The changes in your landscape

I know what this winter's project is going to be - organizing my photos! I've been trying to get some before/after photos together and I realize how lazy I've been labeling them :( I've found a few that hopefully show the changes here. This area has actually undergone a FEW changes in the last five years. I had tried planting a bed of Heucheras with various foliage colors but it was too shady and they just didn't do well. Plus the Petasites that was planted on the other side of the path, which had "claimed" this whole area, was jumping the path and coming up on the other side!

There wasn't much planted there - I lost a few Cimicifugas that were strangled by the Petasites but the few Astrantias were still hanging in there and I was able to save them. It took me almost three days of digging up and removing all the roots of the Petasites before I could begin planting and I'm still seeing a few pop up after 3 years :( After looking at all that "blah" foliage for so many years I wanted to plant Hostas with colorful foliage and include Ferns, etc. to soften the look. This is where the path leads through the area and continues on to the new arbor and sitting deck - late fall, 2006.

I started planting the area in the fall of 2006 and had problems in 2007 when the deer discovered the new Hostas :( Then we had terrible problems with the moles/voles! By 2008 the area was finally starting to fill in.

We're still having problems with the moles/voles but at least the deer haven't been back! I still have a few bare spots to fill but this is what the old Petasites area looked like three years later - May, 2009.

very nice

Coming up the path from the arbor this is where you enter to continue along the path.

Once I get more photos organized I'll show you the other changes in this area - most of which were inspired by the new arbor!

ge, thank you :) I figured you'd be up bright and early!

Beautiful work, rcn!

rcn - I thought the verticals on your piece blended well with the verticals on your store-bought arbor. It's going to be beautiful when it's done. I'll rummage and see if I can find a photo of mine. I thought we had taken one when it was completed but finding it is a whole 'nother story. Does anyone have any ideas on the best way to sort photos on the computer? I have tons of photos that DH has uploaded but trying to find what I'm looking for is a tedious process.
Getting back to topic - I love the woodland path and that curve to it. Very calming and contemplative. The Hosta foliage colors add the right amount of variation. Had to look up Petasites as I'm not familiar with it. My Lysimachia clethroides jumped my narrow gravel path too. It's currently growing in a little area where I've tried for years to grow coneflowers only to have deer eat them every year. They don't eat the L.c.

OT: To each her/his own with organizing photos but when it comes to gardens you can do it by each garden, by garden art, or by individual plants like hostas, roses, etc. I've taken to folders like "Coleus 2009" but you can bet I won't remember what year I bought a specific coleus in five years time so that only works until you can sort them by name some icy winter day.

I do keep a separate spreadsheet on acquisitions (if I remember to enter them), both living and departed. I was thinking general view photos can be sorted by area while "specimen" shots (DH takes some beautiful photos) can be sorted by name? Is there a downside to this method? Coming up with photo "names" to replace .jpg id's will be taxing to my brain.

Just add one letter to the name: Rose Peace D (d for duplicate) or add jpg.

Cindy if you will use the Camera and Scanner Wizard in Windows (If that's the operating system you use!) to upload your pics it lets you name each folder with a specific name before uploading the pics and each pic then has the name of the folder along with a number. (such as "Garden Walk August01, 02, 03 etc) Very easy to ID those photos later by the name of each folder.

Doug

Ah, folder names. I need to scan through photos and see how many folders I need to set up. DH does most of the pic taking and uploads. I don't know which program he's using. He just puts the year on the folder. I need way more organization than that. (Is my OCD showing?) Now if I can only train him how to use MY folders.:)

I think that would be a winter project! A few hours in front of the computer on a cold day with a mug of hot chocolate.

Doug

Great pics you guys. I've enjoyed seeing how you garden in the shade. After 10 years of gardening in TX heat and SUN, we now have shade! Not much sun at all!

It's a learning challenge, this whole shade thing!

Pictures... I've spent a few hours this afternoon organizing them. I've found that filing them by 1)Yearly folders then 2) monthly, or subjects, and 3) naming them and adding an a,b,c,d,e after name works for me... ex: Astilbea.jpg Astilbeb.jpg Astilbec.jpg etc

I was thinking about the .jpg names earlier today - whether I should take it that far or not. Even discussed with DH who has more exposure to that sort of thing. Of course, he thinks my OCD is showing and gave me "that" look but then he doesn't have to hunt for a specific pic either. :) I appreciate the suggestions! I'm thinking that I'll start with folders first and once everything is sorted, see how much more sorting is required.

