As with most things, you live with them for a while and see room for improvement... My wooden raised garden beds from Walmart weren't as sturdy as one would hope and probably have a true shelf life of about 5 years. Especially in the Philly heat, humidity, snow, and freezing winter temperatures. I also decided that smaller raised beds would be sturdier and hold their shape better than long straight ones. The beautiful wooden finish on these SnugNiture 48" metal beds caught my eye right away, and I was smitten:@)
Please note, there is about an hour of assembly time, and quite a bit of patience required, with each bed. They come in a box about the size of a 12" pizza. And each metal piece is covered in plastic that is tedious to peel off. But if I can do it, so can you!
I placed them on the long side of the patio. The shorter beds also opened up space, where the wooden set-up was one long box. I love the airier look of the space between the beds and made a little herb garden there in front of the bench of green beans.
They gave me room on the corner to use some whiskey barrel type planters (hello Aldi $10!), and I tucked in a little novelty blueberry bush to anchor the corner. My goal was color this year, and I did achieve it. Flowers are abundant, and as the summer goes on, overgrowing everything, but in a good way:@)
Planter on left has yellow squash:
The blueberry variety is Pink Icing and the spring foliage was amazing! Pinks and aqua in the leaves, I can't wait to see what fall brings. It's supposed to be a smaller variety intended for growing in containers, 3-4' tall. I did plant it in the ground.
It grew a few berries.
The birdbath garden is to the left of the corner and again, feels open and airy. The little planter of geraniums will be moved for next year, giving the lavender behind it more room to grow. I found an opened pack of Liliput zinnia seeds, so I tossed them in back, and volunteer portulaca popped up everywhere. The idea as of today is lavender, dianthus and portulaca. ~Almost~ cost free going forward.
The layout has changed several times but this is what I started with in early spring.
The tomato planter against the carport pillar is doing well, this tends to be a happy spot for them. I splurged and tried an exciting new Purple Empress Cherry Tomato plant from QVC. This was again a novelty item, it arrived pretty beaten up, then we had two horrible April frosts. But I cut back what remained and it's growing. After things didn't look too good for purple on the left, I tucked a yellow cherry on the right in the planter as well. So as of June, welcome to the jungle...
What I bought:
While it hasn't been an overly abundant year yet, I am getting some veggies here and there. Dollar store radish seeds grew well...
And now, a couple jars of Garlic Freezer Pickles and some Dilly Beans are canned for the holidays.
Well folks, that's just a bit of what's going on with the Pig In Mud garden. I hope you've enjoyed the little update. You know I could go on for quite a while talking about the garden, what I'm learning, and what's affecting it. It still remains one of my favorite hobbies, something fun to ponder and plan, and it offers a nice bit of exercise and sunshine too.
I hope things are growing well for you!
Have a Happy Day:@)
