Chasing the Sun

One of the biggest perqs of the house that we're renting is its large, verdant lot, screened in almost completely by blackberries, laurel, and bamboo.  The back yard has seen a lot of pleasant picnic lunches this month, requiring no more trouble than walking out the kitchen door with your plate to the blanket on the lawn.  Pretty damn decadent.

The same shade that dapples the lawn, however, also dapples darn near every other spot on the property.  Three very large trees (and several smaller ones) guard the southern perimeter.  Our favorite one, a gargantuan incense cedar, is perfectly positioned like the world's biggest sundial, gracing every last square inch of the back yard with its shadow for at least a couple of hours each day. 

As a result, many of our edibles are patchworked around the northern half of the property, tucked into the sunniest spots I can find:


The unused west wing of the estate?  No; just the tomatoes and basil, huddling together for warmth along the south wall of the garage. 


The raised-bed area saw some nice new construction this weekend, courtesy of Bamboo Bob.  Over winter, when the tallest things growing were collards and kale, I arched sections of pig panel over the beds to keep the neighborhood cats out (with mixed success).  Now that we're preparing for climbin' cukes, it's time for a different solution.  My stingy little heart glows with pride; not only did Bob fence in the beds without acquiring ANY new materials, AND use dead bamboo culled from our sideyard, it's also cute!  And it's easy to use!  Each walkway is accessed by a little gate.  The gate attaches to/detaches from the rest of the fence by two bamboo rings that slide over the bamboo "fence posts". 

Most importantly, the matching bamboo trellis really ties the room together:

Maybe it will also be slug-proof?

A cat could jump over this if properly motivated, but I predict that they'll go looking for a more accessible litterbox instead.  The nutria that chomped down several kale plants this winter will definitely be stumped.  The digging squirrels?  We shall see.  They're too fat to fit through the 2"x4" paneling, that's for sure.  If the nocturnal slug snacker (who has paid us a couple more visits) clambers over it, it'll be a strong argument for raccoon or possum.  Stay tuned!