Deck Garden Maintenance

This weekend, I performed some overdue maintenance on my deck garden/bird feeding station. We live on the third floor and face the northwest, so the deck does not receive much sun or rain at any time of the year. I therefore try to grow forest understory plants and herbs and veggies that I found, through trial and error, can survive on the deck.


My containers were in disarray, filled with remnants from the last growing season and weeds that took hold. The surviving plants needed pruning and watering to improve their appearance and help them make it to the next summer. So far, the only native survivors are my beloved Indian plum, a vine maple, and two bunches of purple wood sorrel. Among the herbs, a purple sage, an English lavender, an Italian parsley, and some dormant Hood strawberries remain.


The indian plum now has four inflorescences emerging from their buds.


I cut down the remnants of last year’s cherry tomatoes, the only types that grow well under our poor sunlight conditions. I leave the twine loosely attached to the frames for the house finches to use as nest material.


I sprinkle seed into the large pots for ground foraging birds such as mourning doves and juncos.


The finished product! Ready for this spring’s planting...