The Squirrels discover the lost continent of Atlantis


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After Tom and Dennis of Bennett Gardening, tilled up a nice, sane ten by ten plot in our backyard, Mama Squirrel and I went shopping for plants. Kids in a candy store. We got all our sets in the ground, and we spread seeds for onions, chives, basil, carrots, radishes, corn, and beans. After our plot was full, we realized that our candy bag was still pretty full too, full of more seeds.

We quickly realized that we would need a larger plot. We have both enjoyed working in our garden, so I didn’t mind taking on the work of expanding the plot a few feet. Our soil is so excellent that I got a really good start with a garden fork.

Then I ran into a small obstacle, a brick. No big deal. Dig it out and set it to the side. Huh. Another brick. And another. And another. After pulling out the first few, I realized that I had changed from gardener to archaeologist.

There actually weren’t that many more bricks. There weren’t enough bricks to make a path. The only thing we can figure is that there was a seating area under the huge tree that was nearby. The tree was huge when it was alive. It has been dead a very long time now. The stump is well rotted.

The bricks were buried under two to four inches of remarkably rich soil. I assume that, like the rest of the yard, years and years of leaves fell and composted in place, burying the brick path.

Mama and I are planning to pull up the bricks so that we can go ahead and expand the garden. We have a gazebo that makes a nice dining area. We plan to incorporate the bricks into the patio that will eventually be under the gazebo.

Our house was built in 1912. Over all those years, it has collected a lot of secrets. We are delighted every time we uncover another one.

Bennett Gardening
(662) 781-0139

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4 thoughts on “The Squirrels discover the lost continent of Atlantis

  • June 7, 2007 at 10:51 am
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    If you don’t mind my asking, how much did it cost to have them come till up a spot. I’ve just moved into a new house and am delighted to find a spot in my shady back yard that gets good sun most of the day? Did they offer any kind of consulting, or did they just did up the plot and let you guys go to town?

  • June 7, 2007 at 1:43 pm
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    They only charged $100 to till the ten by ten plot. If you have very hard soil, they may charge slightly more, but not much more. When they tilled our plot, they also brought out a few dozen plant sets for us to choose from.

    If you know what you want in advance, they can bring specific plants. If you have no idea what you want, they are great with advice. They helped us with complimentary planting and crop rotation ideas.

    If your soil is poor, they can also arrange for a delivery of organic compost to enrich the soil.

    They got us off to such a great start that we actually went out and bought our own tiller to do our own work. We will still go to them for sets and advice and probably mulch and such.

    If you have any more questions, just leave a comment or email us.

  • June 7, 2007 at 11:17 pm
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    we just dug our garden and thankfully warren is an archaeologist, because we found all sorts of stuff. someday i’ll blog about it.

  • September 12, 2007 at 10:51 am
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    How is the garden going? Is it time to start the winter seeds? I’m still eyeing my sunny patch in the back yard and scheming.

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