Lillie's Gorgeous Garden

Ok gardeners, are you ready for some inspiration? Well, here it is...


This garden belongs to my sister-in-law and her husband. They have been avid gardeners since they got married so they've been through several years of trial and error and they know what they like and what works. I felt they had some handy tips and ideas to share.



First off, you'll notice the electric fence they've installed this year. They live in the country and the deer will eat your garden before you have a chance to enjoy it. (Sadly, we've learned this this year). The fence is also low to the ground to keep out rabbits and other small animals, as well as the larger ones. They purchased the pieces for this and installed it themselves. It's worked beautifully.

We've always used tomato cages because that's what we have, but I think we'll be trying this next year. These are cattle panels. They come in six foot sections and can be purchased at farm and home supply stores.

As the tomato plants grow up Josh and Lillie push the top of the plant back and forth through the bars, weaving the plant as it grows. They say they've tried lots of methods and they like this the best because it's easy to weed and easy to pick. They also use the cattle panels for their peas and blackberries.

Lillie commented that when they were first married and had less property, they began experimenting with adding in crops that were also ornamental so they could fit right into the landscaping without taking up lots of space. I remember they had lots of fruit trees and grape vines. She was always canning something delicious. (My friend Jolin also does an amazing job of fitting crops into the landscape. Sadly, I forgot my camera on my visit to her Kansas City garden).

Lillie has used their cabbage to make sauerkraut.

She describes this method as being "straight from the Depression Era." You shred your fresh cabbage and stuff it down into a sterilized jar. You add a teaspoon of salt and begin pouring in hot, sterile water. You let it sit and add more water until it's almost all the way full. Then, you put a lid on it and set it in the sun. Over a couple of weeks as it ferments the salt will prevent the growth of bacteria. When it has finished fermenting and settles back down it will seal the lid and voila - you've got homemade sauerkraut. How about that?

You'll also notice the pond in the background there. Josh commented to me once that he would sometimes carry water from the pond to water the garden to avoid watering with treated water that would add chemicals (from the tap).

This is the little strawberry patch that they put in this year. There are young peach trees next to it, and this area is enclosed in the electric fence as well. These strawberries have done really well.



Here she is picking zucchini. I took some home and made zucchini bread with it. Yum!


I believe these are the watermelon plants. Behind Lillie you can see an area that has been dug up. They had just harvested their potatoes and did quite well. She is able to get a year's supply of many things from their garden; potatoes, corn, green beans, blackberries, bell peppers, tomatoes, etc. The bell peppers she just chops and freezes. They freeze well. They also do great if you dehydrate them, then you just add them to soups and chili in the winter and they taste just like the fresh peppers.


Now, are you ready for something really freaky? Well, they had a bunch of pumpkin plants come up voluntarily. Apparently, pumpkin can cross-pollinate with watermelon. They now have an odd assortment of pumpkins growing. Some are little and yellow like this:


Some are bumpy with watermelon stripes like this:


Notice here how the pumpkin leaves morph and turn into watermelon leaves. These are pumpkin plants:


And finally, the weirdest part of all? They are thinking that pumpkin can also cross-pollinate with zucchini because look at this pumpkin. Please note the size of that thing - compare it to Lillie's hand. It's a monster zucchini-pumpkin:

I'm curious to see what they look like inside when they cut them open.

Well, I hope you all got some ideas. I love looking at other's gardens. Everyone has a different way of doing things and there's always something to be learned. Lillie and Josh - thanks for letting me come photograph and share your garden!