfinishedmay31-2011.jpg Grass grows in. Redesign of my mother's garden is finished. May 31, 2011.

may31angle-2011.jpg Some different angles.

may31-2011.jpg June 3, 2011.

june3-2011.jpg View from behind the raised garden bed.

june3angle-2011.jpg Checking up on how her garden is doing early in the morning...love this quiet time for gardening.

birdeyeviewjune4-2011.jpg View of the garden from the second floor. June 4, 2011.

june6-2011.jpg June 6, 2011.

june7angled-2011.jpg June 7, 2011.

closeupangle-2011.jpg

frombehind-2011.jpg From behind.

june15-2011.jpg June 15, 2011.

june25-2011.jpg June 25, 2011.

june25closeup-2011.jpg Tomates starting to really grow. German Pink, Black Krim, Pruden's Purple. June 25, 2011.

june26-2011.jpg June 26, 2011.

wateringplantsjune26-2011.jpg Mom watering the window box behind the garden. June 26, 2011.

june26frombench-2011.jpg View from the bench.

momworkinggardenjune26-2011.jpg Mom working her garden. June 26, 2011.

july2-2011.jpg July 2, 2011.

garden-2011.jpg

momsgardenjuly23-2011.jpg July 23, 2011.

BlackKrim-2011.jpg Black Krim

GermanPink-2011.jpg German Pink

July23birdsview-2011.jpg View from second floor. July 23, 2011.

july23-2011.jpg July 23, 2011.

GpBkEgPCherry-2011.jpg German Pink, Black Krim, Early Girl, Patio and Cherry tomatoes.

If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed the photos. ~Alfredo

[mdvpc]

Very nice job! I am sure your mother really appreciated it.

[JamesL]

I second Michael! Nicely done! And nicely documented as well. What a good son.
Can I send you the directions to my house? It's only about an hour away...

[Redbaron]

Awesome!

[Alfredo]

Thanks Redbaron, JamesL and mdvpc! She loves it.

JamesL...don't play...I'll seriously take you up on the offer once the weather gets warm if you really need a raised garden bed...lol

Actually, I'm already going to be building 3 raised garden beds (at 3 different locations) for some other gardeners this upcoming season.
Should be fun though. I like the exercise.

~Alfredo

[Heritage]

Alfredo, great job on the project, plus I love your time-lapse documentation!

Steve

[barefootgardener]

From ivy to poison ivy...To this beautiful, backyard garden..How wonderful!! I really enjoyed the pictures taken as you went through the steps of creating a bountiful, beautiful, and enjoyable garden for your mom. She is very lucky to have you as a son! And I am sure you are lucky to have her as a mom! I can just picture her enjoyment as she goes out to the garden every morning, looking for the next surprise!

Ginny

[Farmette]

Alfredo, I enjoyed looking at the pictures of your project. I found myself thinking to myself, "awe, isn't that cute, I love that". Your design turned out so well, incorporating new beds within the yard. So, very nice job, Mom must be thrilled.

I have to ask if the pre-existing shed was built from plans...it is just what I would want my husband or son to build. And the fence is perfect too, is it wooden or made of something else?

Nice selection of tomatoes and other veggies. It all looks so healthy!

[Alfredo]

Thanks Heritage (Steve), barefootgardener (Ginny), and Farmette.

Farmette, I believe she bought that shed over in Pennsylvania, possibly the Amish, so I don't have the plans for it . And the fence is stone on the bottom half...the top half is just a wire fence with Boston Ivy growing all over it, so you don't see the wire fence, which I like...though if it was my property I probably would've removed all the ivy and planted instead a climbing old rose or something to grow all over the fence...lol. There's actually an Alba Maxima rose shrub (a.k.a The Jacobite Rose) that I planted in the corner between the raised garden bed and the shed...but you can't really see it in the pics as it was just a bare root rose at the time that year...It now towers at 6 ft though.

~Alfredo

[whistech]

Beautiful yard and garden. I know your Mother must really love you for all the work you done.

[bluebonnets]

It's beautiful!

[zeroma]

Very nice job indeed! I can taste the Black Krim tomatoes now - at least in my mind. The color of your mother's shed is the same as my house, only with a cream trim.

The yellow marigolds are really pretty with the rest of the garden. I liked the view you shot from the bench. That is where I'd be spending most of my time! You say you like the exercise of the raised bed building, the older I get the more I'm not enjoying the exercise part of all involved with gardening. My mind is willing but my body is pooping out! Again. really liked seeing your progress and design work.

[Alfredo]

Thanks Whistech, bluebonnets, and zeroma!

~Alfredo

[Farmette]

Originally Posted by Alfredo

Thanks Heritage (Steve), barefootgardener (Ginny), and Farmette.

Farmette, I believe she bought that shed over in Pennsylvania, possibly the Amish, so I don't have the plans for it . And the fence is stone on the bottom half...the top half is just a wire fence with Boston Ivy growing all over it, so you don't see the wire fence, which I like...though if it was my property I probably would've removed all the ivy and planted instead a climbing old rose or something to grow all over the fence...lol. There's actually an Alba Maxima rose shrub (a.k.a The Jacobite Rose) that I planted in the corner between the raised garden bed and the shed...but you can't really see it in the pics as it was just a bare root rose at the time that year...It now towers at 6 ft though.

~Alfredo

Actually, I was asking about the white fence and wonder if it is wood or a composite material. Thanks!

[Alfredo]

Originally Posted by Farmette

Actually, I was asking about the white fence and wonder if it is wood or a composite material. Thanks!

Ahh okay...oops...misunderstood you. It's a composite material that white fence...it's actually starting to fall apart in some areas. Probably time to replace it soon. ~Alfredo