This spring, I've been looking out the bank of windows on the south side of our earth-sheltered house and thinking, not for the first time, that it's too green. Walking around the area in front of our house, I've been appreciating the native flowers that come up every spring, but also wondering if we couldn't add more color to them. Especially given that, in our front yard, the native summer-growing flowers are sparse.
I'll talk more about my grand plan for the entire front yard in a future post. Right now, I want to focus on the area right outside the two windows by our kitchen.
Here's what it looks like from one of the windows (which has a screen on it):
Here's what it looks like when I step outside and photograph the same area:
J had already pulled up a bunch of about-to-flower prickly lettuce plants before I took this pictures. Otherwise, note how high and lush the area is. That's because there used to be a pomegranate tree there, which was heavily mulched in wood chips. They've composted quite a bit, providing a lot of nutrition to this particular patch of soil.
Nutrition for green, not particularly attractive foliage. Might I add.
When I look out those windows, I want to see color. All. Summer. Long.
Here's a similar photo, showing what our yard currently looks like on the other side of the path from the area in question. That part of the yard will also be going through a transformation next year.
Here's the same area, as viewed toward the house:
This area needs a serious facelift, in my opinion. I spent a few days bouncing some ideas around in my head.
And then, I got out my bag of seeds to find the packets of wildflower seeds I'd acquired for free several years ago with the purchase of some vegetable seeds. In the process, I discovered I still have a few zinnia and alyssum seeds. On the back of each packet is a sample garden design which includes alyssum, nasturtium, marigolds, and zinnias.
I just happened to have been researching flowers that rabbits and deer won't eat. And, guess what?
Rabbits and deer won't eat any of those four types of flowers.
I know from past experience that they won't touch kale with a ten-foot pole, either. In addition, nasturtium and marigolds repel pests. This may include aphids, which are notorious for attacking my kale as soon as the weather gets consistently above eighty-five degrees (F).
Three guesses as to what I plan to do with this little nook right outside the kitchen windows.
You're so smart! You guessed it on the first try. 😉 I'm going to turn it into a rabbit- and deer-resistant flower garden, leaving space in between the flower plants for kale.
Alas, not this year. It's already May, and I know from experience that no one sells nasturtiums around here. It's also too late to start kale. Besides, I want to dig up all the existing weeds in that little patch, leave them on the ground, and cover them with a tarp or black plastic to improve the soil even more. That will take a few months.
Next winter, I'll start the four flowers and some kale from seed, and turn the spot into a flower-kale garden in about a year.
Follow this blog to see the final results.😊
Might a wayward deer eventually trample the garden? Perhaps. But I'm willing to take the risk to have a prettier view outside my window.
