I recently moved into a rental house on 2.5 acres and am looking for some advice on what to do with the
yard. The landlord is awesome and has given me
freedom to do pretty much whatever I want. It's in the Bellingham Wa area, so I think that's zone 8. The soil is a silt loam with poor drainage. There are currently old mature hazelnuts, cherries, apples, and pears. There is a small grass area in the front of the house with pretty good sun exposer that drains better due to being the highest point. I was thinking of planting
perennial and annual herbs and flowers there mostly. On the side of the house is a very large grass area with good sun exposer which doesn't have standing
water, but does have poor drainage (this would be the main garden area). Out back the drainage is very poor, consisting half of a wetland area with tall grass and the other half is the
apple, pear, cherry orchard which is very muddy right now. I'm unsure what makes the back of the yard drain so much worse than the side, as they both are at the same level.
Spring is a ways off, but I really want to get a jump start on planning things. I'm excited to have all the space to work with, but feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed too, so I'd gladly accept all suggestions about what to plant, what techniques to use, etc. I'm planning to grow a lot of annual veggies, but also want to experiment with perennial veggies, herbs and flowers. At least the ones that don't take too long to start producing. Although, I don't mind leaving some things behind for the next renters. I'd like to improve the drainage where I can (raised beds maybe?) but also figure out what to grow that likes the current soggy soil. I'd be interested to hear if I
should try to produce any food in the wetland area. Maybe try some wapato (if I can find it), lotus
root, or others. Or, maybe it's best just to leave that area for wildlife, as I have plenty of space without it.