For those of us in the gardening community, there is a distinct difference between the “hardscape” and the “softscape”.
The hardscape is all that big, heavy, “not alive” stuff: wood, blocks, dirt, rocks, walls, stepping stones, etc. That is the back-breaking and heavy-lifting portion of the garden. I bet many people would call it “yard work” instead… because it is actual work, and not the fun kind.
The softscape refers to the live horticultural elements of a landscape. Softscaping can include flowers, plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, and duties like weed/nuisance management, grading, planting, mowing, trimming, aerating, spraying, and digging for everything from plants and shrubs to flower beds.
It was a big milestone this season to finally get the first season of plants into the ground. It may not have looked like a big deal to the average person, but it was a huge deal to me. And the plants this garden may look teeny tiny to the novice gardener, but not to the seasoned one…
6 weeks later, the garden now looks much better. The plants are producing! I have harvested the basil many times, half a dozen zucchini’s, and the young tomatoes and hot peppers are coming in green and maturing nicely. Here is what was planted this season:
- Zucchini (four plants)
- Eggplant (other side of the zucchini)
- Yellow Pear Tomatoes
- Roma Tomatoes
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Basil (four plants)
- French Thyme (hiding behind/under some zucchini and helping some to drive away spider mites around the eggplant and zucchini)
- Rosemary (BBQ variety, purchased at Home Depot, kind of hiding under all four zucchini: its smelly enough to drive away the evil spider mites)
And, since the area is that long, here is more of the garden. The experienced will notice that some of these plants are intentionally planted in the summertime afternoon shade for a reason: they are somewhat sensitive to the Sacramento area’s summer triple digits! These get some limited afternoon sun exposure, however it is not a drenched 6 hours worth like the main areas.
- Tuscan Blue Rosemary
- Spearmint (area limited by the stepping stones and rock)
- Unused Pot
- Oregano (not sure what kind, but I don’t think it is Italian)
- Peppermint
Yeah, these needed more shade than the others (the triple-digit sun never touches these). They are officially 100% in the shade by high noon.
- (Yet More) Spearmint (plus some pots that I started of them for some local friends)
- Calabrian Peppers
- Cayenne Peppers
- Thai Peppers
Yes, there is still more! When the temperatures hit above… 92 degrees, my curry leaf tree and lemon balm will just melt: so they join me inside.
Some areas of the garden appear filled in, while others still look rather… sparse. That’s okay with me for this season. It was a very expensive and back-breaking season: the hardscape took a lot of energy and funding. Plus, some of the purchased perennials were rather expensive. The garden is missing a key plant (parsley) and likely others that will require more rosemary (at least 2 more pots) and the addition of some lavender (2 to 4 pots). Plus, those fences look rather bare, right? I’m thinking, left to right: Bougainvillea, grapes, and kiwi fruit! Plus there is more bare dirt in the back (14 square feet) and I have yet to figure out what to plant there. And of course, some well-behaved flowers that will look pretty and attract pollinators while not also attracting harmful bugs. There was the addition of more perennials in the front garden that I started to fill in some which added to the cost this season.