Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Cinder Blocks As Garden Planters

I had been dragging my feet for a while, in terms of finding new and interesting spots to place additions to my garden.  Learning about guerrilla gardening, however, fixed that problem instantly.

No, I didn't run out to plant poppies inside potholes... although, that would have been pretty fun.

Rather, I scanned my yard for a new area that I could plant within.  Something different.  Something unique.    My gaze landed on the driveway's retaining wall.



Pretty ugly, right?  Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree.  I smiled, though, because I knew I had found the perfect spot for a few more herbs.  There was great potential here.  Those cinder blocks seemed to yearn for my attention.  

This was going to be a huge job, so I decided to go about it piece by piece.  I started with the section at the forefront of the photo.  



While clearing the weeds, though, I discovered a huge infestation of pill bugs within every section of the cinder blocks.

Look at those nasty things scurrying along the inside walls!  Eew!!!  I had to pretty much empty the entire thing out bit by bit to remove them.  It wasn't pleasant.  

At last that job was done, and I was able to go about filling the holes in the cinder blocks with soil.  I also cleaned up the area beside the cinder blocks so that the tall grasses weren't stealing precious sunshine away from my seeds.

The seeds I planted were basil, chives, and dill (dill has two sections to itself).  These are the herbs that I go through most often. It's true that I already have a small amount of basil and chives planted in my spaghetti garden, but I can always use more.

As an afterthought, I placed some poppy seeds inside the thin section that separated the basil and dill.  If they decide to grow they'll produce a beautiful contrast, but if they don't I won't be overly upset about it.


Those cinder blocks look so much nicer now, don't they?  Waiting for the herbs to grow is going to be tough!  It's a good thing I have a lot to do in the meantime!

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