Mom's Garden

We have a semi-dwarf peach tree, a strawberry patch, four raised beds with annual vegetables & fruit, a herb bed with self-seeding annuals and perennials, and several wildlife- and insect-friendly plants. Our curb-side bed is xeriscaped with native plants, and I'm always looking for ways to reduce our water consumption. For example, our melons are a low-water, Hopi heirloom variety from Native Seeds/S.E.A.R.C.H (www.nativeseeds.org), and we use mulch everywhere we can.
We also use companion planting (when we remember what likes what!), and plant edible flowers for color. Most of our plants serve multiple purposes: food, medicinals, sachets, bath additives, kindling and/or nutrient-rich compost.
We have plans for a bee hive, a chicken coop and additional trained fruit trees and bushes (apples, plum, raspberry, even citrus once the sunroom's finished). We're also hoping to change over to active solar by the end of next year, and plan to install a rain/snow cistern before winter. We've even talked about graywater diversion and a vertical wetland similar to the one used to treat graywater from Emeryville's City Hall (SF Bay area), but we don't know if the city would allow it. Eventually, we'd like to have a living roof (with some edibles, of course), but that's a looong way off.
My mom started this garden several years ago, and my fiance and I are gradually assuming responsibility for the garden and sustainability projects under her guidance. My six-year old nephew also helps us with gardening tasks (he loves to dig up dirt for new beds), so it's truly multi-generational.

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