This is a view of our leach field. It's also enormous. The Chief had a modified clay tennis court up there but the upkeep is too much for us now.
Will always says that the internet has all the answers, but I really feel that the internet is not forthcoming on interesting things to do with leach fields.
You may not even know what a leach field is, but I assure you that if you move to the country your conversation, yes, at parties even, will be mostly all about them and the septic systems that they relate to. Basically, country people talk about septic systems. Especially here in Massachusetts, where yours has to be up to snuff or you can't sell your house!
Only, for whatever reason, most people just put grass on theirs. There are a few thoughts online about other options, but not much. Of course we couldn't just go the grass route, because we seem to be addicted to complicated behavior (or what Phil calls, when I do it, upping the ante).
The sides of this huge earthworks are particularly problematic. Not this side, which Habou has adopted as her own and made into an awesome garden. It's just getting going now that things have warmed up. As the season progresses it gets really garden-esque.
But — what lurks behind that quince, on the other side…. More on that below in {real}.
For now, let's just behold the promise of a nice garden.
What cracks me up is that the weatherman has started calling it a drought.
Um, no.
We had one hundred and nine inches of snow this year, the most of anywhere in the country. Mr. weatherman, go outside and stick your finger into the grass. It will come up wet. The air might be dry but the ground is not.
Way to ratchet up the anxiety level. How about we just enjoy the sun?
The grass already needs cutting, and I'm so excited about my new beds in the back there. This area is below the leach field (that quince is just off camera to the right).
The three beds just past the clothesline are my asparagus, which has been growing for years, and I'm also putting strawberries in there. I think that strawberries with their shallow roots will live nicely with the deep-rooted asparagus and perhaps cover the ground so that the weeds don't take over. It's very weedy hereabouts.
The far beds are full of horse manure, courtesy of my lovely neighbor. Nicely aged! (Manure, not neighbor.) She also put some in my compost. With her Kubota. Which, for your information, is something I covet. It's an awesome kind of tractor. What I couldn't do with a Kubota!!
The pears are blooming, which makes me happy, because as you will recall, last year they bore ZERO fruit. Whether it was due to our zealous (but necessary) pruning or the weird February thaw and hard frost, I don't know, but there was not. one. pear. Not one! Do you know how weird that is? I don't think I prune that thoroughly, to be honest.
The third pear tree, seen from the other side here, isn't quite in bloom yet, but the buds are there. That one has red pears, the other two, green. Not sure what kinds, exactly, as the previous owner is the one who planted them.
Classy.
I should probably find something vintage and quaint…
For some reason I got it into my head that the blueberries would… would… something the weeds. What? I don't know, because those weeds could have their own horror show on a particularly irresponsible cable channel. But it doesn't matter how many I planted — they get overwhelmed by the weeds every year, so they never bear any fruit! You can hardly find them by July.
Susan says
I love looking at other people's yard work and gardens, but I was born to be an apartment/condo dweller. No green thumb here. Therefore I have nothing but admiration for you, a gardener 🙂 The pear blossoms are particularly lovely. And I love the doggies dashing around your daughter. (Berners are so pretty, aren't they?)
Blessings to you and your garden 🙂
LMS says
Personally, I would always sit facing away from the side of the hill you're less happy with and would place the entire subject in the same category as cloud formations ~ all things not totally necessary for getting to Heaven! Your bush, trees, gardens and family are all just beautiful! Enjoy them all, along with these glorious Spring days!
Jenny says
It's so lovely to see green and flowers! We had fresh snow a few days ago. Spring is late coming to us this year so for now, I will have to live vicariously through other people's photos!
Claire says
Thanks for sharing your neck of the woods with such delightful candor!
Amanda says
Have you considered very very heavy mulching for a few seasons to try and tame the weeds? This is my current approach with the asparagus bed we inherited when we bought our house which was quite overgrown. Well, that and we burned leaves and last years fronds on the bed in hopes of destroying some of the new weed seeds. Lazy perhaps but it seems to be helping. I know blueberries don't mind (maybe even like) the mulch and the daylilies probably will grow no matter what.
Barbara says
I have a hill I don't want to think about, too, and I have asked for a nice split rail fence at the point beyond which I would like to pretend is not mine. I have been waiting a long time. I suppose I am upping the ante too much. Or is it too far? I think much.
We need you to draw us a diagram, or maybe Bridget could as a sort art/spacial relations assignment, of your property as I can never figure out where the house is…not that I need to, but, ya know.
aviendha1979 says
I would be interested to hear later how the strawberries and asparagus got on together. I just planted my own bed of asparagus this year, but I've heard that asparagus don't compete well with other plants… it seems like such a waste of a good bed for just one crop of something. Will you let us know how it went?
