Building a dream-come-true garden: Transplants to Greenfield transform their property

Olivia Cather enjoys designing and implementing numerous garden projects on the Greenfield property she and her husband, Wil, purchased in 2022. Despite being busy, doting parents of baby Dottie, the couple has accomplished a great deal in just two years, transforming spaces, growing food and flowers, and fostering beauty in their Forest Avenue neighborhood.

Olivia Cather enjoys designing and implementing numerous garden projects on the Greenfield property she and her husband, Wil, purchased in 2022. Despite being busy, doting parents of baby Dottie, the couple has accomplished a great deal in just two years, transforming spaces, growing food and flowers, and fostering beauty in their Forest Avenue neighborhood. Courtesy Olivia Cather

A gallon plastic jug can be repurposed for gardening. In late winter, Olivia Cather cuts a jug in half horizontally, fills it with soil, adds seeds and water, duct tapes it back together, and sets it outside on her deck, where it remains fairly moist and provides an environment where seeds can germinate. She later re-opens the jug and pots up the growing plant, or puts it directly into the soil. While there are some failures, Cather claims a two-thirds success rate.

A gallon plastic jug can be repurposed for gardening. In late winter, Olivia Cather cuts a jug in half horizontally, fills it with soil, adds seeds and water, duct tapes it back together, and sets it outside on her deck, where it remains fairly moist and provides an environment where seeds can germinate. She later re-opens the jug and pots up the growing plant, or puts it directly into the soil. While there are some failures, Cather claims a two-thirds success rate. Courtesy Olivia Cather

The garden in front of Olivia Cather’s Greenfield home is inspired by English-country traditions, while the areas behind the house echo French styles. Cather opts for native plants when possible, and finds they adapt better and require less watering and tending. While Shasta daisies are common in many area gardens, Cather chose a native variety called Silver Princess.

The garden in front of Olivia Cather’s Greenfield home is inspired by English-country traditions, while the areas behind the house echo French styles. Cather opts for native plants when possible, and finds they adapt better and require less watering and tending. While Shasta daisies are common in many area gardens, Cather chose a native variety called Silver Princess. Courtesy Olivia Cather

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

For the Recorder

Published: 09-23-2024 3:40 PM

Olivia and Wil Cather embody a wonderful aspect of Franklin County: the likelihood of stumbling upon tableaux where regular folks create mini-Edens. One can spot such scenes while driving, but traveling by foot or bicycle increases the chances of discovering scenes of beauty and creativity.

Within the last year, I noticed that new neighbors at the end of my block were eliminating grass and constructing a picturesque low fence along the sidewalk. At first, I thought they were creating a wattle fence, but in following their progress, I realized they weren’t going full-on wattle. Rather, they made an ornamental barrier of vertical cut branches about a foot high and two feet apart, tied together with branch pieces in an “x” shape between the short posts. The result is delightfully whimsical while also signaling a clear boundary.

Olivia Cather facilitates garden-related aspects of their new home and has worked for many hours on the building’s interior; her husband attends to exterior renovation and upkeep details. Olivia got the idea for the DIY fence from Central Park’s Shakespeare Garden, and noted, “We got tired of finding dog poop in our yard, not just on the edge, but also deep in our backyard.” The little fence resolved the issue. She added, “Eventually, boxwoods will form a living hedge.”

I pause to acknowledge bells no doubt going off for literary buffs. My heart skipped a beat when Olivia told me her husband’s name. In my early teens, the novel “My Ántonia” made me an ardent Willa Cather fan, so I was thrilled to discover that my new neighbors are descendants. Olivia explained: “Many of Wil’s relatives have first names similar to Willa — in my husband’s case, it’s Wilfred, Wil for short.”

The present-day Cathers relocated from Willa Cather’s native Virginia in 2022 and — like some of the author’s characters — demonstrate remarkable pluck. Despite being busy parents of 9-month-old Dottie, the Cathers are transforming their acquisition of a standard home and yard into a place to reimagine spaces, grow food, and foster beauty. Cutting down two big trees in the backyard was one of the first projects at their Forest Avenue home, and it resulted in a mountain of wood chips which Olivia paired with a motherlode of cardboard: “I flattened our moving boxes, put them over the grass, and covered them with chips.”

