A (Mostly) Edible Front Lawn

Cat Sapphire smirks in front of the Oregano and Thyme. I gave away large bunches of the velvety Oregano, and still have loads left to use or share before it bolts.

What a cool spring weekend we had here in Southern California! I threw myself into gardening the unruly front yard. Armed only with a weedwacker and some pruners, I knocked back the sudden growth explosion, and nurtured the (mostly) edible landscape.

Fig tree, Fruiting Mulberry tree, culinary herbs, ornamental Rock Purslane border.

Rock Purslane

Pineapple Sage perennial

Last year's weakling Serrano Pepper seems to have finally hit its stride.

Not shown: The parkstrip was studded with volunteer Broccoli, grown over knee high and covered with seedpods. The chickens enjoyed demolishing that! I throw all of the yard waste over the wall into the compost corner for them.

@Mattlovell removed some of his bonsai babies from their nursery in the herb garden. I have a bunch of old seeds dating as far back as 2009, so I went ahead and dumped them into the vacated patches. Maybe a few Snow Peas will prevail here. I also sprinkled some fresh Sweet Basil seeds.

I used my loppers to prune back some of the overgrown Christmas trees. Now everything has a lot more sun and air.

...And I have a pile of brush to chip...

Brisket lounges under the Fig tree in the cool greens. There are the annual Nasturtium returns, wild Chickweed, and delicious Lambsquarters growing there.

Chopped Lambsquarters and leftover ham for a quiche.

Allowing a tangle of wild plants to grow up encouraged all the Ladybugs in the neighborhood to choose my garden for their nursery. Currently, most are busy pupating on the tops of tender plants, for example, this Nasturtium.

Ladybug pupa

Over by the Red Guava tree, I cleared the tall weeds and replaced them with aged Pea, Bush Bean, Cilantro, and Thai Basil seeds. Fingers crossed that some will germinate.

The Red Guava already has some early fruit setting, and is covered with new flower buds.

Red Guava

This little bed is admittedly floral. However, you can make tea out of the Rose petals and Red Clover, and of course the Nasturtiums add a delicious zing to salads.

The purple flower is a Geranium that I propagated from a clipping kindly given to me by the lady next door. Gardens grow communities.

Geranium

Up by the front porch, Roses and Hibiscus bloom.

Pale Yellow Rose

Hibiscus: a favorite of hummingbirds, and an ingredient for a refreshing infused beverage.

As I toiled away the hours, my heart sang a rhythm of joy and gratitude for this patch of fertile land. For the clear water that flows from the garden hose at the simple turn of the handle. For a weekend of peace and easy comfort in my little neighborhood. For the rich scent of dark earth, and the voluntary flora and fauna who chose my postage stamp front lawn to carry out their life cycles.

In Metta,
Love,Cat

@creationofcare

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