Our Gardens
It was the land that drew us here…
When we drove in from town, I was taken aback by the beauty of the Appalachian foothills. There aren’t many mountains like that where I come from. As we pulled up the wooded, winding driveway, I fell in love with the beauty of the land. It was February, and while everything was bare and gray, we could see that life would burst free here as soon as the weather warmed, and boy were we right.
March. The grass turned green and the dogwood bloomed.
The wisteria put on a marvelous show.
The Japanese Maple showed us its brilliant red leaves.
April. The bamboo shot up and we worked to beat it back out of the cottage garden. The roses bloomed red, pink, and white and we pruned their overgrowth from the surrounding shrubbery. We dug into the red clay and filled the cottage garden with new flowers.
May. Oh, May. Honeysuckle covered every retaining wall and fence on the property. The intoxicating smell held us spellbound every time we walked outside. We planted a vegetable garden, hung baskets of flowers, and discovered lamb’s ear by the back porch. In late May the pinwheel bloomed, its scent a welcome addition to our back porch sitting. We harvested kale, planted the blueberry bushes and harvested some ripe, juicy blueberries, as well. We began our small orchard with an apple and a peach tree.
June. Temperatures soared. The kale stopped producing, but the tomatoes took over the raised bed and we harvested our first juicy, sweet Big Boy and cherry tomatoes. We planted the cucumber, bean, and squash plants out in the kitchen garden. We harvested radishes. The hydrangeas bloomed big, blue, and beautiful. Luke chopped down a dead pine tree and we formulated a plan to tackle the jungle that was growing all around the perimeter of the land. We added flowering vines to our trellis and enjoyed the beauty of the summer.
July. Oh, July. The heat proved to be a bit too much for me. Time was spent splashing around in the pool and cutting hydrangeas for a vase. We kept trying to keep up with the garden, but we learned a lot about pests. The basil was easy to harvest, but the carrots were planted too close together and the squash didn’t have quite enough space. We were at least able to harvest some cucumbers.
August. August was also incredibly hot. Weeds were everywhere, including poison ivy! I got my first taste of poison ivy on my face. We gave up on our garden as the tomatoes had disease. We harvested what we could, but spent most of the month trying to remain cool.
September. September still brought with it the heat. We worked on cleaning up the pool and trying to just keep the grass cut. Not much progress was made in the gardens.
Oh October. October meant cooler weather and changing colors. The dogwoods turned a beautiful orange/red color. Other leaves began to fall. We added mums and pumpkins to our front porch and got ready to celebrate our favorite season.
In November, the trees grew bare, the weather more drear. We did less and less outside the home. We lit the fireplace for the first time and watched the fire crackle and warm our living room. We celebrated our very first Thanksgiving here. Our table was decked out in a seasonal tablecloth with candles. We gave thanks for our time here.
December meant we spent very little time outdoors even though we had some 70 degree days. We brought our first little Christmas tree into The Ivy Farmhouse. Our table was adorned with two ivy and poinsettia plants. We invited family into our home and celebrate the birth of our Savior together.
January was spent in mourning a bit. The army has called us away from our home for a little while. We prepare the home and the land to be rented out to another family, just until we can get back…