The Bitter Buffalo

Beth and I bought our house here in Rolesville, NC (just NE of Raleigh) last April. And, as much as we love it, we both realize there is a great deal of potential still to be realized in our yard. The builders sprinkled some evergreens around the perimeter of the house, some turf grass in the front yard, and left some tall scrappy pine trees (originally planted maybe 10 years ago as erosion control) here and there. It's entirely competent, but ultimately uninspiring -- especially the pine trees, which seemed cool at first but now, just seem messy and spindly.

The yard has the potential to be something truly magical. Our lot is long and narrow, about two-thirds of an acre, flat on the street side and sloping down from the house to the back of the lot. The back half of the lot is all large deciduous forest -- oaks, maples, dogwoods, sweetgums, wild hollies -- between our house and a small creek which even on the driest days trickles over several large, mossy, dome-shaped rocks, and which turns into a veritable waterfall during storms (see picture). While it's a bit overgrown now and somewhat difficult to navigate, with a little work I could easily envision a nature trail winding down the hillside to the creek. With the abundance of flora and fauna in North Carolina, this nature trail would become a sort of exploratorium for Logan. And, all we need to do is build a bridge over the creek and Logan could visit his grandparents on the other side -- they live on the adjacent lot in back.

Beth and I commissioned Mark N. Jensen, a gardener who has done some spectacular work in our neighborhood, to come up with a landscape design that incorporated my vision of a nature trail with a cultivated garden around the house. Mark presented those plans to us last night, and I am still reeling at the incredible work he presented.

The front yard incorporates a butterfly garden with a water feature in the bed underneath the front porch. Texture and color are varied with native plants (which Mark incorporates whenever possible) sprinkled throughout. Mark even has a plan to scour the woods behind our house for native plants that could be harvested and transplanted for cultivated use throughout the yard. Several raised stone-walled beds will create some amazing curb appeal. The neighbors will be so jealous.

(Speaking of neighbors, mine to the south built a fence and a gate in my yard without my permission [totally the neighbor's fault], and their builder built a driveway turnaround in my yard [totally their builder's fault, but I think my neighbor should have taken the initiative to fix the problem by now]. My neighbor has so far been reluctant to fix the problems, so Mark's design forces the issue, planting several very spiny holly bushes around the gate, dogwoods next to the driveway, and dense cryptomeria along the lot line. On the master plan Mark presented last night, the neighbor's yard is referred to as "Moronia." Who says artists don't have a sense of humor?)

Mark's pièce de résistance is a gorgeous stone patio beneath our screened-in porch, which will be inlaid with brick pavers in a celtic knot design. This sort of design is right up Beth's alley (and is so cool looking, even I have to concede its inherent beauty), and I have to give Mark credit for figuring this out and incorporating it into the plan.

Mark estimates the entire plan will cost as much as $40,000 to execute. Frankly, that's more than we are willing to spend on our yard. But the plan can be done in stages -- and certain parts of it should be done at different parts of the year anyway (because of local availability of plants & materials). We learned from the Velkys, our neighbors to the north (Mark just finished installing a stunning design there), that Mark tends to estimate his costs very high initially. So, should we go ahead with the project as planned, it might cost us $30,000 -- probably too much still, but getting closer to affordability. For now, we decided to go forward with the patio (which would be the most expensive part of the plan, anyway) starting next week. I'll keep you posted on its progress.

And whenever you come to North Carolina to see us, you can feel free to enjoy our exploratorium, which is conveniently located in the sunny town of Rolesville, just north of the Kingdom of Moronia.

What the? Who the? Wuzzzisou?

Two posts in two days? Am I dreaming? Someone pinch me!

Nice to have you back, Purdy!

We can't wait to get out there and see the house!