A Breath of Life
Future Sign locations with New Plantings
With all the focus on getting our Market Garden infrastructure in, it has been challenging to remember how beautiful the result will be. By this I mean the plants with all their color, texture, and scents. My friend Donna Galey recently reminded me of this beauty by gifting me some plants from her garden!
While we have the irrigation in for our orchard, we still have more irrigation lines, to install. This means planting outside the orchard can be tricky as vegetation needs water! I am realizing just how much I took water for granted when we lived in Denver and how easy it was to access it. This was my main concern and consideration when figuring out where to plant Donna’s generous gift of purple Irises and Salvia, and petite Daisies.
Our frost spigots came to the rescue, that, and super long hoses! I’ve identified one of the locations for Palisade Posh signage and decided this would be the perfect location for these plants. So, I set about whitewashing the wooden posts that were already there, three total that formed an ‘H’. The space above the cross beam will have a horizontal sign that says “welcome”, and the larger square space below will be where I hang the Palisade Posh logo. It is located not at the entrance of our property (there will be a separate sign for that location) but rather next to the road that will take guests to the cottage and market garden. This spot is within reach of the Herb Garden spigot which will provide the needed water.
So, with the location identified I set to work prepping the ground. First clearing the larger rocks and then tilling the ground which was still rocky. The whole property is rocky! Then I brought over some of our manure and put down weed barrier. In addition to rocks, our property is still plagued with a lot of weeds. Getting those under control is going to take sone effort and a heck of a lot of weed barrier!
With the ground prepped, I planted Donna’s flowers. The Irises are in front of the two vertical poles so they can be seen as you drive up the road. The Salvia is on the other side of these same poles so that they can be seen as you leave. Both are tall plants, so they needed to be to the sides so as not to hide the Palisade Posh logo. The Daisies are of a shorter variety and these I planted in the center so they will be directly under the sign but short enough so that they don’t hide the text. Eventually I want to add some Red Poppies to the landscaping mix to connect the plantings with the logo which features a beautiful red poppy at its center.
Words can’t describe how good it felt to be planting! And… with them in and several waterings, they seem to be settling in. The joy of seeing this greenery on the property, something other than weeds, has also been good for my soul, a real breath of life! They remind me of what my ‘vision’ will be like when we cross the finish line. Having these few plants in, provide a glimpse into the future and the potential garden paradise known as Palisade Posh!
