It’s been quite a while since I posted anything about the Orchard, but we’ve been plugging right along and enjoying the fruits of our labor. I thought now would be a good time to share some before and after photos from similar perspectives.

2021 on the left to 2023 on the right.

July of 2021 on the left to May of 2023 on the right.

Fall of 2020 when I purchased the lot to summer of 2023 on the right.

Photos & Videos from Spring - Summer of 2023

We’ve torn down a lot of non-native honeysuckle around or largest oak tree. This has made way for even more white trout lilies to emerge. They are absolutely buzzing with bees in the spring.

Wild columbine in the spring of 2023

Foxglove beardtongue with wild columbine in the Spring 2023

American Plum Spring 2023

American Plum Bloom

Early this spring, the sidewalks were marked for new ADA compliant curb cuts. We are so excited to see this improvement.

Hopefully new sidewalks means that the drainage issues will also be fixed.

Three streets down a neighbor posted this homemade table and bench set for FREE! We just had to haul away ourselves. Larry took over bath time for the girls and I made a mad dash to cram each piece into our vehicles. We’re going to clean it up and freshen up the paint yet this year.

Fungi on the nature playscape.

One of my favorite native flowers because it grows easily from seed and is commercially and inexpensively available in the spring via corms.

Joe Pye weed blooms are so giant and beautiful.

Yellow coneflowers planted last year are now blooming and so so beautiful.

Butterfly weed & beetle.

Grasshopper on a native sedge.

Lace leaved coreopsis, yellow coneflower and rattlesnake master in the center of the nature playscape.

We got a couple dozen amazing landscaping boulders from a FREE marketplace listing in Roanoke. We used a handful of them to expand on the nature playscape (or obstacle course as they like to call it) and took the rest home. Up next, we are planning to add in some used railroad ties to make balance beams. The girls are pretty pumped about that.

Whorled Milkweed

Lance leaved coreopsis

Black chokeberry bloom

Black chokeberry fruit

Wild quinine

Bee balm with new jersey tea in the background

Spotted an Eastern Bluebird one morning while I was going to fill up the bird bath.

Anyone else love watching bees? You can see this bees proboscis if you look closely.

The bees have gone crazy over this bee balm too. I even saw ants carrying fallen petals.

Thanks for checking in! Ill try to post more than once a year in the future. ;)

REDBUD ORCHARD

Year Three