Growing Daylilies Together

May 2007 - Phase 1, Finding the Perfect Property!

I had been looking for land for approximately three years in the general area of Ocala, Florida.

We wanted cleared, fertile land yet with some shade from a few trees.

What we had found was land that had been farmed since 1923, surrounded by ‘Live Oaks’ and other trees and shrubs.

This land is 3.28 acres, plenty of room for building a nursery and adding a residence. Further the land is already partitioned in three one acre plots, so three houses can be built. This is important as in Marion County you must have 5 acres in order to build a house, we can build three houses as the area was classed as a developement many years ago.

We are right in the middle of the town of Orange Lake, walking distance to a store, restaurants, and more importantly with great neighbors watching over things. We purchased the land from a police officer, and the whole town knows it, he still owns acreage around us and frequently patrols our property on his tractor so we have free security to prevent "Jack the Diggers" from helping themselves.

The soil was pretty good, not just sand or swampy, as land can be in Florida.

The crops previously grown on the land were rotated four times throughout each year, peanuts, turnips, beans and hay. Thus proving the soil, albeit sandy, was fertile and workable.

So we contacted the seller, negotiated the price, and put down the deposit.

Notice the trees behind Susie's truck, they are part of the property. In fact the property is surrounded by trees on 3 sides and other indigenous trees and shrubs.

Here we have a large Pine Tree with several smaller Live Oaks in the north east quadrant. Take special note of this image as you will see drastic changes later on.

Way off in the distance you can see the north side of the property. Notice where John is standing in the distance, that is the middle of the 'un-maintained country road' leading into the property. The east side of the property has no trees. The trees behind him and to your right, unfortunately had to be removed due to the Electric company. Both were middle-aged Live Oaks.  :(  


Here is John negotiating the price and the timing of getting the funds to the owner. Notice, all the lovely Spanish Moss, which is found only in the south eastern United States. The moss is horrible stuff, lovely to look at but it is full of CHIGGERS, of which John is a complete magnet for, they love your belt line and ankles, the warmest often sweatiest parts of the body! Grace Stamile tells me that only a few people are really tasty treats (react) to chigger bites the way John does, as her brother-in-law has the same problem. Funny, they didn't bother Susie, she's too mean i guess, or simply not as sweet as I am.



Here is an image from Google Earth of the property just before we purchased it. The 3.28 acres is the brighter green in the center of the image, notice all the trees in the middle of the property and surrounding it? We own them! I have marked the directions so that you can see where the morning to mid-afternoon sun has an unobstructed vantage point to the gardens. The western line of trees gives us some much needed shade in the late afternoon.

Well, here I am with a shovel in one hand an 'adult beverage' in the other hand wondering

"Where do I start?", "When to start?"

"A Canvass  Waiting to be Painted" (Quoted from Stamile, '07)

Best to pay for the land and secure the deal first however. There is much more to be done prior to putting that shovel in the ground as I had a seedling crop of 10,000 seeds in trays down south that needed to be planted in pots.

Let's jump to November 2007. My seedlings had been growing in Oasis Cubes at John Todd's in Winter Garden, Florida sitting under an old oak tree waiting for the closing of the property.

Continue to Phase 2 as the real work begins!

Comments (2)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Carol Robinson said:

	Your property well, this will motivate me to post our new property, north of your property! now, to find time to post those pics! enjoyed your pics! Carol Robinson
	report abuse vote down vote up

November 25, 2009
Votes: +0

susie thompson said:

	Hi Hey..........you still a "her"! Under the pic. where you have a beer in one hand and the sign in the other. you say....Well her I am!!!
	report abuse vote down vote up

November 24, 2009
Votes: +1

Show/hide comment form