Benwood Gardens: The Garden Plans

I love yoga and gardening and hiking—I would say those are my three favorite ~ extracurricular ~ activities. The other day while I was out in the teeny little spring veggie garden I planted, I realized what all my favorite pleasures have in common: silence.

I’m kind of a high strung person, so I spend a lot of my time seeking ways to, uhhhh, be less high strung, to sit with my thoughts, and to be in the moment. While I could try ketamine treatments or I don’t know start a routine of getting massages, I really prefer methods of relaxation that I can do around the house and on my own time.

Way back in 2019 when we first started planning our first home purchase, the thing I was maybe most excited about was to be able to start a substantial garden. Our raised garden beds at the New Orleans house were my first attempt at this, and as proud as I am of those beds and the heaps of peppers and tomatoes and herbs they’ve provided, when we started eyeing the Tennessee property, my mind was swirling with the ginormous garden beds I’d create.

Over the past year of being here I’ve come up with dozens of ways the beds could be arranged, and where they could go… but I think I’ve finally settled it!

The plan is to create simple rows of raised beds that would be at the foot of our pasture (which may very well one day house animals!). We’ll need to clear a couple of overgrown trees, but it’ll be worth it! The beds will be arranged in a pretty ordinary configuration that will allow easy access to every corner of each bed, while providing a 10’ path down the center of the garden for vehicles, tractors, etc. I may get a little fancy with finishes and stains for the raised beds, but with so many we’ll want to be cost-conscious and keep it simple.

Building it all out will begin this fall! If you want to see how we’re constructing the beds, turn to page 116 of Housewarming !!!

Below I’m sharing the space as it currently is with you, as well as a little graphic I’ve made of my vision!

I think I’ll place arbors across the 3’ gap between some of the beds for vining plants and to add a little drama, and we’ll also need to install a support structure for the blackberry bushes (represented on the graphic as the rows of black bushes at the bottom).

I’ve never taken on a gardening task this ginormous, but I think it’ll be easy enough to manage! Wish me luck and I’ll save a few tomatoes for you:)

Thanks for stopping by the blog today, and I’ll be sharing more on this project as we tackle it!!

xoxo

Beau

& Matt & Fox & Barley & Rye

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