Archive for the 'Gardening' Category
Our Topsy Turvy Tomato Experiment
Kyle and I are both originally from Vermont. I think this means that we are supposed to have green thumbs. My theory comes from the fact that when I was in college just about every person that learned I was from Vermont asked “Did you grow up on a farm?” To set the record straight, neither Kyle nor I grew up on a farm.
Perhaps as a tribute to our “heritage,” each year we try and grow our own vegetables. We certainly try to prove our thumbs are green, but the various critters in our neighborhood (squirrels, raccoons, and the occasional opossum) and lack of adequate sun in our yard always seem to do us in. We have yet to yield a successful crop of anything besides basil. Weak, I know. Some would call us stubborn, others thickheaded. We think we are persistent and just haven’t found the best method yet. Besides, who really wants to lose some Darwinist experiment to squirrels? Not me.
The past couple of years we have decided to focus our attention on growing just basil and tomatoes. We think we have the basil down. It grows in pots on our porch and seems to do relatively well. Critters aren’t interested, the porch is sunny enough. The tomatoes are another story.
We’ve tried various gardens dedicated to tomatoes, moving them to different places each year to try and get them the maximum sun in our mostly shady yard. In most cases it worked. Until the critters decided to eat our entire crop, usually when the tomatoes got to a nice size, but were still green. Well, I guess “eat” isn’t the correct word, “waste” is probably more appropriate. Apparently taking one bite from each tomato, dropping it on the ground, and then moving on to the next and repeating the process is the preferred method of animals trying to break human spirit. *Sigh*
So, will this year be any different? Will we officially give up and resort to the local Farmers Market? Uh, no. That would be the sane thing to do. This year we are putting our eggs in the Topsy Turvy basket, along with a few other methods. Some of our neighbors are also doing the Topsy Turvy experiment. Here you can see our dueling Topsy Turvys…
During the summer months we’ll give you Sunday updates on our progress on which method is working best. Our fingers are crossed that Year 5 of the tomato experiment finally yields positive results. For us, not the animals…
Knox Parks Foundation Plant Sale- May 29-30
We’re entering into the perfect time to be working on your gardens and the perfect time to support a great organization!
The Knox Parks Foundation will be hosting its annual plant sale next Friday and Saturday at 75 Laurel Street in Hartford. Stop by between 9:00am-6:00pm on Friday, May 29 or 9:00am-2:00pm on Saturday, May 30 to purchase annual, perennial, herb, and vegetable plants for your gardens.
Knox Parks works in partnership with residents, businesses and government to build stronger, greener and more beautiful communities in Greater Hartford, with a special emphasis on the Capital City itself. This event is a fundraiser to support the Knox Green Crew, an AmeriCorps Program where members work with community volunteers to beautify the city of Hartford while learning about the environment.
The Green Crew carries out a wide range of projects throughout Hartford, including fee-based landscaping services for local nonprofits and labor assistance for Knox activities. The conservation corps is a team of out-of-school youth who are trained in landscaping and gardening in order to develop marketable skills while improving the appearance and productivity of Hartford’s green space. Programs involving the Green Crew include Hartford Blooms, a collaboration with the Greater Hartford Arts Council; creation of community gardens; and maintenance of public spaces such as the Ancient Burying Ground, as well as other beautification projects.
So if you’re going to be beautifying your home’s landscape in the upcoming weeks, why not support a great cause in the meantime? Please stop by next weekend!
I Want That!
Today I saw the best yard ever. Large, level, fenced and sunny, it had everything I look for in a yard. There were flower gardens and vegetable gardens. The patio had covered and open areas – both large enough for a table and chairs. And of course there was an area for the grill. I want that yard.
This sort of thing has happened to me before. One of the interesting aspects of working in real estate is that you see different versions of the standard features. Sometimes the features are basic elements of the property like the home style, topography, or view. These features cannot be reasonably replicated elsewhere. In this case I can’t have the yard unless I buy the house.
Other times the interesting features could be replicated. For example, I could use the ideas of a particularly well done kitchen in a different house. It wouldn’t be exactly the same, but close enough to capture the feel and functionality of the space.
The ultimate in collecting unique features is to build your own home. You get to make all the decisions (not always a good thing) and set the priorities for the design. I’ve always thought that it would be really interesting to work with a professional to design a home that brings together a collection of my favorite features into a single cohesive property.
