When I go to that happy place inside my head, I often imagine myself in the garden planting or enjoying the fruits of my labor…quite literally…fruits and vegetables to be exact. Unfortunately that fabulous day dream comes ot a screaching halt the second I drift back into reality and realize that having one of the smallest actual backyards known to man…has it’s inconsistencies with my gardening whims.
It would appear I am in luck though since a few of this years gardening trends seem to make my dream possible and use a smaller footprint.
Hail to the G… G as in Garden that is.
The image above is just one of those examples in that it allows for a large fruit producing tree to be trained against a flat wall and planted no more than a foot from exterior walls! Can you see the lightbulb clicking on in this old head of mine? Espalier, a term that suggests just such a training method for large trees is not a new idea, but I imagine it’s typically used for more decorative purposes…. until now! Yahoo.
It seems as though it may take a while to ge to this point, but the mere fact that large trees in small yards is an option is pretty much akin to sliced bread for this gal!
The skinny apple! Otherwise known as Urban Columnar Apples and they have no larger than a 24″ footprint! Can you imagine that with 10 square feet you can actually have 5 apple trees? That’s practically an orchard in these parts!
While a large chicken coop is not in the cards for me, the notion that most CC&R’s actually allow for chickens gives me the goose bumps. It’s true in fact, and with a bit of research and question asking of the powers that be, what you will likely find is that Chickens are considered a domestic animal and so as long as you aren’t harboring a Rooster with noise pollution tendencies, you are very likely able to have your very own miniature working farm! Can I get a yahoo? Yahoo!
There are even miniature coop options for those of us with more urban size yards, that will house 1 to 2 chickens and take up hardly any space at all!
Eco Friendly gardening is something to consider regardless of the size yard you have. First and foremost because it will very likely save you money and require a bit less maintenance.
Even with the ‘smallest yard known to man’ I still very much dislike the weekly chores that come with the gardening territory like weeding, watering, and… well I’m sure there others but frankly I avoid them so frequently I couldn’t really tell you what they are! ha!
Finding low maintence, low water plantings that tend on the larger side is a very good option for folks like me who are likely to forget that the yard even exists for a few weeks at a time at any given time of the year. eek! Something I will be looking into this coming season is the idea of replacing my 8’x16′ patch of grass with the non-living, non bug attracting, and not so muddy variety. Let’s just say the drainage plan for this here yard leaves a lot to be desired and the bees are not such a welcome visitor with kiddos and dogs. It seems the bees around here enjoy the grass more than the plants… who knew?
What about you? Do you have any gardening goals for the coming year?
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