Espalier! Train a Tree to Lean

Belgian Fence in foreground. Credit

We have a "blank" wall in our garden & a friend suggested trying espalier. (According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "tree or other plant that is trained to grow flat against a support.")

We found a great book, Living Fences, by Ogden Tanner, which has wonderful, inspiring photos (now we wish we had more blank walls!), and great how-to illustrations.  We took the book to our local hardware store & bought all the thingamajigs needed & this is what happened next...look closely, the wires are there, but won't show until our red chokeberry is much bigger! (Note, clicking on photos will display the original size, which is usually much larger.) 

Our espalier project, which is just waiting for the bush to grow.

A few more examples, to inspire you.  I suggest a search for espalier on  pinterest or flickr if you'd like to see more!

Credit

Credit

No Space? Grow Up!!

Vertical Vegetables & Fruit (Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces), is a 2011 book by Rhonda Massingham Hart about finding a way to grow fresh fruit & vegetables, no matter how small your space is.  

The book is full of ideas, from making the most of what you already own, to using traditional & not so traditional techniques to use your airspace (hanging, stacking, towering, etc.).  

Separate sections on annual vines and perennial fruits help you pick a few items that grow well in this environment and make the most of their traits to ensure an abundant harvest.  

Additionally, there's a great how-to section in the appendices.  Topics include growing your own seedlings and recommended varieties.  

All in all, the book will provide you with some great ideas to make the most of what you've got.  Which sounds like a song for a women's cigarette commercial, but oh well!  

Square Foot/Small Space Gardening

Anyone who's lived in Del Ray a while knows that space is at a premium.  Even those of us with houses may not have that much gardening space because of all the shade trees. (I'm speaking to you, Mr. & Mrs. Holly!)  If you're in an apartment, or a townhouse (both of which we've also lived in), gardening requires even more ingenuity.  So I thought I'd start off the new blog giving those of us with a hankering to try at home some ideas on how to get the most out of the land you do have.  

The GWCG is a great resource for those of us who are not green-thumbed, or if holly trees make your yard super-shady, or if you just wish to meet your neighbors and see the miracle that sunshine & water brings.  But even though we've got a sun-deprived yard, we still grow some herbs & salad greens, while relying heavily on the GWCG for variety.  

If you'd like to try at home, here's a chart to get you started (clicking on the photo will get you the largest size available).  Remember, everything is in a square foot!  Try to space seeds evenly within the area so they have plenty of room.  This should help you conserve seeds & get more out of your garden. 

I always like to read about what others are doing.  Joe Yonan of the Post recently wrote about turning the front yard of his new home into a square foot garden. 

And here's another square foot gardening article specifically for children: Easy Gardening for Kids