Why I Oughta...

What's better than one garden water feature and 'garden dreaming' post on the blog?  Certainly...You could say that: Two of those posts would be better.  But, even better than two?  That's right....three of said posts.  Especially when they run in close proximity to each other...as it serves as a document of the evolution of my thinking on projects like this and allows me the ability to work in draft format in my garden diary. First... I started this series with a look at some available stock tanks that could be used as ponds . Then, a few days ago, I posted about how I learned all about rills and what they are in the garden .  Today, I'm posting about some further inspiration that I've come across that has appeal to me as a gardener.  In terms of location, I'm talking about the patio-adjacent area to the north of our current patio .  I posted some drawings and thoughts about doing a second Belgian Fence in this area .  You can see the location he...

Last month, I posted some photos showing off the new shape of our backyard beds - in a curvilinear form - and talked about how these were the 'final form' of the beds.  The idea that this was the final shape/form of the beds lasted about three weeks.  We decided we need to add another area and cut out even more turf.  Before we talk about what we're doing, let's first understand the backstory, current state and a little bit of inspiration that Nat found that we're trying to bring to life. We've had a sort-of DIY firepit area in the far backyard that was made up of wood chips that I picked up from the Village Mulch Pit and bricks that we scavenged from our neighbor's house when they tore it down.  You can kind of see that area in this post about some hostas and this post where I showed off the latest firewood rack back there .   That is in one back corner.  And the kids' trampoline is in the other back corner.  We also have a gate in one corner t...

Late Winter, heading towards Spring is the "what if" season for a gardener like me.  And...by a gardener "like me", I mean a total amateur who doesn't always think things through and has half-baked ideas.  My latest "what if" has to do with a pond.  Oh, I've posted a number of times about ponds on the blog.  Even talked about locations for them a couple of times .  But, due to a variety of factors (cost, upkeep, location, permanency, being busy with other things among them), I just haven't pulled the trigger.   But last week, I came across an Instagram post from Erin, the Impatient Gardener that stopped my scrolling.  I've posted about Erin the Impatient Gardener before here , here  and here .  As I've mentioned before, I think she's great and provides a lot of inspiration to me - not just because she knows her stuff, but because she's in (or very close) to my growing zone.  She's in Wisconsin, I'm in Northern Illinoi...