For the inaugural post, I figured it was most appropriate to begin with our garden and this year’s plans for it. Although the blog will cover much more than gardening, it felt like a good place to start.

We were fortunate to purchase a house that was a blank slate when it came to the landscaping. Once the boxes were unpacked, we were able to shift our focus to what we were going to do with our extremely long and narrow lot. At first glance, it seemed as though we would be infinitely limited in what could be cultivated in such small spaces.

Caney Creek Citrus-Courtesy of John Panzarella

After many hours of planning and research, Stacey and I had a general concept of what could and could not be achieved. Our goal was to get as much “functional landscaping” incorporated into the overall design as possible, while still keeping in mind the desire to not look like crazy orchard people. To realize this, we decided to use techniques that had been executed in European gardens for thousands of years. By planting fruit trees closely together to form hedgerows and espaliered fences, it is easy to achieve a garden that has ripening fruit all year round.

The list that follows will most certainly be edited and added to throughout the process as we learn more about what does and does not work. Hopefully, we are off to a good start with the varieties that we have chosen for the maiden voyage. We did our best to buy trees and shrubs that were already time-tested for our crazy Southeast Texas weather.

This Spring’s ridiculous plantings include:

A Republic of Texas Heirloom Orange, Moro Blood Orange, Dobashi Beni Satsuma, Rio Red Grapefruit, Bloomsweet Grapefruit, Eureka Lemon, Bearrs Lime, Kaffir Lime, Ujikutzu Lemon, Chang Shou Kumquat, Lakeland Limequat, Spanish Pink Lemon, Beauty Plum, Gulf Blaze Plum, Santa Rosa Plum, Midpride Peach, Early Amber Peach, Anna Apple, Dorsett Apple, Black Mission Fig, Stawberry Lemon Guava, Passion Fruit, Bay Rum, Woodard Blueberries, Brightwell Blueberries, Sequoia Strawberries, and Chandler Strawberries, along with various heirloom lettuces and tons of herbs.

Eureka Lemon Tree

Obviously, we are obsessed. As we get these guys into the ground, I am sure we will get into way more detail than anyone could possibly remain interested in. In addition to talking about gardening though, I’ll probably throw out some thoughts on eating and cooking, while hopefully making it a little easier for folks to find uncompromisingly great, local products.