Meanwhile, in Suburbia ...

Our gardens continue to grow at Sage Garden.  Here is the "lasagna garden" I posted about earlier in "First Garden"

So far, we have corn, pole beans, acorn and butternut squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, sunflowers, and cucumbers growing in this plot.  The sunflower you see above was grown from seeds shared by a neighbor.

We're gradually adding more to the herb garden around the olive tree.

By stacking multiple uses in the same footprint (olives + herbs), we not only use space more efficiently, but we also get double benefit from feeding and watering this area.  We've chosen herbs which serve as good "companions" for olive trees, and they're enjoying the shade the olive tree provides.  So far, we have lavender, green onions, rosemary, thyme, and several varieties of basil and sage.  After we get a simple trellis built, we're planning to add grapes.

Today, we turned some junk mail into paper mache, which we will use as mulch.  The easy way to mix it is with a mortar mixing drill bit.  But what fun is that, when you can squish it with your hands?

One thing we have to deal with in some areas where we want to plant is a plastic landscaping barrier, such as this area where a pomegranate tree will go.

But as long as it's there, it serves as a perfect substrate for drying our paper mache.  You can also see our new window shades in this picture.  Some of the gravel we remove from areas like this goes into our French drain which collects rainwater from over the clothesline and directs it to the fig trees.  When we've finished filling that with gravel, our neighbor across the street (not the one with the sunflowers - different neighbor, who by the way is quite the urban farmer) says he could use gravel too.