The Beginning



A hedge row - the one asset to the property



A little more than three years ago my husband and I took on the experience of having a new house built for us. Although the highs and lows of that adventure could have easily been the topic of an entire blog all its own, one of the bonuses (for me) was the opportunity to start a brand new garden from scratch. I have always enjoyed gardens and landscape design even before I had ever read a single thing on the subject. Plants, trees, fields of grass – you name it – these have always been reasons for me to stop and take in the moment. I knew I was hooked after I potted my first series of perennials (an herb container garden) and managed not to kill a single one. Plus anyone who finds relaxation in weeding is destined to dig around in the dirt forever. There is just no way around it. So, after moving in to our new house I had my first opportunity to take a good look at this blank slate and to be perfectly honest I am not sure which emotion overwhelmed me first - excitement or fear! Apart from a lovely hedge row of half century old Osage-Orange trees on the east side of our property, the ground around the house was an amalgamation of clay, weeds, and multiple varieties of prairie grasses. Also, due to the pasture land next to the property and its 20-plus occupants, we had more than our share of cow patties to enjoy. Thankfully, my determination and naïve enthusiasm won over and slowly but surely every spring and fall has lead to the continued expansion of my first garden/landscape undertaking. 



Our new neighbors



Over the past three growing seasons I have been diligent about writing down everything I have planted (and everything I’ve killed) into a large plant journal which my husband has affectionately nicknamed “The Spell Book”. He says it is because I kill so many plants but I think it also has something to do with the fact that I “zone out” anytime I am in plant mode. This book combined with dozens of receipts, hundreds of photographs, and thousands of gardening articles have been spread over my house for far too long and has become an organizer’s nightmare. The goal of this blog is to bring some semblance of order to all of the information I have collected thus far and to recount many of the experiences I have already enjoyed before they leave my memory forever. It will also support my continued education of trial and error in this ever-growing, constantly changing, and seemingly never finished project. Of course, what gardener’s garden is ever really finished…