I’m back with more baby names because, well, I love everything about them! One-syllable girl names are gaining popularity in recent years, especially as longer names like Olivia, Charlotte, and Isabella become oversaturated. In fact, only 1 single-syllable girl name broke into the latest Top 50 list from the Social Security Administration (#40: Grace). So choosing a one-syllable name is a great way to find something unique, while still meeting your taste for classic or modern, sweet or strong, etc. Plus they make great middle names.
In this garden tour, Summer Rayne Oakes takes us somewhere unexpected. Tucked down a quiet dirt road at the edge of forest and estuary is a formal garden designed by Serge Brunner, a third-generation member of the Espoma Organic family. Inspired by the grandeur and symmetry of Longwood Gardens, Serge reimagined an overgrown landscape into a thoughtfully designed retreat filled with clipped hedges, native statuary, water features, and moments of surprise. While the style leans formal, the philosophy is rooted in patience, soil health, and letting the garden evolve naturally over time. Maintaining long-term plant health in a garden like this relies on building strong soil with organic inputs such as Espoma Organic plant foods and soil amendments.
Garden Design & Maintenance Takeaways from Serge’s Garden
1. Reimagine Overgrown Landscapes Instead of Letting Them Hide Your Home
One of the most common landscaping mistakes Serge sees is ignoring foundation plantings for decades. When shrubs and hedges outgrow their space, it’s an opportunity to step back and reimagine rather than simply trim. Renovation can restore balance and highlight your home again.
2. Symmetry Creates Calm and Intention
This garden relies on mirror images, straight lines, and repeated plantings to create structure. Formal gardens may look precise, but they require consistency and healthy plants to maintain that crisp look. Feeding hedges and shrubs with an organic plant food like Espoma Organic Plant-tone helps support steady, manageable growth without harsh flushes.
3. Feed the Soil for Long-Term Success
A garden that’s evolved over 35 years depends on healthy soil biology. Organic fertilizers improve soil structure over time, helping plants develop stronger root systems and better resilience. This is especially important for clipped boxwood, holly hedges, and ornamental trees.
4. Choose Native and Deer-Resistant Plants
With a resident deer population, every plant in this garden was chosen carefully. Serge relies on deer-resistant plants such as hollies, boxwood, and lantana to maintain color and structure. Feeding acid-loving plants with Espoma Organic Holly-tone helps keep foliage healthy and supports long-term performance.
5. Embrace Art and Serendipity
Sculptures, statuary, and even a reclaimed tree turned into a wildlife totem add personality throughout the space. Gardens don’t need to be rigid. A mix of planning and happy accidents often leads to the most memorable results.
6. Remember That a Garden Is Never Finished
Perhaps the most important takeaway: gardens are always evolving. As plants mature, light changes, and new needs arise, adjustments are part of the process. Organic gardening supports this slow, natural progression, feeding plants as they need it rather than forcing quick results.
A Garden Built on Time, Patience, and Healthy Soil
This formal garden may look polished today, but it’s the result of decades of observation, thoughtful plant choices, and soil-first gardening practices. Whether your style is formal or naturalistic, building healthy soil with Espoma Organic plant foods sets the foundation for a garden that grows better with time.
Ready to start your own long-term garden transformation? Watch the full video for inspiration, explore Espoma Organic plant foods, and let’s get growing naturally.
Taking time to care for plants is the perfect way to slow down and enjoy the cooler seasons. Spend the day with Laura from Garden Answer as she repots ornamental grasses and a Mangave plant in her greenhouse, refreshing them with Espoma Organic Potting Mix to keep them happy, healthy, and hungry for new growth!
When I hyper-focus on a task, I’m known to go ALL IN. And that’s exactly how I approached the giant job of digitizing all of our old photo albums. We crowdsourced suggestions, took some deep dives into message boards, and Googled the heck out of it. From there, I narrowed our options to 5 photo digitization methods that we tested for quality, price, and speed. There was one clear winner for us, but also lots of other good ways to go about it (even free ones!), depending on your personal priorities. So I’m going to lay out everything we tried, and why we had a clear favorite.
