Gardening in Sugar Hill

In September a client asked me to make her a garden. There had a been a garden there once before and she wanted it revitalized. I told her that I'd never done anything like this before (hand excavation to the max!) and had no idea how long it would take. The next couple of pictures is what I had to start with:

Overgrown was an understatement. So, I got out my spade, and began. Eradicating the golden rod and the fern from the selected garden area was the most challenging part. After everything got turned, it began to look like a real garden! Below you can see my progress in stages:

This is "Garden #1"There were existing plants in both gardens for me to work with and around.

Here, I move onto "Garden #2"

What progress! All of this took be approximately four days to complete and I will still need to go back for a little touch up. This is where the fun part begins. I've recently got the soil test results back and will not need to amend the soil dramatically per the recommendation. Now I will be making a design for the following spring. So far it looks like I will be installing black plastic edging around all the perimeters and the design is still evolving. I've been in contact with several local nurseries and have been doing research in landscape design genres, native species to New Hampshire, and hardy varieties of perennials that will thrive in Northern New Hampshire. I'll have finished pictures up come spring!

Thanks for visiting the blog!

Autumn Beds

I am currently taking appointments to cut beds back, plant bulbs, transplant, and do all those other things that our beautiful gardens need before the cold weather sets in.

I'm currently designing a landscape to be planted next spring. If you would like to have a landscape designed or help with new garden ideas, don't hesitate to contact me!

Happy Gardening!

Hana and I will have our White Mountain Llamas booth at Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival at Tunbridge, VT fairgrounds this coming weekend. We will be selling Angora rabbits, llamas, and doing the llama obstacle course demonstration Saturday and Sunday! We will have the llamas at Fryeburg Fair, Maine State Fair that Monday and Tuesday. I will have a booth at the Bradford, VT LEAF (Local Energy Alternatives Festival) on October 10th and give a workshop on Alternatives to Conventional Lawns from 2 -3. I hope to see you all over the next few weeks!

Today we were at the Sugar Hill Festival doing a spinning demo and selling Dan's Artwork (see next entry), our fiber art (mostly yarn), salves, and greeting cards.


With Hana in school, I (Erika) have been working as much as I can. I have been digging out a lot of sod, putting in a new garden and am doing some design work. Time to put the gardens to bed! Call or email me :)

Thanks for visiting the blog.

Dan Cadreact's Artwork

Dan Cadreact is a gifted woodworker and artist. He hand-carves sculpture, bowls, and furniture from a variety of wood types. He collects the raw burls, stumps, and logs from the White Mountain region of New Hampshire. His family and friends that work in the woods also bring him various pieces to see what Dan will create.This is where it all begins.Dan has many talents and finds creative ways to get the raw wood into his workshop to begin sculpting the wood.Here are a few examples of furniture that Dan has sold in the past. Chairs carved from a single stump can take Dan up to 500 hours each to complete.

This bench, made from a yellow birch, took Dan over a year to make. The picture gives it little justice - it curves and has many contours that the camera did not pick up. This particular birch had stripes in the wood, giving the chair its magnificent look.

The items that Dan has for sale can be viewed below. Most pieces reflect the hours put into each bowl, some reflect the rarity of the wood. However, each piece is rare and unique because no two trees are alike and no two shapes are alike. The beauty of this art is that it comes from nature and by purchasing a hand-carved piece from Dan Cadreact you have something that is one-of-a-kind.

Each picture has a corresponding side, top, and bottom view which I can email to those who would like to see more. To contact me about a certain piece email me at whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com. I will deliver or mail you the piece that is purchased.

With each picture, I will include the identification number, size, wood type, and price - please enjoy perusing this website and feel free to ask about what else Dan has available!

