The Cottage

   We purchased our 997 square foot 1950’s Cape Cod Cottage in the fall of 2002.   We are located 900 feet from Nantucket Sound on .22 acres.  The cottage has good bones and only two previous owners.  
    When we purchased the cottage, the yard was not level and the rain ran towards the foundation of the house.  We contacted a landscaper with an organic background to correct the problem and add peripheral gardens, patio and lawn.  It was a much larger project than we had originally anticipated, but the end result was stunning. All subsequent treatments to the gardens and lawn have been organic (corn gluten, milky spore, organic fertilizers, etc.)
    As we upgrade and renovate, we are trying to incorporate green technology where it makes common sense and is in our budget.   The biggest lesson we have learned is the old saying, “the more you know, the less you need”.

Sunporch Garden - March 14, 2010

(click on photos for large version)

Tomatoes	Lettuce	Cabbage	Seedling Rack

Ornamental & Edible Gardens

    Presently, we are working with an organic gardener to gradually removing some traditional perennials and introducing organic edible fruits, veggie, herb plants and fruit-bearing shrubs.   I'm learning about and we are also trying to incorporate some companion planting to attract beneficial insects. Companion planting can also sometimes improve the flavor or a veggie or fruit. In addition to the work in the existing garden beds, I am experimenting with some container planting of fruits,  edible flowers and veggies.   It sounds extensive, but everything is on a small scale.   My intent is to grow what I would normally purchase at a farmer's market or grocery store (conventional or natural).  I do plan to keep the original footprint of the professionally landscaped yard with some of my favorite ornamentals, but also to expand on the landscaping by incorporating eco-friendly methods over time.

Lawn Philosophy

    It is amazing in the short time that we've had the cottage the shift in thinking about lawns.   Now that I've become a little more educated and ventured into OG veggie gardening, I've come to embrace my clover lawn rather than to seek a monoculture of grass (even if it's organic grass).   It was Jean Iversen, founder of Cape Cod Organic Gardeners (http://ccog.wordpress.com/), who first taught me that "clover is a good thing”.  My former landscaper’s original intent was that we would have a lawn that "looks like a golf course" .  Thankfully, Mother Nature stepped in just at the right time and introduced us to clover.
    I've since learned that clover used to be a fashionable lawn plant.   In the 1950's everybody was adding clover to their lawn seed mix until Scott's came along and started pushing their broadleaf weedkiller.  Clover in my lawn is in keeping with the vintage style of the 1950's Cape Cod cottage. Clover mixed with grass is slowly starting to become back in vogue.  I didn't realize that not only does it fix nitrogen into the soil, but also helps break up soil compaction. This was an issue with the lawn when we had the riding lawnmowers mowing every week.   Clover attracts beneficial pollinators like bees and parasitoid wasps that are welcomed by fruit and veggie growers and are not the nest making stinging wasps.  Clover is widely introduced around the world as a pasture crop.  A lawn with clover is a bio-diverse lawn and an eco-friendly lawn. 
    We purchased a Neuton battery-powered lawnmower (www.neutonpower.com) in place of utilizing a weekly lawnmowing service using a riding gasoline powered mower.  Our lawn is now more lush and green that it's ever been since the landscaping project.  I still plan to reduce the size of my lawn, but I will keep some with the clover because of the eco-benefits.  Mother Nature is remarkable!