_Leila says
aviendha1979, the problem is that as a perennial, the asparagus sits in a bed that just gets weedy. I have read that strawberries, being shallow-rooted, can spread and cover the bed for the asparagus, which has deep roots. We will see. But something has to be done!
Mrs. B. says
Whatever you do with the problematic field (and I have no good advice – I am battling awful wintercreeper here in my own yard: talk about a pest of a plant…), just DO NOT get rid of the quince, please!! It's one of my favorite sights in spring. You are right that it doesn't look very beautiful in summer, but oh those pink flowers! If you get rid of it you'll miss them so!
Elizabeth says
My father ALSO planted well above the recommended number of blueberry bushes for our family and he puts old carpet down on the ground and then covers it with mulch. No weeds!
Rachel says
May I ask if you've got some kind of weed barrier down between your raised beds? Your paths look so neat! Mine are… Not.
_Leila says
Rachel, there is a weed cloth on there and then lots of mulch from the woodchips generated from a tree-sized limb that came down elsewhere. Weeds still grow right through, however. The weeds here have a life of their own and are likely to be the death of me.
athenamiles says
You could lay down lots and lots of newspaper in the early spring, all around the blueberry bushes. Then cover with mulch or compost. If you could find some sons willing to do all that. That's the only idea I have for weeds. But it'd be worth it for fresh blueberries down the road!!! As for the pear, I have a feeling the early spring was the reason for no pears. I hope you get pears this year!
Betsy M says
Well first of all, Habou's garden in really lovely. I could just look at your sunshiny pictures all day. It is cold and blustery outside my window and it looks to stay that way until next week. Arg
Regarding the drain field, if you don't want to mess around to much with weeding, have you considered just putting in a native grass? It would be much more interesting than the normal grass varieties, have fall color, and be pretty low maintenance once you have it established. Something like little blue stem may be native? I bet a good nursery in your area may even sell a native blend that would offer a number of varieties so you would have a nice blend of colors at different times. You would want varieties fairly tough to manage against any invasive weeds or you would have to weed out the different varieties of grass – something that I would NOT recommend doing for fun. 🙂
Breanna says
Weeds: rent goats and put them on that hillside! They like hills and they will eat everything that isn't poisonous if you give them the time. (You might have to put wire around the blueberry bushes if you don't want them eaten, too.) Someone near you should have goats of some kind, wouldn't you think?
Pigs would also clear the land nicely for you, but they're not as pleasant to have around as goats.
Melissa Diskin says
Perhaps what you need for your quince to bear is…another quince or two? So they can trade pollen and whatnot? I do love your raised beds, and that garden-y hill looks nice to me. Could you add some more brambly stuff like raspberries or other berries near your blueberries? I've also heard that planting a mulberry tree nearby, but not too near, will keep birds there and away from the blueberries.
Sadly we are set so far back on our suburban lot that we have a huge front yard (which of course needs to stay nice and tidy for passersby) and smaller back yard, where I have 3 raised beds and where the children rampage. I need to figure out how to add fruits and veg to my front yard, but in a flower-beddish way. So I love looking at your swathes of land! 🙂
shwell says
there was a Better Homes and Gardens last year where some people turned their front yard in to a garden
it was really pretty, small part fence, small hedge, raised beds, walkway and room for a cafe table and chairs if I remember correctly.
you could google it or look for the back issue at your library if you are lucky
Lauren says
I'm not a gardener. I think it looks lovely! Open and green. Around here we will through wildflower seeds out on weird spots of land to pretty them up. And, I love the photos of Bridget reading. Reminds me of my Emelie when she reads – completely oblivious to the world around her!
Mamabearjd says
I'm having the kind of week that just looking at that big space makes me feel overwhelmed! But you have strong men to help you. It would be really pretty with rosemary and lavender in with the daylilies – things that I can grow well but maybe not where you live. Could you dig a ditch to protect the daylilies and burn the rest? Maybe that is stupid to suggest? We burned the field every couple of years where I grew up, so that may be backwards advice!
Unrelated, but last night I made a mess of my pizza on the grill, and wondered if you have some genius trick of getting the pizza off of the peel onto the stone without using gobs of cornmeal. I hate cornmeal on my crust. I use parchment in the oven but it will burn up in the grill – anyone in the collective have advice for me?
Barbara says
When I make dough for the grill I make it more stiff and, since I press my dough onto a pan for the oven and roll it for the grill, it has quite a bit more flour. I also top it with sauce etc. after I transfer it to the grill.
_Leila says
Mamabearjd, I make the pizza on a pan on the grill. I blogged about it here: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org//2008/10/g… But since then I've done the dough on the pan first (cold pan, lots of olive oil), then flipped it onto the grill, by which time it's pretty well baked, and put the toppings on what was the bottom. And that is fabulous.
Rebekka says
Quince isn't self-pollinating. You need to get it a sweetheart.
