The Farm at Oxford – which grows thousands of peonies, dahlias, and bulbs each year – has added a vegetable garden to its 12-acre property during the pandemic, writes Adrian Higgins for The Washington Post.

After realizing she wanted to start growing vegetables on her land, the farm’s owner, Mara Tyler, contacted her friend, Matthew Ross, the Director of Continuing Education at Longwood Gardens.

Well-versed in vegetable cultivation, Ross jumped at the opportunity to create a vegetable garden. It took him and Tyler’s husband, Greg, three weeks in April to establish the raised beds, put up a deer fence, lay down landscape fabric against weeds, and add compost to the heightened beds.

Once the plot was completed, it proceeded to provide Tyler and her family, as well as Ross, with fresh produce for months.

“There’s kale he put in the garden in the spring, and I’m still eating it,” she said.

The project also helped Tyler learn new gardening skills and kept up her spirits during a time filled with stress and sacrifice.

“It was mentally therapeutic, because if I’m learning things, I feel positive,” she said.

Read more about The Farm at Oxford in The Washington Post here.