Books to get

There are many books that I have looked at and love, but they did not seem practical for me. One that I found that gave me great ideas, but again, did not fit for our backyard and climate, it was Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots. I loved the idea of a sunflower house, a pizza garden, and using containers for vegetables. However, I don't have the right square footage for the sunflower house and I had no idea what to plant and when.

That is when I found Desert Gardening for Beginners. What is great about this book is that it gives a step by step on how to prepare your garden soil, amount of watering, where to place the garden, composting, getting rid of Bermuda grass (which I so love!), and a chart in the back as to when to plant what and in what form (seeds or transplant). After getting this book, I discovered another book that corresponds to it and does have a lot of the same information, but has great ideas for gardening with children. It is Success with School Gardens. I know that there are many others. But with a very active three year old, I am doing my best.

When we moved into our home the backyard was nothing but gravel. VERY UNATTRACTIVE! With in the first year, my wonderful hubby moved the gravel, dug trenches, with the help of a ditch witch, put in irrigation, bricked the boarder, and seeded for grass! So the next summer we had a green yard. Next we added more trees on the back fence and sage bushes. I also tried to garden, with little success. I was a little discouraged. I did have gorgeous rose bushes that are thriving. I will give tips on what I do for my roses also. I have tried off and on to do vegetable gardens and flower gardens. But now I will tell of the trials and tribulations that I come across.

So here are pictures of what the yard looks like today. If I find any pictures of what it looked like when we moved in or while my hubby was working on the yard I will post.

My Roses (There are five Bushes)

The Side yard which is my garden. Right now there is broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and Basil. There are also flowers on the side closest to the house. This is my memorial garden.

Container Gardening, Tomatoes, Jalapenos, broccoli and beats (Learning on this First Time)Around the tree is my Herb Garden. Just starting to see sprouts