Pretty uninspiring no?

After a year of renovating the inside of the house, we were finally in a place to be able to focus on creating a garden in the back. I considered raised beds but since I had already witnessed a friend grow a bountiful garden last year straight from the ground...my eagerness pushed me to get started already. Prior to the scene above we had to clear away some awkwardly placed trees with the help of hubby's good friend. I think he enjoyed himself :).

Then came some help of my own... (go team!)

We weeded, raked and tilled... I also re-used the stone that was left over from the previous owner to create the two boxed in areas and integrated zen stones to be nestled within the flowers bed-to-be. One box for veggies, another for flowers. Paver stones were used to create a walking path in the middle of the boxed in areas for access to the plants. I decided to use a more organic shape for the path... what do you think?

Preparing the soil

What I learned in this process:
Essentially the plants are only as healthy as the soil. Mind-blowing I know, but I never gave that much thought to soil and kind of expected plants to grow with sun and water. Now I understand that there are different types of nutrients that certain types of plants thrive in (ie. nitrogen rich etc.)

Materials I used:
• Organic top soil to cover and mix into the top 6'
• Worm castings (worm poop) to enrich the soil.

Next up in (part 2)...a transformation of plants, creating deck privacy and a new potting area! ~ M

• • • LESSONS LEARNED • • •