Ten years ago, I was digging deep (literally) in a garden blitz. We were still at the “establishing the garden” phase and I had a long list of things I wanted to do.

I feel like I’m in a similar situation a decade later.

The garden is established in terms of the infrastructure. We have fencing, a gate, perimeter beds, trellises, a waterline, perennial crops like raspberries, blackberries, grapes, asparagus and rhubarb.

However, after years of neglect, it’s hard to find the beds, never mind the plants. Oh there are plants. They’re just the weedy kind of plants, not the eatey kind of plants.

My mission this year is to reclaim the garden.

Ten years ago, I challenged Sarah in Illinois (remember when Sarah used to write for the blog?) to a garden DIY duel. Sarah, who is still an avid gardener, also had a long to-do list, and we kept each other motivated through our six week challenge.

This year, I have another partner, Ellie. Ellie is very keen to have a nice garden and grow some of her own plants. Her motivation and work ethic may not be up to Sarah’s level, but she is enthused, which makes this a fun project to do together.

Work is underway. I’ve been popping over to the garden whenever I can find a few minutes, and I’ve found the rhubarb (spindly, but much happier since I cleared the weeds around it) and asparagus (also weed choked, but lots of sturdy stalks are shooting up).

I’m planning to give it some more dedicated attention over the rest of the month. Here’s what I’m hoping to do.

Edge the garden – I’ve been slowly working my way around the outside, raking leaves, cutting back grass and weeds. I’m more than halfway around.

Remove trees – We’ve gone beyond weeds to have actual trees sprouted in the garden. Some I can dig out. Others are tangled in the fence and grapes and will require some special extraction.

Prune raspberries – I’m not sure whether I missed one year or two of pruning. Removing old canes will give more room for new canes–and berries–to grow. I’ve made it down one side of one row, so a quarter of our berry patch is done.

Prune grapes (?) – I’ve never been sure what to do to take care of our grapes. I’m not even sure how many canes we have right now or how healthy they are. This task will take some untangling–physically and mentally.

Repair trellises – The berry canes have flopped over their wires, and I suspect some wire will need to be tightened. The squash trellis is still standing, but needs some repairs. The tomato trellises are in the garden, but I’m not sure whether they’ll be usable after so many years of neglect.

Establish planting beds and pathways – I’ve built some beds and some paths over the years. Everything is overgrown with weeds, so it’s hard to tell what can be reclaimed and what need to be completely rebuilt.

Plant – Ellie was gifted many seeds for her birthday. She carefully scheduled what need to be planted when and has a thriving collection of seedlings. We also have numerous crops that will be seeded directly into the garden.

According to Ellie’s calendar, the last weekend of May is garden weekend. So we have this month to get things in shape.

The nature of gardening is that it’s a process. Each day, week, season, year builds on the one before. So this year is about progress. The garden won’t be perfect, but I’m hoping we can actually have more of a garden this year.

Even with so much neglect, we’re not starting at zero. Everything we’re doing this year builds on what we did ten years ago, and all the years since. I’m glad to be back to this part of the farm.

Are you doing any gardening at your house? Are you a vegetable or flower gardener? Who else has a part of their property or house that has been neglected?