The Garden on Corliss

I would like to welcome you to a post about my garden.

This has been a multi-year project that I have been learning as I have been doing. The garden is set up with six 4'x12'x12" rough cut raised beds. There is an additional 4'x10'x12" asparagus bed that was added a year ago. I chose to go with raised beds due to the presence of numerous large stones. I had removed many of these before proceeding but I have found gardening in raised beds to be a worthwhile endeavor. A lot of compost went into filling the beds along with other materials. I used ramial woodchip from an arborist friend to fill in the pathways and found that they break down nicely as well as feed fungi.

I put up a rabbit fence as well as installed a gate to keep out wildlife as they tend to come in for a meal. I had a few generations of rabbits born in these beds, it really put a damper on growing anything!

I named it The Garden on Corliss because Corliss is historically a significant name for the local area. I tried my hand at making a sign and found the process to be rewarding. I was happy to get a little sign popped up to aid a little flair to the area. I think it looks good.

Oh so much water!

This bench is going to be something...

Looking good Timothy! I like the idea of you relaxing on the bench and enjoying the garden. What do you grow up the arbour?

Nancy Reading wrote:What do you grow up the arbour?

The long term vision is to have grape vines woven around the metal so you would sit under some shade. I found that while the grapes are growing and getting vines to stretch out, cucumbers will cover plenty of space as long as you don't walk face first into a cuke.

Grapes sounds nice, but here wasps like to wander around, especially around the fruits. I'd pick something that has no flowers or fruits in summer. I think glicinias flower in winter, but there are many others.

Improvements for the garden are in progress.

The original six wood raised garden beds have been identified by gesturing a hand while talking about them. In order to make planning and discussion easier, I have resolved to branding each bed. To keep it simple silly I am just going to use a number.

During my branding BB, I have started poking around with chisels. I have found that I really enjoy carving! I decided the wood signs would have the number carved into them as well as being burned. I have gained more confidence on how deep and how sharp of a cut I can take without causing ugly chips. I also have found a strange ease with using the chisels regardless of hand? I don't think that I am 'good' but I find that I am improving each time I put metal to wood.

I currently have two more signs to sketch and then carve and then I will be able to seal them as a batch. I probably will utilize the good ole reliable linseed oil. I'm still trying to figure how I want to mount the signs to the beds. Nails? Screws? A wire? I'll ponder it more. I already have a sign for the asparagus patch that will simply be "The Patch" that utilizes a more shallow carving. I'm thinking the deeper the better for my preference.

That looks good to me. With practice everything improves, but right now it does a good job.

Manual labor, especially the kind you are not paid for doing, is usually satisfying.

This sign makes me laugh every time I see it. It has "Go away" on one side and "Welcome" on the other. It can be turned so the sign facing the approach from the house can be whatever we set it as. I spent some time painting it with acrylic paints (It is what I had on hand) to give the sign some protection from the elements because it is made of cast iron. Something silly, but I enjoy it. I tend to keep things that do something and not nik nak like objects but I can start to see the appeal.