STONE
STEPS
A
GARDEN JOURNEY
Our
property is remotely situated by today's standards, and that's kind
of nice. We're 3 miles from a reasonable east-west route, and our
dirt road, until recent years, was a "road less traveled"
save for summer campers and fishermen looking for fat brown trout.
Half our property backs up to undeveloped land or the state forest
and the rest is bordered by the road to Peacham Pond. Yes, that's
kind of nice!
Bordering
the dirt road was an old stone foundation, large for the time of its
origin, but now just a reminder of Vermont's agricultural history. It
was predominantly granite in composition with rectangular pieces 3 to 8
feet in length, cut with deliberation and modest care "out
back" as we describe the field and hill section beyond sight of
our home.
Long
before we arrived in 1989, the foundation had become a one-way
recycling point for trash, timbers and stone.
It's proximity
to the road made unloading easy, and it's out-of-the way nature
apparently left no guilt when folks off-loaded debris and left. I
walked the site for almost 9 years before deciding it was time to
create a garden. Looking back now, it's clear there is
no end in sight. The garden currently holds hundreds of flowers, both
natives and cultivated. The perimeters continue to get pushed back
more each year to join adjacent fields and woodlands. It totals less
than half an acre but the strength of the stone makes it
seem larger.
The old foundation is built into a hill. This probably made for more efficient
construction and eventually afforded easy delivery of hay and feed crops within
the barn. Equipment and animals had easy access to the lower level and it is
at that level that I planned the major plantings. Getting down there meant walking
a short distance down Peacham Pond Road. For that reason, stone steps
gave promise of an easy and safe transition for garden visitors.
Stone
is everywhere here. It's been turned by glaciers and seldom do you find a piece
with a flat side worthy of becoming a stepping stone. I had a local contractor
secure a load of stone from a quarry in Danville. With metal pipes as rollers
and blocks of wood and rocks as fulcrums, and a six foot bar as a lever,
20 pieces of slab rock, 6590 pounds total, became steps.
This
was not a quick process but neither was the foundation itself some 200 years
earlier. In the end I was 12 steps short of my goal, but you know, those first
twenty steps already function as a reminder of how pleasant a journey gardening
really is. Come visit, and walk the steps for yourself. Look over the
wall and into the foundation garden. I think you'll enjoy the view.
ONE YEAR LATER
Home
Astilbe
Daylily AC
DP
QZ
Hosta AK
LZ
Lilies
Lily Classifications
Lily Bulbs
Peonies
Shade Plants
Building a Hosta Garden
Deer Control
Garden Products
Invasives
Our Forests
Stone Steps
Autism
Virtual Tour 06
Virtual Tour 05
Virtual Tour 04
Virtual Tour 03
Virtual Tour 02
Find Us
Links
Order
Long
before we arrived in 1989, the foundation had become a one-way
recycling point for trash, timbers and stone.
It's proximity
to the road made unloading easy, and it's out-of-the way nature
apparently left no guilt when folks off-loaded debris and left. I
walked the site for almost 9 years before deciding it was time to
create a garden. Looking back now, it's clear there is
no end in sight. The garden currently holds hundreds of flowers, both
natives and cultivated. The perimeters continue to get pushed back
more each year to join adjacent fields and woodlands. It totals less
than half an acre but the strength of the stone makes it
seem larger. 
