It's been a while since my last post, but as we are upon growing season I'm sure that I will be posting more frequently!

A while back, Phaedra picked up several dormant rose bushes for the center. They have been planted to create a keyhole garden. It should be a nice spot once the bushes fill in.
Here's a picture shortly after they were planted.


Last Saturday, Vishnu and I went to a farm in McHenry County to pick up 9 straw bales so we could begin the soil preparation. Swami Narayanananda had previous placed the black tarps to try to stifle the crop of perennial weeds that inundate the area. We are using cardboard/newspaper under straw mulching technique. Swami had previously stated that the weeds are very tenacious, so we are doing our best to keep them at bay this growing season.

Here is a picture before we started the mulching.


As of Saturday, the porch was about 95% complete; it seems as if they only needed to complete the railings on the stairs.
Here's a picture before we mulched.


Here is a picture of the vegetable garden area after Vishnu and I finished mulching.


Here is Vishnu mulching the flower garden.


Here is the flower garden mulched.