A Not So Giant Sequoia and a Raised Garden Bed

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When we got married five years ago we went to San Francisco for our honeymoon. One day we rented a car to visit Muir Woods, and they were selling Giant Sequoia saplings in the gift shop for just a few dollars. We thought it would be fun to bring one back to Atlanta. For the first few years we lived in an apartment and then a loft, so the Sequoia had to live in a pot. It didn’t grow very much, but it hung in there. We swore as soon as we bought a house it would go in the ground.

Soooo now we have owned the house for over two years and the Sequoia finally got planted in the backyard! We couldn’t decide where to put it, and lets face it – this isn’t like planting a rose bush. This tree is supposed to grow fast and tall, so we wanted to make sure where we put it wouldn’t block the sun and would allow it enough space to do its thing. We won’t live long enough to see it reach full maturity (over 200 feet after 100+ years), but it will be exciting to watch it grow.

Not So Giant Sequoia

I know it looks like the Christmas tree from Charlie Brown, but it was a lot smaller when we bought it.

Sequoia in the Yard

Grow little one, grow!!

In addition to the Giant Sequoia we have been preparing to plant our vegetable garden. The past two years we planted the vegetables straight in the ground, and the results weren’t near as good as we had hoped. This year we decided to try a raised garden bed. We have read about them quite a bit in magazines, and people always seemed to speak highly about them.

We built the bed out of untreated pine 2x10s. They will slowly rot away, but treated wood is not good for you or your plants. We also saw these wonderful stained beds online, so we couldn’t resist dressing ours up a little. The red stain is water based, so it hopefully isn’t toxic. (It is advertised on the label as being “safe” – whatever that really means.)

Basic Raised Bed for Vegtables

We constructed the frame for the garden bed on the driveway. The spikes in the corners hold it in place.

Special Dirt

We went to Green Brothers Landscape Supply and bought some special dirt for the raised bed. It has crushed granite, which they claim is the “secret” ingredient.

Filling it up...

Steffi filling it up. Check out the red stain! Our raised bed has style.

Today it was snowing in Atlanta, but this should be the last of the cold weather. We are hoping to plant some of the crops this weekend, and we will make sure to post frequently about the progress.

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