I’m so pleased that you’ve discovered my website!
Lush Heritage™ chronicles my efforts to conserve a special corner of my native New England state. For the past 10+ years, I’ve been buying real estate in my small hometown to try to preserve its rural character. The land I’ve been fortunate enough to purchase is beautiful, occasionally boggy in places, and close to my heart.
Some of those 25+ acres had also become wildly overgrown when I bought them.
Undaunted, I had two choices: do the extensive cleanup and maintenance work myself or pay someone else to do it. Well, I received mixed results from others’ efforts. That led me to handling it myself, and I haven’t regretted my decision.
Throughout hours of cutting, hauling, and mowing, I also wondered if other homeowners were dealing with the same issues as I was.
It struck me this spring that I’d done so much landscaping myself that I should document more formally my challenges and triumphs and share them with other DIY-oriented homeowners who may want some inspiration as they tackle their own green projects.
However, Lush Heritage won’t be about all work and no play. One of the best parts of owning a home is decorating it, and I’m gradually furnishing the main house (the little house will have to wait its turn). I favor a traditional but relaxed style, a dash of color, and a curated mix of old and new, with comfort being paramount. I’ve bought and scavenged some key pieces, but it’s slow-going as I suspect it is for so many.
Despite having a preferred aesthetic, I’m not rigid in interpretation or execution and I am not aiming for perfection outside or in. This means:
- The property may not resemble a five-star resort even if I rave about how good it looks and declare a project “done.” I’m okay with clover and some dandelions in the grass (I learned last year that clover is beneficial for lawns since it draws nitrogen from the air into the soil). I just want the gardens, lawns, and hayfields to be neat and lush (though I suspect I will be pickier about the flower beds).
- Interior shots may feature a room that I consider 85% done and 100% livable. I may never re-position the curtain rods even if I think the room would look more polished if I did. It may take me years to find the right side chairs or bedside table to complete a room. I’d rather have an “underdone” room than one filled with things that don’t make me happy.
What am I aiming for? To share knowledge as I care for this patch of land. To inspire other like-minded individuals who want to take similar action or anyone who’s simply trying to figure out how to transform their backyard jungle. To show that an old house can be a comfortable home without its character and “quirky” features being erased. To state as emphatically as I can that conserving our green space and preserving our old structures – our extraordinary inheritance – are worthwhile and rewarding endeavors.
Admittedly, I’m not a professional gardener, photographer, videographer or writer. I’m just one woman, preserving a small piece of our collective lush heritage one acre at a time and learning as I go along. I encourage others to do the same wherever they live and love.
To victory!
