Taaa Daaa!!!

Remember how I was telling you about our backyard makeover and I showed you this terrible picture of our backyard?

Well, you are not going to even believe what it looks like now! Check it out!






All the brickwork (which is amazing) was done with recycled bricks from downtown Oklahoma City. I love so much that they have history and that we saved them from the landfill. Check out the one in the firepit with writing on the edge...so cool!
I love the waterfall we were able to add and the jump rock (kid approved!). Going to the Home and Garden Show really paid off because we were able to do all this for the same price of a concrete pool with no extras. The pool is salt water which keeps it much more wildlife friendly.


We've had lots of birds stopping by for a drink from the waterfall. I'll try to catch some pictures of them soon. We had an Egret perched up there this morning and it looked so cool! He flew off just as I grabbed the camera.

I'm so thankful that we found Loch Ness Pools because we got so much more than a pool...we got an amazing new living space that we will be enjoying almost year round! I can't wait to try out the fire pit and have a late night pool party with s'mores and the pool lights glowing! I can't even believe this is my backyard! If you're thinking about adding a pool, I'd certainly recommend Lowell. If you call up Loch Ness Pools, be sure to let him know that One Acre Homestead sent you!

Garden Helpers

Besides my two sweet girlies and occasionaly Homestead Man, I have some other garden helpers I employ. Bunnies are fantastic for lightening fast composting! We give veggie peelings, roots, grass clippings, carrot tops, etc. to our bunnies and voila...by the end of the day (it seems!) there is a pile of fantastic fertilizer just waiting to be added to the garden! Here's our newest worker...we call him Stormy:


Also, if you recall, last summer I purchased two Praying Mantis egg cases online and we hatched them near our garden. It was so much fun to see all those tiny Mantis babies crawling around our garden and they eat all kinds of pesky pests, doncha know!? Anywho...I'd decided that we would order them each summer and had already searched a few websites looking for a good deal. Then, one day when we were planting peas in the garden I looked up on the pea trellises and saw THIS:


Yep, one of our mantis mamas decided that our humble garden would be a fantastic place for her babies to begin their lives! We are so excited and so flattered! We can't wait to welcome a new batch of mantis babies into our garden this summer!

Of course, our two chickens are some of the greatest garden helpers...but they deserve a post all their own! Stay tuned!

Good News and Bad News...

Well...which do you want first? The good news or the bad? Yeah, I always go for the good first, too! Well, the fruit trees are blooming like crazy here on the OAH. Check out these pictures:

The little plum tree that we planted last year is in full bloom.


Here's a shot of the pear tree where you can see all the swollen little blooms. Do these remind anyone else of pregnancy? Maybe my mind just romances those months with my girls growing in my tummy, but I always equate the excitement and joy of pregnancy with this stage of my trees...when those buds are all swollen and ready to release their flowers and new leaves at any time.


Here are the blooms on the pear tree...I think they'll be opening fully tomorrow or Saturday.


The peach trees' blooms are so pretty when they open. Here they are preparing for their debut.


The apricot tree will be blooming soon as well.


The bad news? Oh, yeah...I was enjoying the good news so much I almost forgot! Well...our last frost date is generally April 15. If we get another hard frost with the fruit trees blooming that will mean no fruit this year. I'm really trying to remember Matthew 6:34 right now!

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (The Message)

Do you think we'll have another hard frost...or worse one of those freak spring snows? Our first fruit trees will be three years old this summer, so we'll soon have a variety of home grown fruits, but it may not be this year. Time will tell.

It's HERE!!

Lowell from Loch Ness Pools came by today to bring us the drawing he created of our new backyard! Check it out! We can't wait to see it all come to life!


We've asked for some outdoor cooking options to be applied to the fire pit...really excited about that area. Lowell mentioned providing them with any special objects we would like worked into the design of the fire pit, so I need to go out to the flower beds and dig out all our special vacation rocks we always bring home after a trip. What a perfect way to use them and revisit all those great memories!

We'll be talking trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses soon, and I'll be sure to share all the details with you.

Ground cover with benefits...

