Spring in bloom at Dunham Massie Farm
A quick welcome and beautiful spring garden greet visitors to Dean and Cam Williams ’ Dunham Massie Farm in zone 7 Virginia . Summers are blistering and additional humid in this area , so the garden ’s focus is on spring , with all its new new growth burst with life .
Nothing ’s wasted here , and recycling is a high precedence so you ’ll see sight of fall tree diagram limbs , stump and found items put to workplace . Excess constitutive topic is tossed on Cam ’s “ burn pile , ” which she tell has n’t been burned in 30 days so is really just the compost flock .
Dean and Cam lived at the farm for a couplet of age before take on the yard , so Cam have sex just where to locate her vegetable and herb plots to make the most of those sunny spots . Though it ’s hard to be patient when you ’re new to a home , she say it ’s a in force estimation to wait before you plant . view the abstemious levels for a time of year or two will give you a better approximation of where your sun and shade plant will be happy .
Add herbs to your front flower garden
The herbaceous plant garden above is sprinkled with spring flowers and near the incoming was the first garden to go in . The brick patio and geometric pattern of raised beds create a sense of tradition and geezerhood that fits properly in with this historic home . position by the kitchen door , it makes harvestingfresh herbseasy . The level surface of the patio and straight , wide paths mean Cam can make a bee - parentage for the single she wants to issue and get right back to preparation . If you do n’t have room for a consecrated garden like this , even a few container near the doorway can easy do the job .
Grow a veggie garden with deer
The 25×33 - pes vegetable garden above is a short walk from the house in another sunny location . It has an informal layout , or else of rows , because Cam just grows pocket-sized amounts of this and that — favorites for the family with some left over to share with friend and neighbor . harvest alternative follow the season , with cool - weather spinach and lettuce followed by warm - season peppers and tomatoes . The garden is surrounded by a agrestic fence that ’s more for looks than to keep wildlife out . Check out “ Cam ’s peak for live with cervid ” below to see what she does instead of fencing .
Tips for living with deer
Cam did n’t want a big fencing around the yard to keep the deer out . She loves watch these elegant creatures but has develop some strategies to downplay the harm to her garden . Here ’s what she does :
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Mix flowers into vegetable gardens
work flowers into the darn of comestible not only looks pretty but attracts more pollinators , which ensures a big harvest . Besides that , there ’s a stiff supplying of cut bloom to dress out up the dinner party table . Do n’t forget spring - flower plants , such as blossoming quince ( Chaenomeleshybrid ) to add a soda water of color , and provides a unshakable food supply for early - time of year aboriginal bee that are tiptop pollinators — even better than honey bees . Later , salvia ( Salvia greggii ) , giant coneflower ( Rudbeckia maxima ) and other summer flowers take over .
Whether it ’s fall branches or found objects from the river ’s shoreline , Cam tries to make use of them . She comes up with ideas and farm manager Chris Brown habituate his skills to build up them . A lot of whimsical ornaments have come about from this creative collaborative squad .
you could see several of their creations in the veg garden . Theteepee trellisfor the snap peas is made of 7 - fundament - marvellous bamboo office leaning against each other . A wild grape vine pair around it allow something for the pea ’s slender tendril to take hold of on to . Cam and Chris take the trellis down in fall , put in the bamboo and throw the grape vine on the compost atomic pile . There ’s plenty to harvest again the following class . The garden ’s rustic - looking fence was built almost 30 years ago and made to look old . Now it truly is deteriorating in situation but turnout saved from an old building works utterly for repairs .
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Birdhouse whimsy
birdhouse have a special place in Cam ’s meat because they provide a space to live for the feathered friends that make Dunham Massie Farm their home . There are more than 100 charming birdhouses around the property . This enthusiasm started with the gift of a bluebird house from a neighbour . Now birds of all kinds make their home in these wizard creations .
neck of the woods birds claim many house during the nesting season . In late wintertime the theatre are all clean by removing honest-to-goodness nest to get quick for the next generation . It ’s also a good idea to scrub out clay or other debris , spray with a 1 part bleach and 9 parts body of water solution , then wash with pee to forefend disease problem .
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Discover woodland surprises
With an abundance of fledged trees in the yard it seemed only natural to build up a timber garden , with winding paths for research and flock of seating room .
Creative shade garden ideas
Years ago Cam think the two tree diagram would be the perfect entrance for her twisting path . tot the archway attracts attention from a space and provides accent to this subtle opening in the trees . It ’s made of previous tree roots and branches that give the arch a countryfied feel in keeping with the forest motif .
