[Myrtle]

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So there you have it. Probably a long, boring introduction, but the best I could do on a moment's notice.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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NOT boring at all. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Really great news to hear that you’re doing so well! Nothing like getting out and communing with nature......incredibly good for both the body and the soul.

I’ll share my story with you, as it’s similar, but very different because of the huge difference in climates where we respectively live.

I’m an hour west of Boston. In 1980 I bought a ‘fixer-upper’ on 10 acres in a small town here. Its’ main claim to fame is/was its’ prolific apple orchards and farms. As with everything else, things change, and it has now become one of those snotty bedroom communities that cost a fortune to buy into, with an influx of people who have more $$ than brains.

Originally, there was a ¼ acre backyard, and the rest of the property was very heavily wooded. More than 5 acres is wetlands/swamp, and you really can’t do anything with it, other than enjoy the flora & fauna present. Plenty of deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, bobcat, mink, coyotes, woodchucks, and all kinds of birds.......including a number of different species of hawk and just the other day we had 3 bald eagles circling overhead. We’ve had both black bear & moose sighting in the town, but I have yet to see either on my land.

The woods were so thick that you really couldn’t get a ‘lay of the land’, so I slowly cleared them out ........by hand, as I was concerned about negatively affecting the land had I done it in the conventional manner......bring in the dozer and blow everything down. Besides, there were many species of trees present, and I hate cutting down trees unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

It took me over 2 years to clear enough of the thickets out to get a feeling for what I really had. By hand, I took out more than 300 5’ -15’ sumac bushes. Have you ever cut down a sumac bush? The wood cuts as if it was iron.....keeps you in good shape!

Once I could see what was actually there, I ended up bringing in the big dozer, and very carefully grading the land. It’s on a gently sloping hillside, so I ended up rough terracing it, without taking down a single tree. Fortunately the dozer operator was an ‘artiste’, and he did a terrific job. We ended up clearing about 3 acres, and since then I have been slowly ‘improving’ it. There is a mix of black walnuts, oaks, maples, elms, birch and cherry trees. Over the years, I have transplanted a number of the black walnuts and they are now over 40 ft. high. They are prolific fruit bearers, and the squirrel population loves them.

At the same time, I re-habbed the house. Over the past 26 years.....four additions and virtually new everything...did all the work myself. There is not a square inch inside or outside of this house that does not have my fingerprints on it.

Now is the fun time. All of the major work is done, and it’s time to do the gardens/landscape, and that has been my focus for the last 3-4 years. Just this past month, cut out the side of one of the terraces, and put in a 12 x 30 irregular bluestone patio, with a 3’ high backing wall of yellow granite. I am in the process of filling the crevices between the bluestone with all different kinds of herbs, mosses and low ground cover. Keeps plenty of dirt between my fingernails!

The gardens/flower beds are going in, a little at a time. I have plenty of room for a veggy garden, but won’t do that until the rest of the stuff is done.

I’ve got to pace myself, as I’ve had two major spinal surgerys in the last two years. Doing all of this is great physical rehab, as long as I don’t overdo it....my body lets me know when I push the envelope too far!

I wish I could give you some advice about what you’re doing, but the climate difference is so huge, and I know nothing about what works or doesn’t in your neck of the woods.


I’m out to put in some more plants in a few minutes. The weather back here for the last too months has been incredibly wet.....We’ve just set an all time record for rainfall in two consecutive months, and all this water has really affected what one can, and cannot, do.

In any case, enough of my story for now......Sorry if it’s boring to some, but one of my personal passions in life is to create something out of nothing, and landscaping/gardening allows me to do this.

Keep up the good work......

Myrt