My home wouldn’t be over the top. It would have relatively common features like a kitchen with built-in electronics, a master bath with heated floors and towel bars, second floor laundry, and an entertainment system with projector in the family room. I would also want some less common features like a rooftop deck, elevator, and rainwater collection system. All of this would be wrapped up into a traditional design with historic elements. I think it could be done, but I would certainly have to save my nickels.
Now if only I could build it on that yard…
Our Tree Dilemma
Kyle and I live on a small piece of property. 0.16 acres to be exact (according to the City of Hartford). On the 0.16 acres we have our house, a small driveway, a shed, some gardens and shrubs, a weeping cherry tree, a medium-sized maple tree, and 4 very large maple trees. We’ve got a lot going on for our tiny plot.
I must admit, we have a love/hate relationship with our 4 very large maple trees. We love the character that they give our neighborhood. We love the shade they provide our house in the summer when it’s August and we have no air conditioning. We love the pretty foliage they provide in the fall.
On the other hand, we hate that they are so close to our house that they provide a litany of squirrels direct access to walk all over our roofs and try to find ways to get in to our home. We hate that they run through the power lines connecting to our house. We hate that the roots make our slate sidewalks uneven. We hate that it is nearly impossible to grow much grass because there is so much shade. We hate that they clog our gutters with junk throughout the year, making them fairly ineffective unless Kyle enacts his gutter cleaning solution.
I like trees, I really do. I just wish that whoever planted these trees 100-ish years ago (our house is 99 years old this year) would have realized just how big they would grow and how they would loom over the house causing our “hate” issues.
Kyle and I are currently struggling with the decision to possibly cut down one of our trees. The one closest to our house, right next to the driveway. The one that runs through our power lines, mildews our house, and acts as a squirrel superhighway. This decision is causing us much consternation. We do not want to kill a tree. We do not want our neighbors hating us for killing a tree. If we decide to cut down this tree, it will not be replaced by another, simply because our yard cannot accommodate more trees without causing the same problems to recur.
So we are torn with what to do. We’ve spoken to one neighbor and they responded positively when we mentioned we were thinking about cutting down the tree. It blocks sun to their yard and impacts their flower and vegetable gardens. We would cut down on squirrel traffic on our house and a real problem spot with our gutters. It’s also the least healthy of our trees, as a previous owner that installed the driveway disturbed the root base, disallowing it from getting proper amounts of water and nutrition.
*Sigh* I don’t really know why I’m writing this post. Am I trying to get support to make us feel better about cutting down the tree? Am I trying to get readers to talk us out of our destructive decision? Maybe I am trying to see if others struggle with similar choices?
Thoughts, readers?
Colorful First Impressions
Put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. You’ve seen a listing on the internet that looks interesting and have contacted your agent to set up a showing. After arriving at the property, you wait in your car for a moment or two before getting out. You then walk up to the front door and meet your agent, who has arrived early to open the home and turn on the lights for the showing.
So what have you noticed about the property in your first two minutes?
Perhaps you looked at how the house is situated on the property, relative to the neighboring houses. Or maybe you examined the exterior of the structure to see how well it has been maintained. But no matter what else you saw, you probably checked out the yard to see how well it was landscaped and manicured.
Although the location and the exterior maintenance of a home are more important over the long-term, landscaping makes a big impression because it helps set expectations about the interior. If buyers see a freshly mowed yard and weeded gardens, then they are most likely going to go inside with a positive attitude and feelings about the property.
Perhaps the best illustration of this point is the impact of the Curb Appeal team. Their projects are quite extensive, but over a half hour we see a home transformed to inviting and welcoming. How would you feel as a buyer walking up to the front door of the house before the project versus afterwards?
Improving the look of a home doesn’t need to be difficult, and certainly not as extreme as seen on TV. The first, and most important, step is to make sure that what’s currently there is well tended. Sellers should mow more often than they otherwise would and be diligent about using the weed eater along fence lines and other obstacles. Take an hour or two to clean up the gardens, and consider adding mulch to help keep the weeds from growing back as quickly.
Planting annuals is an easy way to add a splash of color and interest to a yard of any size, especially at this time of the year. Farmer’s markets and home improvement stores have a wide variety of plants that will flower all summer long. They can be added to existing gardens or even planted in pots at the front of the house.
Creating a good first impression is important in real estate, and nothing says “you’ll love me” like a well manicured yard with a bouquet of colorful flowers.