There were a lot of things that went wrong in the garden construction process. That was really surprising and frustrating considering how much planning I did before I even started. I started the process of planning during the summer and created this drawing of our house and yard:
This drawing evolved over time as I tried out locations and shapes for the beds, locations for the trees, and even a line diagram for the irrigation system. I used Draftsight to plan and replan as I moved along. Draftsight is a free 2D CAD program made by Dassault Systemes. It is Windows and Mac capatible, and pretty terrible, but at free it is much cheaper than the popular, reliable alternative, AutoCAD.
There were a few goals used in the planning process: 4′ wide beds (several sources recommended no wider than 4′), good sun, multiple fruit trees, and taking out as much grass as possible. So far, I’ve realized a few drawbacks from having used this approach: increased edging work, and difficulty weeding the fruit bed that is against the fence. I also realized having a pergola built over the patio and using it for the vines could have been an awesome idea. Maybe if I ever move…