The Vegetable Garden
Our initial focus was creating a plot for vegetables, which provides us with a source of healthy produce either to eat fresh, to process into various canned goods, or to store for use over the winter months. While a large portion of the property is moderately to steeply sloped, there is a large flat zone near the rear border that gets a lot of sun and is a perfect place to grow vegetables.
Initially, the Vegetable Garden started out as a 15’ x 20’ plot, but over the years, we’ve expanded it to its current size of 30’ x 40’, with raised beds, arbors, and trellises throughout, aligned along a long center axis. We typically grow tomatoes, peppers, brassicas and greens, squash, beans, peas, onions, and garlic every year, and fill the remainder with a rotation of other vegetables and herbs.
The Terraced Garden
The steep south-facing slopes of the Terraced Garden provide a great place for plants and flowers that prefer dry soil and like lots of sun. There is an almost Mediterranean microclimate, allowing us to grow perennial lavenders and other herbs in amongst the flowers. When in full bloom, this garden provides an incredible backdrop when looking out any of the rear windows of the house. The amount and variety of planting also attracts insects, birds, and other wildlife throughout the year.
The Terraced Garden is without a doubt the signature feature of the entire property, and the rocky, hot, difficult terrain inspired the name Misery Hill, causing more than one injury and becoming a veritable graveyard of broken garden tools. The steep slope provides a natural division within the overall outdoor space in addition to being a main focal point, so the effort (and, pain) here has certainly more than paid off. On a warm summer evening, or the coldest winter day, the planting and hardscape always provide something unique to see, hear, smell, or touch.
The Woodland Garden
The rear of the property has some mature trees from when it was a hedgerow at the edge of a farm field, and provides an important corridor to connect two remnant woodlots that were retained when the land was turned into housing in the 1980’s. When we first moved in, much of this area was overgrown with invasive honeysuckle and all but inaccessible. Over time, we’ve cleared the brush, cut down vines, built pathways through the space, and planted the understory with native / naturalized woodland plantings that provide four-season interest.
The approach in this area was very different than the rest of the gardens, as this was much less of a “blank slate” than the rest of the property. Each year, we selectively cut back undesirable brush and overgrowth, being careful to retain enough to ensure that there is still shade and cover while the newly planted (or, volunteer) trees and shrubs grow large enough to re-establish a woodland structure on their own. Much of what we’ve cut has been recycled as mulch or backfill or stakes for flowers and vegetables, and eventually the new “designed” woodland planting will take over.