4-5/09
14x10x1.5
Yellow Birch Burl
$170

4-6/09
No Size
Yellow Birch Top, Mahogany Base
$120

18-8/09
13x6.5x2
Maple
$135

15-8/09
7x2.75
Maple Burl
$185 14-8/09
9x3.5
Maple Burl
$300

13-8/09
7x3
Maple Burl
$140
12-8/09
8.5x7x2.5
Maple Burl
$145

11-8/09
10x7.5x1.5
Maple Burl
$140
3-8/09
8.5x6x2
Yellow Birch
$100

10-8/09
7x2.5
Hop Hornbeam Burl
$130

17-8/09
22.5x17.5x2.5
Yellow Birch Burl
$475

9-8/09
17.5x9.5
Poplar
$520

8-8/09
15x7
Spalted Yellow Birch Burl
$490
7-8/09
15.5x13.5x5.5
Poplar Burl
$410

6-8/09
10x11x3.5
Yellow Birch Burl
$315

5-8/09
24x11.5x5
Maple
$6204-8/09

12x9

Spruce Burl

$280

1-7/09

14.5x12x3.5

Maple

$500

1-8/09
17x13x3.5
Maple
$545

1-6/09 15x8x3.5 Maple $340

2-8/09
15x8.5x2
Ash Burl
$455 3-5/09
15x12x5
Maple
$355 2-6/09
14x10.5x5
Maple
$395 2-7/09
16x15.5x5
Maple
$6755-5/09
17x13.5x3
Spalted Yellow Birch
$33019-8/09
19.5x11
Yellow Birch Burl, Spalted, End Grain
$2,100 16-8/09
20x6
Yellow Birch Burl, Spalted, End Grain
$3,500Here are some peices that Dan has in the making:
Here are other larger works by Dan. For details, sizes, or prices, please email Erika at whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com.
Thank you for working with us and I hope you enjoyed viewing and reading about our newest endeavor as art agents!

This Week

I was in Haverhill this week tending some gardens that had gotten out of hand. I pruned a lot (where I could reach) and pulled back sod and weeds that were taking over. Now the desirable flowers will be able to settle in nicely for the winter.There was lovely landscaping with rock walls and shrubbery:

A client in Littleton had his driveway wash away in the recent rain downpours. I helped unload 4 yards of material from a pickup truck and made burms to channel water to the sides of the driveway. After I shaped the burms, the customer packed it by driving his truck or tractor over it and then a final shape and walah! It came out great.

Moving driveway material can get tiring. When I am worn out at the end of the day, I garden for an hour or so.

We keep the blueberry patch spotless!Thanks for visiting the blog!

August Newsletter 2009

Landscape and Garden

This season has so far been a big success for Hana and Erika. They have been busy and working hard, never losing stride despite the rainy weather. They have remodeled and designed, maintained and resurrected customer’s gardens. To see some of the works these sisters have produced over the summer, visit their blog at proposintea.blogspot.com!

Autumn Services
Hana and Erika would like to remind you that gardening is a seasonal occupation. They’ve stuck by you through the spring and summer – they won’t leave you hanging for the autumn months! Here are several things that fall is prime time for:

Raking
Pruning
Landscaping
Transplanting
Planting Bulbs
New Beds (for 2010!)
Mulching & Cutting Back
New Design! (Consulting)
Applying Nutrients (compost!)
Cutting Trees and Moving Rocks
Email Erika and make an appointment!

whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com


Garden and Landscape Rates 2009
Erika first hour: $30
Erika after 1st hour: $20/hour
Erika & Hana 1st hour: $40
Erika & Hana after 1st: $30/hour



Back to School?

Hana is going back to school at the end of August to begin her Junior year. This means that Erika will be working solo for much of the autumn months. Hana is excited about school starting again, she is happy about her science classes and starting her 3rd year of Latin! In her spare time, Hana will continue her clothing and jewelry projects. Hana is a artist – from fiber to fabric and paper to bead, she paints and sews her way through life. Hana works hard no matter what the subject – school or gardening. Full gratitude goes out to her for always doing her best this summer!

A Gardener’s Dilemma

The single dilemma of a gardeness in New Hampshire is: What will she do during the winter months (other than hibernate)? Erika is currently thinking of creative ways to work while the plants are dormant. She will definitely be spinning and creating fiber arts from her llama and Angora wool. Erika also has had the opportunity to be an Art Agent, selling hand carved wooden bowls and sculpture (see more on the next page). Will that be enough? If you have any grand ideas about how Erika should keep busy during the winter months, please let her know!

Erika and Hana would appreciate it if you could spread the word and let your friends, family, and neighbors know about the two sisters. Erika will be available through the autumn of 2009 for your home and business projects!

Livestock at White Mountain Llamas
Hana and Erika own 4 llamas, Arethusa, May, Bella, and Winny. Our newest addition, Winny, is for sale. She is a yearling female, ready for a new home now! Erika and Hana will attend the Maine State’s Fair at Fryeburg on September 28 – 29. They will be entered in the annual llama show and perform in demonstrations for public awareness of llamas. Winny went last year and behaved very well! She is pictured in the lower right hand corner.

