In the Beginning

In a comment to a previous post, Dianne asked me what size my main gardens were and how old they were.
I've been trying to figure it out ever since.
I think this is the ninth year for the two biggest beds.

I am only guessing at the size...maybe 65 feet long and from 10 to 20 feet wide for the two main beds.

This is when I started digging in 1997. I dug the majority of both sides by myself. After spending three years digging out the rockwall area, DH adapted the motto, "she who has the idea, does the work". He was pretty sick of digging and thought I had more gardens than I needed already.

So I just grabbed a shovel and started digging. I dug for about three months --every spare hour I had. Every now and then I hit a solid rockbed area and had to call upon him to help me. In some areas of these beds there is only about 12 inches of soil and then it's solid rock.



I didn't really have a plan. I just eyeballed it and kept digging until I felt like it was time to stop. When I was satisfied I had two very long deep beds. You really can't tell how deep they are from these pictures because I can't get it all in one picture.




The following year, I dug out smaller areas on each side of the long borders. This area is what you see from the road.

I tried to put in the pictures of the woodland side, but blogger won't let me. I must have too many pictures in one post.

All I can say for sure, is that I have a LOT of garden area (I have quite a few others in addition to this area that I call the main gardens)

Dianne also asked how often I add new plants.

The area is pretty well filled, but when I see something I just must have, I always make room for it by removing something I have too much of or that I don't like as much as the new addition.

I am always moving things around just because I like to. Isn't that the essence of gardening? I have to be digging and moving all the time; otherwise I get bored.