A few months ago I was reading a post that my friend Marilyn wrote for the blog The Sister Project. It was a touching account about her sister that fought and sadly lost a battle with cancer. Marilyn’s words always melt me no matter if she’s talking about food or her family, the girl can write. That day her post shredded my heart. I commented on her post and then I tweeted, “Today Marilyn made me cry.”
Later that day I saw a few people added to my Twitter. One of them was Margaret Roach. Then I got an email from this Margaret Roach. Who is Margaret Roach? Why does that name sound familiar? I opened the email and read as she explained that she was the ex-editorial director for Martha Stewart and now she calls herself “a dropout from corporate life”. As I’m reading the email I’m thinking, is this spam? Should I believe this person? I kept reading. Margaret explained how she is now retired from her fancy suits and high paced life. She lives in rural New York and writes on her blog named after her book Away to Garden and her newest blog, The Sister Project. After reading her email a few times I decided to go to the bathroom. Because that ‘s where I had an old copy of Martha Stewart Living and maybe this Margaret Roach lady was in there. As I flipped a few pages into the magazine there on the editor’s page was a picture of a petite woman and her name was Margaret Roach. Well, okay then. I responded to Margaret’s email and that’s when the flood gates opened.
Margaret and I bantered back and forth about blogging, gardening and the nickname Auntie Monkey Butt. Then I asked her if she was up to a challenge. I wanted to know if she could help me landscape a spot by my porch for $100. I’d set aside one hundred American dollars in my budget to plant a little somthin-somethin by the step of our porch which is usually the home to hair clippings, Legos and the spot where my mean Rooster plans his daily attacks.
In my mind I thought Margaret would say, “Why, my dear darling April, of course I’ll help you. Go buy this specific plant and stick in that precise spot.” The end. I would blog about it, we would smile at the little plant, drink some iced tea and go on with our lives. But, that didn’t happen. By the end of the challenge I had dug up half my yard, hauled three truck loads of mulch and spent a wee bit more than one hundred dollars. Although, that may sound dreadful, in the end Margaret made me think outside the tiny spot that was by the porch which meant I had to use my eyeballs to see what was in my yard as a whole and stop focusing on just the little spot with the hair clippings and Legos. Believe me there is a lot going on in that yard.
My focus was on that little 6X8 spot to the right of the stairs. Stick a bush in and we’re done, right Margaret? No, no, she wanted to know what else was around that spot, pull back she said, send me pictures she said, pull back more, send more pictures. So I backed up and took more and more pictures for Margaret. A basketball court, a big oak tree, to the far right was a kidney-shaped spot that had a menagerie of plants crammed into it, a Yucca, a honeysuckle, a half dead rose bush, Spirea and some other thorny bush.
And that’s not all.
Around the corner from my tiny 6X8 spot is some lovely lava rock, which has been listed in Margaret’s garden NO NO’s. And let’s not forget the winding brick border, which I thought I’d be using as the border for my new little bush. Hahahahah! Oh, that Margaret, did she ever have a different plan in mind for me.
If we back up from that corner a bit we can see there is also the back concrete porch and a pear tree, or at least I think it’s a pear tree, Margaret has me thinking it’s a Maple now and since I’ve been having a bit of a dilemma identifying other trees on our property, I’m just going to call it Big Tree for now. Margaret has asked for a close up of the leaves and could it please be in focus so she can positively identify it. She’s kind of picky, that Margaret. At the bottom of the picture you can see just a bit of the Ponderosa fence that borders the driveway.
Did I mention there is a lot of stuff in that yard?
If you’re looking close enough you have noticed that the brick border did not survive, nor did the lava rock. I’m happy to report that I did survive and so did Clay and my children after I announced that we would be digging up most of the yard becasue Margaret has me seeing the big picture now.
….to be continued.
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Margaret is AwesomeSauce.
Just call me trouble (or Auntie Monkey Butt, as I answer to that, too).
I am sorry (not one bit) to have forced you to look with a wider lens, but it’s the thing I did wrong at first, 25ish years ago, and then wasted time and money undoing. Your house is too big to have itsy-bitsy beds; it will feel more anchored with ones of bigger proportion like the first one you created (and like “we” will need to make to the left of the porch stairs, too).
I am so glad that we met thanks to Marilyn, and cannot wait until the next chapter. Promise, no backhoes involved.