A Little More Bunny in Your Life
White Mountain Llamas currently has 7 Angora rabbits (French hybrids) for sale! It is a litter ready for new homes in August (black torts and black steels). There are also two 3-year old does, a white and gray for sale. Angora rabbits are an inexpensive way to get luxury fiber for spinning and felting. We have Angoras in a variety of extraordinary colors! If you’re interested give us a call! We will also have a booth at the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival (www.vermontsheep.org/festival.html) in Tunbridge on October 3 & 4. Please visit us there for a great weekend of fiber arts!

Products
Hana and Erika care for Angora rabbits and llamas that produce fiber all year round. The sisters process the fiber into beautiful hand-spun yarn, scarves, hats, and other specialty garments. Currently some of our yarn is being sold at the Yarn Garden in Littleton, New Hampshire. We do not dye our yarn so one of our major purchase goals for animals is color! You can purchase any of our naturally colored fiber products at anytime. Just call or email Erika for more information! Erika and Hana also provide fiber lessons. If you want to learn how to spin or felt with animal fiber we will provide materials and can do individual and group lessons!

Art Agent? What Next?!

Erika’s Uncle, Dan Cadreact is a woodsman. In work and leisure, he always has en eye out for for the best pieces of wood to carve with. He is an inspirational artist and intriguing to work with. He’s given Erika the honor of selling his art. Dan specializes in bowls made from everything from bird’s eye maple to birch burls. He has an eye for color and pattern and spends hours hand carving his bowls to meet the perfect form. Of all shapes and sizes, Dan has many. Erika will be putting pictures of different bowls on the blog at proposintea.blogspot.com for your viewing pleasure and bringing samples around in her car for further inspection. Please ask about Dan Cadreact's hand-carved bowls and sculpture! If you have friends and family that collect or are interested in hand-carved, local art from New Hampshire’s forests, let them know about this art. It is certainly an opportunity you do not want to miss!

Need to do holiday gift shopping?
Want yarn for your next knitting project?
Interested in purchasing a rabbit?
Excited about supporting local business?

Email Erika!
whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com

Thank you!
We want to thank you for supporting our business! We appreciate working for you and hope to continue providing you with quality service into the future!

Driveway Maintenance

From frost to plow trucks, the winter season will heave and throw cobblestones. Hana and I took kinks out of stones while also weeding this customer's driveway. A little driveway maintenance goes a long way when it comes to an aesthetic drive leading to your home.

This week: trail maintenance

We trekked down into the woods with our tools in my backpack. I had brought the tamarack boards down (2x6x10') two weeks before with the four wheeler. Today Hana and I just nailed them in place.

Here, we made a wooden bridge for the brush hog. Its set perfectly to fit the wheels.

Oh, what good models we make!The same people who need work on their trails raise show dogs. This is the puppy area and I needed to put more stone in the bottom and put barriers up around the base so they couldn't get under the ramp.

Hana and I moved more than 3,000 pounds of stone! Phew!

This work tood us three man-days.

Franconia this week

One of my customers went on the WREN Garden Tour and saw something she liked: hastas planted around the trunks of trees. She asked me to create what she saw and this is what emerged:

I dug out a garden in the sod 3 feet in radius to the trunk and transplanted three types of hastas opposing each other in six places around the trunk. I then put mulch down that the customer had purchased.

The lovely thing about this garden is that it has a circular garden behind it in the lawn and a possible other circular garden around a tree just to the right of it. The landscaping ends up being just beautiful with all these matching circles. The second thing that I accomplished was an herb garden that outlined one side of the driveway. Its a beautiful spot, incorporating rocks into the plantings. Its a wonderful way to invite guests to your house, by having a beautiful garden that sends you to the house.

The customer purchased plants for me to put in. Various kinds of herbs like lavender, rosemary, chives and flowers such as creeping phlox. Again, I mulched it when through, the perfect touch.

This work took me 6 hours.

A Day on the Trails

I love gardening. Sometimes it's nice to do something on a little larger scale. So instead of planning for one garden, several hundred square feet, to plan acres of "garden" or a woodlot. When I work at this particular place I get to learn about forest/land management, in this case for wildlife. I also get to build boardwalks on trails! This gets me off my hands and knees for a few days and allows me to spend some solitary time in the woods (when Hana has a day off). When Hana and I make boardwalks together we life the bigger planks out across the streams and come up with fun tunes to sing while we do it. Today was a beautiful sunny day, one we haven't seen for a while. It was a particularly enjoyable time.