The Cathers mostly started from scratch at their new place, but installed precious rose bushes and other shrubs they hauled from their former home. “I felt sentimental about a few specimens and just couldn’t leave them behind,” said Olivia. “Everything else here is from seed.” Her innovative approach may interest gardeners: in late winter, Olivia sows seeds in milk jugs. “I watch Youtube gardening shows,” she said. “That’s where I saw this idea. It’s pretty simple: cut a plastic gallon jug in half, fill it with soil, seed it, do an initial watering, duct tape it back together, and set it outside. We put ours out on the deck.” With the top hole open, the jugs get snowed and rained on, remaining quite moist. “Once it’s warm enough, lift the lid and pot the plants up,” said Olivia, who achieved a two-thirds success rate. “Even though some rotted, we had a pretty good yield. The first year, we started them in February; the second year, we waited until March.”

Drawing from ideas she saw in Garden Gate Magazine, Olivia drew up a basic plan. “I wanted to use native plants rather than cultivars. Instead of spirea, I chose steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa). It’s in the same family, but it’s native. For ornamental grasses, I went with what’s called little bluestem (Schizachyriumscoparium). Our flowers are a mix of cottage garden varieties like daisies, hollyhocks, and zinnias, along with some natives.”

Olivia Cather was “heavily pregnant” during the summer of 2023 and “found it too hot to be outside much, so I watched garden videos while sitting in AC. Now that we have a baby, I sneak into the garden when I can. I’m kind of a lazy gardener anyway, so I lean toward [native plants] to save time, since they don’t require as much water.” Hearing Olivia describe herself as a lazy gardener is a hoot, since by all appearances, she’s organized and diligent!

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In mid-September, the tree belt in front of the Cathers’ is a multi-color feast of zinnias. “I saved seeds [from previous zinnia crops] and raked them into mulch,” said Olivia, “which I was able to manage, even with a new baby. Next year, I hope to put in perennials like steeplebush, yarrow, penstemon, pale purple coneflower, and Silver Princess daisies, which are more compact than shastas. I started pink lavender from seed and want to put in native yellow avens (Geumaleppicum) and some hollyhocks. I try to keep it simple, because I don’t want it to look chaotic.” Olivia’s aim is “to use fewer than 10 varieties, and to repeat patterns for consistency.”

At their Virginia home, the Calders could sit on their couch and view their garden through a large picture window. “But here,” said Olivia, “we can’t see much from our front windows.” Other windows, however, give them a good view, so Olivia “wanted to create something pretty in the side yard.” She must be careful, though, because she’s highly allergic to poison ivy that grows there. “My husband will take care of it. In the meantime, I’m cautious.” She’s planning a white garden inspired by Sissinghurst, the celebrated garden in Kent, England created by Vita Sackville-West, an author who was friends with Virginia Woolf.

In the Cathers’ back yard, a lot of practical growing and action takes place: “I wanted to be able to just walk out the back door for a tomato or some basil. Wil built raised beds for growing food and we put a picnic table in the middle. We’ve grown lots of tomatoes, and collard greens, which are my favorite. Our broccoli and Brussels sprouts didn’t do well, but we still have lettuce. I started alpine strawberries from seed, and we have raspberries, two apple trees, and a peach tree.” Our front, the Cathers have two native hazelnut trees, destined to produce filberts.

The area behind their garage is another story; they make the best of it: “It was a swamp,” said Olivia. “Every time it rained, we got inches of stagnant water. So we decided to put down landscape fabric and gravel, and are gardening in metal raised beds back there.”

Olivia and Wil Cather manage to achieve a great deal despite busy lives. Wil teaches English to language learners at Four Corners Elementary School in Greenfield; before their marriage, he worked at a variety of jobs related to museums, libraries, and consulting. Olivia has many skill sets, having run her own hairstyling business, worked in retail, and fixed up their Virginia home to sell. These days, she devotes herself to parenthood, along with Wil, and attends to their new home and property.

“This place was basically untouched since the ‘70s,” said Olivia. “We found that the wallpaper was holding up plaster. I already knew how to work with drywall, but I learned how to repair plaster.” Olivia also learned to do tiling. “I’d say we’ve done 80% of the interior, and the final 20% is the really hard stuff. We need to update two bathrooms and paint the exterior.” In terms of the garden, they have yet another new project in mind: building a greenhouse.

“My aunt got rid of all of her old glass windows, so I took them and reglazed them. Wil plans to build a free-standing greenhouse, maybe eight-by-12-feet.” Olivia says she’s always been creative. “I love coming up with home and garden ideas. And Wil is so handy, a quality I love in him. For example, at our last house, I found a headboard someone put out on the curb, and Wil turned it into a swing for me. He makes my dreams come true.”

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope,” and an artist, musician and mom. She welcomes tips from readers: eveline@amandlachorus.org.