My News

[Esther Knapicius]

Our Christmas gift to each other was the purchase of a 2nd home. We go to settlement Jan. 14. It is down on the coast of North Carolina. So I get to furnish and entire house, kitchen stuff, 3 bedrooms etc. my list is endless. It has beautiful wood floors and gray stone fireplace which I will play off my color choices from in furniture selections etc. We have an awesome deck and nice dock to walk to the end of a beautiful inlet that leads to the ocean, and great views from the house, my priority. Still maintain our home up North as I will not give up my gardens. So that will be my next years project. When I toured the property with the owner, he pointed out all the hydrangeas he planted and other shrubs. He said, he tagged them so they would not get hurt with the next owner, he said his wife thinks he is nuts. I said to him "you don't have to worry---that shrub is called and that one is and so on I went. I said don't worry, you should see my gardens, your garden will be taken care of well by me. I gave him my You Tube channel to look at. Like to think he chose us for his property because of our mutual interest. Although the property is only half acre and mostly pine trees, so easy clean up.

 

[Marck]

What is your plan for managing two gardens? I suppose your northen garden will be mostly dormant in Winter, but from Spring to Fall they will both be going gangbusters.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

What is your plan for managing two gardens? I suppose your northen garden will be mostly dormant in Winter, but from Spring to Fall they will both be going gangbusters.

the second garden is only 1/2 acre, not a lot of "special shrubs" I will use a local landscape service to cut grass and take pine needles out. easy. 1/2 of the back yard is tall grasses that buffer to the water, so again, really nothing major.

 

[Marck]

Then all is well. From your first post, I thought your new garden might have had more elaborate upkeep.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Then all is well. From your first post, I thought your new garden might have had more elaborate upkeep.

He ---the present owner thought his little planting of 3 Oakleaf Hydrangeas and 4 shrubs was a big deal. Certainly let him think that, LOL. The rest are ordinary pine trees, and down near the inlet natural tall grasses that take no care at all. I do not plan to add anything extra for many years. Just need lawn guys to cut grass and rake downed pine needles up.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

This awesome store is having 10% off today, all the stuff I need on my list for the 2nd home and then some. shop till I drop. https://reallancastercounty.com/shops/specialty-shops/country-store/country-housewares-store/

 

[Esther Knapicius]

What is your plan for managing two gardens? I suppose your northen garden will be mostly dormant in Winter, but from Spring to Fall they will both be going gangbusters.

The issues up North is not so much the dormant gardens, but I still have 3 cats to worry over. 2 of which would not stand relocation, I don't like leaving for more than 10 days. Have a good person to help. The other one could travel along and deal with a new house without issues. The first two are older, 21 and 18 years, but still a little feral, they would freak, one does not even want anything to do with inside a house, she has a heated cat house on the side of the deck that is also blocked from the wind, and heated water. It is what it is.

 

[Marck]

Those are quite old cats. Yes, best to keep them where they are. With a caregiver they should be fine.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Just came back from new house couple weeks ago. Did a walk about the property. So easy garden. The front part of the house is where some attention is needed but not a lot of time. Mostly pine needles in the beds from the pine needles that fall. So just raking up the lawn part area. From the back portion is all a dense gathering of natural shrubs. One of the trees is a protected tree. There is a long wooded path that leads to the dock then the inlet. And tall natural grasses are there at the edges. So for me its so easy. Learned that it is zone 8. My plan is to have some pots on the deck of seeds and just let mother nature take care of them while we are gone. The prior owners left a half cut off wine barrel full of soil, we tilted it to find that the bottom of it was starting to damage the deck as they did not elevate it, poor choice on them. The community has a yearly debris pick up at the street , so contacted the local landscaper to come and rake out the lawn area for me, to put it to the street. Seems silly their method to just put it on the street, a good wind will blow it down. Oh well. We will not be there on their chosen date or I'd do it. Found out you can't burn there. So far met some neighbors, they seem nice. Houses closer than I am used to, like I can't pick my noise on my deck, someone could see that. LOL.

 

[Larisa]

This looks like a very interesting project. I hope to see "before" and "after" photos in the future. Your new garden. And a wooded path with the dock and grasses.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

This looks like a very interesting project. I hope to see "before" and "after" photos in the future. Your new garden. And a wooded path with the dock and grasses.

Oh, there is not going to be a before and after. it will just remain. its all done. not new , just will take care of what is there. My garden up North is all I can handle. The southern garden is a piece of cake. just raking up a small lawn area from pine needles, maybe a tiny pruning, we shall see.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Surprise----Yesterday, I finely went through the prior's owners box about his house. And so neatly organized was all the plantings and with pictures he had done. Good job him. He even put in the name of the nursery he had to design all of it. Awesome.

 

[gardengreetings]

How fortunate for you! Enjoy your all your gardens, north and south!

 

[Esther Knapicius]

The community has a yearly thing there, we all are given a certain date that you can take all your debris to the front on the street. This is a new concept for me, LOL. Anyway, got a hold of the suggested local landscaper who will do that task for me as we will not be there to do it. He says it will take his guys 45 mins to do it. Like that is all that work. LOL. Crazy easy. But, when I am finally down there for a bit, I will try to take some shots to show you what it looks like.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Spending a week at our 2nd home. Still working on furnishings and some debree clean up. View from the deck is lovely.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

We discovered we have a fig tree. Neat. Some of the prior owners shrub plantings don't look to happy. I am going to just wait and see., what survives. I am keeping with the notion , less is more. If I have to pull the dead and not replace so be it. Time will tell. And it is zone 8 which is 2 zones higher than I am used to. Out back are lots of Cyrus trees and the "knees" . Some tall grasses as you can see on the edge, just starting to green up. Saw some interesting birds, and even a bald eagle. Fish jumping in the water, sitting from the dock, and the sun set nice. Still more stuff to put in place before we can Airbnb it. Getting a professional photo guy to take shots when ready.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Been home for a bit. Leaving tomorrow. taking gardening tools with. have some pruning to do etc. The hard part is there is no where to put the materials. can't burn there. so we somehow have to be inventive. Called the landscaper, he says they take it to the dump. Crazy.

 

[AlexD]

Gardening is my main hobby right now and I started growing cherry tomatoes too. Grow bags vs pots is going to be your personal choice. Grow bags provide better root growth but don't hold as well as say plastic resin.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Gardening is my main hobby right now and I started growing cherry tomatoes too. Grow bags vs pots is going to be your personal choice. Grow bags provide better root growth but don't hold as well as say plastic resin.

Trying to figure out your statement, and how it relates to my thread.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Sitting on the deck the other day at our new place in New Bern. Neat shot, I think.