Each year this route gets a new layer of pine needles to refresh it up and keep the walkway soft and comfortable underfoot . To create a connection between the garden beds and the surrounding landscape , Cam makes sure to use mulch that suits nearby tree diagram . So garden beds or the seating region that have an evergreen nearby get pine needles while those with deciduous trees close at manus have leafage litter . Most of the mulch comes from theon - web site compost pile , but there ’s a lot to cover here . Cam River splits the cost of an extra truckload of mulch with a neighbor each year . She counts on assist doing this job and many others around the farm from longtime nurseryman Cindy Gephard and Rosalie Brown . Their help is a big reason the garden face so swell .
Spring woodland garden discoveries
saunter through the woods at Dunham Massie Farm and you ’ll discover lots of treasures along the way — beautiful flower , upcycled ornaments and birdhouses like the ones you control previously . Or how about a rotting tree luggage compartment used as a planter for some pretty Florentine tulips ( Tulipa sylvestris ) ? This small species type tolerates the suspicious condition here and coming back class after year .
meander further and you ’ll add up across the dramatic - looking Japanese cobra lily ( Arisaema sikokianum ) , a cousin to our native Jack - in - the pulpit ( genus Arisaema triphyllum ) . Cam blew her plant life budget to purchase three of these beauty years ago and it turned out to be a great investment . Those three plant reseeded enthusiastically , forming a small colony just waiting to be discovered each spring . Take a prat on the rustic work bench — it ’s made from an former fallen tree — to get a skilful look at this exotic lulu up close .
Hospitality come second nature to Cam , and she often shares Dunham Massie with the world through local garden tours . Her hope is that visitors will leave their precaution behind and enjoy the beautiful views she ’s created from one of the many seating areas . Continue understand to see where family and champion gather to loosen on a terrace surrounded by a gorgeous springtime border .
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Entertain friends and family outdoors
locate along a river , the house at Dunham Massie Farm has a neat view that family and friends often enjoy after a good repast . To make take in those beautiful views more comfortable , Dean and Cam added two circular patio — one 23 and the other 33 substructure in diameter — at the back of the firm . The patios ’ shape was pep up by a twosome of passe albatross , and Cam chose to make one the centrepiece of each patio . Circles and curved personal credit line are her favored pattern chemical element . Whether it ’s the flux course at the edge of a border or something more definitive , such as the tune made by the brick patio against the lawn , curved line have a laid - back feel that agree right on in with the warm and welcoming atmosphere here .
Easy to access patios
The patio above is smaller and in good order off the kitchen and family room . It provides straightaway access outdoors to savour some passing wildlife on the river or to let the dogs out to work . The albatross is between the two workbench and flush with the brick and has a fix in the middle that provide just enough space for a lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia ) plant life to arise . It ’s soft to lean over , run your hands through the foliage and take in the relaxing fragrance .
Just outside the dining room and family line room area is another terrace . It ’s prominent and unadulterated for entertaining larger radical . The centerpiece is another albatross that sits aboveground and provide additional seating or a handy place to set your drink .
Both terrace are join by a 4 - understructure - wide brick track , which is flank by a pool on one side and a garden bottom with a large tree diagram on the other . link up the two spaces improved the traffic flow from one region to the next , specially for larger events . Moss and lichen on the bricks and furniture lend to the casual atmosphere and provide a sense of age to these modernistic additions .
Site plants in the best spot in the garden
The plantings are slackly organise in beds with constitutional material body — no run-in or lines of hedges here ! If there ’s one affair Cam says she ’s determine over the years , it ’s to size bed or borders generously to begin with . Initially she just made way for what was live on in the primer coat . But as flora matured or reseed , they depart little infinite for other plant so she ’d have to add on .
Choosing the good plant life for the correct spot ensures that Cam has great termination from spring to frost . She ’ll try a plant four meter in unlike location before giving up on it . Fortunately , hellebores(Helleborusspp . and hybrid ) , daffodil ( Narcissushybrid ) and tulip ( Tulipahybrids ) are perfectly glad in this full sunshine to part shade area . afterward , bewhiskered iris ( Irishybrids),daylilies(Hemerocallisspp . and loanblend ) and other summer - flower plants will snip up this terrace , veil the fading bulb foliage and impart to the beautiful horizon .
Whether you ’re walk in the Wood , gathering some herb and vegetables or just sitting on the patio watching the river curlicue by , there ’s always something to enjoy at Dunham Massie Farm .
