2005 Therapy Garden site

In November of 2004 my Dad used a chunk of his inheritance and bought
me the coolest thing in the universe.

My Grandmother (who never liked me much) must be doing about
44,000 rpm right about now.

Here are pictures to prove it! I took my old overgrown chicken pen and
commenced my first project of "diesel therapy" - destroying what was
and creating a thing of beauty... allllll by my little self.


Almost cleared before I thought about pictures. Imagine the brambles covering everything you see.	What a quagmire! Thankfully it didn't need to be pretty, just gone! There was an added on kid shed on the side of the old hen house.


Same muck, different view.	Buried in all the junk I removed was an enormous old braided rug... what a mess! (Can you say "burn pile"?)


This whole project was "McGivered" as I went along.	Trust me... it gets better! All the lumber was bought from a local gent with his own mill.


It's actually starting to look like a PLAN!	Phase II (still pending) is replacing the roof on the old hen house and turning it into a potting shed with a 10' X 8' attached greenhouse.

I couldn't wait for my own compost to be done,
so I actually had to bring in 15 yards a yard at a time.


The sun even cooperated for these pictures. The first few beds were in and the 3 varieties of hops were already up.	A shame something so lovely gets covered up later on... but that's it's job. I appreciate and love it.


My first bit of "retail therapy" for fun.	Sweet peas, Cosmos and thyme garden. Like an idiot I added mint... I knew better!!!


I found buying a few plants as I went helped me keep the project moving. OK... and satisfied my craving for buying plants!	Wow... that's what it looked like before the jungle set in!


Check it out... it's actually a garden!!	This was supposed to be a water feature with a re-circulating pump... but as of yet it's still a breeding ground for mosquitoes.


The forward part is the herb garden. Note to self... remember that Calendula reseeds freely... very, very freely...


The smaller trellis didn't survive (whole, anyway) and I haven't decided what I'm going to put there yet.	Kinda' wish I hadn't put the roses in the center... Should have put in a whole 'nuther garden for them. In the near part I planted currants - Jhonkeer van Tets, Crandall, White Imperial and... uh... another black variety that I can't recall right now.


Junior, my garden/building/barn helper.	Most of the plants in the garden I grew from seed.


Filling in nicely! There's a jungle of Nasturtiums and Cosmos on the left.	Lemon Verbena is a must in any garden!


Roses, Lavatera, Cosmos, Amaranth (Love Lies Bleeding) and Nicotiana to this side of the barrel.	Standing in what was going to be a deck but has been redesigned (re-McGivered) to be a brick patio. Got the bricks... but for some dumb reason they're not cooperating and putting themselves in. Go figure...


Grandpa Ott Morning Glories are really pretty on the Obelisk. There are also Canary Bird vines and other colored Morning Glories coming in.	Another note to self... Nicotiana Sylvestris ends up taking up a LOT of room...


The Calendula, Hyssops and Cat Mint grew rapidly. In the foreground are several varieties of Echinacea I started from seed.	Grandpa Ott Morning Glory Click on the photo to see more flowers (Note: The flower page isn't up yet)


Hmmm... maybe the trailing Nasturtiums were the wrong choice for that spot.	Willamette & Cascade Hops growing almost a foot a day!


My little Cheese Monkey (Zack) in the garden jungle.	Everything filling in. Poppies, Bachelor Buttons, Marigolds and "Sunrise Serenade" Morning Glories in the foreground.


I love old rusty stuff... Every piece of old "trash" I find is a treasure to me!	Organized chaos can be a good thing. :-)


The Hop Arbor from Hell!	Now it's starting to look like an entrance!


Sun through the hop vines... purty too...