Here's a better view of that fireplace..
My new garden or Stone Henge?
John used to do a lot of restoration work on antique clocks. This is part of his antique clock collection that lines the walls of our upstairs spare room we use as a computer room..
I'm not sure why I think you guys might want to see all this..but it gives me joy to show someone the many facets of this facinating man I love so. He is by far, one of the most artistic, intelligent, and gifted people I have ever known and yet if you met him, you would be probably be surprised by his down-to-earth, soft spoken nature. He really is a gem.
Diane
Oh Diane your Garden and your Home is so nice, I just fell in love with the windows and the fireplaces, and the clocks and the whole nine yards!!!!! It's all fascinating to me. I am so proud and I know you are of him, that he could have a vision of such magnitude as this and then produce it, it's astounding. You could open up a bed and breakfast lol....and with extra perks of the Garden out there and so on and so on lol...
In the pic you posted of you DH in the side shot of him by the fireplace, did anyone ever tell him he resembled Suan Penn???? He does!!! Am I wrong??? In that pic of him side ways he does!
Hugs'
Keep the pics comin' I'm stayin' tuned in to this thread!
Julie
LOL Sean Penn, eh? hmm..maybe in that shot. Here is a picture taken of John when he was building the house about 1974. At that time, I thought he was a dead ringer for John Lennon - complete with same style glasses! LOL
diane
Wow! I am always amazed at what I find on these threads.
Just gorgeous! I keep coming back here just to admire all the lovely stonework! You and hubby are doing a fantastic job!
Diane, now that pic does look like a John Lennon look-a-like lol
Diane, I love every word and every photo you posted and I've read all about the stone/work to my hubby, who agrees with me that John is an artist, using stone as his canvas, just amazing!! I've had my grands and nieces for the weekend, at one time yesterday, I had 14 kids, under 14 here, most were in the 10 year bracket, almost 11. Thank goodness they are well behaved, whew!!! Please keep posting and sending photos, I'm really enjoying your thread, so different, so much fun and I know that I'm watching history being fashioned by John...
John Lennon, there certainly is a resemblance. As for your home and upcoming masterpiece garden, I can only say both are marvelous pieces of work and will certainly compliment each other as well as you and John.
Only one question, you do know a 6' gate, wall won't keep the deer out of that garden, but I imagine when they see it they will be so in awe they wouldn't dare jump it!!!
Candee
lol I agree with you Candee lol....and everything you said too! :-))
Hugs
Julie
LOL Candee - yes, I understand you would need an 8ft fence, minimum to insure deer can't get in. But, I will continue to discourage them in other ways. I had absolute 100% sucess this entire season with a product called Deer Scram. It is made from dehydrated dead animal parts into a granular product that you sprinkle around the perimeter of the area you need to protect. As deer approach they smell "death" and they literally bolt in the opposite direction. They will NOT cross that line. I didn't believe it, of course, and the stuff was a little pricey, but I lost so much to deer last year that I tried it this season. I have seen deer all around our property at the edges of the woodline but not one, not a single one ever came into my yard where I applied this stuff and not so much as a nibble on a single plant! If anyone is interested, here's the website: http://www.deerscram.com/ I applied it only twice this season - around April 15 and again June 15.
Diane Krny
This message was edited Oct 9, 2005 6:23 PM
Glad to hear something worked for you. Personally, I just let Steve go with the muzzleloader LOL, that really deters them.
Dianne,
There's NOTHING I can add to what has already been said!!!
Following all this has been a trip in "Fantasyland"! It is just beyond beautiful!!!
Picturelady--Thanks for providing the link-up to the first part of this adventure! I had not seen that--came in kinda later....Makes it a more complete story.
Dianne, I have an idea....(entering the danger zone here....)
When your Grden is all complete, you could make a small corner of it a "Daves Garden" and all of us who have been privileged to be part of this dream-come-true of yours and John's, would send you ONE very special plant from our Gardens to plant in this "Friendship Garden".
Something perennial would be nice--so it could live on for years! You could label each one with the name of the person who sent it to you. They would all be just GIFTS--no sase, no exchanges--just from the heart.
What do you all think???? Gita
Gita...What a nice idea...I would like to do that! A DG friendship garden! WOW !!! Count me in!!! :-)))
Okay.all..it's time for the fall update..it probably will not be the last for 2005, as John will work till there is too much snow and ice to continue (last year that was January), but I will load about 15 pics to show you where we are at.
First the usual pano showing how the garden looks from the main gate looking West. To the far left in this pic is John working on the latest structure..my new potting shed!
Here is a view of one the front quadrant of the garden viewed from the West side looking back east. The sand paths you see john put down recently. These will be covered in bluestone walkways and brick walkways. In the upper left where you see the sand pathway ends in a small circle..that is where the giant green urn (was a birdbath..but we are going to use it as a planter urn instead) that I posted a pic of WAAY up the top of this thread..will be placed. The surrounding walls will have flower border beds around the urn.
