When my husband and I moved on 3 acres of wooded land in south TX, it literally changed my life and redefined what’s really important to me. My first raised bed was fueled by the desire to grow veggies that “taste like the sun, not the refrigerator and pesticides” and have plenty of culinary herbs (so many cinderblock pots!) for our Italo-Louisiana dishes.
But immediately the hubby warned me a fence was necessary to keep deer, cayotes, and all kinds of wild life and critters out of my treasure. So, he took action and sketched out a proper fence…going for “function not pretty.” With so much land around us, I had so many dreams that slowly fed bigger and bigger plans… And so my raised beds grew to 4.
Then the “garden” expanded to 5 more and the attention turned to battling weeds, so I put down a weed barrier in between all the beds/pots and covered it with mulch.
Once I started the Chestnut Immersion program, I dedicated all these beds to growing medicinal herbs that would “feed” my passion for experimenting with lots of plants but squeezed in a couple of additional beds all the way in the back for our favorite heirloom veggies (and avoid divorce LOL). But NOW, as dreams and plans keep getting bigger – Texas style – I took the plunge and just cleared the area across my fenced garden where I'll set up beds for growing medicinal herbs and roots, transplant my potted elderberries, and plant mimosa and witch hazel trees.
The impenetrable mess (to the left) has turned into a cleared area with all the vegetation instantly "mulch-fied"—although lots of roots are still present and it'll take at least a year for mother nature to compost it all. In the meantime, I laid out in-ground beds after digging out roots and sticks by hand (going for functional, not pretty, as my hubby would say) and planted Japanese honeysuckle, Echinacea, Goldenrod, Spilanthes, Hibiscus, Holy Basil, Skullcap, Mullein, Viper, Scarlet sage, Hyssop, Pleurisy root, and Comfrey root - more medicinal power!
The rest of the area past the Mimosa tree will have to wait for next year, after mother nature works her magic composting everything (can you see the pile of roots, bark, pieces of wood right in front of the pine tree that I raked out of the way to make room for my beds??).
Every spring, the fenced garden explodes with color. Check this out!
Anise Hyssop, Echinacea, Lavender, Holy Basil, Meadowsweet, White Sage, Violas, Calendulas, California poppy, Aloe vera, Chamomile, Spilanthes, Vitex, and Bee balm....just to show a few.
Thank you for walking with me through this journey – I have learned so much my parents cannot believe I am the same city girl who left Naples (Italy) some 20 years ago.
Ciao
-A
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