May: Coastal Connecticut

My piece of land is a little under an acre located in the town of Stonington in southeastern Connecticut. 

The area is semi-rural and coastal, with a population of approximately 18,000.  The town occupies a 43-square-mile area that borders the state of Rhode Island.  The locale is a favorite of the New York arts community, drawing both year-round and summer residents.

I purchased my property to fulfill a dream.  I wanted to grow cut-flowers for sale. The land is perfect for my purposes. Zoned for farming, it has a good well to supply water. The property was cleared of trees and planted to lawn.  Unfortunately, bittersweet, a vicious invasive vine, controlled what I called “the back forty.”  It took years to cut back vines and grub out roots.  Now the back lot is home to an ever-increasing number of beds for annual flowers.

At lunch the other day, I talked about my small farm with friends.  They remind me that an acre is about the sized of a football field. Though I own the whole football field, I cultivate only about a third of it.

Just picture this. Start at the end zone, just at the corner where the end zone meets the side line.  Now walk up to the 35 yard line, then across the field to the other side. Follow the sideline all the way back to the end zone.  Now cross the field to where you started.  Got the picture?  This is the amount of space I have planted to flowers.