I'm really bad about renaming the photos when I upload them from the camera - there's just too many and I usually don't have enough time! A few years ago I made an effort to start organizing my photos by creating folders with a "date label", i.e. 07/31/09, etc. - the date the pictures were taken. It's helped a little because if I'm looking for pictures of spring versus fall photos, I know which "dates" to look for! Last winter I took it one step further and made more folders with names like Garden Design, then made sub-folders with Arbor Project, Sitting Deck, Heuchera Bed, etc. for all my projects and copied the photos into those folders. Note, I didn't say "move" them, I "copied" them - so now I have them in two places just in case I forget where they are :) I'm bad about renaming them unless I post them on DG. I have a separate folder (DG Photos) where I copy, rename and paste the photos for posting but now that folder is becoming so massive I've got to reorganize it and create more sub-folders! How's that for OCD? LOL When I do actually rename them I often have to do the same as TXMel but I use Arbor1.jpg, Arbor2.jpg, etc. My method is far from perfect but until I have the time to properly organize them all it's helping! Now....off to find more "changes in the landscape" :)

good job

Here's a couple of fun photos - late summer, 1992.

Eight years later taken from the top of the driveway in the summer of 2000. These are old scanned photos (pre-DC) and remind me I need to take some current photos since I don't have any taken of this "view"!

what difference landscaping makes

What a dramatic change! You really did start with a blank slate.

on the picture naming issue... i also remembered... when i put my pics on computer I always put them in a folder I've named 1Deposit Pics Here. I leave them here until i've 1)cropped and edited and 2) renamed, which I then move them to their correct folder. This reminds me of which ones need editing, and hubby can always find the new ones! THEN, when they get to their proper year and month or subject folder... they are DONE!

ALSO, I use Picasa. It organizes pictures automatically FOR you... pulling them out of every folder on your computer, sorts them by name or month or whatever.... WITHOUT touching them. They will still be in the folders you put them!!! This helps to look thru pics when they are scattered!

TXMel - I was thinking about a "temporary" folder for DH to load into. I'll have to look into the Picasa program. We're accumulating a lot of photos on the computer that get sent to several different devices as well as emailing. Might make managing all of them a lot easier. Thanks for that tip!

Its a free software download from Google

ge - Even better! Thanks!

I make my collages with it

LOL, yes it WAS a "blank slate"! Even though DH had planted most of the "bones" before I moved here in 1999 when we joined forces the landscape has gone through many changes in the last ten years :) We're going to be busy for the next couple of weeks but I'll try to find some time to locate and post more photos soon!

What a great thread! Enjoying it very much.

Sandy

DH was checking out the software that came with the new camera (Canon). For me, it'll be primarily ease of use (usually simpler is better) and ending up with the desired result. I get fidgety if I sit at the computer for too long. Also downloaded Picasa and will have to check that out.

Sandy, glad to see you're enjoying the thread, now....we need to see your "changes"! I know you have some to share :)

Cindy, even though I take lots of pictures I have no idea really what I'm doing with my camera! There are just too many bells and whistles, would rather just have a KISS (keep it simple stupid!) camera :) Whenever I think I might want to use the audio feature I have to dig out the instructions to teach myself all over again because I don't use it often enough. Two years ago my son showed me how to use the video, great feature but do you think I can remember how to do it? No! LOL Maybe I should make it another winter project, right up there with my photo organization :)

rcn - take along the manual if you go for any doctor's appointment. It's amazing how easy some of these things are once you grasp what they're saying. I bring the manual on vacations and study one paragraph at a time and now even I can do videos!

The first time I ever opened the manual and hit upon "Discharging Rechargeable Batteries" I closed it immediately. Fear! Now I can do it and it's done in two seconds at the most.

I would prefer that these manuals would be written in the "Run, Jane, run" style.

Ahhmen

Here's another before pic looking up the hill. April 18 2009.

Doug

August 20th

Love your open view of the trees. It looks so cool and serene.

nice spot Doug

Hey, Doug you've been busy! I'm echoeing what pirl said ... it does look like a cool and serene place to sit. Where are the heucheras? :-)

Sandy

Sandy, some of them are in this bed to the left of the hill picture.

Doug