Our two garden helpers and I spent an hour outside today in the cool weather and bright sunshine. I passed time turning compost and the dead leaves in the raised beds. The other two spent time chewing on and rolling upon the new growth on the catnip.

I also spent some time surveying the backyard of The Lot for an upcoming landscaping class. The four week course, one evening a week, is being hosted at a local church and conducted by a Master Gardener. Since our main view of the garden from inside the house is through the kitchen window, that is the area I will be focusing on for the classes.

Homework after the first class consists of filling out a profile-type sheet on the garden. How much and what type sunlight does it receive? What is the texture and aeration of the soil? How is it supplied with water? What is the drainage? What is the root competition with neighboring trees and/or shrubs? What natural elements is it exposed to? What type of budget, financial and time, do we want to spend on the garden? And most importantly, why do we even want the garden in the first place? What is it’s purpose? These all seem to be fantastic questions that help to make plant selection and planning a bit less overwhelming.

After filling out the garden profile, I took the camera around The Lot and snapped more photos of the beds. Perhaps it’s because I can be a bit of a softie, but I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I brush back dead leaves and stalks to find brand new plant growth. Though I love Fall in general, Spring in the garden is always amazing.