If You Build It…They Will Grow

Well, Ms. Jeannie has done it. She has finally planted all the garden seeds that she  had ordered from Botanical Interests three weeks ago.

The just completed final garden patch.

She has been working on this goal bit by bit every few days, but Monday’s gorgeous weather really got her motivated to finish up.

At market last weekend, she bought some pre-started herbs for her garden (dill, rosemary, basil and mint) and wouldn’t you know, a few extra plantlings just happened to jump into her basket during that shopping trip too. So 4  jalapenos, 1 red bell pepper  and two tomato plants  round out the garden complete.

So in addition to her six containers full of sunflowers,  a 4′ x 5′ sunflower patch and her newly finished 10″x 12″ vegetable, flowers and herb garden, Ms. Jeannie is well on her way to being a farmer!

In the 10′ x12′ patch, she mounded the herbs in the center of the patch to give the garden a little interest as everything starts growing out. She lined the base of the herb mound with rocks and lined her pathway in old bricks that she had lying about in the garage.

Mound of herbs!
Brick pathway

Until she gets a fence up she has blocked off the sections in her garden with fallen sticks from woods behind her house.

Garden sections. Jalapeno plants down front. Tomato plant in back.

Ms. Jeannie likes to halfhazardly organize her garden thoughts on paper before she plants, so she can keep her seed plans organized while she’s planting. On paper the garden plan looks like this:

Rough sketch of garden plan

As Ms. Jeannie was planting, she started thinking about the garden of her dreams and what all that would/could include. Years ago, she read a beautiful garden coffee table book called Venzano: A Scented Garden in Tuscany about a couple who bought a 12th century monastery in Italy and turned part of it into a nursery.

Venzano: A Scented Garden in Tuscany by Stephanie Donaldson

It is a gorgeous book and a gorgeous story.

View from Venzano
Courtyard at Venzano

Ms Jeannie is in love with the rustic pergola above. She has spent many a daydream trying to incorporate something similar into her own garden plan. At Venzano, it is used to shelter the herb garden.

Sadly, due to financial issues, the couple had to sell Venzano. It was bought by someone but the nursery is no longer in operation and the residence is private.

But thanks to the book, Ms. Jeannie can recreate the look of Venzano in her own garden. In addition to the splendid pergola above, Ms. Jeannie would also incorporate these dreamy elements that are available through Etsy.com

Wrought Iron Garden Trellis from VanMadroneMetalworks
Pea Gravel from BluffCreekNaturals
Antique Iron Wire Garden Gate by beep3
100 Succulents from SanPedroCactus
Stepping Stone Paver Moulds from KapCreations
French Style Garden Bench from SusanVaillant
Wood Garden Markers from AndrewsReclaimed
Solar Powered Mason Jar Lights from BootsNGus
Antique Large Copper Wash Tub from RustedandWrought
White Cotton Ball String Lights by CottonLight
Garden Bench Made from Reclaimed Wood by SauteeWoodWorks
Birdhouse Gourds by MizzTizzysWeedSeeds

Ms. Jeannie is also in love with the twig style  fences. In almost all the how-to guides on building a twig fence you can find the follwing verbage: challenging, impractical, un-sturdy, purely decorative, non-functional.  Perfect!  Ms. Jeannie’s  on a mission to change all these negatives into positives and makes the world’s first easy, durable, functional twig fence!

She just loves the look of them, so maybe her passion alone will navigate her the tough parts. This is the kind of look she aspires to:

Twig Fencing

Wish her luck! Projects updates to follow soon!

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3 thoughts on “If You Build It…They Will Grow

  1. We actually went and stayed at Venzano in 2006 and it was just as amazing as the book illustrates. I have several photos of the trellises because they look so cool. It’s too bad you can’t go and stay there anymore, but the owners did it as a labor of love for many years and it was a huge undertaking to keep the place looking as beautiful as it did. I think Venzano is now for sale for ONLY 2.4 million Euros! The most recent owners sort of overreached in terms of development…

    We have a fig-branch fence in our own plot in a local community garden here in Philly and I love it. Sure, it doesn’t stand up that well over time, but that just gives you the opportunity to redesign it every few years. Your garden is lovely, so good luck with your garden “follies”!

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