Southold Historical Society Garden Tour: July 9, 2005

Hey Pirl!
Hey Victor!

I want you to know I tried my hand at hollowing out a stump to try to create that log planter. Think of mine as the vertical counterpart of your horizontal piece. Me thinks me hollowed mine out a leetle bit too much. I filled up the bottom with a little bit of pea gravel and stuck my foot in to sort of level it and tap it down and my foot went right through the bottom of my beloved stump planter. Husband laughed so hard he had to walk off. He's going to try to get me another nice big stump only this time he said he'd hollow it out.

You stomped the stump!!

The pleasure is all his. Please be there while he does it just in case it's your turn to laugh so hard you have to walk away!

I doubt seriously if he will make that mistake. He told me to use a measuring tape because he thought I was going to low but noooooooooo, I couldn't be bothered with running in the house to get a measuring tape. He couldn't wait for my Dad to come over to show him the stump that bust its gut. Matter of fact, he was showing everyone the stump that bust its gut until I took the shop vac out there and sucked up all the pea gravel and relocated the stump waaaaaaaaaay out back where he couldn't find it.

He walked around and found a 5 gallon black liner pot that I had tossed aside after planting a Pagoda Dogwood. He put it in the back of his vehicle and he's going to use that as an insert. He said if we don't use a liner of some sort and drain it using a 1" piece of pvc, it would bust its gut sooner or later anyway. Better to have it happen without a plant in it. He's got a valid point.

He's right.

I had some left over spray that's like a plastic coating that I had intended to use but forgot. I suppose putting my foot through the bottom of the planter took care of that anyway.

What a joy it is to see this thread again. I never tire of seeing pirl's garden, but it certainly does make me feel humble.

And then there's Equilibrium.........I never tire of hearing her tales of projects gone awry. It's so nice to know I'm not the only one. LOL

Keep up the good work ladies!

Agree on both counts!

pirl's gardens are indeed, a sight to behold, are they not? She works tirelessly at them and it shows.

Few readers are aware of the fact that being well into her 90's, pirl does all the work herself. Would that my garden come close to looking like hers when I reach that age. ( LOL...just kidding, mamasan !!! )

She is my ultimate mentor for color pairing, texture, and "taste"...even if she DOES have a plastic duck strategically placed in her DL beds !

pirl...YOU ROCK !

Hey, what's wrong with her plastic duck? I've got a mathed pair of plastic pink flamingos somewhere around here.

What a fun way to wake up and read the latest posts! JD, for the second time today, you're a devil! Thanks for your mamasan comment.

The gardens have changed since I've been bitten seriously by the Japanese iris bug and now there are (currently) one huge JI garden and four smaller ones but I have the feeling that more are coming in the mail from a wonderful, fantastic, over-the-top trader so there'll be one more but I can't imagine where.

As for foibles - I continue on my Equilibrium path to gardening insanity with a smile, never knowing the next obstacle. I was about to plant something I've now forgotten (must be my 90 years showing, right?) and hit a gas line. I'm glad they put those big yellow "Do not dig" tapes above it and doubly glad I left it alone.

We just went through a kitchen renovation and had all Corian counters and full backsplashes installed. I had the granite from the kitchen moved to my potting bench, thinking it was a wise move. HOT in the summer sun - very HOT, but pretty. The top of the 9'9" copper trellis Jack made came down in a storm - it simply couldn't take the winds. I used that for my potting bench "window" and the clematis has now almost obscured it.

I probably shouldn't mention the wasp attack as I tried trimming a little branch to make more room for plants or the other wasp in my shorts as I wondered if I should strip or not, or the two wasps that drowned in the last cup of coffee (twice), or the way they constantly find me. I must be their official east coast playground where Zuzu has the title for the west coast.

I, too, had a stump but not like Lauren's. I decided to put a planter on top of the stump and while I was busy doing routine gardening the clematis over there took over and grew up and topped out at about 5' and then spread. Should be glorious next year. Being afraid it might blow over in another storm (you know how fearful we ancient people of the frozen tundra are, JD) I figured I'd anchor the planter into the stump so I found an old broom handle, about 3' long and got the small sledge hammer to do the job. The stump had already begun to decay internally but I was still surprised when one blow of the sledge hammer sent that broom handle down and I nearly crushed my right hand on the rim of the stump.

Marie: The Olsen hosta is thriving and I think of you each time I see it. Actually, what I could use to help me in the garden would be a team of Norwegian bachelor farmers but if the Royal Canadian Mounted Police still haven't shown up to make me chief cook for the sled dogs then I guess there's no hope and we'll have to do the work ourselves.

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone!

P.S. Lauren, the official JD goose is still in residence along with a little yellow rabbit!

Here's the potting bench with the granite and the clematis obscuring the copper window.

Thanks. Cool but hot to the touch. The wood was better, heatwise, but I do love the granite. While the plumber was here I had him extend an outlet in the garage to the outside wall just 3' from the potting bench so now it's becoming my garden room instead of the dog's pen.

Granite potting benches! That's living large.

Yup, pirl will go down in gardening annals for being the only one with a marble potting bench. I know my friends will be envious. Wood is hard to keep clean and it looks no where near as attractive as that marble.

Now Arlene, don't be out there telling everyone about your kitchen re-do. Let everyone think you speically designed that bench that way. You know... a grand potting bench for a grand garden!

