The garden was planted a little over a month ago, and I’m amazed at how fast things have grown. Since this is the first garden I’ve ever had, I don’t have a point of reference for plant growth patterns; I suppose they’re growing at typical rates that just seem fast to me.

The arugula is ready for harvesting, so last week we had a peppery arugula salad with pear, prosciutto, goat cheese, olive oil, and honey. It was great to be able to pick a few dollars worth of produce that started out from a $2.00 seed packet.

The red cabbage and cauliflower leaves are as big as my hand; they’re in the front of the first box. Carrots and rainbow chard, also in the first box, will probably be ready in two to three weeks.

There are five tomato plants, and one has about six tomatoes growing on it. The others are starting to bud and should be bearing fruit soon. One of my favorite scents is a tomato plant (or a tomato fresh off the vine); I find myself lingering by the tomatoes when I water the garden, and will rub one of the leaves to help release the scent.

I’m excited about the fennel. A single organic bulb is around $4.00 at the grocery store, so growing it in the garden saves money. The fronds look like a miniature forest right now.

The cucumber plants are flowering, and one of the pepper plants has flowers and the start of a promised mammoth jalapeno, according to the plant name tag.

The zinnias are getting taller, and are even more vibrant than ever.

I use a watering can and water from the cistern at the bottom of the raised beds to water the plants. Reusing rainwater in the garden means less fresh water is used outside (as long as the cistern contains enough water; the hose has been used as backup a couple times). I’ve come to enjoy being outside watering and tending to the garden—it’s calming and has made me pay attention to the soil, the progress of plant growth and the condition of leaves/vegetables, and insects that inhabit the raised beds. It’s a whole new ecosystem to learn about and explore!

Learn more about our project at www.thenewnorrishouse.com.

This weekend we planted the first half of our native grass meadow. The plan goes like this: 1) to suppress weeds, spread cardboard and staple to the ground with landscape staples 2) mark the plant locations on 2' centers 3) dig, dig, dig 4) plant, water and wait. This is a slightly experimental...

One of the rooms in the house that hasn’t been mentioned often—yet gets daily use—is the bathroom. With the bathroom being the top water user in the house, the water features installed here are helping conserve water in several ways. The New Norris House was built with a...

One of the goals of the New Norris House is to have a positive impact on the local community.  We recently hosted a second grade class from Norris Elementary.  The kids were really excited to see what they are learning in school being applied in the local neighborhood. After taking two...

Clearing the community path and separating seedlings Nothing feels more like Spring than planting a garden, and at the New Norris House that's exactly what happened this weekend. Mary, Eric, and I spent some time doing general yard maintenance, and we also planted the raised vegetable beds. The...

The New Norris House wall assembly utilizes advanced framing techniques and a rainscreen wall construction.  Constructed of Atlantic White Cedar (AWC), the cladding of the house uses natural materials much like those found on the original Norris cottages of the 1930‘s.  Atlantic...

It is our pleasure to announce that the New Norris House project has been selected for a Residential Architect Design Award! We have been awarded a Merit Award in the Single Family Housing category. Of over 800 applicants, only 36 were chosen as winners. This is a tremendous honor which we are...

One day after the first day of spring, flowering plants are already in bloom, grasses are growing, and insects are buzzing. It’s a beautiful time of year in this part of the country! The winter was the fourth warmest on record, and plants are coming out of dormancy sooner than usual. Most...

In East Tennessee, the last expected freeze date is April 15, but it already feels like spring! With the warmer weather approaching it's time to start making preparations for the installation of the Phase IV landscape - the native grass meadows. Be sure to look for an upcoming post outlining the...

Out of all the rooms in the New Norris House, the kitchen gets the most use. The majority of our meals are eaten at home, so when it’s time for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack we head to the kitchen. Every day we use the cabinets, cooktop, counter, sink, and fridge—and have the...

  Check out some of the new photos just uploaded onto http://thenewnorrishouse.com/photos.htm. New finished exterior, interior and site photos have been added as well as some photos of the events that have taken place on site. As Spring is quickly approaching, we are beginning to set up more...

Dear Archinect, Today is the last day to nominate (preliminary voting) projects into ArchDaily's Building of the Year Awards.  Please help us move into the top-5 in the Residential category! There are 855 other houses up for the award, so we only have to out-nominate 850 to make the top...

