A Glorious Problem

In 2019, after a full year of renovations, we moved into our forever home – a three story, Greek Revival single family home, built in 1858.  When the home was first built, the kitchens and facilities were all outbuildings, so the home had seen its fair share of renovations.  However, I don’t think a young family has lived in the home in over a century. 

The home sits on a gorgeous bit of land in Virginia (zone 7B).  The development of neighborhoods, cul de sacs, and suburban sprawl, seem to halt just at the edge of our drive.  Facing due South, the front porch overlooks a field that once use to enclose cows and other livestock.  Black Walnuts, Pecans, Cedars, Elms, and Redbuds, dot the property.  A formal, ‘pleasure garden’ was designed and added in the 1920s and sits off the Eastern side of the home.

The surrounding land has been worked and farmed, well before the home was constructed.  Forests have grown up around former shade trees, giant trees in an otherwise young forest.  Within a short walk from the home is a horse spring and several large craters that once served as ice pits can also be found.  Behind an old fir tree, a cacophony of spring bulbs burst from the forest’s edge in random order – this we’ve learned is where former occupants used to divide and discard their old bulbs.  The grounds house many a time capsule that have been tucked away by overgrowth.  The endless division of bulbs, the army of volunteers planted by winds and birds, and a fair share of invasive species (Nandina, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Chinese Wisteria) have crept in over the years.  Pulling back the overgrowth has been tough work, but we are excited to uncover what’s been hidden by time.