A Garden for Humans ... AND FOR DOGS

A Young girls dream!

When I was younger I always dreamed of a big garden with separate corners for different themes in my garden. The garden was large and full of flowers, scents and colors. I was not so concerned with the functionality of the garden. Let me just say it. I was not at all concerned with the functionality of a garden. All I thought about was how NICE my garden should be. A garden to walk around in, where my dogs could run, because even though I didn't have any dogs myself at the time… I was sure I would have dogs later. And my garden had to be a place of pleasure for my dogs to run around and lie on the cool grass. I would make a nice big corner for them where they could dig and other things that dogs like to do. In addition, I would make a few different seating areas where I could enjoy my coffee / tea / glass of wine in the few balmy summer evenings that the Netherlands has.

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Beautiful dreams, but then reality.

When I moved from my parental home to a home for myself, I had a 70m2 garden. And that garden was completely tiled, with a lot of weeds among the stones when I got into the house. At first I had the idea to change the whole garden into a mini paradise, but soon we came into the rollercoaster that first my father had lung cancer and after a heavy period of 15 chemotherapy and radiation a short sick bed in the hospital where he died. After that, I was taking care of my mother for about 18 hours a day, sleeping for a few hours and back to my mother. That period also lasted about a year and a half, during the last two months it was very intense because she had been admitted to a care home and was also very unhappy there. At the time, I didn't even have the time or inclination to think about that garden for a second. After my mother died, a year and a half after my father, the rollercoaster came to an end… but I fell into a deep black hole. And again I didn't even think about the garden. I was happy if I got through another day without hurting myself.

Rowan.

The depression I was in threatened to swallow me up and I played with thoughts to end my life. But somewhere far away I knew that that was not a solution either, I had to continue. And very deep in my heart I also felt that I wanted to continue! But to get out of my depression / burnout, something was needed. I had to get a goal in my life. And the 'normal' things were apparently not enough. I was looking for something else. And I found so… When I bought a little white German Shepherd puppy. Rowan came into my life. He was exactly what I needed. What doctors, psychiatrists and social workers couldn't do with all their talk and medicines, Rowan managed in just a few weeks. Day by day I regained energy, felt my zest for life return, and the depression / burnout slowly moved to the background. After living in a big black hole for almost 2 years, after trying to escape reality for almost 2 years, I was alive again. Rowan was my doctor, he was my psychiatrist, he was my social worker, but above all…

He was my dog, my buddy, the best friend I had ever known.

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And because of his energy and his unconditional loyalty and love I got more and more energy, and I also started thinking about the garden again. But before that project really came to fruition, a move was planned. I would move to another house with Rowan AND my sister and her two dogs. And there… there was a new garden waiting for us. This time a garden of 96m2… Slowly it got a little bigger. But again a garden where a lot had to be done, and this time I was not alone, but I had to take into account my sister's wishes. And I soon found out, they were very different from mine.

Straightforward, straightforward ... Boring

My sister was the one who had said to take care of all the costs for the garden… and it was noticeable. Within a week she had arranged a business to fix the mess that was called the garden and, 2 weeks after we got into the house, the garden had changed from a rather neglected garden, to a garden with a very tight and actually just boring layout. Not my garden to put it neatly, but well… it was a garden where the dogs had fun.

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Changes

When after a few years the differences between my sister and me became too big, and we both needed a home again, we decided that my sister would move. I stayed in the house and after she left the first thing I did ... was to change the garden.

I had come to the conclusion that the garden as it was there was only good for the pleasure of the dogs, but that it was of no use to me at all. And I also knew that I enjoyed Rowan and Myla the most by going out with them. The garden was nice when I was outside, but as true loyal sheepdogs, the two were always everywhere I was. And they never actually went without me. So time to tackle the garden and add a bit more functionality to the garden.

The first thing that had to be done was to make a fence to fence off my edible garden area for the dogs. Because I might want to grow edible plants, if the dogs would then run through the garden, I still had nothing. The part where they could go afterwards became a lot smaller ... but that gave me the opportunity to start experimenting. Tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, two young grape plants, various herbs such as chamomile, maggi plant (lovage), parsley, chives, thyme, coriander, and a small self-assembled greenhouse where pepper plants and peppers grew.

In the middle of it all a small circle of stones so that I could still sit among the greenery with the dogs. Because if I was there and not busy, the dogs could just lie comfortably with me. When I was busy they had to stay behind the fence. And smart as they are, they had learned that quickly.

