Nova bonsai garden

[penumbra]

Having grown up in points in Southern Va., we always considered Front Royal as an outlying section of "Northern Va.," People have commuted to D.C. from there for years.

That is pretty much the consensus of locals. I was one of those commuters for years. Many people commute from points west in West Virginia.

 

[rockm]

The property is flat lying close to the road, but gets hilly as it builds elevation. It’s right at 580’ in elevation near the road, but gets up to over 900’ at the top of the small peak on the old farm. The hills are all propped up by the syenite and covered with a thin layer of sediment. The syenite outcrops at the top of some of the hills or is covered by a few inches of soil. In the dales and in the flat lying areas there’s 10-12’ of soil. Part of the property is in hay production and there‘s a cattle lease on the back pasture. There are several small streams and a few springs on the property, but absolutely no infrastructure.

The bonsai pasture is in cattle right now, but I’ll be fencing it off. The lowest point on that pasture is right around 560’ and the highest is ~610’. On average it’s probably right around 590’. It’s surrounded by woods on all sides and there’s a stream running along one side.

First order of business is power and water. More on that later.

The geology is quite interesting in the Valley. Thanks for the details.

Thought this would be of interest. JMU is near Harrisonburg in the Valley:

ORIGIN OF THE MAJOR ROCKS

 

[penumbra]

JMU also has a mineral hall i their museum that is really stunning.

 

[Canada Bonsai]

More. The Appalachian orogeny was one of a number of mountain building events that happened around this time and affecting different parts of the Appalachians. There was the Caledonian, Acadian, Ouachita, Hercynian and Alleghenian events, all of which built a massive mountain range along the east coast. What’s left today are the eroded remnants of this huge range.

Geologically, there are several provinces. Furthest to the west and extending from New York to Alabama is the Appalachian Basin. It’s what geologists call a “foreland basin” - a low lying area that sits in front of a mountain range where the eroded sediments are deposited. These sedimentary layers are mainly flat lying in the Appalachian Plateau and complexly thrust faulted and folded in the Valley and Ridge province. Thrust faults are faults that form when layers of rock are broken and shoved on top of one another when they’re pushed together by tectonic forces.

The Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Adirondack mountains form the crystalline core of the Appalachians. Unlike the sedimentary rocks in the Appalachian Basin, they are crystalline. Think of rocks that crystallized from magma or that were formed through recrystallization during deep burial and heating. The crystalline rocks of the Blue Ridge mountains are riding on a huge system of thrust faults which are shoved eastward over the Appalachian basin. This means if you could somehow get down below the granite and such, you’ll find more sedimentary rock like you find in the Appalachian Basin.

Here’s a map of the different provinces.
View attachment 414089

...and on this map, where is the akadama or its replacement located?

 

[markyscott]

...and on this map, where is the akadama or its replacement located?

Not on this side of the country, I’m afraid…

 

[markyscott]

The geology is quite interesting in the Valley. Thanks for the details.

Thought this would be of interest. JMU is near Harrisonburg in the Valley:

ORIGIN OF THE MAJOR ROCKS

Awesome- thanks for the link!

 

[River's Edge]

So the deal is done and I’m relocating from Houston to Virginia. It’s a beautiful piece of property about halfway between Front Royal and Warrenton. Best of all - I’ve claimed a pasture for my garden! It’s going to be a journey - I’ve got a well to drill, a greenhouse and a cold frame to put up, a barn to build and a bunch of trees to relocate. So I’m making a little thread to document my journey. It’s exciting for me and I thought that perhaps there is interest in following the construction of a garden from a pasture. So I’ll record all my trials and tribulations here.

Here’s a picture of the pasture when I flew my drone over it back in the summer. The elevation is about 660’. There’s a small stream that runs through the woods bordering the property to the NW. The pasture consists of rolling hills - it’s been in hay and cattle primarily for many years.

View attachment 413698

My smaller project involved an acreage, house, workshop, nursery, well . I am smiling as I read your post and thinking backwards over the joys to come your way. Such a beautiful property, I can hear the solitude and see the birds from here! Congratulations, enjoy the journey!
Best wishes from Rivers Edge on the other side.

