Reader Garden Share: Kelly’s Garden Update

Here’s an update on reader Kelly’s garden she’s sharing with us using raised beds and trellises – it’s so inspirational!

Hey there, gardening friends! Do you remember back in May when I shared this photo of Kelly’s garden before and after? (That’s her family above who came together to create this space for her.) She had sweetly emailed me to let me know that she had been inspired to try gardening again, but this time using the raised beds and permanent paths I recommend for an easy care garden.

Well, a number of you commented that you’d like to see the beds all planted so I asked Kelly if she would take a few current pictures and send them to me so that I could share with you all. Prepare to be inspired!

kelly-garden-update

Ahhh… it just makes your heart go pitter-patter, doesn’t it? So neat and tidy, green and growing!

If you look closely on the left at the back, you will see she’s already added another bed – a strawberry bed. Kelly wrote, “boy, once you start, it IS hard to stop!

Raised bed garden beanhouse
But of course the most obvious addition (beyond the plants) is the second trellis that Kelly’s husband built. It’s her “bean house” and the beans at the bottom of it are already growing up.

What a clever idea to combine pre-made trellises with a simple structure made from 1×2’s. And how fun it will be to see the beans grow up to form a tunnel to walk through!

She counts her ā€œSalad Gardenā€ box, pictured above, as a huge success (though I think the entire garden is a huge success!) and writes, “Thank heavens green things don’t care if you know what you’re doing!”

I love how she ended her email, though. It reminds me that gardening can be fun (yes, sometimes I forget…):

Ā I am so excited about my little garden.Ā  We have salad every night, and Littlest One just LOVES it because she grew it!Ā  Looking forward to green beans, corn, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and onions as well!

 

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14 Comments

  1. How inspirational! I won’t have a garden update until later in the week; hope your party is still open then. (We’ve been on a mini vacation/staycation, so I haven’t been doing much blogging.)

    See you later this week. šŸ™‚ ~Lisa @ HappyinDoleValley

  2. Jami- what a neat story you are sharing with all of us. It is so great when a new gardener succeeds. Her raised bed garden is just lovely and everything looks great in it.

  3. Hi Jami: Thanks for hosting the garden party today. I love Kelly’s garden–what a cool idea for a bean trellis! And the raised beds look so orderly as well–a real delight for the eyes. Thank you for sharing it with us!

  4. That is really nice! I love that idea for a bean trellis. I may have to keep my eyes open for some trellises on clearance, to modify like that!

  5. I really like the bean house! I’d love something like that for my garden and it seems fairly simple to do, (the way they did it). Great idea for squash or cucumbers too!

    Thank you for sharing the photos!

  6. Perhaps it is me, but i love a garden with order…..this one is yet another example. It is a pleasant view for the eye to see such an organized ‘retreat’. I imagine her flowers are well thought out and growing in a ‘wild’ state of mind. Bravo to those with a sense of creativity. ‘Watching from the Crows Nest…..’C.N.’

  7. This is a wonderful garden! They have really done a beautiful job creating it. Thank you for hosting. This is my first time linking up to your party. I hope you have a wonderful day!

  8. I have a question, can you grow lettuce all season? The heat came on really quickly here that my lettuce started to bolt early. I would lve to grow more but I’m not sure if it will come up in 100 degree weather.

    Thanks

    1. There are summer lettuces (usually crisp-head types that don’t wilt as much in the heat) that I try to plant in the warmer weather (Jericho and Summertime are the ones that comes to mind, but there are others).

      The hard part is to germinate the seeds when it’s hot. Pick a shady spot, cover the bed with boards or start them inside (but then you’ve got to harden them off- getting used to the heat…). Honestly, we tend to have a month or so where we don’t have lettuce, but it’s usually when we’ve got lots of tomatoes, beans, and peppers coming on, so we don’t miss it at that point. šŸ™‚