I wrote out a to-do list for everything I needed to do after work on Monday. The good news is, I got everything done. The bad news is, I forgot to put PoP on there! Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Caitypillar:
My new apartment has a little sliver of a backyard and it's absolutely perfect for me. I've rented houses with lawns, but a lawn is so intimidating. If you're going to make a change it needs to be big and fit in with the house and be something your landlord is going to accept. The small scale of the yard gives me enough room to plant some flowers and herbs, have a BBQ, a little sitting area, and still room for the cats to dust bathe and poop.
It's this last, unglamorous requirement that led me to Home Depot a few weeks ago. The previous tenants had tried to carve out a little space in the yard though I think they ultimately ended up container gardening in the space. All that's left is a thriving aloe plant. The dirt there is diggable and not covered in grass, so the cats have been taking the path of least resistance in regards to their toilet activities. This space is right next to the patio so there's often a certain odor floating on the wind as I sit on the porch and relax in the evening. Though it is kind of interesting to watch the giant flies try and answer the age old question regarding pin heads and angels...only with cat dung and themselves.
All of this has meant that designing the yard got bumped up in my move-in priority list. The first stage became a "smell barrier" at the edge of the cement slab that is the patio. I picked scented geraniums and marigolds as partial sun/shade plants that produce strong but pleasant odors that will both block any yard odor as well as deter mosquitoes and other insects. Win-win. Also, I think marigolds are just the most cheerful flower and I know that they're hardy and won't die on my immediately.
I picked a great time to plant because the day after was the start of a week-long early evening deluge. So far the plants appear to be taking well, though in looking at this picture I realize I need to add some more wood chips. Can't let the weeds settle in!
In addition to the marigolds I wanted to pick up some dill. But I ended up also picking up a little passenger along with the dill. She and the dill ended up in my cupholder on the way home, thus the title of the post. I bought her a parsley as well as some pintas and other "butterfly" flowers. Sadly Caitypillar has abandoned me, but I'm hoping she'll come flying back at some point soon. In the meantime I need to find some resources on square foot gardening and see if it's something I want to try. I want to put the herbs and butterfly flowers in a raised bed, but I haven't figured out what my ideal edge material is (brick, wood, pre-built plastic?). I will attempt to get the rest of the plants in the ground this weekend so they don't die and go to waste. More pictures and plans as the yard develops.
PoP: Thank you to Sarah, both for her awesome conversation and cheering skills as well as being our consistent poster. Catherine has another VenusZine piece up, but she's not cross-promoting yet. Bad PoPper! Speaking of cross-promotion...I do blog fairly frequently, I just do it for work.
