34 Comments

Beautiful way of life! ❤️

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Wonderful!

Where did you get your stove?

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Sounds like a wonderful childhood!

I also grew up in the country!

My dream is to move out to country, live on about an acre, and have a dual fuel gas/wood stove. I would have fireplaces and woodburning stoves to keep warm. I don't need to get into livestock, as I live in a rural agricultural county in NYS.

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Only wild ones.

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Wowie! You HAVE went all in on flowers!

Here's a brief rundown on what you need to know about some of the flowers you mentioned:

FIRSTLY, are you in USDA Hardiness Zone 4 or 5 a or b?

SECONDLY, NOT ALL David Austin Roses are very cold hardy/disease resistant. My suggestion is to seek out Old Garden Roses, especially those growing where you live (ask for runners from exhausting plants, most easy to propagate). They are very rugged, and will survive 'most anything, as they are grown on their own roots. Seek out roses grown on their own roots. If they are killed off from cold/most diseases, they WILL come back on their own roots.

THIRDLY, Tulips are EDIBLE. Squirrels, moles/voles LOVE them! Plant them with blood meal/in plastic baskets in the ground. In the spring as SOON as the buds show color on the very tips CUT THEM and bring them indoors. Or they WILL be eaten! Expect to replace/replenish them annually.

FOURTHLY, Herbaceous Peonies are wonderfully rugged perennials. Make sure you plant them where they will go permanently, as they HATE to be moved. They take at least 3-5 years before they begin blooming in profusion. Support them with peony hoops or stakes/twine or they will flop over. Cut them back after the hard frost, as the dead stalks could harbor pests/disease. Plus, it's easier to see the red shoots poke through in the spring.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me (beckeramy14@gmail.com) or reach out to the Master Gardeners at your local county Extension Office. They are excellent at diagnosing pests/diseases when you bring in samples. Be sure to inform them you do not use chemicals.

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Sarah,

As with anything, take what you need and leave the rest!

That 8' fence is PERFECTION!

Your compost setup sounds superb!

And you have chickens! Wonderful! Be careful with the feed! Tractor Supply feed is PREVENTING EGG PRODUCTION.

https://youtu.be/OFzI4EGEJu4

What kind of trees do you have? Here in the City of Lockport NY (more like a small town☺️), we are plagued with Norfolk Maples🤬. They multiply prolifically, and their leaves are HUGE and thick. They just do NOT break down, unless chopped up!

Winter protection should allow air and water to get to the plant. Norfolk Maples can smother plants to DEATH!

FYI I live on the Niagara Escarpment, which is Onondaga Limestone, so my soil tends toward alkaline. My property is 44'w x 190'deep, with only the front (south facing), and east side being able to have gardens. Some along the back (north side), as well.

High Country Roses sells Old Garden Roses.

I love Gallicas, and have 'Apothecary Rose's. It will spread on its own roots, and makes a lovely short hedge.

https://www.highcountryroses.com/shop/old-garden-roses/gallica-roses/rosa-gallica-officinalis/

Alba's are magnificent in full bloom! My 'Maxima' creates hips (as does 'Apothecary Rose's) which are beneficial for people and wildlife.

https://www.highcountryroses.com/shop/old-garden-roses/alba-roses/alba-maxima/

'Celsiana' is amazing in full bloom, and the fragrance fills my front yard!

https://www.highcountryroses.com/shop/special-collections/fragrant-roses/celsiana/

ALL THREE of these roses I got as suckers from the mother shrub for FREE! I "rescued" a few from empty/abandoned houses. The mother shrubs, in some cases NO LONGER EXIST! Finding OGRs in the wild is a form of historic preservation, imho. They were brought here as no doubt cuttings by our ancestors centuries ago. [Of course, ASK PERMISSION before digging up a sucker!] I offer to try to discover the identity of a rose from a person who's shrub I take a sucker from. Oh yes! A "sucker" is a baby plant on its own roots connected to the mother shrub, not unlike our umbilical cord!

I may live in a small city, but I definitely have an ecosystem! I welcome skunks and opossums (grubs and ticks), even the occasional racoons, and of course birds, bees and butterflies. I've seen sparrows catch Japanese Beetles in mid-air. I leave asphids on my roses and yarrow to encourage ladybugs (the larvae eat TONS of aphids!).

Spring IS coming! My snowdrops and winter aconite is beginning to bloom!

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Sarah,

Yes! That essay about sums up Norway Maples! Invasive is an understatement. Invasive alien plants can utter devastate an indigenous ecosystem.

Holy crap! Did you place a claim on your neighbor's insurance for the damages? (My hubby works for Travelers.)

Do you have a cold frame for your garlic? At least temporarily?

Maybe this summer you can go hunting for OGR's! I'm sure there are LOTS lurking around in our of the way places!

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Wow! Neighbors from Hell!

They say there's karma!😉

Good to know about the garlic! (I'm no veggie expert!☺️)

Come May, drive around some older roads and look for blooming shrubs! Where there are old lilac bushes, there will be a former homestead. There may be roses! Also abandoned houses! Of course, look at the oldest houses. If they have old roses, ask for a sucker. I introduce myself as a Master Gardener and rosarian who collects old roses. People are pleasantly surprised!

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Another exquisite rose you might be interested in. I had this (long story) from a cutting. It is beyond beautiful!

https://www.highcountryroses.com/shop/modern-roses/medium-large-shrub-roses/goldbusch/

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