When we moved into this house, I made the decision that I concentrate my gardening efforts on plants that produce food for our family. We've learned a lot along the way & had our most productive season ever last year. One idea that has surprised me was the thought that I could plant strawberries as ground cover. Why not? They have nice broad leaves that shade the soil, they spread quickly, and they are beautiful even in the winter in our zone. Check out the bright red leaves they wear during their off season:

These were planted two years ago and I continue to take starts of them to fill other beds around our property. Here's an area that's just getting started:

This is in our front yard, just off the sidewalk that leads to our front door. Other areas of this bed are so thick with strawberries that I harvested 3 gallon bags full of berries this year! I'm so pleased with the results, I've ordered 50 more strawberry plants for a brand new bed we built this winter. Try it...I bet you'll be sold on the idea, too!

Talk about having your work cut out for you!!

We recently met with Lowell Brauser, the owner of Loch Ness Pools in Oklahoma City. He's one of the people we spoke with at the OKC Home and Garden Show and we were really impressed with what he had to say about backyards and pools. He expressed his desire to be sure a pool is really integrated into a backyard...I believe he said something like "making it look like it had been there forever." You guys know what he's talking about, right? Some pools look like they were stuck in the middle of the yard with a few feet of decking around them. Well, those were not installed by Loch Ness...Lowell is a guy who knows his trees, plants, and landscaping!

Anywho...back to our story...Lowell came out to our home and checked out the yard where we want to install a pool. This is what he saw:




I know...disturbing, isn't it?

All those pretty pictures we post come from what we eloquently call "the back-back yard." It's just beyond that little picket fence. That's where we've invested our time building beds, planting blackberries and fruit trees, and creating a veggie garden. I've never showed you this part of the yard, but it is high time we are honest with each other, isn't it? Let's hear it for keepin' it real!

The section of yard you see in the pictures has always been home to our male dog. He is a stud dog with typical stud dog issues...he likes to mark his territory, dig holes, and chew trees...but we love him so we keep him around. ;-) He'll soon be moving to a newly fenced area just off our "pool yard!" Oh, and the broken trampoline? Well, there's a funny story about that which involves a sound "I told you so!" to sweet Homestead Man...maybe I'll tell you that story someday. Not sure if we'll replace it, but it is most certainly a goner.

Lowell showed us some amazing pictures and laid out all the options his company offers in landscaping and pool installation. During our consultation we laid out a plan that just amazes me...with a retaining wall, dyed and stamped concrete, a beautiful pool, and a waterfall! I'll keep you up to date with the process as we move forward, and I know we'll all be amazed by Loch Ness Pool's work. If they can transform this yard, they can make any yard beautiful, right?

Oklahoma City Home and Garden Show

This weekend our little quartet loaded up and headed to the city...Oklahoma City, that is! We are hoping to add a large water feature to our garden this year in the form of a swimming pool with a small waterfall and desperately needed to gather ideas and information from area pool companies. As usual, the H&G show is full of more garden inspiration than anyone could possibly implement in one year, so my head has been spinning ever since...but let me give you a few highlights. I'm going to save the pool info for another day (or days), but here are a few other sights to share!

Looking around at all the featured plants, it occurred to me that I LOVE weeping trees...of all shapes and sizes! The problem is that I don't have even ONE weeping anything on this acre or out at our land! We'll have to remedy that this year. Any suggestions on weeping trees that perform really well here in Oklahoma?


Secondly, I'd love to add some shade structure in our big backyard. We have a very small back porch, but really no other shade at all. I really liked this little structure. I'm thinking something like this would suit me much better than a fancy schmancy gazebo. I believe they put an acid wash on the tin to make it look like that. Perfect!


I always love fountains, but really prefer things that look a bit more natural. This fountain was so beautiful! Don't know if we'll ever add anything like this to our yard, but if we were going to put in a fountain, this is my model!


We also caught up with some old friends who've opened their own plant farm! Years ago we were in a wonderful Bible Study group with Steve and Ruth Owens when they purchased some land and had plans to open their own greenhouses...well, guess what...they did just that! Bustani Plant Farm is up in Stillwater and has some unique garden specimens...check them out sometime this spring!

I also spied the Oklahoma Gardening booth, but didn't take a picture. :( I almost walked up and introduced myself as "One Acre Homestead," but I'm pretty sure whomever was working the booth would have thought I was a crazy woman. LOL! Anywho, the booth was rockin', so hopefully we'll have a lot more traffic and subscriptions in the coming months!

One thing I didn't realize (but should have) is that they have GREAT deals on trees and shrubs at the show...next year we'll be taking the truck, that's for sure!