Everyone enjoyed their bundles of corn stalks. The stalks give a little shade, and the chickens and bunny nibble on the leaves.

Frodo's is placed to not only provide him shade, but also as a windbreak during the winter months.

Each year, I lay out the garden in an excel spreadsheet before planting begins. We determine where each type of plant will be placed, rotating crops in three year intervals.

This year, we have 3 50ft rows of corn at the top of the garden.

The fence is put up every year. Metal posts every 8ft, with deer fence between. The gate posts are cemented in place, but all others are removed in fall for easy rototilling.

There is a 70gal water buffalo on a portable base that we fill with well water mixed with fertilizer.

I line the front and far side with marigolds to ward off rabbits.

Spring always begins with crocuses blooming and daffodils sprouting.

After a long winter, both are welcome sights. Before consistently warm temperatures, there are sure to be at least one more snowfall and several hard frosts.

But these early friends give hope that warm temps are just around the corner.

The new Morel mushroom bed, located under pines trees behind the chicken coop.

Filled with dirt, potting soil and compost. Before adding the spores, more compost will be added.

Once we added the spores, we kept the soil moist and stirred in more compost once or twice.

In early june, we had our first mushroom, and then a second and third grew. Success!

The outhouse area was one of our first large gardening projects. First, we fortified the outhouse structurally and added a new roof. Previous owners used the spot as a dump and burn pile, so cleaning up was the next priority.

Finally, we enlarged the garden area up to an existing 24 ft long split rail. Any dug up rocks were used for paths and low walls.

Today, the outhouse garden grows mainly perennials, daffodils in the spring and orchids in the summer. We hae extended the back of the garden another 10 feet, and here are planted lavender, a lilac bush, two rose of sharon's and hb's rose garden.

Each year, we plant extra pepper plants in the extra space near the back of this area. We harvested dozens of beautiful habenaros in 2008.

In 2009, the two lilac bushes, one dwar and the other full size, bloomed. The fragrance could be detected nearly from the house!

The herb garden is designed using a raised bed concept. The base is wire for better drainage with a layer of weed fabric to keep the dirt inside. We built two identical boxes and placed both directly across the patio from the kitchen door.

During the cold early spring months, I put a wire frame covered in plastic over the boxes and use them for cold frames.

For the summer, I have planted basil, parsley, thyme and oregano in the beds. In addition to fresh cutting the herbs for cooking, I hope to grow enough to dry for use during the winter.

We have used the herbs all summer for cooking. The basil and parsley are amazing! We dried one batch of basil, which took longer than expected but eventually dried. The herbs transform tomato sauce, fish, potatoes andsauteed veggies from plain meals into dining experiences.

The first year of our orchard/turkey coop garden. In here we planted 11 fruit trees, 4 apple, 2 peach, 2 pear, 2 plum and a cherry. The trees were planted in October, the fence added in November and the coop built the following May. By July of that year, 4 heritage turkeys called this space home.

Now, this is Puff's castle.

Of the wildflower seeds that I planted, only the daisies have propagated. But they cover the orchard and are amazing!