This was the last area in the yard to be turned into a garden - begining in the fall of 2005. The 'alley' is 50-55' long and 8' wide. It was used as access to the backyard both during our renovation/addition in 1999 and the next door neighbour's addition in 2002/2003. The soil is very heavy, sticky clay that has been compacted by the heavy equipment used in the construction. The ground is somewhat sloping in several directions and, because the neighbour is on higher ground, the alley is also a drainage channel. Converting this area to a garden started in September 2005. Planting did not begin until spring 2006.

The first step was to put a path along the low part of the length of the alley. There is drainage gravel there and parts of the path briefly have standing water after heavy rains, but the water drains away within a day. The path, like those in the rest of the garden, is made from a combination of 3 parts shredded pine bark and 1 part concrete sand. A new fence and gate were priorities - the old one was ugly and rickety, having been taken down and put back up again several times during the two constructions. Two of the three 4x4s needed replacing entirely before the new fence and gate went up. Garden beds were created along the paths using chopped leaves on top of newspaper-covered piles of the grass that had been dug out for the path. This 'lasagna' style bed was left for the winter and planted in the spring 2006. Everything seems to be thriving in the soil that was created. This album follows the creation of the north alley garden.