Philadelphia Garden Plans

So we have moved again, and God willingly this time we will be here for the long haul, which in turn will allow for me to finally get another garden established, as we have moved the last two summers, disrupting any real chance of getting a garden established. So my initial plans are to start off with a 4’x8’ raised bed and a 3’x8’ raised bed, both over the asphalt portion of the yard. We have decided, instead of taking away lawn space we are going to garden over the paved half. And at least initially instead of digging up the asphalt, we are going to build the raised beds directly over the asphalt where it is raised up on shims. I am looking at doing a similar system  as seen in the article: How to Build a Garden on Top of an Asphalt Driveway.

The thinner of the two raised beds will go under the family room casement windows, creating a buffer, so people (specifically kids) don’t crash into the windows when they are open  when it is nice out. I will most likely plant a salad garden in this bed, with perhaps a few perennial herbs along the border. Currently I am still playing with the idea of making the beds nominally 12” deep, consisting of two 2”x6” stacked on top of each other.

As for the front yard, I have already planted saffron bulbs, and am hoping they come up this summer/fall. I also plan to hopefully fill the borders of the entry walk with phlox and then plant daffodils and tulip bulbs to come up through the phlox in the spring. But ideally I should find some perennials that bloom in the summer/fall to plant amongst the phlox to have color there for a longer part of the year.