Berry Patch, Future Meadow, and Mr. Sun

Thomas posed a good question this morning, which was have we been cutting down any more trees to let in the sun.  And the answer is no.  But we really should.  I went out to take some front yard photos just now, and as you will see things are quite shady.  (I also decided to take some from the road's viewpoint for a change, since I always take garden pictures looking out from the house.)

Yup, lots of shade.  More shade with every passing year as the trees continue to grow and block the rising sun.  I really hate to take down any more trees though.... they block out the road noise quite a bit and we have already lost quite a few of them this year in order to build the shed.  In this photo starting from the right is the blackberry bed & trellis, then the grape trellis, then the fenced in garden.

The area just in front of the house is sunny now, but it will soon be shaded by the house and will remain so for most of the day.  Can't come much closer than I am with the garden and maintain full sun.

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Here is what the front yard looked like a few years ago, quite a difference!  (Again, my apologies for the hard to see pictures- it's all that darn shade!  This was pre-construction for an addition.  We had started taking down trees in preperation.  The area to the right in the first and second photos show where my bedroom and berry patch is now.  And look - that is all grass in the front, no garden yet! Go ahead and scroll back up to the first picture- pretty cool to see all that 'garden stuff' there now isn't it?)

We are still trying to piece the yard back together from all the 'construction destruction'.  We have decided to make the side yard into a mini-meadow of sorts with wildflowers etc....it is currently one big mess:

Two and a quarter pounds of annual & perrenial grasses, flowers, and more flowers, (and 2 more apple trees arriving in the Fall) to fill that space.  It will be nice if we can get the seeds to flourish instead of weeds.  That is the challenge with planting a wildflower "meadow".  We may have missed our window for sowing this year which really stinks.  We have just been so busy.  No time to bring in loam, and equipment to grade it.  Now is the perfect time....but it won't be happening.  &*$@

Here is the newly fenced in berry patch, I am VERY excited that this project is finally completed.  Well, almost.  I still need to tidy things up, add more stepping stones, and mulch it all in.

The dogs were trampling the strawberries.  Not sure how I am going to net the blueberries this year, but I still have some time.  (There are lots of strawberries, 7 blueberry bushes, a few raspberry & blackberry canes, and one apple tree enclosed.)  Speaking of netting, the larger of the two currants was being ravaged so we threw together a tee-pee and some netting....

Not pretty to look at, but it works.  Hope I didn't bore everyone to death with my yard and garden tour.  It is nice to see the progress we have made with it all over the years, makes all the time and money spent seem worthwhile.