Garden Passage

I believe garden spaces need to be thought of as 'rooms' - no different than the rooms in a house.  Of course the design of any good room must consider the entrance and doorways.  There's no difference in the garden.  Passage between garden spaces are as important as the space itself.  Gates matter!

Water In The Garden

We've had a lot of rain lately...Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  But, the yard is soggy and we have a low area beyond the back drive which now resembles a poorly constructed pond!  I've always wanted interesting and beautiful water sources in my landscape.  Here are some nice ideas.  All of which are far better than my current standing water temporary pond.

Remembering Garden 2012

I have really been so busy professionally this past year I've neglected my blog schedule.  I keep finding photos and notes I had plan to post but never found the time to do so.  The other day I ran across a few photos from this years garden.  It was a big year for peppers, tomatoes and beans - and perennials.  Now that we've had our first frost it's nice to look back on these photos and remember the results. 

Paper White Cocktails

Last year I had paper white problems.  For some reason I decided to ignore conventional wisdom and wait until early December to plant the bulbs.  I was convinced they would be bloomed out by Christmas. 

I was wrong. 

My paper whites came into full bloom starting a few days after New Years and lasted until mid January.  So, anyone visiting my house in the month of December was greeted with green stalks.   All of our January guests – of which there were none – would have gotten a lovely paper white experience.  In fact I think I was even out of town the week they were at their peek. 

So, this year I planted them on Thanksgiving weekend.  So far so good. It appears they will be just right in time by Xmas week.  As long as they don’t get to leggy and fall over.

Last year I remember seeing ‘An Urban Cottage’ 
(www.anurbancottage.blogspot.com) mention how to controll the legginess.  Steve posted an article in January which illustrated how to use bit of gin (or vodka or tequila – although I’d never waste good tequila on a dish of paper whites) to stunt the growth of the stems while not effecting the blooms.  When the stems are up about 3" water them with 1 shot of alcohol to a 1 cup of water.  Then repeat the next time you water. Seems like one side effect was the faint smell of alcohol mixed with the paper white scent.  I look forward to that!  My paper whites got there first shot of Tanqueray this past Sunday.  I guess you could consider it a sort of a Sunday brunch. 

They are looking forward to a festive holiday season.

  

Garden Ideas

I expect we’ll be in the garden soon!

I need a half a dozen or so of old columns for the vegetable garden!

Actually, this post is for C.

Here are some clever ideas I collected for him.  I like all of these and think I would enjoy seeing HIM create these in our garden this year!

I He should plant more fast growing vines on the existing structures and fences...

I He should create more upright structures for the plants this year from interesting organic stuff...

I He should make huge walls and dividers out of willow branches.  Also, I He should install an outdoor shower or lamp (I'm not sure which it is, but either way its good) shown in the distance in the photo...

I He should paint all our garden gates white...

I He should buy some galvanized feed tubs and uses them as water features and planters...

I He should build a long tunnel and cover it with vines...

I He should add busts throughout the garden...

I He should use very tall steel cages for the tomatoes...

And finally, He should cut layered paths around the grounds so I'll have groove places to stroll!

 

Potting Shed Inspiration

Like much of the country it’s been an unusually warm winter here.  In fact its about time to start this year’s yard and garden work.  You may remember last year I worked on a re-do of my little garden shed.  I think I only posted the ‘in-progress’ photos and never got around to showing you the finished product.  Reason being (as usual) I didn’t finish it! Actually I finished the work; I just never got it ‘decorated’.  Over the winter I collected these photos of potting sheds.  It appears I’ll be able to start opening up the shed soon.  I’ll do my best to whip it into shape and show you.  Until then here’s some inspiration…