Acorn Hill is the name we’ve given to our home.  Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, it is so named for the thousands of acorns produced by the red oaks growing here.  We spent years looking for just the right spot.  Some of the most important criteria were plenty of room to garden and space for our menagerie of dogs and cats to safely run and play.  And we found it here.

We have undertaken several big outdoor projects and have many more planned.  I have been taking pictures and making notes, which in essence constitute a journal of these projects.  I thought it might be interesting and perhaps helpful to share our progress.  So in addition to my Garden Journal where I routinely note what’s happening around the garden, we’ve added Acorn Hill Garden Projects to our site and intend to update it as we complete specific projects.  The Acorn Hill Garden Projects detail specific projects from start to finish with notes on what we learned in the process.

When we first came to Acorn Hill, one of the first things I realized was that I had more great ideas than I had time, energy, or money.  I had so many things that I hoped to accomplish the first year, but luckily we didn’t get very much done.  I say luckily because when starting a garden in a new place it is critical to observe, for at least one full cycle of the seasons, how the seasons change the existing landscape, how the views from your house differ in summer and winter, and how you and your family use your outdoor space.  So lesson number one was be patient.  Something I’ve been known to have trouble with.

The projects listed below are things we’ve done so far, and things we intend to complete in the near future.  As I write the story of each, I’ll include my thoughts on what we’ve done right and what we’ve learned from the things that haven’t gone as planned.  I hope you find these stories useful and, if nothing else, amusing.  We try to have fun at whatever we do, otherwise, why do it!

So look for these stories coming soon to Acorn Hill Garden Projects:

• A year of observation, four seasons at Acorn Hill
  
  
• A path through the wilderness, making the upper and lower trails
  
  
• The long and short of it, creating a view from the porch
  
  
• Keeping the hounds at bay, do-it-yourself garden fencing
  
  
• High on a hill, creating the hilltop garden