Oh, Annececilia, you have precisely nailed the specialness (terrible grammar, I know) as it truly has become something of a family endeavour. Although the wood means different things to all of us, it has bonded us together better than any single thing I could have imagined. The youngest, Tas, has bought a second-hand cargo net to string between trees and is already planning ziplines, ropeladders and platforms. Naomi, my middle daughter, lives nearest the wood and is deeply involved, along with her daughter Phoebe Rosa, (our grand-daughter), making themselves a tipi to stay in (and scavenging timber for a tree-house) while my eldest. Rowan, already a committed gardener, has invested in many green woodworking tools and he, and my sweetheart, Reuben, have made a sawhorse (Champion, the lumber horse) and a pole-lathe with plans afoot to make charcoal, coppicing and other woodsy things. When we have children, I guess we start to think in a longer term than the next week or so and even the idea of 'legacy' has been sneaking into my thinking. Obviously, we have nothing to leave them with apart from their wits and even if we had money and property, I have seen families torn apart by the very things that had been meant to protect them......but a bit of woodland, too small for much and not saleable in parts (by covenant) really is something quite remarkable to sustain our family. Neither Reuben nor I have much of a family ourselves - I was adopted and Reuben's family are no longer alive......so our little dynasty starts with us, really. To to have this project, glueing us all together, is infinitely precious to me. I loved your story of remembrance daffoldils - such a special act of thoughtfulness which resonates every new season - what better celebration of life could we hope for?

I'm in a similar situation to yours. I'd say, based on experience, that it really depends on your particular environmental requirements. I've found, to the detriment of our wallet, that making plans and purchasing plants based on what's listed about a particular plants requirements often doesn't line up with how they behave (or not) on my property. For instance, virginia creeper, by all accounts, should thrive in my woodland. After three years the original plants are alive, but haven't grown in any significant way. I'm now taking a different tack: this year I'm just going to plant several kinds of plants and see how they do. Whichever plants show the most promise is what I'm going to plant en masse next year.

Hello. There are a few exterior photographs of this home at www.DonGardner.com. I have attached a link below. I hope it helps! All the best, Wendy Customer Sales & Support Donald A.Gardner Architects Here is a link that might be useful: Woodland Plan Page - Photographs

Anna-I got samples of flooring before install and scratched them with a nail, put ketchup on them, slammed a high heel, etc. Give them a brutal run through to guarantee they will hold up. We had solid red oak floors in a previous home and they dented/scratched fairly easily and we knew we didn’t want that again Mia-I used Bona in our last house and its what i am using on these as well