Santa is my photo today! I am crazy about Santas and have a small collection of them. Every year I try to add at least one new Santa but this year, I didn't find one. My friend, however, gave me a plant with a Santa climbing up the trellis! I also got a giant Santa cookie from my daughter and I did buy a Santa boot planter! I, personally, did not buy a new Santa this year though!
On another note, we got some more snow today! Now I know that isn't uncommon at this time of year for a lot of people but in the 10 years I have been in Holland, not one year have I seen as much snow as we have gotten already this winter! I actually think you could take the previous 9 years, add up the snow and it still wouldn't equal what we got in the past month alone! It is wonderful! I am loving it, that's for sure! I am a northern girl, born and bred. I come from Wisconsin where winters are cold and snowy! I am no stranger to either one so how did I end up in a country where if they get an inch, they feel like they got a blizzard? Oh well, I will enjoy it while it lasts!
Even with the snow and cold, I am already dreaming about my garden and what I am going to plant and how and where! See, this year is going to be a bit tricky. I don't have my big garden anymore, just the backyard. Now, unlike in the States, yards here are not big at all! I am lucky to have a yard here to be honest! While my yard is not tiny, it is also not big and only about half of it is usable for a garden because the other half gets too much shade. I have 2 - 4x4 squares, 1 - 2x4 square and on the other side, probably a 4x6 area. I have lots of fencing, a patio, and some ladders. I got some shallow rain gutters I am going to secure to the fence and try growing lettuces, radishes, and probably some herbs in them since they are all shallow rooted. I will throw in a few flower seeds here and there as well. They are too shallow for much else but even getting the lettuces out of the 4x4 will give me 2-3 squares I used last year, plus, if I can get parsley and basil in the gutters, that opens up my 2x4 as well as that's where I had those.
I am going to try and raise the ladders up on posts and then attach fencing or screen on the sides from the top down to the ground. On these, I can grow peas or beans and maybe, up the posts, I can grow cucumbers or small pumpkins that will grow along the top ladders and can hang down then. I also have another painters ladder that I want to put a bunch of pots on the rungs. I figure again, maybe herbs, beans(bush), maybe some single pots with onions in? lol I don't know!
It is so hard to go from 300 sq meters of space to about 8(?) sq meters. It is breaking my heart but I am determined to make the most of the space I have! If anyone has any ideas for growing veggies in such a small space, send me a note! In the meantime, I will keep dreaming and thinking about how to grow a ton in a small space! :o)
Well, that is all for today, I do believe! Thanks for stopping by and see you again tomorrow!
