“Square foot gardening” has become popular, if space is limited for growing vegetables. Building raised garden beds makes it so much easier to tend to the vegetables. That is just what Charidy and B. D. Drawz did, along with a little help from their daughter Hero, in their yard at 310 W. Wall Street ,in Morrison, IL. Morrison Garden Club has chosen their garden for this summers’ “Featured Garden.”
This impressive garden was designed by them, but they did use Pinterest for the inspiration. They started building it in April 2017, after two years of planning and saving. Planting was started in mid-May.
Structures were built using cedar wood with aluminum corners and in-line connectors from Gardeners Supply, which should last a lifetime. Cattle fencing was used to build trellis panels to enclose the beds, to keep the deer out and give some plants, like the cucumbers, the opportunity to grow vertically to save on space. The structure was designed so each panel could be lifted out if needed to maintain the garden. String was used to create a grid for the planting of the square foot garden.
A wide variety of vegetables, with some heirloom varieties included, and flowers were planted. A sunflower that Hero started in preschool was also transplanted into the garden. Flowers helped attract a wide variety of bees needed for pollination.
In the center of the garden, sits what they call their “Cocktail Tank.” A wide variety of herbs are planted, such as spearmint, pineapple sage, and lemon mint julep. They use these for garnishing cocktails.
Charidy and B.D. are already planning for next year’s garden.
This garden is spectacular! When you are out and about in Morrison, drive by and get inspiration for building your own garden.
Do you share a love of growing things? Contact the Morrison Garden Club at 815-230-9652 or send us an email: morrisongardenclub@mediacombb.net.
