I noticed when we moved here that the grass right next to the front wall of our house was dead. Because of the way the house is built, it gets sun but not rain. One of the perks of living in this climate is having access to fresh fruit and veggies and flowers at a very low cost. It was proposed that I would be able to spend 10 soles (about 4 dollars Canadian) on cut flowers bi-weekly, however, I chose instead to save that amount and buy plants around Mother's Day as I have done for years in Canada.
So, although I haven't enjoyed cut flowers since my mom visited us in December of last year, I have been blessed to see a miniature pink rose bush bloom, a yellow rose bush crushing it despite some leaf issues (I am not an expert and my online gardening support group didn't respond to my query about why that rose bush has dried up looking leaves) and some veggie, fruit and herb plants hanging on in the clay-like soil.
I noticed some rocks in an abandoned field near our house and asked my husband and children to gather them for me so that I might make a garden bed for the plants I got at the market. This became both a frugal way to create some curb appeal and an entertaining adventure for our little kids.
Pictured below is our most enthusiastic gatherer helping her dad. Then some of the plants I got for the window boxes positioned directly over the rock garden bed. Last pic is the gathered rocks put to good use! The sunflowers in the middle were started from seeds by the little children.
Included is a short video of our family's latest update about our time in Cusco, Peru!
