Hay Bale Gardening

So, I love gardening. I have not had a lot of time.. and most recently I have not had the energy to devote to it. I am praying that I will have plenty of energy this year to devote to my garden.. with the help of my able bodied family!

We battle crab grass and golphers.. and then in our front yard our soil is root ridden and it is very difficult for the new bushes that we have planted to take hold and take root, without the other roots choking them out.

So this year, we are going to attempt something different... we are going to do Hay Bale Gardening. Have you heard of it? Have you tried it?

Here are some photos I have collected..
http://pinterest.com/jsouthern/hay-bale-gardening/ 

We were going to attempt to build many tables to garden in... however, I think this is less labor intensive, the cost is more affordable.. and I feel like it is very doable..

Thoughts?

My hopes, are that as I start our projects I will come here and share what we are doing. With photos and descriptions! And also share some of the awesome tutorial sites I have found on how to prep and start your hay bale garden!  To get you started here is a site that is devoted to Hay bale Gardening!

I would like to have veggies in my backyard.. and in my front yard, I would like to have some sort of green shrubbery that would cascade down the front of the hay bale, and some taller flowers behind it..

I will keep you all posted on how we are doing..

What does your garden look like? What have you tried that has totally flopped.. and what has worked beyond your wildest expectation?

Please share here!!!!