Over the winter I lost my only tree- it was deemed unsafe by the city and a pain in the ass by the landlord next door. But beside the stump along the side of the apartments there was some unused space that looked promising and using an old support beam I created garden number two. It's affectionately referred to as the South garden and the original plot is now the North garden. The North garden gets lots of sun. The South, by due of the building gets virtually none. I decided I would make it my naturalized space and plant native woodland plants there. Which was good in theory but failed to take into account that the substance which was used to prevent the stump from sprout had the effect of killing anything near it. Even though I had dug the bed and filled it with lovely compost and fresh soil, the toxicity was severe- even nasturtiums died there. I managed to coax a foxglove and one lone columbine out it that summer but everything else perished. Another good reason not to plant edibles there!
The North garden thrived however and was lush and green. The violets returned first in all three colours. The lily bloom for what seemed like forever.The rosebush grew taller and had a few blooms that were deep pink and smelt heavenly. I added some purple cone flowers and black eyed Susans to fill it out.
The deck became my sanctuary. To make the most of the space I built a small platform on the other side of the stairs, just big enough to hold the barbecue and a couple pots. I built a bench where the bbq had been and using a couple planks created a removeable platform that doubles as a bed! Sleeping under the stars , surrounded by plants is ideal - until a raccoon steps on you while you're sleeping!
