John and I are big food lovers. When we first started dating we even took a compatibility quiz and both listed eating as a favorite hobby, so it made perfect sense that we finally transformed an overgrown bed in our backyard into an herb, vegetable, and fruit garden to enjoy fresh, organic produce through summer and into fall.
We cleared out the shrubs (leaving a small rose bush in one corner) and planted organic lettuce seeds back in March. We also added a $9 raspberry bush from Lowe’s. To our surprise, a little peony popped up at the back of the bed, which was a lovely bonus. Our next stop was the local farmer’s market — South Of The James here in Richmond — where the vendors always have exceptional produce and plants. We couldn’t resist a big box of strawberries and a bag of arugula, plus eight new plants for the garden.
For only $10 total we picked up one cherry tomato, one golden tomato, two basil plants, a zinnia, parsley, swiss chard, and oregano. Those additions, together with the rose, raspberry, surprise peony, and the lettuce sprouting from our earlier planting, felt like a great start toward growing our own food.
We also wanted some evergreen structure so the bed wouldn’t look empty in winter after the veggies fade. A trip to Lowe’s yielded two Winter Gem boxwoods and one Cypress King’s Gold, all chosen for year-round color and shape. Back home we laid everything out to plan a loose layout before planting.
Next came soil preparation. For a small bed we chose to rough up the soil with a shovel rather than rent a rototiller. It took some elbow grease to dig about eight inches, but that depth felt right for getting roots established. We amended the soil with generous amounts of organic compost from our backyard bin and added nutrient-rich topsoil to give the new plants a healthy start.
After blending the compost and topsoil in and raking the bed smooth, we planted everything, tucking a bit more compost into each hole. To conserve moisture and suppress weeds we finished with a layer of mulch across the bed. Burger, our resident camera hog, immediately claimed a spot and posed for a few photos.
The three evergreens now provide winter structure while the rose (back left), raspberry (back middle) and peony (back right) offer seasonal blooms and fruit. We placed the cherry tomato in front of the rose, swiss chard in front of one boxwood, a zinnia between a boxwood and the cypress, basil on either side of the cypress, and parsley to the right of the cypress. The second tomato, the lettuce planted in March, and oregano sit on the opposite side of the right-hand boxwood.
Swiss chard and the peony are already looking vibrant, and the bed is shaping up nicely. Compost remains our go-to soil amendment — it’s versatile and provides organic nutrients that benefit nearly any garden, whether you’re starting from sandy or clay soil.
We have plans to enhance the space further: adding trellises for the raspberries and tomatoes, power-washing the surrounding brick, and bringing in additional herbs and vegetables if our first season goes well. For now, we’re enjoying the simple pleasures — fresh basil leaves, bright zinnia blooms, and the promise of raspberries soon to come.
One of the best parts is that the garden is visible from our sunroom, so there’s no excuse not to harvest and enjoy what we grow. Here’s an overhead shot for another perspective.
Budget summary: eight herbs and veggies for $10, three evergreens for $44.94, and mulch/topsoil for about $5 — a total of $59.94. A small investment for a lot of fresh flavor.
How about you? Do you grow anything edible at home, or are you planning a container garden or windowsill herbs? We’d love to hear what’s on your planting to-do list.
