Around the Urban Homestead

Well, I'm a bit frustrated with our July garden.  I am SO grateful for our new deck.  But in the wake of the building process, I have pots randomly sitting around (which were on the old deck), and a half wine barrel sitting in the middle of my walkway.  Also, the walkway no longer meets the bottom of the stairs, as we extended the stairs out, and I think the A frame needs to be moved to a new place instead of being right in front of the new deck.  Once full beds are now empty as the Spring plants are done.  Lastly, it seems that things should have taken off more by now.  But I do remember feeling this way in years past and then having my kitchen overflowing with tomatoes a few weeks later.  So hopefully I just need to give it a few more weeks.  Anyways, when I look out into it, things look a bit jumbled and chaotic.  But we're in the middle of some exciting renovations so I know this is just the awkward in between stage.

 Here's a shot of our house from the street.  Awkward stage indeed!  There's the wonderful new porch, and Zac's in the process of replacing rotten or broken wood siding and trim in preparation for painting.  You can see the red splotch there on the front.  That's the color we picked.  The HOA is meeting tonight to decide on it.  Our neighbor said they'll deny it, but we're hoping they don't.  I've always wanted a barn red house with white trim. 

 Denver, King of the porch!

The stairs are much less steep than our last stairs, which is WONDERFUL.  They come out further though and I'm wondering how to incorporate them into the "landscape", and what to plant in that corner there to the right.  Its not very accessable.

Suggestions?

 We have LOTS of Sunflowers.  Some are in full bloom, some are hanging low and drying their seeds in the sun, and there's lots of buds on the way.  I've been taking them to friends in mason jar vases.  You can't help but smile when there's something so sunny sitting on your counter!

 My friend and her search for fence inspiration, which she posted on her blog, inspired the incorporation of the hog wire on the deck.  I don't think that hog wire had been up for 24 hours before Zac had a blackberry planted against it.

 The deck isn't the only new structure in the front.  Zac took out a section of the fence and built this arbor out of branches from our backyard tree.  He just threw it together one Saturday while I napped.  Crafty guy!  This now gives me easier access to my lower beds and makes watering easier too.  There's a blackberry planted on either side of the arbor.

 The "Big Bed" is doing the best in the garden.

 We have an early pumpkin hiding amongst the zucchini and tomatoes in the Big Bed.  We didn't mean to plant pumpkins in the Big Bed, but surprises pop up here and there when you plant with children.  :)

 Our FIRST red tomato!!!

 The pumpkin patch just above the Big Bed has lots of TINY pumpkins coming on.

 I originally planted the Lower Bed with seeds.....okra, basil, beets.  When few of them took, I started transplanting volunteer tomatoes from around the garden here.  They're doing great in this very sunny spot and are now accompanied by some of Zac's peppers.

 Most of the upper garden is resting.  The peas, green beans, and lettuce that were here in the A frame are now done.

 The Sweet Pea seeds have long been harvested, and their vines have been feeding our compost for a month now.  Left in this bed are a transplanted tomato and zucchini I crammed in the corners when it was overflowing with Sweet Peas.

And the carrot bed is in about the same shape.  All the carrots that were going to do anything have been harvested.  I need to pull the rest of these for Butterfly's dinner one night.  I also think I need to harvest those random onions we planted at the wrong time last year.

I have NO idea what to start in the upper garden in the middle of our July heat.  Suggestions?  I may just load the beds up with Butterfly's fertilizer and let them rest until September when I plan to do Kale, Chard, Spinach, lettuce greens, peas and beans in preparation for the cooler months.


Linking up with
Mama Gone Green
and her July Garden link party.