Planning Party at Outta's

Okay everyone. We've inked 17 May for the planning party so I'm starting a new thread. I have been working on the lot layout map and have attached it here. I will have hard copies for everyone when we go to Heidi's on the 27th. I will also make blowups of the 3 areas for which I would like your very valuable input. This overview, however, should give you a rough idea of what we're dealing with. I will also post a few pix here which will correlate with the areas. So...here we go!

(Edited to add): Oops...forgot to add the lot size on the layout. Approximately 200' x 228'

This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 6:15 PM

Nice drawing Sheri, I'm so looking forward to your party!

Sheri, You already know I can't make it on the 17th So what day will you be home, Time frame 4/28 to 5/5 ( Heidis 4/27) and on 4/30 I am going to willows to help her post pics. and I have no other plans except gardening. I would like to see the lay of the land, At least I will be able to better follow along, and maybe have some ideas for all to ponder.
^_^

Tills ~ I'll be home Friday 05/03 and Sunday 05/05 that week.

What kind of calendar do you have?
5/3 is Sat. 5/5 is Mon.

Oops...my bad. I meant 5/2 and 5/4. Though not sure on the 5/3 & 5/4 weekend. We have SAR training that weekend and the member who is hosting normally holds training on Saturdays due to his schedule. He may change to Sunday, though so won't know for sure until a few days before. Fridays are the best for me.

LOL I thought, you had something on me,
Friday works for me , Say around noon.

That's good for me. I'll d-mail you directions.

Okay

this looks very exciting Outta, sent you a d-mail.

Hey Laurie ~ Got it, and replied in the affirmative! ^_^

Okay...here are some pix to correspond with the "map." Note that the property slope downward to the northwest. We are on a rise and the north end of the property drops off to the flatland below. The house, as you can see, is set on the extreme south east corner. This was done for the sake of the water view.

So, here's the southwest corner, coming down the drive. At the bottom between the pile of scrap wood and the charred remains, there will be a raised bed circle, maybe 10' or so in diameter, which will hold the Cornus kousa 'wolf eyes' as the main focus. Just to the right of this is one (the main) entrance to the QAW. There is a small drainage which runs from the south under the drive and "empties" on the east edge of the path. Not a significant source of water and definitely no bog potential...there's one of those on the southeast corner. DH is going to line the path with cut log and it will be barked. I have planted 30 aquilegia to line it on either side.

This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 7:48 AM

Turning east, looking toward the house (obviously). This is looking at the circular area above "Area 2." This slope faces east and south and gets a full sun save the shading from the thuja, which only impacts the flat at the top, not the slope. DH has plagiarized an idea from Heidi and has started the wine bottle border at the bottom of this area.

Okay...shot from the same general area but across the drive from extreme southwest corner looking east along the property line. Daylily bed under the alder, then a Fuji apple and 2 Ranier cherries. Probably will also have a Frost peach soon. This slope for my is very problematic because of the angle and the number and health of the weeds. There is a french drain at the bottom of this slope and I've started a cardboard garden (grows fairly well here). The uphill neighbor has about 40 Rose of Sharon planted (you can see the little pieces of flagging tape pinned to them). To the right of the blue tarp, at the base of the hill, there are 4 or 5 tree peonies which are struggling but seem to be doing okay. Started with 10 last year and didn't do any soil prep or anything, just stuck them in the ground. Fortunately they were not expensive ~ got them from Directgardening.com, so if they don't make it it's okay.

Okay...let's take a walk behind the house to the boggy corner. We are walking due east, on the cardboard between the chain link fence and the weedy slope to the east corner, where the "bog" lies. There are several small natural springs which come out of the weedy slope, hence the reason for the french drain. The drain empties on the east side here. This area is nearly always wet, even during the summer though does dry out a bit. In the bottom center you can see where the drain empties. The property line follows the curvature of the land here. This is the place we call the "swamp."

Now standing just below the swamp, looking north along the east property line. You can see the path the drainage follows. The drainage is on our property, the line is just to the right of it, where all the reedy grassy c**p is. Hall's honeysuckle from last year is on the fence (there are 2, one at the distal end of the fence in the last pic.

Now we're going to walk this property line to the north. Standing at the midpoint of the property, just before it slopes significant, looking back to the south. Same line, opposite view. The drainage at this point kind of peters out.

Now we've made it to the northeast corner. I am standing in "Area 4," which has been bladed by the uphill neighbor and where I plan to put the straw bale veggies. This is the highest of the low spots on the property. The photo is two that were stitched together...I hope the whole thing shows up here. This is looking southwest and up toward "Area 1."

Okay. Walking back along the same line, to the northeast corner of the chain link fence, looking mostly west and a little north over "Area 1." This is a full sun area year round (relatively speaking, of course.) This is the area that I envision wandering pathways in amongst different beds. This is the area that for me presents the greatest challenge. It is approximately 80' E-W and 110' N-S. It's a bit deceptive in the photo because there is a steep slope downward which runs along the middle of the photo from end to end.

Now we've walked along the north property line toward the QAW. I am standing about center on the north line, looking southeast back toward the house. This will give you a better idea of the slope.

Gotta run off to trailing dog training. That's all for now. Will post more tonight after training.

WOO HOO! We're back. Chile passed his final test and is now a Washington State certified search dog! Yea!!!!! Anyway, I think that's for another thread. So let's get back to the tour.

