Welcome to our little rustic urban garden!
Our home sits on a tiny urban lot in the North End Historic District of the city of Boise, a mountain desert community at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern state of Idaho. Our little yard has seen many changes in the twenty-five plus years we've lived here. From swing sets, slides, and sand boxes to vegetable gardens, patios, and decks, it seems like our landscape is constantly in transition.
This is a tour of what our yard looks like nowadays, and I'm so glad you're joining us for a stroll through our garden.
When we walk around to the south side of our little house, there's a gate and trellis with an old Cotoneaster growing over it. My husband built everything in our yard, from the cement sidewalks and patios to the wood deck, fence, and gates.
Just inside the gate are three raised organic garden beds. Our entire yard has been transitioned to organic now. After years of experience with all kinds of gardening, it's the easiest way we've found to grow healthy plants and keep the insects away.
On the other side of our house, out of sight, are our composting bins for feeding our vegetable beds.
It's fun to see how the beds change over the spring and summer. We grow a combination of vegetables and cutting flowers here.
We try to make good use of every nook and cranny of our yard, including growing potatoes in an old whiskey barrel on the patio by the back door.
On the other side of the path against the fence we grow flowering vines, hostas, and other shade loving plants.
Moving along the pathway beside the house is a wide patio shaded by trees. My husband built my potting bench from free pallets and a Pinterest tutorial.
It's convenient to have it here close to the vegetables and cutting garden.
Tucker loves to join me when I'm gardening. We added this cute little gate when we discovered our daughter's lab was stealing our tomatoes when she visited us.
I can hardly believe it's been almost twenty years since we poured this cement walkway and the girls added their little handprints.
The pathway continues to the backyard and alley past the barbecue on its own little pad that's close to the deck and back door.
In May 2013, we had a ninety foot tall Locust tree removed from our backyard. We instantly went from full shade to full sun, requiring all new plants. Our entire yard was pretty much trashed by the removal of the tree, and we started over from scratch.
With the hot summer sun now shining down on our back deck, I've been lobbying my husband for a new arbor. Until I win him over on that big project idea we use two big umbrellas for shade. Our family room has access and a pretty view of the deck and back yard.
Stairs from the deck lead to a small curving lawn surrounded by flower beds.
There are new Eastern Redbud trees in each corner with perennials growing beneath them.
My collection of suns hangs on the fence.
And Buddha sits serenely below.
An old lilac tree next to the barbecue is doing well in the new sunny yard. It's one of the few bushes that we kept in place after the tree was removed.
Against the naturally weathered gray back fence are new grasses and lavender.
The plantings in this corner against the shed mirror those from the opposite corner.
My homemade sign hangs on the side of the shed above the daisies.
The new sun loving perennials are slowly filling in.
I also love to add color to the garden using annuals, both in the perennial beds and in pots.
My husband built our garden shed when our daughters outgrew their big sandbox and slide. Here, it's draped with Independence Day decorations.
No garden of ours would be complete without our Boise State gnome and flamingos. Go Broncos!
It's not all sunshine and roses in our garden. We get snow here in the winter, too, and love it!
I hope you enjoyed our garden tour. Thanks so much for coming!
This is a tour of what our yard looks like nowadays, and I'm so glad you're joining us for a stroll through our garden.
When we walk around to the south side of our little house, there's a gate and trellis with an old Cotoneaster growing over it. My husband built everything in our yard, from the cement sidewalks and patios to the wood deck, fence, and gates.
Just inside the gate are three raised organic garden beds. Our entire yard has been transitioned to organic now. After years of experience with all kinds of gardening, it's the easiest way we've found to grow healthy plants and keep the insects away.
On the other side of our house, out of sight, are our composting bins for feeding our vegetable beds.
It's fun to see how the beds change over the spring and summer. We grow a combination of vegetables and cutting flowers here.
We try to make good use of every nook and cranny of our yard, including growing potatoes in an old whiskey barrel on the patio by the back door.
On the other side of the path against the fence we grow flowering vines, hostas, and other shade loving plants.
Moving along the pathway beside the house is a wide patio shaded by trees. My husband built my potting bench from free pallets and a Pinterest tutorial.
It's convenient to have it here close to the vegetables and cutting garden.
Tucker loves to join me when I'm gardening. We added this cute little gate when we discovered our daughter's lab was stealing our tomatoes when she visited us.
I can hardly believe it's been almost twenty years since we poured this cement walkway and the girls added their little handprints.
The pathway continues to the backyard and alley past the barbecue on its own little pad that's close to the deck and back door.
In May 2013, we had a ninety foot tall Locust tree removed from our backyard. We instantly went from full shade to full sun, requiring all new plants. Our entire yard was pretty much trashed by the removal of the tree, and we started over from scratch.
With the hot summer sun now shining down on our back deck, I've been lobbying my husband for a new arbor. Until I win him over on that big project idea we use two big umbrellas for shade. Our family room has access and a pretty view of the deck and back yard.
Stairs from the deck lead to a small curving lawn surrounded by flower beds.
There are new Eastern Redbud trees in each corner with perennials growing beneath them.
My collection of suns hangs on the fence.
And Buddha sits serenely below.
An old lilac tree next to the barbecue is doing well in the new sunny yard. It's one of the few bushes that we kept in place after the tree was removed.
Against the naturally weathered gray back fence are new grasses and lavender.
The plantings in this corner against the shed mirror those from the opposite corner.
My homemade sign hangs on the side of the shed above the daisies.
The new sun loving perennials are slowly filling in.
I also love to add color to the garden using annuals, both in the perennial beds and in pots.
My husband built our garden shed when our daughters outgrew their big sandbox and slide. Here, it's draped with Independence Day decorations.
No garden of ours would be complete without our Boise State gnome and flamingos. Go Broncos!
I hope you enjoyed our garden tour. Thanks so much for coming!
{Click here to take a tour of our home.}