I can’t help myself but make plans. The instant we bought The School House, I made big plans in my head for it. It is so fun to dream. This is my current vision for the next phase of The School House… that’s right, a Barn!
Before we get to that, I’ll review what we already have going on on the School House Property. I planted lots and lots of daffodils last fall, so we’re anxious to see them come up in the next few weeks on “daffodil hill” as we’ve dubbed it. I also planted about 36 peony tubes last spring. We had the hottest and driest summer, so I’m not sure how they faired. Again, I’ll be anxious to see if they come up… or not. We planted a line of lilac bushes along our fence, along with a wisteria I’m hoping will take hold and grow down the line. We planted 6 Limelight Hydrangea (sun friendly) in the front, and 6 Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas along the side of the school house that faces the gravel road. Hoping our neighbors love seeing these as they drive by.
Now, to the barn. It would be a historic looking gambrel style wooden barn with dormers on the top. This photo is a similar style, but mine would be much smaller! And maybe just natural wood instead of painted. There would be big beams inside with a little finished area for projects. It would house a garden potting area for me and a workshop for Mike along with space to store garden equipment, tractors and supplies. We love spending time out there so much that we’d love to have a bigger spot to host family and friends for parties and do our gardening projects.
Here are some photos from a little gathering we hosted last fall. Our favorite thing to do out there is just light a fire and watch the sunset.
Mike always tending the fire.
Our mini orchard. The overview at the top gives you an idea what the layout will look like. We are expanding the garden this year and will add to our “orchard” which only has 2 tiny cherry and 2 tiny peach trees right now… not really sure if that is considered an orchard! Ha!
We’re starting tilling a planting in the garden this weekend, so I thought I’d share our plan.
Last year, we had 6 – 8×10′ garden plots. These year we are expanding it to 9. The school house girls will be helping with the garden this year, because I want them to think of it as a community garden. They’ll water and weed a couple of times a week and pick and harvest when everything is ready. I think it will be such a treat for them to be able spend 20-30 minutes every morning outside in the fresh air and call it “work.”
Of course, so many tomatoes, because those are our favorite, and really the only think I grow in mass to put up. I wanted to dedicate a lot of space to cutting flowers this year – that is such a fun addition in the garden. Even when you can’t eat another tomato or another cucumber salad, it is always nice to pick big bunches of flowers.
I do mulch paths between the beds to keep it nice and neat and it keeps it from getting overgrown. I also love how it looks : )
I’ll share more behind the scenes this weekend as we plant the garden and I’ll take you along the journey as the season progresses. Happy Spring Planting!