After thirty-plus years tending the gardens at Paths of Hope, Shawn and I are relocating to a new venue, the not-yet-existing Gardens of Grace, located thirty minutes south on the other side of Raleigh. In that move we will be advancing from USDA gardening zone 7b to 8A.
Our mission will be to take a blank canvas, tame nature, design, install, and tend spectacular gardens in a planting space four times larger than our current gardens. And Shawn’s new kitchen will have a walk-in pantry!
We hope to document some of our journey, and updates will be available automatically to those who subscribe to the blog. It is free, and I do not SPAM or sell email addresses to others.
Over the last months we’ve hammered out the house particulars with the builder, surveyed the site on weekly visits, noted the shade, given thanks for the sun, begun mapping the runoff paths, and so on. Throughout Summer 2023 we have completed much preparation work including propagating many of our current plantings, planning the move of our household, and setting up pertinent schedules. With a closing date now set for mid-December we are stuffing boxes as rapidly as possible. And we have around 200 plants potted and ready for the trip.
Packing our belongings for a relocation brings sorrow. We’ve enjoyed the privilege of bringing up two children and ministering to countless friends in this home. Lots of sweet memories. And leaving the known for the unknown usually comes with apprehension, doesn’t it? But we are overjoyed with the possibilities and look forward to tackling new garden challenges.
More info to come…
(And did I mention that the new garden will be ten driving minutes from our grandchildren?)
How exciting! And 10 minutes from grandkids is wonderful!!! I feel your pain in the move, too. We just began talking about doing the same thing maybe in 2025 but sometimes the panic of leaving 37 memories behind sets in. We still have time to decide for sure so I’ll be looking forward to your posts of beginning a new endeavor to help us decide! Love you cousin!!
We have talked about moving for years also but the path became clear earlier this year. My daughter, Amanda, teases me that she knew I was serious about moving when I turned our garden pond back into lawn. Our summer has passed so quickly with making repairs to his home, parsing and thinning our stuff, and especially figuring how to move the garden. Love you, Cousin!
It is a wonderfully exciting adventure we are embarking on and I am thankful to be traveling it with you!