 

[namnhi]

The property is flat lying close to the road, but gets hilly as it builds elevation. It’s right at 580’ in elevation near the road, but gets up to over 900’ at the top of the small peak on the old farm. The hills are all propped up by the syenite and covered with a thin layer of sediment. The syenite outcrops at the top of some of the hills or is covered by a few inches of soil. In the dales and in the flat lying areas there’s 10-12’ of soil. Part of the property is in hay production and there‘s a cattle lease on the back pasture. There are several small streams and a few springs on the property, but absolutely no infrastructure.

The bonsai pasture is in cattle right now, but I’ll be fencing it off. The lowest point on that pasture is right around 560’ and the highest is ~610’. On average it’s probably right around 590’. It’s surrounded by woods on all sides and there’s a stream running along one side.

First order of business is power and water. More on that later.

S

Am very curious on what route you will take on power and water. Is it a viable solution to use solar such as solar roof, etc for the house as well as water well? That would definitely depends on long you have to go to the closest power grid. Am very interested in this as I have 10 acres between Chappel Hill and Brenham that we plan on building for our retirement year.
For us, we have a power pole not fairly close but we will have to dig our well for water and septic.
Thanks,
NN

 

[penumbra]

I hope all of you on your own land realize how very lucky you are.
I feel it in my sleep.

 

[markyscott]

Am very curious on what route you will take on power and water. Is it a viable solution to use solar such as solar roof, etc for the house as well as water well? That would definitely depends on long you have to go to the closest power grid. Am very interested in this as I have 10 acres between Chappel Hill and Brenham that we plan on building for our retirement year.
For us, we have a power pole not fairly close but we will have to dig our well for water and septic.
Thanks,
NN

Looking into this now. I’ve looked into putting in an off grid solar system to run the greenhouses, the well and to run some electricity in the barn with the house as something completely separate. I’ve calculated that I’d need about a 5kW system to run that. It’s doable, but fairly expensive up front, so I want to get a price on running grid power before I make a final decision. Running one system for both the house, the greenhouse and everything else with an off grid system would be pretty massive and we’ll need to think carefully about that before going that way. I think I’d lean towards building a grid-connected system for the house with solar to offset some part of our energy needs. Anyway - that’s where my heads at right now with that.

There are solar kits I’ve found for running a water well. However, these are fairly expensive and typically don’t have battery systems with them, so it means you can only water during the day and if it’s overcast it could cause watering problems. One solution might be devising some sort of gravity drainage system. That may work if you have some hills - it would involve pumping water to a holding tank and then gravity feeding your irrigation system. The big problem with gravity drainage is the elevation difference that’s required. Water density is 0.433 psi/ft of elevation. City water pressure is 40-70 psi. So if you’re trying to get to conventional water pressure, you’ll need 90’ of elevation difference between the holding tank and your irrigation system. If you go with a micro irrigation system, it’s a bit easier as those operate at 30 psi, requiring about 70’ of elevation difference. Since the pasture is sitting at about 590’, if I can put a tank above 660’ or so, I can get the pressure where I need it to be. That would involve trenching an irrigation supply line some distance to get it to where I need it to go.

 

[markyscott]

I hope all of you on your own land realize how very lucky you are.
I feel it in my sleep.

We feel very fortunate and have been thinking about and planning this for decades.

S

 

[Wulfskaar]

I have about 90% or more of a geology degree done. I love this stuff, so thanks for all that!

The time scale of geology is what has always got me. Mountains have risen and been worn flat over vast periods of time. COOL!

Here in CA, we have to completely different mountain ranges running parallel to each other: the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada Range. These offer pretty clear examples of different types of orogeny.

 

[markyscott]

I have about 90% or more of a geology degree done. I love this stuff, so thanks for all that!

The time scale of geology is what has always got me. Mountains have risen and been worn flat over vast periods of time. COOL!

