How A Messy Garden And Landscape Can Bring Peace And Purpose To A Perfectionist and Procrastinator | Hideaway Tiny Acres

My husband Don and I created Hideaway Tiny Acres in Curtis, Michigan with the intention of creating our 8 acre homestead into a place of privacy, seclusion, and solitude for ourselves and others. Within the past year we took our guest cabin and opened it up as an Airbnb rental so others can stay and enjoy the seclusion yet be within 5 minutes of town, have internet capabilities and phone service. That may seem contradictive of what we’re creating, but we realize solitude means different things to different people. And staying connected is very important to many and equates to peace of mind which we’re all about that over here.

I’ve had this blog live for about 6 months or so but I’ve been focusing on sharing event and activity information but I haven’t talked much about what’s going on here on the Tiny Acres. I’m going to start to focus on sharing more, because there’s a lot going on.

Along with the cabin, we’re working on the rest of the 8 acres and just finished putting in a trailer pad along with power, water and septic so people can bring their RV and experience the same privacy that the cabin has. That’s why we only installed one space. Right now Don’s working on cleaning up the area so it’s ready for people to come and enjoy. We’re looking at October as an opening date but we’ll keep you posted and I’ll create another blog post on the journey.

I shared earlier this year how my garden was coming along. It was a hot summer and the garden did really well. For me the garden is a source of peace and purpose. As much as I would like to spend every moment in my garden my overachieving, overcommitting self gets pulled in a thousand different directions and I start projects and don’t finish them. Luckily, the garden can be very forgiving as long as you do the basics, like watering, weeding and some feeding. If you’re lucky, rain can come at times where you need it the most, but often times it doesn’t and you either set up an irrigation system or your talk about how you’re going to do it every spring. This year was a “talk about it” year.

So I figure I can either beat myself up about all the things I overcommit and under deliver on, or I can find joy and purpose in the progress I’ve made so far. At this stage in my life, I choose joy and purpose. With that choice, I “saw” more of the things that occur naturally on the Tiny Acres this year than I have in past years. Some of the things I played a part in and others were left to Mother Nature. Those” mini miracles” as I call them are also known as volunteers. Many consider volunteer seedlings as a nuisance but I think it depends on how you look at it. It could be viewed as the “messy” part of a garden but I don’t look at it that way. Below are some pictures of the “mess” and the beauty I saw on the Tiny Acres this season:

This columbine made it’s way to the side of our garage and it comes up every year. I intend to transplant it somewhere so I can tend to it but for now it has fallen into the “talk about it” category.

These johnny-jump-ups show up in spring in the rocks and landscaping around my house. I don’t have the heart to tear them out.

This tomato plant showed up growing near our house by some tall grass. I want to see how far it gets this season.

Yes this is part of the mess that I find beauty in. As the weather changes, the plants end their production and finish their job.

Although this broccoli plant has turned to seed, the bees are really enjoying them.

I caught some pictures of bees doing what they do best and working hard at it.

My raspberries produce fruit twice a year! Here’s a pic of the second crop starting.

Something I threw together quickly for the bees to safely drink water. They can perch on the rocks and drink safely without drowning which happens when there’s no place for them to perch.

To some it may look like weeds, to me and the bees it’s beauty.

Although this is more of a invasive plant situation, the blackberries are a source of excitement for us every season. We pick until our hands are purple and we freeze them and bake pies.

I’ll share more about the garden and our bounty in upcoming blogs. Our purpose is to share all of this with you when you come and stay at the Hideaway Tiny Cabin or the trailer pad spot which we’re talking about calling it Between The Chokecherry Trees because, well, it’s between 2 chokecherry trees! Keeping it simple is what we’re doing.

Share your messy garden love with us in the comments below.

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Nancy and Don