Bluebirds & Bushels

A baptism of fire and a bushel of lavender. In keeping with the estate’s decrepit house structures, the landscape also was not in great shape, having endured years of neglect. Undeterred, Nancy and Carol went straight to work, with their first priority to stabilize the landscape and begin a major cleanup.

We installed bluebird houses along the edge of The Field and tilled the top section for lavender, as a tribute to my late mother, creating a fragrant, soft purple haze, that will be stunning in the summer months. The Phenomenal lavender® purchase was my first real experience with farm-related buying — an invoice priced in bushels. 

We partnered with American Meadows to source native wildflowers that attract birds and butterflies and can withstand cold winters. We planted two rows of Joe-Pye Weed beneath the lavender, a favourite of Monarch butterflies, Swallowtails, and bees. 

The Phenomenal lavender® purchase was my first real experience with farm-related buying — an invoice priced in bushels.

The next step was to purchase the equipment needed to restore the estate. The vintage 1947 tractor had served its time and was more of an environmental hazard than a help, with its diesel fuel and leaky parts. So, we went to John Deere and bought a full-sized tractor, a Gator, an excavator, and an industrial leaf blower. Then, since no estate is complete without an actual truck, we sent Jack to pick one up. He came back with his dream vehicle, a lightly used, shiny red Ford F-150 pickup truck. 

The only issue with this farm-related shopping spree was that when we brought everything back to the estate, we found the existing shed was too small to store it all. So, we had to design, rush order, and build a new shed large enough to protect the equipment during the harsh winter months. 

The new shed includes a farm office that the groundskeeping crew can use to make a cup of tea, or to take shelter when Mother Nature showers them with her finest snow and rain. It’s a significant upgrade in terms of scale and utility, but in time, it will hopefully become one of those additions that will look as if it has always been there. 

As much as the equipment cost an arm and a leg, it was totally worth it, both in terms of the increased productivity and seeing Roger and Hugo zipping around the fields looking like teenagers who had just passed their driving test. 

Over and out.