Our house sits on 5-acres of property. Our challenge is creating curb appeal in a forest, striking a balance between wild and natural and elegant living.
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Woodland Charm of a House on 5 Acres
The charm of our house is that it feels like a woodland retreat. From its curved driveway with overhanging apple trees, we have trails around the property, and even a couple of small bridges to cross the stream that runs alongside. Skylights throughout the house bring the night sky inside. When there’s a chill in the air, or snow outside the steam from our hot tub is exquisite.
From a landscaping perspective, the woodland aesthetic is supported by the province of Ontario, which is where we live.
Ontario has published guidelines for properties ranging from city lots to large acreages that suggest ways to let your balcony or yard go wild. But not too wild, mind.
Ottawa, after all, is a government town, and the bureaucracy of a write-up that describes how to let your yard be natural is not lost on me.
Creating Curb Appeal in a Forest
Trouble is, I can see the brewings of a ‘master project’ about to form this week. My husband left for Florida yesterday with our daughter, Betty. They will be away for 10 days. In his absence, two men will be working in our yard, and will be taking down five dead pine trees.
Our entire yard is covered in trees. We have 5 acres and no grass. So, removing pine trees won’t make a dent in the foliage that we have here.
What worries me is the part of the project that involves a chipper, and then spreading the chips around the yard in decorative places.
Finding Balance: Removing Dead Trees Without Losing the Forest
On top of that, my husband wants some other spindly trees removed because he thinks we look too penned in, having so many trees.
Damn trees. What? Why? It’s like we’re living in a forest.
It’s the timing of the tree project that concerns me. We are leaving our house to live in a campground in less than a months’ time.
When a Simple Yard Project Starts to Escalate
Projects like these tend to escalate, causing us all-nighters. I have visions of us schlepping wood under headlamp to make our yard look beautiful. And, it will look nice, I’m sure. But, the effort of creating curb appeal in a forest. Flipping hell.