First gardens - gardens of first time gardeners - includes related article

Sunset, March, 1996 by Kathleen Norris Brenzel

Beginners share the adventures and challenges of installing new gardens and renovating old ones.

Before Dan Lehrer and Joanne Krueger bought their "falling-down house in Berkeley," neither of them had ever owned a garden. So the prospect of turning a 40- by 70-foot backyard "disaster area" with a battered plywood deck, a small concrete patio, a chain-link fence, a scruffy St. Augustine lawn, and a promising but neglected apple tree into something wonderful puzzled them. What to do with this rangy bit of earth? How? And where to start? Like most 20- and 30-somethings on tight budgets, they had two choices. Roll up their sleeves and plunge in, shovel first. Or live with the garden for a while, and wait for inspiration. When we asked our readers to share their first gardening experiences with us, more than 200 new gardeners replied. Their letters spun tales of big dreams and small pocketbooks. Aching backs. Soil-caked fingernails. Schedules so overflowing with first babies, new jobs, and school that gardening time was limited to weekends and evenings. But Lehrer, Krueger, and other new gardeners persevered. Why? Jean Zeller of San Jose could have been speaking for all of them when she wrote: "If I wanted a garden, there was only one way I was going to get it - sweat equity." Did their efforts pay off? Absolutely. Zeller's garden brought her "hours of peace, pure joy, and improved mental health." And Lehrer and Krueger? "We improvised, with magic results. Now we're starting a nursery."

STARTING OVER: A grand adventure into organics DAN LEHRER AND JOANNE KRUEGER, Berkeley, California

STARTED WITH: A "disaster area."

CREATED: An old-fashioned organic flower and vegetable garden with herbs and more than 50 old roses. "We call it Flatland Flower Farm," says Lehrer.

HOW: Lehrer and Krueger conquered the garden like pioneers conquering the West - bit by bit. After they tore down the deck, broke up the concrete patio with a sledge-hammer, and hauled the pieces off to a concrete recycler, they started at the house and worked their way toward the back fence in 10-foot sections. In each section, they tilled the soil and dug in compost, homemade fertilizer, and rock powder, then planted. The garden took three years to renovate.

BEST FEATURES: "Everything is draped and covered and looks private," says Lehrer of the fences and trellises covered with rambling roses and vines. "The garden is now on autopilot; it just goes. We use no chemicals and make our own compost. It's our way of keeping the soil healthy."

BEST IDEA: Use of recycled materials. The couple built a rose trellis from an old wood ladder (a salvage yard find) and a worm bin from leftover fence posts. "Worm castings are black gold," says Lehrer. "They make great compost. Plants go bonkers for it."

COST: "Cheap. The biggest expense was wood for the deck - about $1,000 worth."

STARTING FROM SCRATCH: Bare dirt to floral tapestry in less than a year

KAREN AND JEFF INGALLS, Hollister, California

STARTED WITH: A new house with no landscaping in the backyard. Just "wall-to-wall weeds," says Karen, and "once we rototilled, wall-to-wall soil."

CREATED: A rectangular backyard tapestry of shrubs and flowers laced with paths, and a 20- by 30-foot deck for outdoor living.

HOW: "We made lists of things we liked and wanted," says Karen. "We needed big things to fill the space. On paper, we sketched out our ideas for the deck, a few fruit trees, flower beds, and walkways.

"We completed the work in less than a year. Jeff spent three days working amendments like compost into the soil. During May and June, my brother, who is in construction, built our deck at kinfolk prices. In July, we put in the sprinkler system with help from friends. In August, we built the paths. We planted in September and October. Our motto for plants? If it works, good. If it doesn't, it gets pulled out."

BEST IDEA: Paths around the deck and leading toward the fruit trees were built of recycled materials. "We started picking up rocks in empty fields and creek beds," says Karen. "We got permission from a local rancher to take down some old redwood fence posts. Rocks and fence posts were set in the clay soil. The finished path took 440 rocks."

COST: About $3,800, including the deck, a toolshed, a sprinkler system, and plants. Labor costs amounted to "a couple of good dinners" for friends who helped.

ENGLISH COUNTRY on a rugged California dope SARAH AND ANDREW SCHWARTZ, Mill Valley, California

STARTED WITH: A strip of barren hillside that wrapped the west and south sides of the house.

CREATED: "I wanted lots of flowers all jumbled together, like those country gardens in England, with areas among them for entertaining and for our two young boys to play," says Sarah. "I wanted lots of color - purples, yellows, pinks, reds. I also wanted plants with long stems that would move gracefully - lavender, penstemon, lavatera, and buddleia. And plants that smelled good - jasmine, thyme, mint, pineapple sage, roses. Texture was also important - princess flower and lamb's ears, my son's favorite."