![\"Pickle](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Pickle-Peppers-Sept-2017-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI have been working on so many new things in the garden this year. \u00a0I am growing new things, in new ways. \u00a0I have also started the crazy train that is canning and preserving. \u00a0I have taken about a million photos while out in my garden to share with you and now maybe I can get them all on here.<\/p>\n
This year I have tried to focus on using my tiny property to it’s maximum benefit. \u00a0We live on a 50′ x 100′ lot which includes a house and a driveway. \u00a0That doesn’t leave a lot of room for gardeing, or so I have thought so far. \u00a0Since I am banned from tearing up our front lawn for more garden space, I have had to be a bit more resourceful.<\/p>\n
So far the plan has been to “edge” the garden beds to make them look nice while actually making them bigger a little bit at a time. \u00a0But this only goes so far. \u00a0Next was to cut out a little garden here or there next to a fence that wouldn’t be a bother. \u00a0Mostly I needed to leave the grass in the back yard for the dog and kid and the grass in the front so Brian could mow and have a quiet hour away from all the rest of us. \u00a0Then I moved a bunch of things, mostly the small trees from the Arbor Day Foundation, to huge pots that line my patio.<\/p>\n
But the biggest change to my garden in the last year or two is adding more edible landscaping. \u00a0Basically instead of growing some old plants I didn’t like, I replaced then with new edible plants. \u00a0So instead of daisies (which got moved somewhere they would actually fit) I planted sweet pickle peppers. \u00a0They look like those old fashioned Christmas lights and are a small bush variety. \u00a0They add a bit of color without taking over everything.<\/p>\n
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Instead of beautiful climbing flowers, how about beautiful climbing flowers that produce beans? \u00a0These are Scarlet Runner Beans with these great big red flowers that bees and hummingbirds love. \u00a0There is always some kind of pollinator excited about the pollen in these whenever I walk by. \u00a0If you look closely you will see the green pods starting to grow.<\/p>\n
![\"Scarlet](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Scarlet-Runners-Sept-2017-768x1024.jpg\")
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I also have moved things around a bit and let some things come out from behind the gated raised beds. \u00a0Cucumbers have been an easy growing vegetable here. \u00a0 Since they didn’t really need to be behind a fence, I moved them out into another garden bed and put them on display. \u00a0The trellis is made from some bamboo poles a friend cut for me from his yard (people who plant bamboo always have enough poles to share) and some string. \u00a0It’s about 8 feet tall and gives a lot of air circulation. \u00a0But you know, it’s just pretty. \u00a0And it also grows a big vine and lots of cucs in maybe a 2′ x 2′ spot. \u00a0The flowers in front are nasturtiums (see more on them below) which gives a buffer zone so the dog can’t pee on the cucs.<\/p>\n
![\"Cuc](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Cuc-trellis-Sept-2017-1024x768.jpg\")
\nI used a smaller trellis like this one for the peas in the spring with the same idea of letting them be a beautiful focal point. \u00a0For the record the seed pack says they will get to 24″ – 28″. \u00a0This trellis is 4 feet tall. \u00a0And yes they are growing well beyond that. \u00a0Organic compost people!<\/p>\n
![\"Peas](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Peas-Trellis-June-2017-768x1024.jpg\")
Don’t think that I have forgotten about flowers. \u00a0There is a simple formula in gardening: flowers + pollinators = food. \u00a0It’s so simple but crazy important. This is one of the main reasons I don’t use much of anything in my yard besides compost. \u00a0I don’t spray anything because when you do, not only do you get the “bad” bugs but you also get all the other good bugs too. \u00a0The bugs that we desperately need to make this whole gig work. \u00a0And what makes these bugs happy? Delicious flowers of course! \u00a0If you want them to come check out your cuc flowers to get them making tiny cucs, then you might want to to entice them with some nice sedums. \u00a0It’s really all just bug marketing.<\/p>\n
One of the easiest flowers to have in the garden are sedums. \u00a0 I have the autumn joy variety (I think, they came with the house) and I’m not sure you can kill them. \u00a0I had a random one pop up in my front garden this year which I can’t even tell you where it came from. \u00a0They are the first thing to pop through the ground in like March and they just started blooming in September. \u00a0It’s like there is a crazy Black Friday sale in my garden right now. \u00a0Bees and butterflies in all shapes and sizes just chowing down. \u00a0I love to see it. \u00a0And while they are there, I’m guessing they might check out some of my veggies that need a little pollination help. \u00a0Everyone is happy.<\/p>\n
![\"Sedum](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Sedum-Spet-2017-768x1024.jpg\")
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A new one for me this year are the Nasturtiums. \u00a0These are an edible flower (and leaves) that can also be decoy plants for those dumb worms that eat everything and make you curse. \u00a0I figured I would try them out and fill in some areas that could use a little pretty. \u00a0These said partial sun on the seed pack and I figured I would try them in a few places to see how it went. \u00a0So the seed pack said to have 6 – 12″ of space between each plant because these are dwarf plants. \u00a0Well.<\/p>\n
Here is a picture of what\u00a0I thought would be\u00a0little mounds of pretty flowers. \u00a0They are now covering a space about 10+ feet across. \u00a0Every time something died off, it just spread and took over. \u00a0In the pic below you can see a gray paver at the bottom. \u00a0All 5 seeds were planted there in mostly shade. \u00a0I wasn’t aware that nasturtiums had 10 foot vines but I’m not complaining. \u00a0They just gently fill in and look awesome. \u00a0But it is something to think about for spacing in next year’s garden.<\/p>\n
![\"Nast](\"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Nast-Sept-2017-768x1024.jpg\")
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I think that adding edibles to my landscape has not only given me a much bigger harvest but my yard is so pretty! \u00a0Veggies are pretty too so show them off on the front yard stage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"