In the Beginning . . .

The Edmonton Alley

This is what I started with last summer. Since we bought the house, I've had a minor obsession with turning our section of this alleyway into something green and productive.

Working in my favour:

• Southern Exposure
• Long summer days (Sunrise at 5 a.m. and Sunset at 10:30 p.m. in the height of summer)
• Fence creates a small microclimate
• Nice long expanse

Working against me:

• This is Edmonton, Alberta -- it's not exactly known for it's gardening. Summer doesn't last long, and the winter is so, so cold.
• Very little real soil; lots of gravel
• Hard, hard, hard, and very difficult to dig through
• Thick bed of cedar wood chips covering the entirety of the alleyway and flower beds (my neighbor, a soil scientist, will later inform me these are a soil sterilant, and they are poisoning everything I try to grow)
• Neighbor's trees casting large shadows through much of the day
• Our own pine and spruce casting shadow, sucking the soil dry, and dropping a constant bed of needles
• Through years of neglect, Canadian thistle has invaded the entire property. It's the only thing that will grow up through the wood chips, and it will prove a constant battle to try to eradicate. No wonder they call it "Hell Lettuce."