- Jacob Stidham - Director of Horticulture & Facilities
- Nursery
Notes from the Nursery – Fall 2022
Sometimes great, unexpected things happen when you set off to do something. When I went off to study at Purdue, I was confident I would graduate with an engineering degree and go on to be at least a billionaire! By graduation, I was a horticulture major and engaged to another horticulture major, Emma! I consider that a win, win.
We have had something similar happen this year at Yew Dell. We set off to be less reliant on city water in our rapidly growing nursery, so we built a new lake to pump water from our woodland area. I’m happy to report we have the new lake finished and it is filled with water. Next year, we will not be reliant on city water! What we didn’t expect was what an incredible addition to the garden this new lake would be.
As soon as our new lake filled with water, I began to see tadpoles swimming along the bank, dragon flies skimming the water, and one early morning in August, I walked down there and flushed a group of ducks. With plans to seed the back side of the dam with a pollinator mix, to expand trail system around the lake, and even more ideas brewing, an initial plan to reconfigure our irrigation in the nursery has grown into improving our regional water ways, adding even more natural beauty to Yew Dell, and much, much more!
Thanks to our friends at the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund for supporting the construction of Reflection Lake.
