Candy hearts, Valentine’s, chocolate, flowers…I’ve supervised Valentine card making this weekend, gotten treats for two parties for the tiny people, and consumed way too much sugar. But what I really want for Valentine’s Day? Some preservation success stories! The bleak winter landscape doesn’t help, but I feel inundated with stories of pending demolitions and losses – and while I do want to capture those stories – I’d also like to highlight some happy house stories. Or a restoration project in process – some Valentine-in-action work that is saving some of the rich architectural heritage of Kentucky.
A beautiful house in Metcalfe County, Kentucky, that has been restored by its family.
It’s all too easy to focus on the wrecking ball stories…but I bet there are some hidden gems out there, slowly being brought back to life by folks doing a little bit whenever they can.
That certainly describes my personal historic house Valentine’s project – it will be four years this spring since we moved into our 1901 farmhouse, and while we’ve come a long way – there’s a long way to go!
I recently discovered this early 20th century photograph of our farm – the barn in the background still stands, while the outbuilding at right is sadly gone.
Sometimes it’s not just a building – but a landscape. One of my favorite posts was the reclamation of an urban lot into a secret garden by Lexington’s Jim McKeighen.
Vegetables and ornamentals share space nicely in McKeighen’s ever-evolving garden.
My first real preservation project was a 1930 bungalow in Lexington, Kentucky – although it was very hands-on (due to my lack of funds), the transformation of a plain, empty lot into a series of gardens brought me so much joy. (Since I sold it, I am afraid my gardens have vanished.)
I was able to rebuild the rotting front porch and make some lovely front yard garden beds at my first house.
So on this Valentine’s Day, share this post – and let me know about some positive preservation stories! You can email me at gardens2gables@gmail.com – and I’ll gladly trade all of my candy (well, maybe not all -it is from the finest candy maker in Kentucky – Ruth Hunt Candies) for an inbox full of love for historic buildings and landscapes.
Great stories!!!
Oh, your garden!! Did you leave those rocks?