Here in CA, we have to completely different mountain ranges running parallel to each other: the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada Range. These offer pretty clear examples of different types of orogeny.

I’ve done a lot of work in California. My bachelors degree is from UC Davis and I did my graduate work at the University of Washington. Where are you going to school?

s

 

[Wulfskaar]

I’ve done a lot of work in California. My bachelors degree is from UC Davis and I did my graduate work at the University of Washington. Where are you going to school?

s

I spent time at UC Santa Barbara and CSU Northridge, but never finished. I had some personal things that made being able to continue on too difficult, but I plan to chip away at it and go back soon. They both have great geology professors, although I'm not sure I've met one I didn't like.

I spent 2 years in Davis while my girlfriend finished her first degree. Davis is a nice little town!

 

[ceriano]

Welcome to Va.! I've been a Virginian for almost five decades. I grew up out in the Shenandoah Valley. You're in a beautiful place out there.

Several bonsai events coming up in the late winter/spring.

The Potomac Bonsai Association's Show and Sale is coming up May 6-May 8 at the National Arboretum in D.C. Always a decent event. Some good vendors and local club exhibits.

PBA Spring Bonsai Festival

Art event in Washington D.C. by Potomac Bonsai Association on Friday, May 6 2022 with 211 people interested and 55 people going.

www.facebook.com

Also the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond is hosting a bonsai exhibit by Gardens Unlimited all during January.

BONSAI EXHIBIT | Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA | January 30 to February 25

BONSAI EXHIBIT happening at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Ave, Richmond, United States on Sun Jan 30 2022 at 09:00 am to Fri Feb 25 2022 at 05:00 pm

happeningnext.com

Bob Chilton and Todd Stewart who run Gardens Unlimited are behind the exhibit. I've known them for twenty years. They have excellent winter storage facilities for bonsai. I board my live oak with them every winter. I'll be making a run in early April to their nursery to pick up my oak. PM me if you want to come along for the ride. They have some of the best bonsai in Va. Their place is between Richmond and Fredericksburg.

They run a Japanese Garden landscaping company and have designed gardens for the U.S. Capitol greenhouse and Mary Washington University. They also have Koi ponds. They work all over the state, including the Valley.

Also, you probably will want to visit Julian Adams' bonsai place down in Lynchburg at some point. Julian has been a regular vendor at the PBA Sale.

index

A visit to Nature's Way bonsai up in Harrisburg, PA is also a must. It's a drive, but worth the trip.

Nature's Way Nursery

nature's way nursery bonsai suiseki tools horticulture classes trees plants linglestown harrisburg pennsylvania interiorscape interiorscaping landscape landscaping

www.natureswaybonsai.com

Did Lewis Ginter cancel the Bonsai event?

 

[rockm]

Did Lewis Ginter cancel the Bonsai event?

Haven't heard that. It's not until the end of this month. It
's still listed on Lewis Ginter's Facebook page:

BONSAI EXHIBIT

Gardening event in Richmond, VA by Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Tuesday, February 8 2022

www.facebook.com

 

[ceriano]

Haven't heard that. It's not until the end of this month. It
's still listed on Lewis Ginter's Facebook page:

BONSAI EXHIBIT

Gardening event in Richmond, VA by Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on Tuesday, February 8 2022

www.facebook.com

Sweet! I'll check them out!

 

[markyscott]

Back to Virginia this week. A new PO Box and a little history. Delaplane is little more than a crossroads. But it has a great post office staffed by the friendliest postal worker I’ve ever met. Across the street is a an old rail stop. During the civil war it was called Piedmont Station. It was from here that the Army of the Shenandoah was loaded onto trains and transported to Manassas, the first transportation of an army by rail.

 

[markyscott]

I walked the bonsai pasture again. It’s nice visiting so I can see the sun position for locating potential greenhouse locations. In the end, that also locates the barn because I want it to be close to the greenhouses. Here’s the hill.

 

[markyscott]

Then a quick summit to the peaklet of Lost Mountain on the property. We just followed the stone wall to the top. Interesting geological story behind the making of the stone walls throughout New England…