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Garden Home Retreat Grounds

Although it will always be a work in progress, the basic outlines of the Garden Home Retreat have been established. Take a virtual tour of the garden rooms, architecture and nature walks that make up this ornamental farm.

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1. The Old Oak
When beginning to design the Garden Home Retreat, I took my cue from this colossal oak that sits on the crest of a hill. I was so taken by its size and shape that I arranged the garden and cottage on axis with the tree.

2. Cottage
The cottage is designed using the Greek Revival style of architecture. This style has deep is true to the region's cultural and agrarian past. I also find that the bold simplicity adapts well to modern living. My goal with the cottage is to demonstrate how a traditional looking house can be constructed and maintained to be earth friendly. 

The house is oriented along the ridge for cross ventilation and natural light and has high ceilings which are a tried and true Southern approach to dealing with the heat of summer. The north side of the house looks out over the river valley and has a series of porches that will serve as outdoor living rooms. Shade trees offer protection from the summer sun and screened windows allow winds to cool these indoor/outdoor settings. On the second floor there is even an old fashioned sleeping porch.

Some of the green components that are incorporated in the structure are Amvic Insulated Concrete Forms, Rehau PEX tubing used for water lines, BioBased soy insulation foam, a Dawn Solar system installed under the metal Follansbee Roof, and energy efficient Marvin Windows.

3. Summer Kitchen and Studio
Two 350 square foot buildings are also behind the house, sitting on either side of the croquet lawn. The building on the left is a summer kitchen outfitted with a fireplace, outdoor range and outdoor refrigerator. The building on the right is an artist's studio with plenty of windows so painters can take advantage of the wonderful Northern light.

9. Wildflower Field
Last year we experimented with a wildflower mix from Wildseed Farms that had a number of varieties to see which ones would do best. The larkspur and cornflowers in the mix performed exceptionally well so this year he reseeded the area again along with Flanders poppies.

10. Bluebird Trail
We have established a bluebird trail along the east pasture. It is a series of bluebird boxes to give these beautiful birds some free housing. Because bluebirds prefer to make their homes in wide open spaces this area is an ideal location. The grassy pastures give them plenty of room to hunt for insects, with scattered trees and fence lines for perching.

11. Daffodil Hill
When I saw some daffodils blooming around some of the old buildings on the site I was inspired to plant a few more on the hillside. Of course when I say a few I actually mean about 18,000.

12. Milk Barn
This building was one of the few existing structures on the property. It appeared that it had been used as the farmstead's milk barn so the name stuck. Since it was still a sturdy structure, we gave it a face lift with some new cedar trim, weather tight windows and a Follansbee KlassicKolors Red roof. The exterior was stained with semi-transparent polyurethane exterior house stain in dark brown and lichen green windows with traditional wall mounted barn lights in a green patina finish. The color complements the stain on the pasture fence, but is more transparent to allow the wood grain to show through.

13. Tractor Barn
When we started the Garden Home Retreat project this building was sided in green metal. It was very functional, but didn't fit into the style of the project. Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we gave it a makeover. A raised roof line and cypress board and batten siding made the structure both useful and beautiful.

14. The Greenhouse
My ornamental farm would not be complete without a greenhouse. Last fall we installed this Victorian Greenhouse from European Garden so now I can garden year round.

Product Guide:
Red Metal Roof: Follansbee Roofing
Vegetable Garden Out Buildings: Walpole Woodworkers
Perennials and Annuals: Proven Winners
Veg Garden Seeds: Ferry-Morse
Wildflower Seeds: Wildseed Farms
Greenhouse: European Garden