By: Stephanie Andrews
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, surrounded by dairy farms, woods, streams, and dirt roads, life was slow-very slow. My mom and dad had eschewed the big city of Erie, Pennsylvania to pursue their dream of building a passive solar home on 40 acres of land.
First, they went to a building and design school in Maine called Shelter Institute. They learned the fundamentals of building a simple structure. I remember countless drawings and iterations of the design by my mother, as she tried to pack every dream into this home. She consulted with a family friend (and architect) to work out all the details so that everything she planned could become feasible. It took a few years of planning, during which my sister and I lived in a mobile home on the property.
The Photo of the Home that My Dad Still Keeps In His Wallet.
Their design was for a passive solar home that utilized the land and was fairly self-sufficient. They planned for a greenhouse on the south side to help heat the home during the cold winters, any other heat was provided by 2 large wood stoves. They also planned for a composting toilet system that would cut back on water usage and provide compost for the garden. (This was a very gross idea to a 7th grader!) They also planned for a huge vegetable garden to help feed us.
The home took about 2 years before we could move in. Looking back, it really was a beauty. This house had cherry floors and cabinetry made from the wood on our property, a koi pond, a tire swing, and a sleeping porch with a hanging bed. It also had a very large garden that we had to weed every weekend. (Again this is my memory!) To me, this garden was too big and it was relentless in producing weeds that we had to pluck.
Looking back, this experience led my mom into interior design and my dad became a carpenter and handyman. Funny how life works like that.
My Home Before the Garden Update!
Fast forward 40 years I swore that I would never live in the country. The frenetic pace of city life was what I craved. My husband and I moved to Atlanta, to a cute little old bungalow with a small yard. I did not have to worry about cutting wood to keep warm or really doing much of anything in this yard. I focused on the inside only. When clients would ask me about helping with outdoor spaces, I politely declined and let them know that I was all about the interior spaces.
Some of the Beautiful Work of Barefoot Garden Designs!
That all changed last year after a trip to Japan. We fell in love with the Japanese lifestyle (japan blog) and especially the Japanese gardens. We wanted to create a little Japanese garden in our tiny backyard. We hired a local landscape designer who specialized in native plants. Aaron, our designer, had also just returned from Japan and seemed just as excited as we were to create something new. The new garden, from start to finish, took about 6 weeks. It was finished in October, just in time to go to sleep for the winter. With the spring, the beautiful surprises kept coming! There were dewy plants around the fountain, little ferns around the pavers, and the most beautiful irises! There was also a change in my mind, and perhaps even my heart (as I envision the Grinch who had a heart 2 sizes too small.)
My Home After the Garden Update!
Now we are in the heat of Atlanta summer, Ed and I have divided the garden chores. He maintains the backyard and I do the front. Turns out that if you are weeding in the front on the weekends, you really get to know your neighbors better. Our little street is bursting with summer flower gardens and we are seeing so many bees and even hummingbirds. I even initiated a little water garden with a bamboo faucet and water grass!
The Idea behind my Bamboo Faucet in the Pond!
I never understood the thankless drudgery of outdoor chores when I was growing up. But like the Grinch, something has changed. Now, I love to open all of the doors in the morning before the heat and I actually enjoy weeding my little plot. It slows me down and makes me notice small things in nature. I am learning about different plants, the color palettes that are growing in the dirt, and the textures that are layered together.
My Newest Book – Slow Living: The Secrets to Slowing Down and Noticing the Simple Joys Anywhere by Helena Woods
This garden adventure matches up with my latest read-Slow Living by Helena Woods. Her soulful advice on a myriad of ways to slow down and notice the simple joys that are everywhere. I am quite enjoying this book.
I still will always live in the city, but perhaps I don’t need to go so fast all the time. Perhaps there is something to that pace of the country that is worthwhile. And possibly I will find more of that pace in this little garden. We shall see.
