Monthly Archives: January 2010

With all this rain, I have been brainstorming my Spring To-do List for the backyard.

1. Plan Vegetable Garden

Last year I didn’t have much time to plant never mind plan my garden layout. This year, I am planning a head of time including ordering seeds that I can start inside and plan after the frost.

2. Cut Down Old Fruit Trees

I hate to do this, but we have at least three trees that either no longer produce fruit or have become too large for their placement. The all need to be cut down. This includes 1) the persimmon tree that now hangs over the pool, 2) the fruit trees near the shed and 3) the plum tree in the garden.

3. Prune Fig Tree

On the same trend, I need to prune back my fig tree. I want to prune it so it flat against the fence. I just learned that a tree that is pruned flat like this is called an espalier. My fig won’t have concise geometric patterns as some espaliers, but will take up much less space in my garden.

4. Build a retaining wall between the veg garden and pool

This is Nate’s big project. We want to make a barrier between the vegetable garden and the pool to limit the amount of erosion and most importantly keep the dirt out the pool!

We plan on using the interlocking building stones that most home improvement places sell to build the wall.

5. Remove cement block beds on the side of the house.

The backyard is ringed with a cement block planter. On one side of the house, the planter takes up a the clearance between the house and fence.  I want to remove the cement block here so we have a clear path.

Stay tuned for more detail info on all the above!