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Spring Scenes

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Easter week is typically quiet here at Copper House, so we took the opportunity take a little vacation. When we left, plants were pushing hard to see daylight and the forest was just starting to leaf out. Eight days later, we pulled onto the grounds, jaws dropped and eyes popped by all that Mother nature had accomplished while we were away. It happens every year, of course, but when you’re living in the midst of the change it’s not as dramatic as when you’ve been away. Here’s some of what we took in.

I had to buy mint for our event the week before Easter. We came home to an abundance of it, which we use to flavor our spa water and summer fruit sorbets. David thinks it’s spreading too quickly, but I argue that you can hardly have too much mint!

 

Just down from our mint, the tiny little pansies we planted end of March had filled in the flower box, and the little Norway Spruce who called this flower box home since Christmas got bumped up to the terrace and replaced by a more seasonal lupin ready to send up its impressive plume.

 

This area used to be called our rentention basin. What an unpleasant word! So we planted some grasses and irises and now call it a rain garden, which is thriving. I can’t wait to see the purple and copper irises which should bloom in the coming weeks.

 

Last year we spread a triaxial of leaf compost in a large swath of land next to the stream and planted hundreds of tiny native plugs, which we bought from Kind Earth Growers in Ottsville, Pennsylvania. Owner John Courtney recently inspected the plantings and give them a big thumbs up. The native plants are loving their new home.

 

Of course, there are all of the native plants that naturally grown on our land. Some people don’t love skunk cabbages, but I adore them, as well as all of the natural ferns that call Copper House grounds their home.

 

And then there’s the sea of May Apples that grow naturally here. They love the spots close to the stream, but they make themselves at home all over the place here. I cannot wait for the wild phlox that will very soon spring up among them.

 

There are ramps everywhere here. (I see lots of mushrooms too, but I’m not comfortable [yet] foraging for them.) Their season is short. Time to get out there and harvest some for the pesto we make for our wood-fired pizzas.
I’m especially loving the bubbler we acquired last fall. We didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy it before winter hit, but it’s here making quiet peaceful gurgling sound for those who sit on the deck. There’s the new bell too, but I’ll let David tell you about that!

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