Hey! When you're 90 you deserve the best!

I agree!

How can I thank you all for brightening my day. What pirl did not tell us was.....did she in fact strip down in the garden to get the bees out of her britches. (I'm just dying here! Oh, the mental pictures.)

You are all making me second guess this great idea I had last night. Now it's no where near as elegant as a marble potting bench, which is so fabulous that I need one. (My potting bench is in perpetual shade....no heat problems there.) Anyway, I was talking to my sister last night, and she mentioned that halfway through the redo on the counter-tops in her laundry room, that they decided to get rid of the big, old, deep, cast iron sink (circa 1960) and replace it with something that was easier to keep clean than chipped white. So, I begged it off of her. I have been so wishing that I had a sink near my potting bench. All I need to do is get something to support it at sink height. So then my sister says, why not a cabinet so that you wouldn't need to hide it around the side of the garage. And all I need to do is to run a hose under the deck to get water hooked up to it. Can you see where this is going? Is this a great idea or what? Now you've got me scared. I'm just Murphy's law waiting to happen.

Kitchen showrooms and lumber dealers that order cabinets are two good sources for "Oops" cabinets. They often can't return their mistakes to dealers and you can get a great cabinet for $10. We did that with the basement and our old deep sink from the old kitchen back in '92. They probably have goof countertops, too, but HD sells them in several lengths. Have fun shopping.

I'm doomed now.........but what fun I'll have scrounging the materials! Thanks for the really great ideas. I wouldn't have thought of that.

It's trying to keep the cabinet from falling apart during all kinds of weather that will be your problem. Would you bring it inside for the winter or cover it? If the cabinet is installed, outside, on some kind of material that won't soak up the water you'll be better off but disconnecting it for the winter and storing it would be your best bet. Have fun.

I cover my potting bench for the winter, and would do the same for the sink. I don't see moving it once it's set up as according to my sister, the sink is very heavy. I have been thinking about how to keep a wooden cabinet from rotting with the weather. I would suppose that the stain that I use on my deck and house should do the job. The water would have to be disconnected and drained for the winter.

So....lots to think about, but I'm not going to do it until Spring. I've already got too much to do before the snow flies. The sink can just be upturned and covered for the winter.

Or the whole thing, sink, cabinet, counter could be on a wheeled platform with wheels that lock and then safely stored over winter.

Evening Pirl,
After one hour one day and now two hours later, I have finished my tour of the garden. I can honestly say I have never seen anything so beautiful (besides my daughter). Do you have a bed outside so you can wake up in the morning in the garden. Wait, you wouldn't need a bed with your grass. I would camp out everynight, until it got to 60 degrees, then I would be running to the heated house. I have 2 pages of notes I want to ask you about, but, shoot, my computer shuts down at 12. Will be back! :^)

My guess is that you enjoyed the tour: I'm glad. I'd be pleased to help in any way I can - just Dmail me.

Thank you.

Wow! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! I am sooo glad I ask you about your gardens!! I could just feel the day's tensions ebbing out of me while I was "touring" your yard. I will definitely be going back to this over the coming winter months. What fun to have started with your virtually empty canvas and what a masterpiece you have created.

We were on the first Henry Country Garden Tour here in Clinton. That was several years ago. We had such a good time and enjoyed it so much. The Garden clubs here in town put it on and it is a big draw for the crowds, everyone loves a beautiful yard and gardens.

Yes, I think our table and chairs are alike and yes they are carefree and comfortable.
I think ours are going to be ready for a paint job soon we have had them for several years.

You must have a pretty big lot or are you out in the country??

Thanks again I enjoyed every second of it!!!

Thank you for your nice comments. We do live out in the country, compared to the more congested area and the smaller properties we had before this yet it's not even an acre.

I'm thankful we didn't buy a home with established gardens so we could create our own.

Our outdoor furniture is probably about the same age as yours and could use a paint job, too. It's hard to find something really comfortable and yet easy to keep clean so we'll keep it until it falls apart.

Thanks for joining the tour.

WOW You are a star. I love the combination od Yarrow and Daylilies. My website is:joanngentle.com

Great, I'll go take a look at it.

I am fortunate enough to actually have PIECES of pirl's gardens at my place !!! They are my most prized plants ! I guard them with my life.

JD brightens every day for me with his humor and his wonderful stories of his family. I just wish his garden was twice the size so I could send more plants.

Thanks, love the idea of the old sink and oops cabinet! When I do get my garden shed built, hoping to incorporate!! ~ Suzi :)

This has been deer feeding week here and it's so depressing. They devoured all but three daylily flowers where there should be hundreds of blossoms right now. That's just in one garden. Others have suffered tremendous losses as well. Then I saw they ate some buds from the Oriental lily collection and to my great horror they devoured every bud on 20 or 24 Stargazer lilies so I cut the other four stems and have them inside.

I guess the old quote is as true of weeds as it is of critters:

Nature bats last.

Silly but I'm grateful they left me Savannah's Edge - it's so pretty!

Maybe nature will bat against the deer. It's their turn.

I wish!

I wish bats (vampire) feasted on deer.

Bats eat bugs. Seems it would be a simple matter to breed them to increased their caloric intake.

With the radar bats have, deer could run but they couldn't hide.

This message was edited Jul 24, 2008 8:04 PM

I can envision huge bats flying across Southold right now...or when it gets dark. That'll keep the night time parties to a minimum!