The Progressive Garden – Living Off The Land (Part 3 of Series)

When I began my design it was not clear in which direction I wanted to go with it, and each little project seemed to excite me to create and do more.  You can see from the images to the right, the bit of effort I put in really has paid off, in a big way!  The quality of my living has improved dramatically.  I know it sounds silly, but I now have this little secret oasis to escape to and simply relax and reflect. Working on this project has really brought so much joy and excitement not only to me, but every person who has seen it.

The Dragonfly Garden!  The name was inspired one day when I was enjoying a peaceful afternoon reading a book and a small dragonfly fluttered by.  I stopped reading for a moment and followed him to the field, slightly shown on the left of this image.  To my surprise, the entire field was swarming with dragonflies.  And that my friends is what sparked my interest to create the dragonfly, and butterfly wood ornaments that now display so proudly in my garden.

It was important to me to be able to be self sustaining.  I have always loved cooking, and dreamed of having an herb garden;however, as you can see my space was very limited.  Rest assured, that did not stop me from creating my most powerful piece of art.  I like to call this the Urban Herb Garden.  It truly is urban living at its finest.  This was constructed with very little effort, almost like Legos.  I contemplated for months on an Up-Garden, and settled on this great little idea.  It’s a great idea for adding the spices I needed for my cooking and a very inexpensive project, right around $60.  It provided a nice barrier and separation from my table and chair from the rest of the garden, but still allow visibility.  Its similar to a living room and a breakfast nook, two separate spaces. The cantilevers required the most work.  I placed a piece of wood under each, and traced the shape.  I then cut out the individual pieces and gently placed them in through the top, and they snugly fit towards the bottom of each cantilever securing the above dirt. I then simply planted my seeds and watched my culinary skills grow, as I learned how to cook great foods using the items I contained.

It all began with a trip to the local hardware store.  I was browsing the different items, and happened to notice cinder blocks were on sale for about $1 each.  I thought to myself, and said “eureka”!  Yep, right there in the store, said it out loud.  Me in all my glory grabbed the flatbed cart, and started loading the bricks.  The problem was, I couldn’t fit it all in one load with my little Chrysler – So I had to make two trips.

Lets just say my rear fenders were chaffing the tires. 

I think the entire visit, people were pointing and staring at some crazy little man.  Sadly that man was me, but little did they know I had an ultimate plan!

Now that I finally had all my materials, I was ready to begin the project.  You can see the openness of the space here.  It truly needed a division, as it was not a clear path, and honestly a waste of good, useful space.  The herb garden was going to be glorious, and as you can see below – it is!  I simply just stacked the bricks, and poured stone down the center parts for proper drainage, and filled the remaining parts with dirt.

I hope you enjoyed our postings this week.  I am continuously working on this great little space, and have some wonderful projects coming up in the next few months.  I am reluctant to share with you all, and if there is anything you would like for your very own – feel free to contact me directly.
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