2023 GARDEN PLANS
Per usual, let’s start out by running through a few accomplishments I made in the garden in 2022:
I created all the new beds I could ever want in the backyard. This is done. D-o-n-e! It took so much work and honestly I bit off wayyyy more than I could chew with this project last year. Creating these beds and planting everything you see below took up 95% of my gardening energy so things like weeding kind of went to the wayside. You can see the grand plans here, the progress here, and an updated view below.
I’m extra happy with the 3 trees we planted in the back yard last year - a River Birch, Redbud, and Serviceberry. They’re doing well and I’m excited to watch them grow.
We successfully installed a dry creek on a sloped area that would turn into a river during rainstorms.
I grew corn! I don’t know why but this was a super fun vegetable to grow.
Now on to 2023:
Goal #1 is to just do less than I did last year. I did too much last year and got burnt out.
With that being said, I need to stay up on maintenance a bit more. I now have more beds to weed and maintain, so actually creating a maintenance plan that I can and will follow will be key. I also plan to hire out mulching this year, so that’s one thing off the list.
While I usually don’t mind the deer, I am getting a little frustrated with how often they munch on our plants. We have a 4’ wire fence at the back of our yard and I’d like to take reinstall a 6’ tall one to hopefully deter them a bit more. They’re welcome to come every once in a while to visit, but I really wouldn’t mind if they stopped eating so many of my plants.
On a similar note, I’d like to create a mixed border in front of our deer-eaten Arborvitae hedge. I like the hedge so it will stay, but I will need to install 4-5’ tall plantings in front of it to hide the deer damage. I tried Pieris japonica last year but it got taken over by lace bugs, so those will all need to be replaced. Every failure is an opportunity so I’m excited to see what I come up with.
Lastly, I had an issue with most of the deciduous shrubs I planted in the new beds. Perennials? They did fine. Trees? Totally cool. Evergreen shrubs? A-ok. Deciduous shrubs? Nope. So, a little more investigating needs to be done on my part to see what’s goin’ on back there. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to start, so wish me luck!
Pic of our turkey visitors in October but please note the deer damage on the arbs behind them. It just gets worse and worse every year.