This week marks our two-year anniversary at Willow Greens Farm. We’re so pleased to have you along for the ride. Many of you have subscribed to this newsletter from the very beginning, but we also welcomed a fair number of new folks in the past year. It seems like a good time to look back on where we started, and ahead at things to come.
On Arrival
The front of the house was initially landscaped in the 1970s suburban style, with a row of shrubs snugged up along either side of the door. Oh, and a tree to one side. But not much else. We wanted to accentuate the historic charm of the house: a reward of sorts for anyone making the trip up the long, curved driveway. We began by creating an “Arrival Court” (sounds more posh than it is) bordered with perennials.
Now we are working on the second phase, a four-square entrance garden that will be thematically linked to the Arrival Court and and also provide a path to other garden “rooms” beyond. The beds are ready and we’re looking forward to filling this new space with plants in the coming months.
The White Garden
This was a shady spot in 2021 thanks to a few mature (but sadly unhealthy and dangerous) trees. Our first spring and summer was spent getting a sense of what was already planted, and rejoicing at every shoot that popped out of the earth. But once the trees were gone, we saw opportunity to create a different type of space, specifically a white garden. The shade-loving plants were relocated, and we began filling in gaps with bulbs, perennials, and non-flowering bushes with interesting foliage. Ultimately we’re aiming for a continuous succession of white blooms. I don’t think we’re quite there yet; the plan for this year is to closely observe what’s flowering and when, and make mad dashes to the nursery when things hit a lull.
The Kitchen Garden
While we brought in professionals for the Arrival Court, we felt reasonably confident about creating a kitchen garden on our own. The barn looked promising but needed a facelift, which was easily done with a few buckets of paint over several hot summer days. The working area surrounding the barn was a bit more involved. We hired someone to grade the surface and lay gravel, which proved more complicated than expected. But we can laugh about it now, so that’s something.
That left the surrounding fence, raised beds, and a greenhouse, all of which we did ourselves (well, the greenhouse was purchased but we had to assemble it and that was no small feat). Reading over my notes from this time last year, I realize what a scramble it was. Something like this:
But after the early rush, we had a pretty decent growing season. This year we’ve added a couple beds and rearranged some things, but it’s been a much more relaxed start, which gives us the time to lay train track at breakneck speed elsewhere …
Looking ahead
When it comes to landscaping, our approach has been to start close to the house and work our way out towards the barn. In the autumn we had some grading done, rather opportunistically since the crew was here for another purpose. We seeded it with grass, because we had no clear plan beyond this step. But as often happens, over the winter ideas percolated in our subconscious. One day I looked outside and there was Chris, placing flags to mark new spaces. It wasn’t long before he was preparing said spaces for planting, and the quest for the ideal plants was underway.
It’s going to be great. But that’s a topic for another day. Stay with us …
So wild to think it has been 2 years...why hasn’t I rationalized a Blue Ridge fly-fishing trip just yet? Yeah, I’m as puzzled as you by this. Goodonya for the vision(s) and carrying them to fruition. And, I’m delighted to be following along now.
I can just imagine you sitting in that white garden in summer with a cooling drink reaping the benefits of all your hard work. It all looks so amazing. What a good job you've done!