Taming the wild garden part 2

Interesting article Laurie. I bet alot of novice gardeners would find it very helpful. I am just to random to stick to a chart :0) If I decide I don't like it I can always move it.

Hey - I thought you were going to bed!!! =:0)

I'm a sucker for DG, what can I say!

So, typically, a house like yours would have a scullery (sort of a utility room), a pantry (for crockery storage), a larder (for food storage) and the kitchen proper (for cooking)? Then would there be an informal eating space - a breakfast room, and then a formal dining room? Do you have those? I've always wondered when reading what the difference between the larder, pantry and scullery was. Now I know. This is a pretty cool site. I swear that I have some past-life memories being down in the kitchen rooms. Talk like this seems to jar them. Or, as I've said before, I just watch too much BBC and Masterpiece Theater. Hee hee.

I like the idea of a chart to at least remove some of the fear of getting started. If you can get an idea of where the bones of your garden should go and the structure and dimension of the area, it's a little less daunting. I was telling the girls yesterday that it was good to have work parties because I'm always less fearful and more focused when doing other people's work. With my own, I get so distracted . . .

I think some of the bigger houses might have all that - we do have a kitchen separate from the scullery - and a laundry room too - our larder is in the scullery, and it is that big cupboard in the photo - one of our friends has a proper larder that is a full room with no windows, ventilation panels and lined with slate shelves. You don't find those very often anymore. The dining area is also the morning sitting room - it has a fabulous view with windows running fully across one wall and halfway up the other looking straight out to the valley.

katie, I think you are right about having a plan to start with, sometimes it just give you a place to push against - abit like having a very good teacher: they point you in the right direction, and then what you do with it is up to your imagination.

Check out the new thread I just posted. Trust me you will want to see it! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/804436/

Laurie - I love your analogy about the teacher. I was a hard student - always pushing - can't help it, I need the algorithm so I can focus on the exceptions, LOL. My mother would tell you that I did a chunk of that. Poor woman - 3 boys and then . . . ME.

Lucky woman, she got you.

Rach and Susy - wonderful list! Heidi and the Cattledogs have opened the treasure chest.

This message was edited Jan 14, 2008 7:55 PM

Had a cancellation so I can play here for an hour - so let the unveiling begin - such good lighting on Saturday afternoon I couldn't resist photographing the new steps - I think even Mauryhill will think it was worth removing the old steps, and all of the stones from the old wall are mixed back into the new wall. I love these - especially the step in the middle where we came across a stone that was just too big even for landscaperguys! (one of which is 6'7" tall, and sort of the size of the front line players in American Football!) So, it became a step - we re-embedded a smaller rock on the right to give dh a little interim step.

Oh, the rocks! Now I see.

Most excellent steps. I like the warm tone of the stone and the curve-and how you worked around the giant rock.

Laurie,

Great stairs, what an imagination. I love the wall too! Beautiful backdrop with the sun shining so brightly...

What a work of love, thanks for sharing..., Carla

Oh Laurie great job I love it. Plus you did it all yourself which makes it even better. I work for so many people who write a check. I want this. Very happy then brag about what they have and didn't lift a finger. Hats off I love to do things when possible my self. Most of the people we landscape for I try very hard to involve them in the prosses. I bring them to the quarry to shop they pick out plants. I guess that is the teacher in me. I can do it but I think it so much more satisfying when a homowner feels involed and picks out a plant and comes back a year later telling me they prunned it and it came back and how big it had got. Love it Goo job. Heidi

How wonderfull, and all made by you (almost) the landscaperguys
Just love the way you put the little rocks in.
Are you going to leave it where the lawn grows up to it, or are you planing on putting plants around it?
How bout a trellis at the top to walk under with a MMMM so many to chose from,
Something with big fragant flowers, OOO just dreaming.LOL

how Lovely ! - adore the big rock in the middle.

