Okay , I’ve been obsessing about how dinky the yard looks in the last post – which is a shame because it’s really one of our favorite parts of this house. When you consider the average yard size in Philly is… well… nothing at worst, and a small patch of sidewalk at best, we consider ourselves extremely lucky. I wanted to do it more justice (as well as give some perspective on how much you can grow in a relatively small area) so I snapped a few more pictures today. Unfortunately it was a little gloomy & wet, but I’m happy to share a few details I love.

1. You walk out on our terrain coconut fiber doormat (which has seen better days, although I still love it)

2. and look out to the lilac + mulberry tree, and flower beds with astilbe (looking more fern than flower), snapdragons, and various bright little flowers. The first two things we would do if we owned rather than rented is put up an ivy privacy fence, and trade the mulch for GRASS! But we’re renting so we have to make due with what we have. This still makes it look small! From here, behind is a walkway & storage, to your left is the grill & potted plants…

3. … to the right is a trash-picked vintage apple crate housing two juniper plants (love how wild they grow!), gardening loafers, the first sitting table with brooklyn slate coasters from terrain…

… a few more details, our zinc thermometer & a close up of our (looking dry) juniper bushes.

4. And a little more to your left is a second seating area– an impossibly heavy cement table we begged our landlord to take when we moved in (and are now glad he did not agree). Shepherd’s hook with mason jar lantern barely visible, and of course flowers & lavender from terrain…

5. Didn’t get a picture of the grill (it looks better in use of course!) but to the left are herb pots, with dill, basil, rosemary, and more lavender… oh and snuggled in the middle is my new Meyer lemon tree! I did it! I bit the bullet and picked one up at the local garden shop around the corner — I was so shocked that they had one (with two little lemon babies nonetheless!) that I picked it up, forgetting I was already carrying a glass gallon of milk. And on the right is some detail into our flower beds, in one of the more accidentally crowded areas of astilbe greens, common violets, a mysterious rose vine, and other goodies against the original, historic Moyamensing prison wall that used to keep prisoners OUT (including Edgar Allen Poe!) of these great yards.

Not quite a Martha Stewart editorial, but I’m feeling a little better about these shots ! Hopefully will encourage everyone with “limited space” to start a garden and grow their own food once you start seeing the great harvests (I hope to have).

Yikes – did not mean to take that little break there… actually, when I was writing the title I was pretty sure I was only two weeks behind- but three! Wowza.  Mother’s day & wedding season has had me working on orders any moment I’m not spending at my real 9-5 or working in the garden. We also had a chilly, wet spell so there was little motivation to get out & take pictures while everything was soaking and growing… and naturally, weekends were spent with friends (boozing) and I think I took an extended trip to Terrain every weekend since I last posted. Picked up some Spanish Lavender & boxwood lavender for our rustic cement table. Needless to say I have little regrets about not taking time to sit on the internet.

Having a hard time taking long pictures that don’t look… squat. Beds are 4×8 but look TINY whenever I photograph them– likewise our great yard looks like a tiny plot. The garlic is above my knees (front row) + the tomatoes are shooting up quickly and making me nervous about figuring out an attractive trellis solution.

Spinach will be pulled any day. That leaves 4 spots for successional plantings of edamame for all-summer munching. Two strawberries were ready this week, and Tucker beat us to them (he basically ate all of them last year – it’s war). Thinking of a blueberry bush, but not if he’s going to have his way with them as well. Everything else is just growing, growing. Trying to be patient, fortunately the farmer’s market around the corner starts next Wednesday and we start picking up our CSA shares at the end of the month.

Oh yes — and the mulberries are making an appearance, waiting for them to fatten up. Not that I can take any credit for that.

All radishes (heirloom Philadelphia White Box variety) have been pulled up — that’s the yield for one square foot! They’ll be sliced thinly and pickled tomorrow evening (I actually really dislike them raw) and the greens will go into lunch salads. Still debating whether to put in another batch — with the warming weather they will inevitably be SPICY.

Everything is getting thicker – a few flowers are blooming but most are just on the verge… with a forecast above 65 degrees for the next 10 days I have a feeling everything will be in full form by next week. Cucumbers & edamame are peeking little sprouts out. Put in two eggplant and 8 strawberry transplants today. After carrots are pulled next month, the second round of strawberries and edamame go in. Still figuring out where and what to start putting in after the spinach inevitably bolts in May (if not tomorrow at 89 degrees) & the garlic comes up in July. That’s about 6 spots that will be opened up– lots of opportunity !

The bees are doing their job pollenating and Tucker still hasn’t quite figured them out. It’s almost the part of the year where everything is in and it’s time to maintain!