Last fall, I got to eat, walk, and gasp my way through Florence, Italy (including a day trip to Venice) with three friends. Literally, it was the stuff of dreams. I already shared how I packed light for this trip, but today I’m recapping everything we did, saw, and ate. So if you’re considering a trip to Florence (and/or Venice), here are my thoughts on what was extremely enjoyable to see/eat/do… and a few things we’d actually skip if we were to do it all over again!
On a snowy, wintry day, Summer Rayne Oakes of Flock Finger Lakes takes us inside her newly built chicken coop to share what she’s doing to get it ready for winter. From smart coop orientation and ventilation tips to insulation strategies and warm-water routines, Summer walks through the small details that help her birds stay comfortable in cold weather. She also shows how she uses Espoma Organic Sani-Care® Premium Hardwood Bedding to create a deep, cozy floor layer that’s easy to clean and helps keep the coop environment drier and more comfortable all season long.
8 Winter Coop Tips Summer Swears By
1) Start with the right coop orientation
If you’re building a coop from scratch (or choosing where to place one), Summer recommends thinking about prevailing winter winds first. In her location, cold winds typically come from the north, so she designed the coop with no open windows on the north side to help block drafts.
Takeaway: Positioning and window placement can make winter management easier before you even add insulation.
2) Use windows for ventilation, not warmth
It’s tempting to button everything up tight, but Summer reminds us that humidity control matters just as much as temperature. She aims to keep coop humidity under about 70%, since damp air in freezing weather can contribute to frostbite risk on combs and wattles.
Takeaway: In winter, crack windows strategically to keep air moving without creating harsh drafts.
3) Insulate to reduce temperature swings (but don’t heat the coop)
Summer insulated the coop walls and ceiling to help limit dramatic hot-to-cold shifts. The goal isn’t to create a tropical coop, it’s to keep conditions steadier.
She also notes an important point: heating the coop can backfire if birds step outside into much colder air, creating stress and condensation issues.
Takeaway: Insulation can help stabilize the space; birds are built for winter, but they do best in a dry, well-ventilated environment.
4) Build a warmer, softer floor with deep bedding
Because concrete floors get cold fast, Summer builds up a generous layer of bedding. She uses Espoma Organic Sani-Care and piles it 6–10 inches deep so the birds have a warmer, softer place to settle in.
Why Sani-Care?
Easy to clean: makes daily and weekly maintenance simpler
Comfort-focused: helps create a more cushioned, cozy floor layer
Supports a drier coop: deep, fresh bedding helps manage moisture so the coop feels more comfortable
5) Add extra “snuggle zones” with raised beds
Summer repurposed pet beds as raised sleeping areas and added bedding on top, giving chickens and ducks the option to get up off the cold floor. Some birds choose corners, others prefer the beds. The point is: let them decide.
Takeaway: Variety in roosting/sleeping spots helps the flock settle where they’re most comfortable.
6) Use safe lighting and avoid risky heat sources
Summer uses a standard LED light and avoids heat lamps, noting that heat lamps can be a cause of coop fires. If she ever wants a small bump in warmth, she considers a safer alternative that gently raises the temperature without intense heat.
Takeaway: Prioritize fire safety in winter setups. Warmth is never worth the risk.
7) Block wind in the run with panels (without sealing it airtight)
To cut wind where birds spend their time, Summer adds poly panels to the run. She intentionally leaves small gaps so there’s still some airflow.
Takeaway: Wind protection + ventilation is the balance. You’re aiming for calm air, not stale air.
8) Keep water available and flowing
Summer shares her setup for keeping water accessible in freezing weather, including insulated lines and a system designed to reduce freezing. She also brings warm water as a treat, especially on extra-cold days.
Takeaway: Winter hydration takes planning, but it’s one of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades you can make for your flock.
Learn more about other Espoma Organic Products at Espoma.com
Our big renovation project isn’t anywhere close to done (it just started this week, and Sherry’s sharing peeks over on Instagram in stories) but I’ve already embarked on another project that I’ve wanted to tackle for years: digitizing all of our old photos! It’s arguably less exciting than our renovation, but I’m genuinely eager to tackle this long-overdue project. And since we’re not the only ones who suffer from photo clutter, I plan to document my process for anyone else who is also interested in digitizing their photos. So I’ll be testing out a few digitization methods, and sharing tips along the way.
