Tag Archives: trees

Ye Olde Garden

Winter Veggie Garden Update

There are more veggies scattered throughout the backyard!

I had to find a home for the leftover brussel sprouts and broccoli starts that I purchased from Burpee in October. The cinderblock planters and grow bag where we relocated the lorapetalum seemed ideal.

It’s been nearly a month since these veggies were planted, and they appear to be faring well in their new homes. Although the broccoli and brussel starts nearest the fence line appear to need more sun.

I also random-sowed some fenugreek seed in a pocket next to the unfinished water feature. This spot gets full sun throughout the day. The fenugreek seedlings seem to handle the cold winter nights pretty well.

I still plan to perform much-needed maintenance on the foundation garden beds, but I’ve tasked DH with repairing the border stones before I can resume work on them. I have a pile of compost that needs to be laid, and weeding needs to be performed on the shade bed.

Ye Olde Garden

Cats in Trees

My DH thinks that trees near fences and cats make for disastrous outcomes.

We did move this builder-installed Chinese Pistache to the backyard when we bought our Shantung. At the time, we didn’t have any other shade cover in the backyard, and having a tree there sounded like a good idea. Over time, the lawn surrounding it got ripped out, ornamental beds got installed next to it, and now a pondless waterfall is in the process of being built above it.

This pistache has weathered all sorts of neglect, yet grown tall if a little askew. It’s given our most athletic of cats a place to test his climbing skills. It’s also something to look at with every color change in the fall.

Someday, we’ll likely take out the pistache, but for now, it makes for a great cat climber.

Anyway, it’s a lot more fun than watching them rolling around on the dirt.

Well…maybe not.