The Royals

Whenever we turn over the soil, it becomes an archaeological dig of old steel spikes and wheels to old carts, glass and bricks, square headed nails, a broken toilet tank lid, and old rusty children's toys. We are repurposing them as accents to planting beds to honor the journey.

The story is real, of what this house has endured, the love and neglect and rebirth. We haven't found evidence to corroborate the great local story of the local sheriff's department sneaking through the cornfields to spy on the pot growers who lived here in the '70s, but I'm sure it's here somewhere.

Front yard on the day
we got the keys
 

We are situated back from the road a bit, with a 2500 SF lawn (green for now) that flanks a gravel drive. The drive continues just past the house to a workshop and garage, and beyond that it is flat with a few piles of leaves and limbs to burn when the Volunteer Fire Department tells us to. 

Looking out from the back stoop, you will see tiny lights miles away as the freeway cuts north, and everything else is open space. We've got the garden and some fruit trees within the yard and the Royals (the glorious 65-70 ft trees) dot the perimeter. There is no question that the Valley Oaks with their majestic and broad canopy are the most impressive, but my favorite tree is the Halloween looking Black Locust with its gnarled branches and crusty rough bark.

All this is a reminder that changes here tend to last. And so when we approached the idea of a perimeter fence it was quickly decided that it would have to balance and

www.arusticgarden.com

blend with what was here. The only hiccup is the recent visit by two coyotes to our drive, and so now it must also be able to safeguard what (and who) is inside.

There are no lights or sidewalks, and to clearly mark the entrance we will install a split rail fence along the road that turns up the drive. We've been saving two big metal wheels for end accents there.

There'll be a sweet territorial fence separating the adjacent property. Saplings with bark at different heights to create a focal point out of the kitchen and dining room windows. A house is just on the other side, a companion family home that is in distress, and is someone's project home and unoccupied.

Morning sky from the front yard

We located a Midwest manufacturer still makes an antique twisted metal fence that resembles a turn of the century design. The sample is lovely. They also offer matching custom gates, so likely this will section off the back yard in addition to being the perimeter fence, and the entertaining area will visually separate from the food producing areas and free roaming space for the girls.

That's on the docket for spring. We are having some rebuilding done of the front stairs and possibly adding a wider deck entry front and back, but we'll see how it goes. Praying for rain. Still.