Did you know that there was a time when I had zero interest in gardening? Zero interest. When Kyrie was 3 or 4 years old Ryan decided to plant some strawberries in the backyard thinking it would be fun for the kids. I remember telling him I really didn’t want to start a garden. So he could do what he wanted but I had plenty on my plate and would not be contributing to the gardening thing. I was a bit grumpy about it if I’m being completely honest. Ryan will corroborate this story.

Then the strawberries started growing. And we got our very first one. It was completely delightful to see these beautiful sweet fruits growing. We were hooked, kids and parents alike. Yes, plural on parents. Uh-oh.

Then we added tomatoes.

Then raspberries.

Some cucumbers.

Then we moved to the Lost Wood.

As much as we hated to admit it, the trees were looking rough (and they were partially burned, which is a whole different story). The last thing we wanted to do was build a whole garden and have a tree fall on it. So I called a couple of tree companies for quotes. The “simple” project just got a bigger price tag.

We had about three large cedars removed and a couple smaller ones. At this point, we had unwittingly made a mess of the front yard and as a bonus, a ninja obstacle course for the kids. In great news, our neighbor offered to pay us for the logs. We were excited, it would offset the cost of having the trees cut down and get them out of the yard.

And the snowball begins.

Enter Ryan’s dad (again). When he heard we were going to sell the logs, he insisted we talk to his friend who has a portable mill. At this point, I was a tad frustrated. I just wanted to ditch the logs and make my simple kit garden. Priorities people! The friend came to evaluate the logs and told us we had some tremendous value on our hands — the trees were Western Red Cedar which was (is?) in high demand in the lumber world. And oh, by the way, were we planning to build our raised beds?

Side note: My friend Adrienne has a gorgeous raised bed garden. One I could only ever dream of having. She incidentally has taught me most of what I know about gardening! The amazingness of her dream garden started to enter my mind at this point.

After countless discussions and pricing and thinking and contemplating, we decided instead of making money and having someone take the logs, we would pay to have the wood milled for our purposes. Oh, and by the way, there isn’t just enough wood for the raised bed garden and corresponding fencing, but we can also get enough wood custom-milled to build an arbor for the entrance to the garden and a pergola for our back patio and still have some to spare. Believe it or not, we ended up with over 4 times the the cost of the project in custom-milled wood. Also, super green and sustainable because our wood would stay on our property and be repurposed to grow things!

The snowball is very real, but we are also super thankful for Greg’s insight on this one. We just had to get the giant logs transported about 30 miles south to the mill (cheaper than actually transporting the mill to our property). See how the project gets infinitely more complicated? Ryan, Greg, and his brother spent a couple of weekends making that happen.

Meanwhilst, as the wood was being milled, we hired an excavator to remove the remaining giant stumps, and level and prep the garden area. This ended up having a hefty price tag as well. Anyone who tells you gardening saves money is not being truthful. Ever heard of the $300 tomato? Well, we were in way deeper than $300 per tomato. But we went ahead and had the excavator put in the gravel pad and run irrigation lines as well. They did a beautiful job!

Because the area was so sloped and undulating to begin with (and covered in giant logs), we weren’t sure how much space we would end up with. But we ended up with a 33′ x 33′ area for the garden. And here’s a look at my plan (each square represents 3′ x 3′) and the gray areas represent the raised beds:

Once the milled wood was delivered, sorted, and stored, we started building the beds with two rows of 2′ x 12′ cedar boards. We added wire at the bottom of the beds to keep out pests like gophers. And lined them with black plastic to try to slow down future decay within the beds. We used stakes and string lines to get everything lined up just perfectly.

Soil and fencing came next. We partially filled the beds with wood chips from the logging process, then added good soil on top. The fence ended up being a LOT more difficult than we anticipated but so very necessary with the bold deer we have out here. We did end up staining the fencing the following summer.

Finally, I had the chance to start planting! I started with David Austin bare root roses in the center of the garden. I planted so many gorgeous varieties including Queen of Sweden, Olivia Rose Austin, Bascobel (my favorite), Lichfield Angel, Charlotte (obviously), Desdemona, and The Generous Gardener. I have since also added Princess Alexandra of Kent and The Alnwick Rose. I also planted dahlia tubers including Wizard of Oz, Cafe Au Lait, Breakout, Thomas Edison, Moor Place, Sweet Nathalie, and Linda’s Baby. All gorgeous! The outer beds were planted with various fruits and veggies.

I can’t even explain the sheer joy when the first rose started blooming. It was the culmination of a giant project and the magic of gardening. How does a dried-out stick turn into something as magical as a fragrant, delicate rose? Gardening has become a bit like parenthood in many ways for me. It’s a beautiful reminder of the miracle of life, God’s creativity on display, and they just delight me (kids and plants).

The garden came together beautifully. It was a huge project that we enjoyed and that the entire family will enjoy for years to come. The kids love picking strawberries and Kyrie is a verified plant lady already. Our dying trees gave back to new life, new miracles, new delights. Now I spend summers visiting and tending to my plants, marveling at each bloom, each harvest.

It hit me one evening as I was picking green beans for dinner, how novel it felt to be able to walk outside and gather part of our meal. Novel and so very satisfying. I started those green beans from tiny seeds! It also occurred to me that Ryan’s grandmother (an avid gardener) would have laughed at me for that thought. For so long gardening was an essential part of life, not a hobby. Amazing how quickly things change just within a couple of generations. I’ve enjoyed getting back to some of these basics out here in the Lost Wood Garden.

We put an antique screen door on the back entrance and plan to build an arbor entrance on the front. But that’s another project for another day!

XO,

—h

P.S. This all led to the building of our Not-Green Greenhouse, you can read about that here.