Sunshine to Flowers: The Rest of the Garden Tour

It's taken me awhile to finish off the incredible garden tour I wrote about a few weeks ago. As promised, here is the rest of our tour!

After leaving Boho Farm and Home, we moved on to the other gardens. Our next few gardens were wonderful examples of how you can utilize your yard, no matter what the size, for growing food for you, your family and friends. I didn't take many photos of the next garden on our list but their yard was filled with growing things, almost all of them edible! They had all varieties of fruit trees, corn, strawberries, herbs and of course, tomatoes. I'm sure they had more growing, I just can't remember what all they had. They also had a backyard pond with koi. Very pretty and peaceful. They also had chickens and ducks. I took a picture of the ducks for my kids. :)

In Ohio, ducks and geese were not something you necessarily welcomed into your yard. They were more of a pest that you tried to keep out due to their mess and in the case of geese, their tempers! Obviously ducks lay eggs and large ones at that!

Moving on from this small urban farm we went to another yard that wasn't very large but packed so much into their growing space, they have created a CSA for the neighborhood! Farmyard devoted their entire front yard, and a good portion of their back yard as well, to growing vegetables and fruit. Instead of a manicured lawn, they have well maintained beds brimming with beautiful looking vegies!

Front yard

Summer squash and sunflower hedge

What's behind the towering sunflowers...

Back yard

shading the tomatoes

blackberry bushes

Chicken coop and run

Moving on from this fun farm we visited a small farm that just started in January! His farm was tiny but it was mighty. :)

Egg collecting box

corn, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, melons. He had a lot growing in this tiny spot

You can see his compost bins in the upper right

After leaving this farm we had one more to visit. The last farm is on the largest piece of land, around an acre and is the home of Jill of Sweet Life Garden. This farm was amazing. The property has been in Jill's family for many years and has been tended to with loving care. They have mature fruit trees, peaches, apricots, apples and various citrus, which she sells as whole fruit or in delicious jams and marmalades. Her flower beds are overflowing with gorgeous flowers and her vegetable gardens were full of beautiful vegetables. She has a huge chicken coop, with lots and lots of chickens. I can't remember how many she said she has, but it was a lot! Her yard is where the picnic was held. This is where we all gathered at the end of the tour for a delicious lunch made from the gardens of Rebecca of Farmyard. People spread out over her entire yard enjoying the scenery and delicious lunch.

I'll leave you with pictures of Jill's beautiful yard and our incredible picnic lunch! Thank you to all the talented gardeners for opening up your yards and sharing your knowledge with us. We loved the tour and your hospitality and hope to come back through in the fall!

Make sure you check out the gardeners websites linked in the post for more info on their gardens and growing beautiful, edible treats in the desert! They have some beautiful pictures on their blogs. :)