One last view of the full sun "Area 1." This is standing on the front porch looking due north.

Let's wander over now to the other entrance to the QAW. This is standing up on the rise just before it drops off. If you triangulate Areas 1,2, & 3, I am standing in the center of the triangle looking west into the wood, Area 2.

The Guardians of the Wood...

In the wood, near the north border, looking south over Area 2, which DH has dubbed "the Grotto." This will be a gathering place. Most of the landscaping will be surrounding this 50ish x 80ish circle and the circle itself will house a fire pit, table and chairs, etc. (At least that's the current plan). The area in the left of the photo bordered by the two Alders with the fallen thuja is Area 3, where I want the faerie garden. The small log pile on the left is at the bottom of the path leading down from the driveway.

This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 6:16 PM

Now we're near the western border of the wood looking east over Area 2. In the green patch on the left I would like to put a bench facing north. There is a great view of the duck pond on the property just below us.

The pond from the place I want to put the bench.

A closer view of Area 3, from the north edge. The "clearing" is about 15 x 15 or so. Hopefully this is the future faerie garden. Hellebores are only in this location temporarily. The other plants, skimmia, solomon's seal, hardy fuschia are still potted. Pretty shady in here except for morning sun from the left side of the pic.

Should have put this one nearer the top. This is from the north edge of the drive, looking north down the aquilegia -lined path into the QAW.

And finally, walking just a bit further down the path toward the "grotto."

That's about it.

Hey Sheri -

Having so much fun looking at all the pictures and hearing what you've already done.

I'm thinking the alder you refer to in #4835471is actually a native beaked hazelnut. They have similar, ridged, leaves, but the hazelnut has catkins hanging down this time of year. This will sucker readily, so be prepared to keep cutting those back - go ahead and be brutal. You won't get hazelnuts unless you have a little bit different variety of hazelnut for cross-pollination.

http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/shrubs/coryluscorn.html

Great pix and explanations- Congratulations to Chile!

You've definitely made a lot of progress and have some great ideas started... no surprise to see that, though! :)

So, we should all show up with empty wine bottles for the host, instead of full ones...or would both kinds be preferred?

Now for the hard, thinking part...:)

(I'll have to look again, but the beaked Hazelnut is the exception-it produces both male and female branches on the same tree-she may well get Hazelnuts-I get them on mine, but the squirrels get to them quickly.... I like the form of mine, actually, although I do prune it back every year. )

This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 6:38 PM

You may show up with whatever you wish ~ empty, full, half-full, half-fast, doesn't matter. There will be plenty of food and beverage supplied. The important thing is that you show up with your imaginations intact and your minds open (I can't draw it out and type it all wispy like I would like it to sound, but that's kinda the feeling I'm striving for here). I will have the overall map and hopefully the area maps available next Sunday at Heidi's.

Beaked hazelnut? Funny...the builder told us it was alder and I just never questioned him. Here are a few pix of the catkins (huh?) I assume? The first time I saw one in the daylily bed I thought it was a big ugly wormy thing!

Some of the leaves ~

And one more. It's a nice tree in the summer and I kind of like where it is. It delineates the property line as it sit right on it.

Well, I may be wrong - alder trees have catkins, too (I think they leaf out before the hazelnut does. So if there are leaves AND catkins right now, it might be alder.

Here are the alder leaves and catkins:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.reggie.net/photos/england/cambridgeshire/cambridge/trinity_college/fellows_gardens/6626250_alder_catkins_fellows_gardens_trinity_college_cambridge-600.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.reggie.net/photography_blog/category/trees-and-bushes/catkins/&h=600&w=451&sz=76&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=WRDRjcDUobLo-M:&tbnh=135&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dalder%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

Here are the hazlenut catkins:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com/images/Catkinsandflowers3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com/information.asp&h=400&w=300&sz=35&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=AJyuW9XIAVd7WM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhazelnut%2Bcatkins%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

So you want it wispy -

Natural and organic, but well-tended? With a touch of magical and "what's around that cornerness?" Is that it?

Sheri - I hope wispy is not on the menu.
But then, Euell Gibbons ain't my cuppa tea, either...
Congrats to Chile. I would be the proverbial ADHD dog.

Sheri
You have an alder, the builder was correct. Katie is right, they both have catkins but the alder does leaf out before the hazels. Do you remember all of the multi-trunked trees that I have in the "island" where we moved all of the dirt? Those are hazels. Here is a picture of one up close.

Great picture tour,Outta. i really have a sense of your place now, even though I've never set foot there. I love your little woodland area. You definitely have spaces on your property with different feels to them that can host lots of mini ecosystems. I love it.

Kathy, as usual, you verbalized the goal perfectly, and so poetically!

I think that tree is Alder, based on leaf shape. I think the hazelnut has a rounder leaf, and more softish, almost fuzzy looking (but I could be wrong). Edited to say, "Whoops I took so long posting this question was answered already several times."

Outta, I have a few questions to be thinking about plants. What kind of soil do you have? clay? sand? loam? I know it is somewhat acidic because here we are in the Northwest. How big is your veggie garden planned to be (dimensions)and do you plan to also have berry bushes like blueberries and raspberries as part of your edibles? If so, I have varieties to recommend. Also, how is the deer population? Do they traipse through your yard on a regular basis with large families in tow?

This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 9:27 PM