Here's the quad runner loaded up with the trailer and ten foot planks.

Here is the trail as it leads down to a section of 8 foot boardwalks. This is my favorite place in the trail system. There is something sort of mysterious about this particular place.Here, begin the boardwalks. I had begun to put them in last year and could not finish when I had to go back to school. I finished them today, making the boardwalks have different colors!

What a fun day! Thanks for visiting the blog!

This week in Bethleham

We had the pleasure of working in these beautiful gardens yesterday and today. We spent a lot of time dividing plants that had become overgrown, weeding, and uncovering the beautiful brick edge. I suggested that compost or mulch be added to the beds because competition for soil nutrients may have depleted the soils. This yard had another example of "forest gardens" that I worked with in Franconia several weeks ago. What a lovely design!Peonies, iris, and hasta:

Beautiful brick edge:

Hana poses, after a long day of work: Forest garden, with lily of the valley, hasta, and lungwort.

Here, birch logs were used as an edge to the forest garden. Wonderful!

Here, we uncovered a thriving blueberry patch amongst the ferns.

This work took Hana and I 12.5 hours.

Last Week

Here are some gardens that we tended to last week. The owner hired Hana and I to work with her. We all worked together for two days and uncovered beautiful gardens! When we started you never would have guessed these beautiful gardens lay beneath.

Lisbon

Hana, admiring our work.

Pruning time!

Bethlehem and Franconia this week

Here are some beautiful gardens that I got to maintain this week. The first one is in Bethlehem. I edged the shrubs and perennials in the walkway. I also pruned the shrubs. I will probably plant some annuals along the walkway, depending on what the owners want done.
Simply lovely. I would love to meet the designer of this space.

Here are some forest gardens that I maintained in Franconia. These have to be experienced to be truly appreciated. This garden is set into a conifer forest and wraps around the edge of the yard in gentle curves.

It incorporates these granite posted fences. The fences can be fit in and out easily for maneuverability around the gardens. It's a great design.There are some lovely blue spruce incorporated into this section of the garden.Here, some flowers are beginning to bloom. Thank you for your business and visiting the blog! See the entry before this for prices and updates.

Season of 2009: News and Rates

Garden anyone?

Landscape and Garden
Erika will be available on May 18th to start working for you! Hana will join to make the dynamic duo after she finishes her sophomore year of high school in June. Since Erika will be graduating she will be available into the autumn this year to help settle the gardens in for the winter. Please call or email Erika to make an appointment.

Services
Erika and Hana will bring their own tools. They can maintain current ornamental or vegetable gardens and design or make new gardens and landscapes. They are available for light forest management and trail building as well. Due to Erika and Hana’s health and values they will not administer or work around chemical applications. The customer is responsible for the purchase of materials (plants, mulch, etc.) that Erika and Hana will be working with. The customer is also responsible with providing at least 4 hours of work per appointment.

Need spring weeds picked?
Want help with spring cleaning?
Does your landscape need a new look?
Do you want to grow your own food?
Email Erika and make an appointment!
whitemountainllamas@hotmail.com

Graduation anyone? Erika is graduating from Green Mountain College in mid-May. She will have a degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production. What does that mean? It means that she studied topics like biology, ecology, geology, forestry, National Organic regulations, biodiversity on farms, animal husbandry, organic vegetable production, business, and marketing. She will continue to learn as she develops her own farm over the next few years.

What happens next? Erika would like to begin applying her knowledge on a small scale by growing organic vegetables and raising animals for organic meat at her home. This would be an excellent compliment to the Two Sisters Landscape and Gardening business because we will be able to share our veggies with our customers this summer and begin to understand what sort of market we might have for our future nutritious food. While beginning this adventure Erika would like to be working for her customers full time and if she’s successful will do it again next year.

We would appreciate it if you could spread the word and let your friends, family, and neighbors know that Erika (and sometimes Hana) will be available to help beautify their landscapes and consult on food and forestry full-time!

