To step into our shed was to be ankle-deep in compost and carcasses (rat and lizard). To retrieve an item from within its depths, I had to grip the door jam with one hand, lean forward precariously while keeping both feet outside the “death zone”, grab the item and shake it vigorously to dislodge any […]
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Hidden in our yard, far away behind the shed, is my Corner of Shame: But the truth is even more tragic when you realize that it used to look like this: I know, I know. (And apologies to my Dad, who was in the trenches with me, digging out mulberry stumps for days.) After I moved […]
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Hello blog. It’s been a while. I just popped in to share something seasonal from the garden. The kids actually discovered this. Last year I put in a stevia plant with high hopes of harvesting and drying the leaves in case the zombie apocalypse leaves us without sugar. Of course I have not accomplished that […]
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A mystery plant for your bloom day this month. (No, I’m not a garden blogger, I just pretend to be on the 15th of each month… if I remember… or have time…) What the heck is this? No, not the Henry Deulberg sage in front. Not the desert willow in back. Not the purple coneflowers […]
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I’m sorry, this is a long, long post. But it’s the culmination of almost two years of planning and work. And more work. And lots of work after that. So you WILL scroll to the end. Besides, this is the best part. Behold, the big reveal: I know it looks like a lovely lush lawn […]
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A couple weeks ago I did the final 50-billion calculations (yes, Dad, you were right, I am using math in real life) necessary to order the crushed granite. It was delivered on a Thursday, whereupon Violet and Graham immediately claimed the mountain… …in the name of Kitty-tania. I spent Friday doing the final clearing and […]
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Is this becoming a gardening blog? Am I going to have to start learning the botanical names for plants? Well, considering how terrible my Spanish is, for now I’ll just have a minor garden-geek-out and report on The Planting. David Verity cuphea (Rob’s request), lamb’s ear (texture-crazy Violet’s request) and calylophus. Coral honeysuckle vine, Mexican […]
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I know, I know, I’m supposed to be posting progress on To-Do Tuesdays, and it is now Wednesday. My only excuse is that I got sucked into the nursery yesterday, hunting down plants. Because…. …the beds are ready. We literally moved a ton of limestone this weekend. And fitting the pieces together was like a […]
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Surprisingly, when I tell most people that we’re getting rid of our lawn, I am met with confusion and what seems like vague anger. I think that many of us have been raised with this idea that children need lawns and a the large expanse of green is somehow tied to our American Dream and […]
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“Let’s just rent it for 4 hours. We’ll totally be done by then,” I said to Rob at the Home Depot tool counter. Why do I always say things like that? Why do I believe it? This is how Rob felt about my scheme after the first 4 hours. I didn’t blame him. And then […]
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