The old barn

At our farm in Queensborough, we have an old barn. Originally it was L-shaped, one part built in the 1860’s and the second part built in the early 1900s. A number of years ago, the older part collapsed. When we bought the farm, all the rubble from the collapse was still there and trees were growing amidst the mess. We called it “The Pit”.

Last fall, we had a barn repair company come in to repair the remaining half of the barn. 

They also helped us clear a massive amount of debris. We were left with a large recessed area, with two of the original 1850’s stone walls mostly intact. The original portion was built into a slope so there is a large dirt slope. We are turning this into a giant rock garden. The previous “pit” area will hopefully become a sunny courtyard seating area with a gravel floor.

Over the winter, I have been growing a variety of suitable plants from seed –columbine, gaillardia, meadow sage and multiple varieties of sedum, all chosen to be tough, drought tolerant and quick spreaders.

Last weekend, we climbed up the slope and cleaned out the remaining garbage. Then we used the tractor to move some giant rocks. There will be used to contain the soil, as well as create some casual seating. (shown above)

Projects for the next few weeks include spreading triple mix over the top of the existing dirt and removing the rest of the weeds along the top of the bank. Then the planting begins!