garden party.
via once wed.
i am so excited!! i found a very affordable and hard working gardener (email me if you need someone!) to help me rid my poor yard of all the weeds and dead things, and now it is all tilled and ready for planting! i will share a little of where it’s at now (see bottom pics of this post), and then a bit of inspiration for where i’d like to take it next!
i am reading gayla trail’s grow great grub, and learning all kinds of interesting gardening and composting tips, as well as how to begin my vegetable garden. my vision is the shadier side of the garden will be a natural landscape of lavender, rosemary, sea grasses, herbs and mexican sage. while, the really sunny part will be full of tomatoes, beans, artichokes, lettuces, radish, carrots and anything else i can dream up.
perhaps a spot for picnicking and reading under my plum and cherry trees, via only in books (above) and i do think i need a hammock, via la princess endormie (below).
i’m learning how to nurture seedlings, via frolic (above) and abby try again (below).
i found this great old pine picnic table & benches on craigslist (above, and top left below) and i’m planting lots of lavender, and vines; and i’d love a nice cozy bench with lots of pillows and throws, via frolic.
i love the very natural, slightly overgrown look of a casual english garden, like these from please sir (via marie claire maison); and emma’s design blog.
i like the idea of an edible garden path, but using stones, via sunset magazine.
here’s the ‘before’ as you can see above, when i arrived the yard needed some tender loving care! that dirt patch is now a strawberry patch, and all the overgorwn oxalis is gone! so, i am slowing making progress in the yard (below).
the hammock is magical! i’m in love with this post.
xo Alison
such a sweet picnic bench! you have great craigslist karma!
happy gardening!
Such lovely images. I wish it’d stop raining for a sec here so I could go outside and play…
Congratulations on your garden venture! You may want to check out one of my favorite local nurseries, Annie’s Annuals, owned by fab Annie Hayes. She has unusual and beautiful plants that are suited to our Bay Area climate. She has many natives and is expanding to fruits and vegetables.
i do think i *need* a hammock!
thanks you guys!
and thank yo grace! i will check annie out! :)
I hope you haven’t gotten rid of any of your succulents! they are my favorite, so happy and easy breezy…love your back yard already and i am sure it will be even more lovely very soon! happy gardening
cristie – nope! the succulents are in there, mingled with the rest!
swwwwoooon! One of my favorite posts…so lovely!
How exciting! I just got my garden into shape this year (it’s been a 4-year process). It has been so fun to watch it grow and evolve year after year. But, I’m jealous of your sun! We don’t get any, which means no yummy tomatoes or peppers for me.
One piece of advice, rely heavily on your local nurseries for advice. They’ve been such a resource for me — and my garden is very low maintenance as a result.
all these pictures look so lovely.
i remember how excited i was to have my first patch of land after so many years of apartment living…congrats!
these images are fabulous. I love your table and bench you found. love your ideas. good luck. it will be heaven.
love the table!!
That first picture is my dream dinner party setting. Love, love, love.
Sigh….what gorgeous inspiration & lovely ideas! It is going to be gorgeous I just know. I love the table and benches you found….so perfect! Can’t wait to see the progress as you go along!
xo
Melis
Just the inspiration I needed. I was thinking that I would take a mini vacation to get my garden back into shape. It has a winter sadness about it right now. I love hammocks. Best place in the world to nap. Alameda flea market s this weekend. Good place to find some benches, tables etc for the patio. Thanks for posting all of the pictures…off to pull a few weeds, cut back some vines and dig in the dirt.
Oh my word! Those garden party pics are too much. LOVE!
thanks everyone! i just took a wee break, and planted some tomatoes and basil. wish me luck! :)
that picnic table is the stuff of dreams. been hunting a proper outdoor seating situation for awhile now. aaaand i’m off to craigslist!
me too, libby! i love it! :)
this post has made me not want to be at my desk today but in my garden! beautiful Victoria, as usual :)
i have been dying to have a garden party lately… this post just made that want even greater! ;) so gorgeous.
these are all so unbelievably beautiful!
Great gardens !!! like a paradise !
What a lovely post. I’m swooning over the picture at the top.
Your magically affordable gardener doesn’t want a weekend gig in upstate New York, does he?
What a magical post :)
I would break that hammock so fast, your head would spin.
way to make an NYC girl insanely jealous! i don’t even have a window ledge to put plants on. SIGH! live it up for me ;)
I ran across that hammock picture and saved it a couple months ago. I somehow managed to talk my husband into building a hammock contraption for me, after seeing it. We don’t have any mature trees, so he’s going to have to get creative :) I love this entire post.
PLEASE SEND INFO ON HARDWORKING WEED-REMOVER. Excuse the all caps. It’s not indication of me so rudely yelling at you. It’s just indication of how bad our weeds are. IN THE FRONT YARD.
help!
I love the idea of a garden party in the middle of an orchard! Reading under a plum tree sound like an ideal thing to do right about now=]
Keep up the wonderful posting!
I love the bench and would absolutely love to have dinner in that top photo! Great work on the garden! Thanks for the inspiration!
Fabulous inspiration and the picnic table & benches are the serious score!
Yay! Garden parties are in your near future :)
wow, beautiful images!
looks like you have a great picnic bench! Can’t wait to see more pics.