Yarnell Home photos

Our Home: Somerville, NJ

We have lived in our house for 30 years and were the original owners. A house requires continuous up-keep and in 1997 and 1998 Fred has replaced the cedar shakes and stained them with a solid color (yellow). In the Spring of 2000 Fred undertook the backbreaking job of landscaping the front and replaced the cement sidewalk with paver blocks. The photo below of the front was taken after our only snow fall in the Winter of 1998.

Walk around to the back of our house and you will see our patio. All around the back of the house Fred plants impatiens, caladiums, and coleus (shade lovers). We also have 4-O'Clocks behind the grill and below the window to provide a pleasant fragrance on hot summer evenings.

Sun flowers grew in Fred's fenced in vegetable garden from seeds the birds had scattered last year. In Spring 2000, a bear knocked over a beehive so Fred installed an electric fence around the hives. Next to the fenced garden is our fig tree. It survives the winter (see photo) by covering it with bags of leaves. We have the Township deliver bags of leaves (150 of them!) in the Fall, dumping them where we want them. In 1999, because of the hot weather and drought, the fig tree produced a bumper crop.

You will see a photo of some of our fruit trees (apricot, plum, cherry, pear, peach and apple). In front of the trees, Fred plants red and white nicotina and blue ageratums as a border in front of tall multi-colored zinnias. Our white hale peach tree was loaded with peaches the size of a softball in 1999. It was completely covered with netting (to keep out squirrels)and it was surrounded by an electric fence (to keep deer away). The peaches were so heavy they broke several branches.