by christine victoria alexander

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

A GARDEN TOUR OF THE FARMACY


Today I am so excited to share my very first garden tour with you all!

My parent's backyard, fondly referred to as The Farmacy, is bursting with flowers, herbs, berries, and vegetables! There are charming pathways leading between different areas of the yard, scents of lavender, thyme, oregano and mint waft through the air, birdhouses hang on the trees, bees buzz from flower to flower, and against the house a small potting bench is tucked in next to a rain barrel.
It didn't always look like this. I remember helping my mom with her garden about 20 years ago when it was just a few rows of vegetables on the far side of the pool. We built a bunny fence together and painted it blue. 😊
Fast forward to today and the gardens have grown quite a lot! My parents will tell you it has taken years of hard work to bring this garden to life, but my goodness, what a reward for all their effort!

My mom was kind enough to walk me through everything they have growing and answer a few questions for the blog. Pour yourself a drink and enjoy this tour through their beautiful backyard garden. It's a real treat!

Christine Alexander (CA): Mom, when did you become interested in gardening?

Allyn Squicciarini (AS): I've always been a nature girl! When we moved into our first house, with my mom's enthusiasm and expertise, it seemed like a natural extension of my interests. 

CA: A garden this size must be a lot of upkeep. Is it worth it?

AS: It is to me! I always want to be outside. I love watching things grow and I love to cook! It is also great exercise! Plus, now that Joe has joined me in tending it, it's an activity that we do together. I love sharing the joy of gardening with my husband!

CA: If someone wanted to try gardening what are some easy plants to start with?

AS: It depends on the season! Spring would include: lettuces, chard, and kale. In Summer: tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Those are just a few of many vegetables to try!

CA: What is your favorite part of gardening?

AS: Harvesting! I love going around looking for ripe veggies. When I bring everything inside it's like a giant "Chopped" basket! 

CA: What's next at The Farmacy?

AS: This fall we will have to rebuild a few of our older beds that are rotting away. We are also going to build a bed with a hinged greenhouse cover that will extend our fall crop into winter and help us get an earlier start in the spring!

Let's take a walk through The Farmacy!

Enter through the back gate and you'll be greeted by this pretty pathway leading you around to the first set of raised beds. 

In the bed to the left: carrots, bush beans, and baby cucumber vines just starting out. To the right; peppers, kale, chard, onions and beets. 




Behind these raised beds is asparagus, followed by two more beds filled with herbs, lavender, onions and eucalyptus.




Behind the garden, towards the back of the property, stretches a bocce court my dad built a couple of years ago. Blackberry bushes border one side of the court and beyond them, eleven blueberry bushes covered in berries.







To the right of the pool is a long row of raised beds planted with tomatoes, eggplants, yellow zucchini, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, beans, lettuce, and more peppers.




A massive butterfly bush, heaps of hydrangeas and a bluebird house finish off this corner of the backyard. 



I hope you've enjoyed this garden tour! If you have any questions or comments for my parents feel free to leave them below and I'll make sure they see!


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