There’s a lot going on at the bungalow, so I thought I’d share some updates! Despite the hot-as-heck temperatures, there’s been a lot of work going into a future-state vision of our property. We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of moving into our home, and it’s neat to see how far it’s come since then.
Inside, it feels like we’re finally getting to a place where we feel “settled.” Although, if you read one of my recent posts about my desire to learn basic woodworking skills, you’ll know that I have a lot of projects in mind to help us get even more settled and really make this place our own.
Outside, on the other hand, is far from settled. I spent the long weekend binging shows that majorly got my wheels turning for some outdoor spaces. I am so excited to expand our gardening spaces, get some chickens and build a coop area and try my hand at growing flowers (thanks to being inspired by Floret Flowers). Before we can do any of that though, we have a domino effect of projects going on that have to be complete before the next one gets started.
Projects and gardening updates
At the center of it all is our new pool — all projects depend on that being complete. There has been much progress on this in the past few weeks — thank little baby Jesus. In addition to the pool being complete itself, part of a driveway had to be torn into to bury all the electric and water connections. So once the pool is done and the driveway is complete, the next area of focus will be a custom-built shed and shop area.
And once those things are done a few things can happen that we are pretty excited about.
For one, we are having two additional brick garden beds put in. This will bring our raised garden bed count to 4! Woo hoo. Once that occurs, I look forward to ramping up production, creating vertical growing arches between the beds and fencing the area in to attempt to keep critters out.
Once the new big shed is complete, we will be able to empty ours out and get it off the property. We have some really fun ideas for what could go in its place but we are still planning that (hint: it’s basically a few dreams of mine combined.) And while allllllll of that is going on, I’m still digging into learning more about growing our own food.
Phew! Let’s move on from boring construction updates to the little miracles, surprises and challenges we’ve experienced in the garden. Here’s what’s happenin’ around the garden!
Delights from the garden:
- A few new melons hidden under leaves.
- Colorful rainbow beets sprouts poking through the dirt.
- A few pumpkin plants are blooming.
- Phase 1 of our wisteria vine tunnel is about half way complete! The leaves are filling in nicely.
Seeds sown recently:
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Lettuce varieties
- Gourds
- Radishes
- Various herbs
- Garlic
Seedlings currently growing:
- Butternut squash
- Yellow crookneck squash
- A few tomato varieties
- Armenian cucumber
- Malabar Spinach
- Cucumbers
- Luffa
Current challenges:
- Lots of pill bugs (rollie pollies) in the part of our garden we’re trying to grow seeds in.
- Some sort of critter is digging around in one of our garden beds at night.
- 3 out of the 4 pumpkin plants I planted in-ground in July are struggling to thrive in the brutal afternoon sun.
- Need to re-sow a majority of the seeds I planted several weeks ago after it rained which includes: kale, dill, celery, carrots and more.
As you can see, there’s a lot happening at the bungalow! I know when we look back a few years from now, we’ll be so glad we put all the work into making our home a lush and relaxing retreat. It’s more important than ever that our homes bring us joy. ?
