WELCOME EVERYONE! Come ye all and grab a seat, set-up a hammock, folding chair or simply wanna lay in the grass.
It’s spring and sure it’s been nearly 20c for a few days but it’s going back down to 1c overnight after a thunderstorm so might as well start the party that will become my 2025 outdoors thread!
Let’s set the tone with the most appropriate party mix to match my own brand of madness to ensue:
This year will have a bunch of changes to the yard which includes a 10’x12’x8’ frame shelter in the beds area, and I’m turning a bulk of my patio into a 50% shade greenhouse with the “for sale” plants in mind.
Here’s the start of that process at least. I’m using a 6x6x6 portable shed frame (found on the curb while driving) , 50% shade fabric I’ve been using for years, cinder blocks (free via Facebook Marketplace), and old fence boards from my parents old fence.
I found a guy on FB Marketplace that was selling off agricultural crates so I ended up getting around 23 and oh my Gods are they handy!
Other than the frame being bolted together it’s all loose so I can have permutations of the set-up until I figure out the best way this will all work out.
The animals are okay with it as you can see from Heathcliff chilling and watching the Raccoon I call “HomeDog” cause it acts like a dog I I greet it by saying “Hey HomeDog”.
Here’s the canvas for this year before everything wakes up and fills in.
Behind me is the stinging nettle patch which will get cropped soon and dried after the rains. The rest of the year it’s for the pollinators and to make tea for the plants.
To the side of the yard is the compost heap that has seedlings growing already from all the stuff dumped in here over winter from hash made from seed runs.
I’ll dig them up when stronger and see how it goes in a different spot as I need the compost this year to amend some things.
I cleared out the pond and made sure the waterfall pump was tested and ready to install. The winter and animals moved shit around so I need to work on the placement of the falls before daring to install any pumps. 
An addition to the pondscape today is the Pagoda Dogwood that overwintered indoors because I spaced out on planting it last fall.
It’s matching a Serviceberry which I DID plant last spring! 
(Bottom right in the stones)
Last year I also planted a bunch of Creeping Jenny in the east side of the pond to stop the grass from growing and to add to the water feature and it worked so well I did it to the west side today
The tufts you can see are wildflowers, and under the stones are SHEETS of Creeping Jenny root beds + plants taken from another part of the yard. They’ll eventualy grow up and through those stones and carpet the whole edge and as a bonus sport yellow flowers when they are willing.
Opposing the compost heap is an old gazebo that gets covered in berry vines during the summer. I need to shore this up as well from the winter fuckery.
Looking back to where i was standing the old gazebo frame still stands as does the old USA military camo net for shade. I moved the umbrella and stones over here as I want an open workspace and shade is a smart idea. Also it was useless on the patio were it was in the way of plants.
Right in the Hugelkulture Garden Bed the Pussy Willow is really freaking happy/
The berry bushes are waking up (Currents (Black/Red), & Gooseberry) and I’ll start to move the water barrels to their designated spots another day. I want to get a rain tank and install it in this spot so I don’t stress EVER about free sky-water.
The metal thing is the “portable-enough” scrap fire pit in between our two Hazelnut “trees” cause they are so very smol.
The main beds area, and a big change to come as I need to cut down a pile of cedar trees up north meaning I have free wood to make an open frame that I can clear tarp mid august to stop direct rainfall on big plants under it!
I’m going to knock out the rotted wood frames, move the soil into the remaining beds and anywhere needing clean fill around the yard. Then I need to cut and get the wood before anything cool happens
Every year I find random rasp canes growing outa place so I pull them and toss them in the “thunderdomeque” beds.
Here’s the small pond next to the patch with the new canes + lovage.
And a section showing exactly why you DO NOT PLANT creeping jenny unless you REALLY REALLY WANT IT.
This year I’m determined to use my outdoors hydro stand. Bonus is that the mrs wants more veg so this is a good excuse
The roses will fill in behind the stand so mrs P knows she has some trimming to do before I can safely not bleed out.
I’m a little stressed about the rhubarb patch which has NEVER in 20+ years been this small. There’s a lot more water channeled here so I’m going to add clean fill from the beds into the barepatch as part of the solution.
I’ve always wanted an adze to make wood gutters and this may be the year!
At the end of the rhubarb patch is the asparagus patch which had quite the mess from last year.
Last year we planted 2 new roses, one for the hedge and another for our patio boundary. The one in the hedge did well over winter and is sporting shoots but the patio one took hits and we are grateful to at least find one good branch so the roots are alive.
We got another one on my birthday! We saw at least 3 we wanted but we do not have this colour of rose so we had no choice but welcome this one home.
The image makes the flower look pink/purple but it’s a dark purple IRL. It’s going to go into the main hedge next to last years new addition.
Speaking of the hedge of tea-roses. I moved a bird/pollinator bath much closer to it and trimmed down about 6-8ft of the chinese elm tree. The birds are a little miffed but these trees grow stupid fast and become invasive even faster.
We’re gonna take of the small branches and use the wood to shore up our wild grapes fence with the rooming house property next door. Might as well use it eh?
I also have Dyers Woad everywhere. I just need to get some wool before it bolts again so I can have mrs p make some “home made natural dye” products we can up sell
The tower of vines is waking up, so soon the hops will take this over and the birds will have another place to shelter and I get sleepy-time inside-out flowers.
Our GojiBerry bush hasn’t been trimmed in 4 years… so it’s really pissed off with me after this morning.
Part of the FB marketplace game I play is looking at the Free section often and sometimes you luck out.
It’s a start, and I plan on keeping on doing this as free is free if useful. I imagine these will end up elsewhere as I get better pavers in time but for now all the seed that falls is getting consumed!
The path will follow the laundry line we use for bird feeding. I also need to trim the trees I’m allowing to grow along the rooming house boarder. Bonus they are Mulberry and Elderberry trees and the birds love them.
Due to the weather alerts and temperature drop tonight I moved all the plants BACK INSIDE. It’s my marching of the ants when required but all the crates make it doable. I left the spares outside to get washed in the rain.
It’s weird seeing this empty but I’ll eventually have all my Scented Geranium mothers lined up here. I need get some bungee chords to act as a falling brace.
Last shot for this opening post is of the tunnel of love whilst empty. Seeing all the predatory insects in here murdering the fuckers that were pissing me off inside makes this now the tunnel of love. 
Fun times and even more fun times ahead my friends! Thanks for joining me on yet another yearly episode of my green fingers wearing themselves to the bone as I joyfully run about too and fro making the neighbours worry that I’m on speed and not wearing enough clothes…
…and they’ll only be 1/2 right as it’s getting soon for Sarong season!
Don’t you worry the real me will have more hair and be less covered.
they’ll be fine lol.
keep’ em outta my hammock. 