Caitlin says
Instead of “upping the ante” my husband “makes simple things complicated.” 🙂
bit says
How about a rock garden on that side? Maybe you could move the blueberries and daylilies into beds on top of the rocks, and then do gravel or sand all around the bases after tilling the rest under? It feels like that would somewhat continue the style of the other side's garden, while getting rid of the weedy stuff mixed in now.
Mary says
Oh how funny! I posted a little about our pear trees as well and out of all FOURTEEN, they only produced ONE pear last year. It was the frost. It killed all the fruit up here 🙁 And I also posted about one of our (many) weedy areas. At least I can be relieved that it's not just us supplying weeds to the neighborhood!
Shannon says
I'm no help on the leach field, we have city sewer, and my parents leach field is a grassy field in the cow pasture. Good luck on that:D Love your daughter writing on the zip line though, hopefully my own daughter won't see that one, my oldest is pushing her limits every chance she gets, we have no zip line so no telling what she'd come up with.
Becky says
I would go with a goat. You obviously need some cute little pygmy goats. If the Chief can have bees, you should get goats. Bridget can take it on as some sort of AP Bio project. It will help her get into college. You know it will. Also, I bet you haven't covered goat husbandry in your homeschool curriculum. This is obviously a glaring omission that you should really address. It will also allow you to grow closer to your Egyptian heritage. Did you know they can eat poison ivy with no trouble? With this sort of logic behind me, I don't know how you could possibly NOT get a goat at this point.
Paula says
Maybe Kubota will become a sponsor of LMLD? Love your garden! Maybe you need a goat with discriminating taste to curb the weeds?
Elisa says
This is not about your post, but I wanted to share the link to a publisher of the classics of the past that was recommended to me… I thought you, your daughters and readers could be interested, I also see some books in the Twins series you wrote about! http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/
Nancy says
The garden Habou created is so natural and pretty. My sister has a farm and uses goats to help her maintain some of her acreage. And enjoyed the pictures of the dogs !
Sue says
Trying not to feel a bit envious of your yard! I so miss having one – well, an every day one I should say, since we do have one at our cabin. Maybe we will have a house with a yard some day, but in the meantime I do enjoy your photos. I love the ones of Bridget reading – classic homeschooler!
About the blueberries… in our yard at the cabin we have used this black paper-like stuff to cover the ground around bushes or other plants. It's along the lines of the newspaper idea, but it's sturdier and lasts longer, while also letting water flow through. We put id down, then cover it with dirt to hide it. I wish I knew what to call it, but if we have it here, surely it could be found in a home center over there? Just a thought.
Pippajo says
A message from Redheaded Snippet: she is somewhat mollified to see that she is not the only girl whose mother takes stealth photos of her whilst she is out in nature being Anne-ish. And also, she has declared Bridget's feat of writing on the zip line as, “Impressive.”
Mary says
Your beds look great. I wish mine looked as good. I am fascinated by the Asparagus. I would love to grow it but I need a little more confidence. I guess in time.
I like to write outside as well. Bridget looks so comfortable on the swing. LOL! I love Spring!
Anne-Marie says
Re the side of the leach field: Claim it! And we can all say,
“Mrs. Lawler, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.”
_Leila says
Anne-Marie, we wouldn't be able to take a turn in it. We would be swallowed whole!
DeirdreLMLD says
If only this “wilderness” were like the Bennets' “wilderness”…
Monica says
I see someone mentioned getting a goat, but what you might want to do (if you don't want to actually own a goat) is see if someone rents their goats to clear property. We live in Seattle, and this isn't an unusual service, but maybe it would be there. But look around and see, because they'll clear that out for you. And if you want berries that keep down other pesky plants, you're going to have to go for blackberries. But they'll take over and make a huge briar patch — I don't know if that's what you're looking for. Blueberries, though, need some babying. Usually. Maybe the wild ones don't? But the non-wild ones are pretty picky, from all I've experienced.
I love Habou's garden. If she wants to come be creative on the West Coast, we'd be happy to give her a place to exercise her creativity!
kimberlee says
Your line about 'addicted to complicated' cracked me right up! My husband likes to say we specialize in doing things the hardest way possible. Nice to know I'm not alone! Your property looks wonderful – so much hope and promise in those fabulous raised beds. Love Habou's slope! And you have such clever readers – a goat! I can just imagine your goat stories…
Have a lovely weekend!
Woman of the House says
I think things are comely along nicely considering the cold spring we've had. I especially love the quince and pear trees! So pretty!
momco3 says
I like the idea of a goat… though, then you probably wouldn't get any pears, blueberries or quinces either!
Jovita says
Oh, you can never have too many blueberry bushes! I would love to have 30 (and the space) for my little family of 3. And I agree about quince, absolutely love them in bloom, after that – eh, not so much.