Alley Garden

Lori J
by Lori J
When we bought the house, there was a hideous old fence here, more splinter than fence, and the tenants has piled bags and bags of yard/dog waste here. I suppose the bright side is that it was holding the fence up, but we have a free yard waste dump about eight blocks away so it was not appreciated! Under all of that was a lot of rubble--cement blocks, iron pieces, bricks. After we finished the terracing inside the yard and got the new fence up, I could finally concentrate on a little alley beautification project. There is always something blooming these days and I avoid hauling my grass cuttings by using them to mulch down the bed. I have soaker hoses here, but the grass helps it all hold on to the moisture longer. There are a lot of tulip bulbs sleeping away down there as well.
Trellis is an old screen door with a metal trellis inserted into the opening left behind when I removed the screen. The hyacinth beans have been slow to go this year, but are beginning to climb up into the window opening now.
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  • Susan S Susan S on Jul 01, 2012
    Do you have to pick the pods off the vine or do they open and pop the seeds out when they're fully developed??? I'm just wondering if maybe the pods aren't dry enough if you pick them off the vine. Most seed pods look like they're practically dead when they are ready to be picked. Too green and they aren't mature enough. BUT, it's your Hyacinth and I'll just bet you know what you're supposed to do and when!! lol
  • Lori J Lori J on Jul 02, 2012
    Evidently maturity is tough to get to with the bean. There were literally hundreds of very dry pods, but only some yielded truly dry bean seeds. Now, this year everything here had a very early start due to an early spring, so I am curious to see how the extended growing season impacts seed production. The seeds are really pretty, kind of a black and white ying and yang sort of thing.
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