The Summer Garden Has NEVER Looked This Good!

Well, after jealously admiring your homestead for years, I’ve finally got my own. Two weeks in and putting plenty of the knowledge learned here and from Charles dowding to practice. Thanks for sharing all these years Kevin and epic crew👊

Outdoor shower plant ideas: 1. Long narrow deep planter pots, put the horsetail plants in the planters to contain them. 2. A small clumping species of bamboo, or contain a small spreading one in planter pots. 3. A narrow hedge. 4. Espaliered dwarf trees or shrubs. 5. A gentle climber that will cling to the outside of the decorative panels and not rely on staying up by entangling itself through the gaps in the panels (eg: some types of ivy, virginia creeper) 6. Cover the walls in little pots full of Australian species' Dendrobium orchids - they're sun loving orchids, the leaves will burn and look a bit rough in the sun, but they'll grow and flower like crazy and they'll grow upwards, sideways, and hang down, covering quite a bit of space with each plant. 7.If you don't like orchids, then wall pots with any kind of hanging plants, herbs, strawberries, lettuce, whatever. 8. Tall flowers blended to alternate so whilst one is dormant and cut down, another is acting as the cover, egs: tree dahlias (they should grow great in your area), sunflowers, tall lily varieties, tall irises, hollyhocks, etc. 9. Reverse the whole thing and put planters at the top of the walls and grow plants that will hang down.

Ah, Kevin, I just love walking around your homestead! As someone who began watching your videos before the homestead was even a twinkle in your eye, you have done an amazing job of gardening. But, speaking as an older person who devoted her younger days to growing children (2 generations), I think the most marvelous and inspiring thing I delight to see is how much you have grown and evolved as a person through this epic journey. The examples of building an urban homestead are truly inspiring; but, the examples of keeping an open mind, being willing to learn about and try new ideas, of creatively solving problems with simple solutions, of accepting failure as the first step to growing better (in the garden and in life) are an ongoing gift of encouragement and a delight to share with you. Thank you so much! "And, keep on growing." ... Oh! And posting to Youtube! 😊🙋‍♀️👏👏👏

Absolutely need a combination of beauty and necessity. When people visit our garden, they describe it as magical. We have lots of butterflies because we have the greens for the caterpillars as well as the nectar for the butterflies. You want a feast for the eyes and soul and feast for the body. It satisfies deeply. Love your posts, I'm learning and laughing a lot more.

This was such a chill catchup, thanks Kevin.

I have moved away from stressing over maximizing production to growing more for beauty, wildlife, etc. Making that shift has hugely increased my enjoyment of the garden.

Star Jasmine or Bleeding Heart vine would be perfect for your outdoor shower. 👍

This year I am fighting infestation of different insects on different plants at different times just a constant fight. I’ve been gardening for 3 years now. 1st year was ok, I killed a lot of things while learning. My 2nd year was abundant my successes outweighed my failures. This year is terrible😂Ga heat wave, 4 weird new insects/foes were attracted to my garden this year. Lastly a tornado like funnel came through yesterday and trashed my greenhouse. 2024 garden is a hot mess. I’m still going to be planting my fall garden though😊

Anything that vines would be perfect for the shower. My friend has a wall of morning glory.

Those might be ant alates (kings and queens with temporary wings to fly and meet other ants). You probably have an ant colony there and they were coming out for a mating flight, somehow other ant colonies of the same species know to go out on the same night

Kevin, I’m so happy you are finding joy in the flowers! I’ve been gardening for 34 years. After my first taste of a homegrown tomato I knew I needed to learn to grow food. I’m letting myself relax into finding serendipity in the garden. I used to weed out anything sus immediately! This year I lightened up and discovered helpful native plants and flowers that re seeded themselves. I’m enjoying my garden more than ever. Isn’t that what our gardens are meant for?

The growth habit of that horsetail plant is no joke. I've seen it do some CRAZY things. It's super cool looking, but it's good that you're going to let it go before it takes over. What about a nandina/heavenly bamboo instead? They can be kind of soft and lacy. Your garden looks great. I totally hear you, Kevin, about developing more interest in the landscaping/beautification aspect - on that note, have you ever checked out the Northlawn Flower Farm channel? She has a productive flower farm but at one point she got away from rows and started growing in landscape beds. She's created something really special and productive. Her eye for composition and design is really advanced. Happy growing, everyone!

Such a nice garden. Amaranth is so pretty. I've been gardening for decades. Now that I have a routine...its so peaceful to be out there.

Great tour! Another benefit to having your own chickens is that you know exactly what goes into the eggs you collect. That's a big benefit! Greetings from Michigan! 😊

Your Amaranth looks amazing and adds so much to your space.

I love horsetails especially with your style! Transplant the horsetails into a tall narrow trough planter that matches your screens. It will now be elevated to provide you more coverage and it will stay contained. If you still decide to replace the tails, I’d be happy to take them off your hands. If you want a vine, I love stephanotis. It’s tropical, thick leaves, grows beautifully and fast, and the blooms smell sooo good!

The gardening journey or life cycle has been on my mind lately. The parents, grandparents, and other adults I used to observe gardening when I was a child learning from their experiences, many now have scaled back their gardens or given them up altogether (or have passed on). Just as we younger ones are coming into our own gardens, the older generations are letting go. It’s an exciting time for us, but bittersweet as I garden and recall sweet lessons learned from my elders in the garden.

There’s some good ideas here for the shower area. Another thought might be canna lilies. They would enjoy the extra water and would be perennial in your area. Concerns would be are they too wide and how much sun. But would certainly add drama! Garden’s looking great, thanks for sharing 😄

Been gardening my whole life in a backyard suburban garden (50..ugh...odd years); first as a helper to my parents putting seeds in holes barely out of diapers....now in raised beds edging my condo back patio. I've gone from fun plants to now trying to maximize every inch of productivity and preserving health food.

for shower plants…maybe use large pots instead of the small planting area and plant jasmine vine?