Although the town of Norris is pedestrian friendly, traveling outside town limits requires transportation by car. While living in downtown Knoxville, we didn’t rely too much on our cars. Ken could walk, bike, or ride the trolley to the university. Since I telecommute, the only driving I did...

  Here is a snapshot of the preliminary energy data received from our eMonitor system. The eMonitor is connected to each of the home's circuits and allows us to remotely see real-time energy use. Before the home was constructed, the energy use calculations for the New Norris House (1008 sf)...

Pedestrian-friendly. Clustering of commercial areas. Front porches. Smaller yards. Urban-growth boundaries. Many who are in city planning today envision these characteristics as part of an ideal community. Back in 1933, those ideal characteristics were built into the town of Norris. Originally...

Last week, an afternoon thunderstorm knocked the power out at the house. I was working at the time, and I depend on an Internet connection in order to connect to a remote work computer. The outage was short—only an hour—but it’s obvious how electricity is a necessity nowadays...

Here is a link to an article published last month in PHC News. The article focuses on the rainwater harvesting system at the New Norris House. Credits have been earned in all LEED for Homes categories and we expect to earn 12 out of 15 credits in the Water Efficiency (WE) Category. 4 of these...

snow in the backyard The weather in Norris this winter has felt almost spring-like, with the exception of the past week. Temperature highs have been in the low to high 50s, and the forecast for the coming week is for more of the same—highs in the mid 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s...

The year 2011 is drawing to a close, and a short reflection back on our first few months in the New Norris House reveals what we learned and what happened during that time. Similar to any new residence, there was a period of familiarizing ourselves to the house and the systems inside it. Some...

The past few weeks have been busy with end of the semester activities—final papers, tests, and presentations. The fall semester is over and now it’s time to enjoy the break and the holidays before classes begin again in January. There’s no snow on the ground yet, and with a...

After several months of research and continued efforts from TDEC and the college of Biosystems engineering we finally collected our first set of water supply samples! We have been working to create a custom list of contaminants to test for based on our source, rainwater, and our goal of providing...

It’s a clear, crisp Thanksgiving Day in Norris. The rain from the first half of the week has moved on, leaving us with sunny skies today. Most of the trees have lost their leaves by now, and their branches fan out against the sky. view of trees today while seated at kitchen table On this...

Doors are symbols of new beginnings, opportunity, transitions, the unknown, and mystery. Doorways are often a precursor to the personality of a space, leading one to anticipate or imagine what might be inside. Entry doors are practical and functional, essential for controlling what comes in and...

When it comes to adding new plants to your landscape, most people think spring is the best time to plant. While some plants do well when planted in the spring, many plants, including trees and woody shrubs, benefit from fall planting. Trees and shrubs that are installed in the fall ultimately...

Autumn is here, and leaves are turning and falling. The riot of color outside changes a bit every day. Brown, red, rust, orange, yellow, and ochre leaves are mixed with green grasses and shrubs, and collect in piles when they fall. from green to red to orange to yellow Last week as I stood on the...

We are pleased to announce that the project was awarded an AIA East Tennessee Honor Award! Congratulations to all those involved, and thank you to all our supporters! On towards the state competition now...   www.thenewnorrishouse.com  

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single house in possession of occupants, must be in want of plenty of closed storage space.* Although the house has a relatively small footprint, we’ve found the cabinets and closets provide just enough storage space for the two of us (just...

Before talking about the latest New Norris House happenings, I should introduce myself. My name is Eric Bennett, one of the Graduate Research Assistants for the New Norris House. I am currently in my final year of the Master of Architecture program at UTK. I received my undergraduate degree in...

View out picture window in kitchen I made my first visit to the Norris House in June, at the end of the build part of the project. Finishing touches were happening inside—assembly of the bed platform, installation of bathroom shelves, sewing of slipcovers for the furniture cushions. The...

Our rainwater harvesting, treatment, and distribution system was put together by the BRAE rainwater group out of North Carolina. As part of our ongoing partnership, BRAE released this promotional video a few days ago describing the rainwater system as installed in the house.  Enjoy! BRAE...

BRAE Rainwater Harvesting at The New Norris House