Congrats! can't wait to see the pics and the progression into paradise.

congrats ... if you have any pix.. post them ... ken

I'm happy for you!..enjoy planning and planting your new garden!..

Need pictures to offer any advice.

Happy for you, bet you'll have a busy spring/summer!

Congratulations! Spring is always something to look forward to, but your spring will be extra special! If I were looking for a new property, I would be making sure I didn't have any trees too close to my garden too!

Congrats!

bkay

Posted pics! Main thing for now (close on Dec. 6, won't move in for a couple months while I paint, etc.) will be to just stick potted plants from balcony into yard and build hasty wire fence against deer.

Congratulations!! Enjoy all the wonderful stages of the new garden!!!!

ESTHER, CONGRATULATIONS! WOW! THIS IS THE BEST NEWS!

You never lost sight of your goal and I am over the moon joyful for you now that you have achieved it! what a sweet new home, I just love it!

I will be thinking of you and sending positive vibes your way on Dec. 6th.

No doubt you will have a perma-grin on your face as you prepare your new home for your arrival and kitty will have so much to explore too! Your hostas will thrive in their new and permanent environment and knowing your determination, those deer will NOT be dining at Esther’s house!

Pace yourself. Ken offers very good advice as usual.

Above all, enjoy every moment! Kudos, Esther!

With the very best of wishes,

Josephine.

CongCongratulations!

It will be a great adventure for you, Esther. But I must warn you. I’ve lived here over 35 years and each fall I think, ”Come next spring, I’ll have a real garden!”

tj

Sooooooooo very happy you finally got your house!! I will look forward to seeing your garden next year.
debra

Wonderful news, Esther! No more maintenance crew to mess with your garden dreams. I hope it all goes smoothly and that you'll be in your new house soon. Can't wait to see pics of what you'll do!

Sandyslopes,

I close Dec. 8. I'm going in there Wednesday with a possible contractor and a termite inspector. The yard has already been graded pretty flat (as you can see in pic) and they put in a French drain to eliminate a muddy yard. The future garden will have to take a decided back seat to getting the house ready to move into, hopefully near the end of January (I hope this contractor will be "the one" and could start soon so I won't have to drag out moving in February). I will be studying "plans for small backyards", "plans for interesting front entrances", etc. I know I won't want tall evergreens near the house, as they could provide cover for burglars. I wonder what would look nice near the house foundation in the front, but not get too tall. They also removed the bushes at the side of the house, so I will have to figure out what to put there, an eastern exposure.

Has anyone heard of a deck "kit" you can assemble yourself? I'd love to find a small one made of composite wood with all the pieces cut, all the bolts and hardware, and some assembly directions. I could assemble that myself to replace the decidedly homemade little deck out the kitchen door, which is crudely made of 2 x 4's.

It's a tremendous step for me to take, and I hope I'm up to it all!

Meanwhile, here is a picture of something growing like a weed INDOORS: my new Maine Coon kitten Dandi. I'm really thrilled that it only took 3 weeks for her to become pals with my resident cat, Zizu, a short haired rescue.

Lovely kittens!!!

I am wishing you the best in your new home (I know you don't close until December 8 but I have my fingers crossed for you!) I love the planning and research stages (easier on the back!)

Thanks, N2Hostas. Dandi is the kitten, the Maine Coon with the white legs. Zizu is the rescue kitty, 6 years old, with more black. They delight me when they themselves are having a good time. Dandi gets into EVERYTHING, as kittens do. I am really looking forward to having a real garden at last, and hope to use this intermediate time to research landscape ideas and anti-deer measures.

does it make you happy to be on mother earth... instead of above ground?? .. no more stairs or elevators???

ken

Ken, the closing isn't until December 8. So, I can't answer your question. I will be happy to have to mount only 4 steps on the stoop to gain access to the house, and only a normal flight of stairs to get down to the basement. No paying an extra $50/month for the privilege of keeping my 2 cats. No one dictating a bunch of rules/regulations to me. No illiterate illegals sent out to spray weed killer whose directions they cannot comprehend right next to my garden.

However, I expect I WILL have to deal with white tailed deer, which are numerous around here. Any tried and true methods of keeping them out of the yard will be welcome!

Congratulations, Esther! I have had good luck with Wireless Deer Fence . They’re pricey but have worked for me in my office garden where deer turned the hosta to celery sticks and ate every daylily bulb before I installed them. I know they worked because the later blooming daylilies acttually bloomed.

Thanks, Kathy. The only problem with the electric fence is that the neighborhood where I'm moving is swarming with little kids. I have no doubt that they would come into contact with the wireless device, get shocked, and then Mommy would come strolling over to complain. I hate having to put up a fence---it's very expensive and might be construed as unfriendly---but it would help keep deer AND little kids out of the yard. I definitely do not want to have little kids swarming all over the yard, screaming and heedlessly trampling plants. Some kids are very well raised and are sensitive of other peoples' property. Those are kids I'd love to teach how to plant stuff and care for it. Others are not raised to respect others' property, and those kind could destroy a carefully planted garden in minutes, picking flowers, leaving discarded stuff in the beds, or outright trampling plants. I've seen both kinds of kids. Only time will tell which kind will live in my near vicinity.