The on-line advice in dealing with backyards is to first identify it's purpose before even attempting to do anything. I believe that my husband and I have no doubt about what we wanted out of it; we do agree in developing an outdoor entertainment area principally for ourselves and also for family and friends whenever they come to visit. We love eating and drinking coffee alfresco. At the same time we can indulge in our passion for gardening.
Now that the basics of our outdoor living area and storage shed are completed, our next step is to integrate all of these into the garden. We intended to make it a safe haven where we can relax and focus on what truly matters. It should not only be a calming oasis but a productive one as well.
Just this week, we put a brick flooring under the mango tree for a sitting area.
Here we are enjoying our morning coffee right after our walk. Notice our griller on our right.
Later I even brought out my oatmeal for breakfast at the same place.
We love the outdoors; but we are not the adventurous type who love hiking in the woods; climbing mountains or canoeing in the river. For us, just being outdoors; breathing in fresh air and feeling the gentle breeze is already pure indulgence.
Ten years ago, we bought a farm which is 3 hours away from the metro. We thought that we could fulfill our dream of creating a garden for our favorite vegetables and ornamentals and subsequently reap "the fruit of our labor" literally that is; eat our produce and enjoy the ambiance. For practical reasons however, we didn't like the 3-hour commute so we junked the idea and sold the land.
But our passion for gardening never left us. In spite the limited space, we found the possibility of doing it in our small backyard. We realized that it is even a bonus to have the garden right here at home where we can enjoy it 24/7. The challenge though is incorporating everything we want in a limited area without cramping the yard; so much so that every square inch of space is premium.
We intend to put only edible plants; the leaves and fruits must be edible or may be used for cooking like the herbs. For now the only exceptions are our 10-year old "dapo" (bird's nest fern) placed near the shed but we hope to relocate it as soon as we find the appropriate place; and the Chinese bamboo in pots to screen from view the laundry area.
We brought along the pots of herbs from the pocket garden in our former home. As soon as we settled, my husband planted them in the ground except the oregano and the tarragon that were blooming well.
On the ground, the basil adopted easily. It was so prolific that I've used lots of its leaves for my granddaughter's tomatoe-herb pasta and twice I had to make pesto because of so much leaves.
One harvest yielded three cups of leaves. Afterwards i stuck the stems back in the soil to propagate.
There's also an existing malungay tree with abundant leaves that we used for chicken broth. When we first occupied the house, there were about ten aratilis (Jamaican cherry, Panama berry or Singapore cherry) trees about a meter high, we left two and now they have reached the roof. We can't wait for them to bear fruits so that our granddaughter can pluck and eat them. I wonder whether she will like it.
More on the development of our backyard garden in the next blog.
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