Those two stones laying parallel with the front gate in the foreground...that will have an arch trellis over it - probably will climbing roses.
About a month ago..John began preparations to begin building the potting shed which will open into the back southeast corner of the garden. This was his friend, Dale beginning to dig the hole for the foundation...
This message was edited Oct 9, 2005 7:05 PM
John then constructed the cement forms and we had the cement company come and pour the foundation. This is John inside it right after it was poured..
another view of my hard workin' hubby making sure all was stable and level in the foundation...
After it hardened. John removed all the boards from the forms and this is the finished foundation...
The potting shed will be 10ft X 14ft ..
A view from further away so you can see where the shed will sit in the back corner of the garden. The doors will open into the garden area and that dirt area you see where the wheelbarrow is and the pile of boards? That will be my "work area" outside the potting shed where I will do my potting chores and prepare my bedding plants.
Another thing we had done lately..is have the 1st two loads of topsoil brought in to put in some of the bedding areas...
This is some of the topsoil going into the beds on the back (West side) of the garden..
I also had 6 yards of terrific leaf compost delivered that will be added to these beds as well.
Here is a few of the other raised bed area on the West wall closest to the house. I love the terraced look the steps give it..
I climbed up on one of the back walls and took this shot back toward the house so you can see another view of the general garden layout...
At the base of the big 12ft post you see will be a ring of flat stones that John will carve roman numerals in..it will be a sundial! LOL
The smaller broken top post on the left will have a wooden cap put on it and a beautiful Victorian Birdhouse will sit on top of that...
and so it goes..progress has really been remarkable this year despite horrid hot, humid weather all summer. In another week or so, a friend of Johns will come in to frame the potting shed in and then John can finish constructing that. He is simultaneously working on getting acquiring bricks to construct the brick walls on the South side of the garden. There is still so much to do...but I am getting excited because I think by mid next year, I may be able to start planting a few things...woohoo.. here is another pic I took in July of some flowers that grew up from last year on their own in the new garden area...
But summer is over and it is nearly time to say goodbye to my garden for the season..here was the lovely last flush on my VersiOrange a few weeks back...
and a few of my EEs wave goodbye to 2005...
and here I am having a quiet chat with my flowers in the front flower bed..they have done well despite all the weather hardships this year...I'm already getting excited about next year....
I'll update again in a few months to show you the Potting Shed frame and other progress that happens over the coming weeks....
Here's me and my Mandevilla waving goodbye to the season..
Great pictures, Diane. Gosh, John has done so much work. You both have. I love your mandevilla. Can't wait to see what you are going to do with all of this space when it is time for flowers. Should be a site to behold.
I have a technical question... WHY what looks like filled cement blocks under the poured concrete walls for the potting shed?
Love the progress!
I am just speachless and that doesn't happen often. What a wonderful garden you're going to have. This years flowers look great. Good job John and Diane.
I noticed that also Darius .... hmmmmmmm .
Diane I can hardly wait to see what your DH comes up with for your putting shed.
A mini castle wouldn't surprise me at all ... lol
I was just thinking how useful all the stonework will be , acting as heat-sinks .
Imagine what diversified plantings you will be able to do in these created micro-climate niches.
What a pair you two are. Hope some day to meet both of you.
Hi, Darius...umm..here is verbatim John's explanation on the cement blocks at the base of the foundatio walls:
..you see, normally you pour a footing and after that hardens up..you build forms to shape up a foundation wall on top of the footing and have that filled with cement separately. The problem with that..is that the footing would only take about 1 yard of cement and the local cement company will not come to pour less than 4 yards. So...John invented (or rather engineeered) this system that consised of two rows of cement blocks on the bottom layer with a large space in the middle between the rows, on top of that he made the cement forms for the walls above it so that when the cement truck came they would pour the cement into the forms and it would run all the way down oozing into all the cement blocks and forming the foundation and the foundation walls all in one pour. This way..they only had to come out once with no wasted cement. Pretty clever, eh?
Diane
Yes... I think... but I would have thought a single monolithic pour for both footers and foundation walls at one time. Done often in construction, but usually foundation and slab. Hmmm....
Scoot/Darius - the design for the potting shed..ask and you shall receive..
Here is John's design he drew. He calls it "English half-frame close studding with brick noggin fill". huh? LOL..
I call it.."quite beautiful"..brick and wood walls, slate roof, stone foundation and windows.
Diane
Oh, that will be quite beautiful, and blend in nicely. Lucky you!
truly magnificent, you both share wonderful talents! It's looking awesome Diane!!!
Diane
This is just amazing and I throughly enjoy your posts and watching the exciting changes of your garden.
Thankyou!
Ann