On Saturday Dom got busy grading the new playground area. The ground is on a slight slope, so he’s been shoveling away to make it straight. The dirt he’s digging is moved to the north and east side of the playground to prep the area for fruit and fodder trees. Mulberry, Siberian peashrub, coneflowers, and crown vetch will be planted around the north and east side.
The mimosa and sycamore trees arrived and they’ll be planted today in the playground. Next Saturday is the big day for picking up the swing set.
I’ve been busy sewing the insect netting, and the rest of the tulle (100 yards) arrived yesterday. I’m waiting on some wire to be delivered, and then we’ll be able to plant out five garden beds in the quadrant.
I also prepped and planted one corner of the front porch this weekend. Here are a few before and afters:
Against the little retaining wall and up to the first set of wood stakes I planted a whole bunch of stuff:
- Yellow Bird of Paradise seed was planted along the wall
- Alternating with Bird of Paradise is Indigo plant seeds
- In front of that was sown Black Eyed Susans
- In front of the Susans was sown Yarrow
- In front of the Yarrow, Sheep Sorrel I grew from seed in the greenhouse (so far holding up outside)
- Around the sorrel is Rosemary
- In front of rosemary is lavender
- Butterfly bush seeds
- English daisy
- One summer squash that was ready to go into the ground
Seeds were sown, rosemary and lavender are planted
Sorrel and summer squash was added, and then everything got a good watering and topped off with straw. This bed isn’t complete. I’ll be adding a light layer of wood mulch to this bed to finish it off. The wind is so strong here that if we don’t lace up the garden beds, then something with weight must be added to keep the straw in place. We’ve found that wood mulch alone out in our desert climate still dries out quickly, but when straw is added first, and then watered well, the mulch can hold in the moisture of the straw, keeping the ground much more cool. It also helps to cut down on the amount of watering needed.
Sorrels are a perennial leafy green, and have a mild lemony flavor when picked while young. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they make it through the transplanting and shock phase. The photo above was taken this morning, and so far they’re not droopy or lifeless, so I’m hopeful they’ll pull through.
The summer squash had a rough time yesterday. A few of the leaves were scorched by our upper 80′s heat and intense sun. Even though this plant has been raised in the greenhouse, it was still sheltered on the bottom shelf from glaring sun. Yesterday was its first full day outside. It got a bit droopy late in the day, but then perked up as soon as the sun went down. The rosemary and lavender seem to be doing fine too.
Simmi’s very excited about the new playground. She’s naturally drawn to this area of the property, and we can often find her planting seeds there. Among the tumbleweeds (in dark green) are sunflowers she planted. The amazing thing about sunflowers is that they will grow in the desert unassisted, unwatered, and left in full neglect. Unfortunately the sunflowers will be removed since the ground needs to be graded in that area.
The area she’s standing in will become her fun outdoor play kitchen area. The cottonwood behind her was only a baby when we moved here four years ago, and now it towers above. I love that tree.
Another view of the raised bed in the play area. The mulberry and siberian peashrub will act as a wind barrier for the area, as well as provide fruit for children, and legumes for the animals. They will be able to pick the peashrub pods and/or berries, and feed them to the animals whenever they want.
Simone was making mud pies and flinging them at the wall. This area is where the sandbox will be installed. The painting of the tree is the back drop to the sandbox. A roof will be added, shading the sandbox.
The area where she’s flinging mud is where the mimosa tree will be planted. There are two of them, and the other will be located to the left of where she’s standing on the other side of the courtyard gate.
That big compost pile of straw, food scraps and weeds will be relocated to the chicken pasture.
We have a big day ahead of us! Lots of planting, more digging, painting, and property clean up. Whenever we get windstorms, lots of paper and garbage is carried by the wind and planted in our yard. Many times its paper from our own yard that was sheet mulched and ripped out of the ground. 
We live in front of a very special graveyard, and sometimes after a windstorm, we’ll find photos or other special things lovingly placed on the grave, in our yard. Unfortunately there’s no way of identifying who’s photo it is, or what grave the object flew off of. Fake flowers, flags, photos of lost loved ones, trinkets, and many other things often find their way into our yard, and we need to do garbage patrol. Today is one of those days.