Heidi - as much as I love your praise, can I just draw you back to note the 6'7" landscaper guy that does the big work - and I honestly couldn't have done this with out him! He is brillant, technically, physically (he can lift up almost anything!), and creatively - I will take credit for being a team with him - (and I think that is what you are talking about) and we work really well together and have very similar vision - but it was Tom who was out there full time while I was here in town earning the money to write the cheque. But it is my knees that have been crawling around this patio (hopefully to be unveiled next week) and putting all the pebbles in plops of concrete - I refuse to figure out how many holes there are in this patio that needed to be plopped!

and thank you tills and rtp! I think (well for now anyhow) it is going to be grass growing up to the edge - I think I may naturalize bulbs in this area - but - with me, who knows, I can imagine me out there rotavating the whole place next year - wahhoooo, another place to plant - NO NO not yet!

This message was edited Jan 15, 2008 7:09 AM

Hi Laurie,

I was sooo tired last night-my post about the rocks/pebbles. When you'd been describing it earlier, I'd been trying to visualize what you were doing with the small pebbles and I just wasn't quite understanding what you were doing. Now I get it! :) That's a lot of work. I like the textural contrast. Did I miss where you said you got all the white pebbles? Were they already on your property, or did you bring those in?

No, the pebbles are actually white marble and had to be bought in - its quite interesting though, the pebbles are all the discard from quarrying larger pieces - they then tumble the discard to make pebbles - so literally recycling! All the stones we used in the walls are what was dug out when we cut the area back (as well as reclaiming what was in the previous wall). Previously, the wall was under 4' high - and ran approx (I don't think I can convert this) 6 yds in length - now it is over 5' high and approx 15/18 yards in length. So the amount of sandstone we needed was almost double.

Glad you like it - I am absolutely chuffed! Now there is a good northern phrase!

Chuffed in a good way, I trust. The stairs are outstanding. So practical, more uniform, but very, very creative and organic. I love them.

So, wait, you're in London for the week, but the stairs are in the country. Did you take this picture last weekend to unveil today? Not that it matters - just trying to figure out how that works.

A couple of inches of snow here last night. I tried to go into work at about 10:00 this morning, but got scared off while driving throught the neighborhood. Even with the sun shining, there was a thick sheet of ice on the road and several people couldn't make it up the little hill we needed to travers. On the way back home, I put the car in 1st and lightly tapped the wheels, but slid down a hill, just the same. I was happy to make it back. Lots of accidents all over the city this morning because of the ice. The trees are all clear, but we still have an inch on the ground. I'm hoping that there will be only small ice patches on the road tomorrow. Still missing my Subaru.

Thank goodness I didn't have to work today, Soooo sorry Katie you where out in it,
I looked out this morning and the trees looked like it had snow on them and so did the cars. And I do Love my Subaru She may be ugly but she is a good car.

Crazy that you didn't have snow - seems like you always get hit. We had a lot more than I thought we would, that's for sure.

I loved my Subaru - intended to have it forever. But it blew a head gasket and would have needed an engine rebuild. The dealer just told me I needed to buy another - really soured me on Subaru. Bummer. My little truck does great for hauling stuff, but is way too light in the rear end for inclement weather.

This is my 3rd Sub, and this one is 4 WD never had that before still don't know how to really use it, Had to put in 4w a few nights ago when it was snowing on my side but not on the Lynnwood side. LOL now you get it and I don't, Mother Nature can be fickled at times.

4" here and we lost power. That's when I called the day as being done & moseyed off to bed. Happy Pups - they snuggled in with me on the bed & drifted off to sleep. Geez, they sure can consume space, though!
Went in late today - no problems because I was not in a hurry. Stayed late - mistake, but left just in time. The roads were freezing up the nearer i got to my home. Another late day tomorrow - sooooo glad this is ok to do where I work. Makes me want to go in & work even harder - I appreciate that they value my safety.
Hope you're all warm & cozy - it's a cold night tonight!

Interesting that you have 4WD - but good, of course.

My Outback had AWD. It was basically full-time 4WD with sensors that could tell where you were getting traction and then transfered power to the wheels that had traction. I was happy to have the car decide that for me. LOL

Kate - 4 inches. That's a whopper. I wouldn't have wanted to be coming down your hill. As a matter of fact, based on the roads here, it wouldn't have been melted enough to traverse. There was thick ice here.

