The First Robins of Spring...

An American robin in our crabapple tree this morning.

This morning when I got up, the temperature was -9 degrees F (-22 C). I was starting to feel a bit of winter discouragement, especially with another snow storm forecast for Sunday. But then a bit of hope dawn here at Havenwood...

"There are robins! Robins!!!" she shouted.

We all ran to look out the window to see six little fluffed out robins hoping around our tree.

"That means spring!"  Oh yes, it does.

A Pileated Woodpecker Visit

Look up for the bright patch of red...

We are very happy to have a large section of woodland on our new property, and we have already had some exciting visitors. Twice we have spotted a male pileated woodpecker in our trees looking for a snack. Of course the first sign is never by sight, but a loud thumping sound...

Beginning Our New Garden...

Havenwood covered in snow this February.

All good things start at the very beginning, and that is where we are right now with our new garden and home, though its history started long before us. Professor Myers and his family first purchased this Lot 120 in 1916 for the sum of $1084.00. The large brick house was built by in 1925, after nine years of waiting and saving. They lived here for 19 years and then came six more sets of owners to occupy it. We are the eighth family to live under its slate roof, now nearly 90 years old.

Since we are now the guardians of this property, we have dubbed it Havenwood, a name which encapsulates what we hope to create here on this nicely wooded lot. From the start, it has loads of charm and many needed repairs; but above all the potential to be a peaceful and beautiful place for people to gather.

Welcome to your first walk around the Havenwood Garden! This overhead view from Google really helps to get you oriented...

February Flowers ~ GBBD 2014

Welcome to Pennsylvania in February!

It was -1 degrees F (-18 C) this morning, we have eight inches of snow outside and are expect to get six more inches tonight. So, we are inside for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day today. Thankfully, we have more orchids and some roses... :)

Dreaming of Spring...

Tulipa 'Persian Pearl' from Gilmore Gardens in April 2013

Greetings to all of my winter weary friends!

I have been pretty busy in the past two month since we moved into our new home... lots of remodeling and decorating, unpacking things here and there, and working hard to get back in the swing with our homeschooling this January. We have four inches of snow outside still after having weathered two "polar vortexes" with temperatures down to -13 F (-25 C) and praying that some (any!) of my plants in pots will survive to see another season. Fortunately, I did not have time to pot up as many plants in the fall as I had thought I should for the move!

I am dreaming of spring after this long, cold winter... and starting to think about our new garden design.  Because of the latter, I have decided that now is the time to try out an online class that I have had my eye on for a couple of years. World famous garden designer John Brookes teaches a class about designing large gardens on the MyGardenSchool website that looks like a wonderful opportunity to spend more time being stretched about my design plans and testing out new ideas. I hope to share a bit my class experience here on WMG, as well as my resulting garden plan, which is our final class assignment.

Stay warm on this first day of February!
~Julie