Your yard is lovely. Too bad,it is so hot here because you are inspriring me to start landscaping. But, me and the heat are at war right now and it is winning leaving me inside with the a/c until it cools off a little.
Oooohh, I hate ….to be continued’s!!!!
I can’t wait to see what becomes of your yard…
you little tease!
Ooh! I can picture it now! I wonder if Margaret’s vision looks the same as the picture I’m getting. I’m sure it’s lovely either way, and I can’t wait to see what you’ve done.
Ooh, you and Margaret together is just…just…a happy blog salad. Happy to have played my small part in this lovely story. Now, if we can just get her to the next Valentine’s Day bash, and she can teach me to stop killing rhododendrons, life will be complete.
Margaret is definitely the sort who can get a girl into trouble. Can’t wait to see the rest of the transformation!!
Wait…what Valentine’s Day bash??? Ok, we’re definitely taking a KS road trip…
The door is open…I’ll make Marilyn cook.
Isn’t the internet an amazing place? You meet the nicest people and learn the most fascinating things. I can’t wait to see what the final bed looks like.
Story’s like this are why I can’t quite give up blogging. There is a wide, wide, world of frienships out there we’d never know otherwise.
How exciting!
I have a 1/2 acre of almost dead Kudzu that needs Margaret’s help. You know almost. When it looks dead until next spring. Then it grows a foot a day and tries to strangle you in your sleep.
All these too be continued post are killing me.
I. Can’t. Stand. It.
{{deep cleansing breaths}}
I want Margaret Roach to landscape my yard too! I’m a blogger. I trade pottery too! Do you need a birdbath Margaret? Or a fountain? Dinnerware? Or a funny bottomless ring thing that I will identify later today?
You lucky dog, April.
Oooh!! Hurry up and post the rest! I can’t wait to see! — Clay Vessel is right — you are a lucky dog!
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a “wider lense” about life the way we can about a gardening project ! Can’t wait to see what you all do !
I love a good landscaping story…I have planted and replanted my yard many times…I love to dig in the dirt and watch things grow…
Can’t wait to see the finished project. This is like a mini series.
how exciting! Beautiful home too.
This is exciting! Especially since I’m not doing any of the work… I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE RESULTS, BUT LOVE THE PROGRESS TOO! ISN’T BLOGGING GREAT!!! SO NEAT THAT YOU MET SOMEONE LIKE HER. COOL. JUST COOL.
HUGS FROM MAINE
What a riot. Love, love, love the pictures and the possibilities. Don’t love the cliffhanger, but good things come to those that wait. That means both of us. Love gardening. Fun part is it’s something we can do for life, and continue to nurture and grow things even after these kiddies are gone! Margaret (and Marilyn) sound like awesome ladies.
Margaret & Paige are not allowed to go to Kansas without me. :::stomps out of room:::
I wouldn’t let them through the door if they didn’t have you with them.
This blogging world is so bizarre sometimes. I love hearing about these little connections that we make on chance — and seeing how they can so profoundly impact our lives. Just starting out with my blog and you are an inspiration. Keep up the fantastic and lovely work!
Can’t wait to see the finished project! I need inspiration for my front yard, there is absolutely zero curb appeal there right now. I’ve been removing (by hand) English Ivy, which is just monstrous. Backyard has it, too, I did not plant the stuff it just took hold and all of a sudden, Jumanji!
April, love your website, it never fails to bring a smile to my face!
Quit leaving us hangin’!! I want the end of the story…now! : )
Love your house…I love farm houses…maybe that’s why I live in one. I think I kind of want to know the end because I have dug up some things and I need some inspiration! Hurry…quick!! : )
I am excited to see it. My husband says I am crazy to care about the yard of a person I will probably never get to even shake hands with. Am I? Who cares! I am so excited! I love it when famous people help out us normal (?) people! Like when Teller (yes that Teller!) told me to buy generic!
Oh, you’re in for some trouble now
I have a back hoe if you need one! And just in case you need some muscle, the Big Guy happens to be one FAB gardener. Check out how my front yardgarden took shape. http://thegreenhousediaries.blogspot.com/2009/05/another-big-idea.html
Oh my, I’m waiting for the sequel to the yard tale!
Can’t wait to see the continued …
[...] of April, the happy chicken-butcherer of Coal Creek Farm has written not one but two posts on how she met Margaret Roach, learned a lot and improved her yard. It’s a [...]