Garden and Landscape Rates 2009
Erika first hour: $30
Erika after 1st hour: $20/hour
Erika & Hana 1st hour: $40
Erika & Hana after 1st: $30/hour

Need local yarn or herbal salves?
White Mountain Llamas now owns 5 Angora rabbits and 4 llamas that produce fiber all year-round. Hana and Erika are processing the fiber into beautiful hand-spun yarn. Some yarn is made into scarves and hats, while some is sold in skeins. Currently some of our yarn is being sold at the Yarn Garden in Littleton, New Hampshire. We do not dye our yarn so one of our major purchase goals for animals is color! You can purchase any of our naturally colored fiber products at anytime. Just call or email Erika for more information!
Erika and Hana also provide fiber lessons. If you want to learn how to spin or felt with animal fiber we will provide materials and can do individual and group lessons!
Erika and Hana are apprenticing with Melanie Osborn at Thyme To Heal Herbal Shoppe in Lisbon, New Hampshire where they make plant-based, hand-milled soaps. They also make salve from local beeswax and herbal infused oils. These products are also, always for sale. Bars of soap (3 oz.) are $3.75 and salve is $5 (2 oz.).

Are you interested in our products?
Need to do holiday gift shopping?
Want yarn for your next knitting project?
Interested in purchasing a rabbit?
Excited about supporting local business?

Email Erika!

Livestock at White Mountain Llamas
Our llamas have just moved to their summer pasture in “retired” dairy fields. Essentially the fiber that we harvest from them is made from local pasture. We are proud of the fact that we can raise animals with as little processed grain input as possible and we are always designing new systems in which to raise earth-friendly fiber. Last year we also raised three lambs on pasture for meat. We will probably do this again and may possibly sell pasture-raised meat or eggs in the future. If you would be interested in purchasing food from us in the future – let us know!

Babies!
Erika and Hana are planning to have more crias (baby llamas) and Angora bunnies to sell in the coming seasons. Our Angora rabbits are $75 - $85 and mixed breeds $10-$15. Our last cria, Winny, (below) has been successfully raised with her mother and is now looking for a good home. We are asking for $1,700 for her. She would make a great pack or guard llama, companion or show animal. She loves people!

Thank you!
We want to thank you for supporting our business! We appreciate working for you and hope to continue providing you with quality service into the future!

Visit our Other Blog!

Remember to visit our other blog to keep updated with our farm!

End of August

For the past few weeks Hana and I have been building boardwalks and managing a privately owned woodlot. I have been using a small chainsaw and Hana has been using manual clippers to remove the smaller saplings. We are cutting birch, aspen (poplar), conifer, and other weedy trees and keeping transplanted Viburnum (high bush cranberry), Hawthorne, oaks, and other desirable plants that will attract wildlife. By clearing the area below the owner's house it will allow an improved view of wildlife - especially birds! Hana and I have a lot of fun working in the woods together!

As the summer winds down to school Hana was also asked to spiff up a garden before we stopped working. Here is their beautiful garden!

Thanks for visiting our gardening website! Please see our other blog to view exciting rabbit and llama news!!

More Pictures

After days and days of rain, we finally got back to our gardens! Below we made a lovely fern garden along a garage.
Weeding and added peat moss.... and thinning and beautifying!
Thanks for tuning in! Finally a day without rain! Lets keep it up!

More soap!

Today Hana, Melanie, and I crafted our newest creation: Summertime. Its a batch of soap that will bedazzle the senses while exfoliating with ground oatmeal. The essential oils used are: ginger, lemon, lime, orange, and a hint of mango! It is a light green soap that we molded into many different shapes! We had so much fun making it, will have pictures soon! Currently we have lemon mint, lavender rosewood, and raspberry patchouli soap for sale.

Only $4 a bar! Hand-milled, hand-molded soaps made from all natural ingredients containing no animal products! Thanks for visiting the site and have a great day!

Remember to visit our other blog and view pictures of the baby bunnies and llama that we have for sale!

August 1 and 2: Quit muckin' around!

The past few days Hana and I have been working in a marshy, muddy, wet place. We are helping a private landowner maintain his trails! We were building bridges across the wettest areas with big cedar logs and 10 foot planks.The mud was so deep that the Quadrunner almost got stuckHana actually did get stuck...it was messy.But, she got out eventually and started throwing the logs around so that we could nail the planks down. I tried to help - but those logs are just so heavy! I left most of the heavy lifting to Hana.
She picks these things up like nothing!You need to be strong to muscle those boards around!Here is a picture that captures a lot of what we have been involved with at this particular home. We help upkeep gravel and rock around the house that directs water. Last year we helped scape the lawn pictured below. Our father is a custom carpenter and he built the porch that is pictured below - its fun when you can see the family's work all in one place!

Today I weeded the garden that is surrounded by the stone work.
Its fun to work out in the woods!