Miracle of miracles, though the lights flickered last night, we never lost power. Apparently my dogs only need one incident to be conditioned to response. I was using an electric doorbell for awhile. It required a receiver that was plugged into an indoor outlet. When the power would go out and then come back on, the doorbell would ring. I'm sure this only happened once, twice at most. But, to this day, when the lights flicker, the dogs run to the front door, barking. Goofballs. If only they would learn other things as quickly. Guess those other things just aren't as interesting.

Hope your power wasn't off for too long. I do like the heaters in bed, but man are they hogs. I'm with you on that one. And I don't have an 80 lb Ridgeback!!

Whats it like over there now, got to head that way in AM? Got to go to Work Work.

Cold, but no precipitation today at all. I hear it's going to be sunny tomorrow, so icey in the early morning, but probably okay once that stuff has melted. I think you're okay.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/home/tenday/98036?from=36hr_topnav_home

K - it was late when it went out, so no big loss.
That snow was just plain weird. It was like driving into a curtain, and it came down so hard & fast. Poor son had to leave his car down in Issaquah, but a friend picked him up & got him home just before they closed the roads. Guess there was going to be some plowing, but I never saw any evidence of it.
It doesn't normally snow like that here - the tire tracks of the car in front of me would be covered before i drove over them. Strange. This storm shifted so the plateau got slammed. Renton was dry - my co-worker was overjoyed for that!

Tils - it's going to be icy the further east you travel. However, the roads will dry out with the volume of traffic. It was icing up again earlier tonight, but it really depends on the location. I think you'll be fine - just take it easy.

Huh. That's so interesting. They kept talking about the convergent zone at the King/Snohomish County line, but you're further south than I am and it sounds like, while we had the same "blizzard" at the same time, we didn't end up with as much snow as you did.

I just took the garbage up to the top of the road (don't know if the garbage guys will come), but there has been significant melt on the road, so I'm hoping that tomorrow's ice won't be as thick as today's. It's always something.

I think that it will be much better in Lynnwood than it is for us up in the hills. Mary just has to get up from the ferry and then she's good. The pictures on the news tonight don't look half bad.

Safe travels, everyone!!

No proplems
LIttle ice, NO snow
But is COLD

The roads were dry at my place yesterday, but still lots of snow. And it hadn't yet melted as of this morning.

I hear that we might have more snow this weekend. Arghh!!

Yes it is cold.

I hope no snow this weekend (though the kids would love it) as I am going to visit my mom in Lacey, and plan on test driving some used cars while there.....sadly I am still looking. I guess I would find out how well they do in snow, though that isn't my main concern since it really doesn't snow often where I am and if it's too icy for me to feel comfortable driving I catch a ride in to work on the high school bus an hour earlier than I have to be at work. Stay safe everybody.

Laurie! Fabulous stairs! I really love the white stones between the red bricks and the lighter tone of the stones in the wall. I agree it is much more colorful and fun than the dark stone steps that were there. I can't wait to see the whole patio. It will be a beautiful and relaxing place to spend an afternoon looking at your peaceful view of the landscape.

Thank you Mauryhill - it is so close to done, but the weather is just stopping everything - so frustrating - I'm going to have to bargain with the faeries to have a word with the weather scouts to give me a week of dry to get this finished! sheesh.

Better start talking to those faeries Laurie!

I talk and talk, and do they listen?......

NO only when they want to!

Only when it suits them.

Just came in from gardening - and it has been a very satisfying weekend - wet, rainy (sharp and cold!) a mudbath underfoot - but it's also been very productive, and I was back in green work. How nice. I think I can face a week's work - (and I bought an old Joni Mitchell CD for the drive home - DH has gone off to Madrid for work, and I get the car and the stereo to myself!)

Belt out those tunes girl! Glad to hear that you got to play in the dirt.

Boy did I sing along last night! A bit heady by time I got home!

How long is your drive back to London? Did you get through the entire CD?