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And because of this renewed enthusiasm to spruce up our homes and properties, we enjoy presenting topics that have homeowner appeal. In this issue, we hope you’ll find inspiration in Janice Booth’s feature article “Garden Sanctuaries in Chesapeake Country” profiling five homeowners and the remarkable gardens they’ve cultivated. We also showcase a fantastic custom-built country home in Davidsonville that has amenities dreams are made of—definitely eye-candy for the real estate buff in each of us. And if you’d like to find your own forever home or get your current property in tip-top shape, our annual “Home Resource Guide” lists many professionals ready to help you realize those dreams.
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ufts of fresh grass have poked through the soil, infant buds and blossoms abound on the tulip poplars and hydrangeas, and the Leyland cypresses have gained another inch or several. I’m looking over my property this spring—over all that it is, while remembering all that it was.
When we bought our home nearly 15 years ago, those cypresses were just a foot or so taller than me. Now they reach more than 40 feet high—unfortunately, I’ve lost three of them to snowstorms (they lean heavy in wet snow). The hydrangeas were relocated when I made landscaping adjustments and installed several garden beds around the property’s perimeter shortly after we moved in. It’s the landscaper in me that saw beyond the basics. (Yes, I was a hands-on landscaper for several summers during my college years; might have even worked on your property!) I still enjoy some landscaping each season— tweaking the property a bit here and there. The tulip poplars—two 80-foot towers on my property alone, and several others adjacent—darn near frighten me every time a windstorm blows through. Most have remained well rooted; one did tumble over from three properties down the road—it took out 160-plus feet of my backyard’s fencing. Thankfully nobody was harmed, and home insurance helped with the new fence. As for growing grass in our shaded lot, let’s just say it’s a perpetual work-in-progress. Most homeowners can probably relate to the changes that we, and our properties, experience over the years—hopefully for the better. And it’s with this informed experience that we put together this April issue. Each spring, there’s an obvious focus on home and design, both indoors and out.
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What’s Up? Eastern Shore | April 2022 | whatsupmag.com
This sprucing up extends to the environment, so to speak. After all, if we’re spending our time and money making our homesteads look and function their best, we ought to help our surrounding environments “feel” their best. More than a few dairy farmers north of the Mason-Dixon got this memo. Read about the dynamic partnership between the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Hershey’s, Land O’Lakes, and dairy suppliers in Rita Calvert’s feature article “Hershey’s Kisses, Cows & Clean Water.” It’s good news for the entire Chesapeake watershed. Looking back on those landscaping years, I remember how the crew and I used to get through the long, very hot days by drinking more water than a mule, but also by chuckling to ourselves that “We’re making the world look a little bit nicer; a bit greener.” Words I still find myself uttering each spring as I steady a shovel to edge a bed. And it’s nice to know a lot of folks feel the same.
Happy spring and happy sprucing up the homestead! James Houck, Editorial Director