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Moving again

And then suddenly ... totally unexpected, out of the blue, it was time to move again. To an old farm. Detached living, unfortunately a farm that was split in two and therefore still direct neighbors. But also much more space, not the house in itself that was so much larger, but the outdoor space was doubled. More than that. From a garden of 96m2 to a garden of 220m2 behind the house. Not to mention the piece of garden which is still next to the driveway on the side of the house. That will also be about 100m2.

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The only thing with the garden is ... it's completely paved. Everything is paved with tiles and big chunks of concrete which means, often picking weeds, and still not a large lawn with beautiful flowers. That also means being creative with some gardening. Because I don't want to miss the opportunity to grow some foods despite the paved surface, which is ALSO functional.

The different seating areas have now been created, one corner is a kind of Japanese theme with many bonsai trees. And not at all Japanese, a nice big white seedless grape grows there. A beautiful Star Jasmine grows next to the grape and has beautiful white star-shaped flowers in spring that smell very nice. On the corner is a very large wooden box full of bamboo that was bought last year and is now starting to grow well. There is also a statue of a samurai warrior on guard and he is hidden in ornamental grass.

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"French seat corner"

At the large gate at the beginning of the yard, a large very heavy and sturdy fence with gate has been made to keep my dear four-legged friends on their own property. A beautiful large seedless blue grape grows next to that gate and there is a cheerfully colored bistro garden set so that I can sit there in the morning to enjoy the rising sun when I return from the morning walk with the dogs. There I also have a nice view over the free front. Here is the only ground that is not paved ... and it will remain so. Here the dogs are allowed to dig, and in the summer they often lie on the cool sand when it is warm. And there the passionflower is growing and makes me enjoy it's beautiful flowers.

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Trees around me

Then in the middle of the yard are 2 wooden garden benches and a wooden garden table… this is more the Dutch corner ”and here are trees planted in large containers around it. A pear tree, an apple tree, a plum tree, cherry trees, and some currant bushes, a blueberry bush and gooseberry bushes.

A very large wooden box containing Mammoth leaves for the shade for the dogs. This plant has such large leaves that it can serve as a kind of parasol for the dogs. And I also think it is a special and beautiful plant to look at.

Along the wall of the house there are all boxes with plants and some trees. Most of them have a function again. Many cuttings made from the grape plants and these are now growing into beautiful large plants, a white mulberry that I bought this year and a young fig tree that was bought last year and has already produced its first small figs this year. A blackberry bush that does very well. And I still have the desire for a nectarine tree and peach tree. But you cannot have everything.

Against the wall of the stable is a container with strawberry plants and several containers with zucchini plants and tomato plants. In other years there were also trays with bean plants, but they did not come this year, for some vague reason I did not. I don't know what the reason was when I think about it. But I didn't do it.

2 years ago I still had 2 greenhouses in use. 1 self-made small greenhouse and 1 larger greenhouse that unfortunately was completely destroyed by a storm. Unfortunately, that greenhouse has not yet been replaced. That is certainly on the wish list, but there were other priorities that had to go first. And unfortunately everything is not possible at the same time. Hence this year no peppers and paprikas
unfortunately!

There is a szechuan pepper tree in the side garden and it seems to be giving peppers for the first time this year, which of course I find very exciting to see developing. And the hazelnuts and walnuts are also in the making. So all in all again enough functionality in the garden ... and in addition a garden where the dogs can fully enjoy. Because despite all the edible plants, they can just run around and play here.

A few photos from the trees

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Dogs Swimming Pool

And this year they even got some expansion in the form of a swimming pool bought especially for them. Since we are far from bathing water, it was very difficult for the dogs to really cool down in the summer when it was really hot. They don't always want to lie inside when I'm outside, and such a small bath as it stood is not enough for Skipper in particular to be able to fully enter. And because Skipper also turns out to be a dog who is very fond of water, a larger swimming pool has been created. It is a pleasure to see how he enjoys this. In, out, play in the water ... Skipper enjoy it! Yes, of course he also enjoys a dip in a ditch, but now he can cool down all day long when he wants and does not always have to wait for the walks.

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That's how we combine everything. Functional for all of us, Maybe not the best ... but the dreams I had when I was young have been put out of my mind for a long time now. It is now more “go with the flow”. I can see why it is and no longer worry so much about what something should look like. As long as it looks a bit nice it is good. Most important is that I feel good AND that the yield comes from the garden. And in that respect it is good. That goes a little bit better every year and I keep thinking of things to improve it even more.

So the garden is not yet where it needs to be, but we are all enjoying it very much!