Focus for 2017

Everybody needs a cute squirrel picture

Happy blog anniversary! I wasn't sure that I'd even want to keep posting for a year, but I find that it helps me focus, keep track of what I'm doing, and remember what each season looks like in my garden. That was the point, so I'm happy that it's working for me - I hope my readers are getting some enjoyment too!

I looked back on my ground rules for 2016 and they still seem very relevant. I need to not start too many big projects, think about a full community of plants for each area, observe what is already growing, and use native plants where it makes sense. Now I have confirmed that mostly what is already growing is grass and invasives that I don't want, but I'm leaving that in because I think observing is really important. Like stop and smell the roses, but in this case, it's more stop and see where the blackberry is growing, then think about what to plant instead.

I'm again setting a few large garden project for this year.

Re-do south front yard
Planting yucca along the strip south of the driveway probably sounded like a good idea to someone who didn't realize that yucca isn't really removable. I've considered trying to dig it out, but don't think it's worth the effort. There is also a small pine tree in this area, a struggling rhododendron, and a few roses in front along the sidewalk. The rest is grass and weeds. I plan to at least trim the yucca, cover the grass and weeds with mulch and then plant perennials and perhaps a few more bushes.

South front yard withovergrown yucca

Remove small retaining wall bed and plant shade tree
This is a short retaining wall that was originally built to set a garden space into the hillside next to the southeast side of the house. The wall was built with railroad ties, which are now rotting. We have two other larger retaining walls with the same issue, but this one is small enough that we can tackle it ourselves. We plan to remove the railroad ties and fill in the slope to it's more natural shape - I say "we" because my husband will definitely be helping with this one! Then, plant a shade tree, probably some variety of maple.

Short retaining wall in the back

Replace grape and kiwi trellis
We put in a large trellis across a flat area toward the bottom of our hill about 12 years ago. The north section was intended to support two grapevines and a row of raspberries. The smaller south section was for three hardy kiwi. After a few years, the plants all did great - in fact, too great. The grapes shaded out the raspberries and I finally re-planted raspberries further down the slope last year. The trellis now needs to be moved and partially replaced, which will involve the dreaded fence hole digger.

The grape side of the trellis, hardy kiwi on the far end

Maintenance!
All of last year's projects are going to need careful attention in the spring, so I can't be too focused on new projects. I need to see what didn't survive the winter and make sure my plants can compete against the inevitable weeds. The meadow and back corner are going to need particular attention, I expect that it will be difficult to keep weeds and grass out. And I'll be fighting bits of knotweed for years.