We purchased the property that would become Mezzacello in late October 2013. We had a strategy in place that we thought was genius at the time. We would continue to rent our apartment three blocks away for two more months while we “fixed up” the 160+ year old house. That is the ESSENCE of naivety. …
This spring and summer I am trying something new with my bean poles at Mezzacello. Previously, I used a more robust and architectural version of this tower – inspired by French Chateau potager gardens. Beans grow well up this leggy tower. This year, I am playing with using them to grow squashes. Lightweight straight neck …
After five years of plugging along on our mission to Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain we decided we needed an official portrait. We commissioned a fabulous local artist, Gabriel Gatton. He asked a ton of questions and then ran away in fear. Five sustainable ecosystems. Two gardens, formal and potager. Animal husbandry and botanical greenhouses. …
A little bit of lovely on a fine spring day in May 2020. [metaslider id=2329]
When planning the ornamental garden, besides playing off the house, I drew on four different categories of plants. The plants that were already on the grounds. The plants needed to create the look and feel of the plan. The plants that bring sentimental values and recreate garden memories. The unexpected source of plants from friends’ …
Those that visit the garden have a new surprise. We added an herb garden that is planted in a parterre. The parterre could have been created in any number of ways, with any number of plants. This one was created with small boxwoods in a simple closed X design. The herbs were planted in the …
My animals, the insects, the pond, and tree and bush trimmings create a lot of organic matter. More than my Compost bins can usually absorb. I can funnel some of it into my garden beds for developing lasagna compost beds to grow vegetables and herbs into, but that still leaves organic matter. That’s why I …
I live on an urban farm in downtown Columbus, OH. I have a job I love and I have chores I have to do everyday. This was early spring, 2019. The camera I keep to monitor the poultry and rabbit yards safe from vandals. On this day, it caught me between work and probably a …
