This Year's Project - Stone Patio, Screen Porch & New Beds!

Looks beyond wonderful. I can't see anything that isn't so thought out to near perfection then executed. Yes, be proud. Another bit of garden Joy.

Grass. A few years ago in mid June I reseeded an ugly patch of land that had been a dumping ground for years then left as a big weed patch. It was full of stinging nettle, raspberry, and broken bottles, but we cleared it and put down some seed and a lot of straw. I watered daily when I was there and my dear neighbor did it when I wasn't. It needed mowing in Aug. It wasn't lawn, but nice green grass. I would give it a shot. Here is the site. We wanted to clean it up so we could enjoy the great old wall on the property. It is actually the back wall of the blacksmith shop that was on the property from the 1850's until 1930's. Patti

Such a peaceful beautiful looking place! And to think you reclaimed it from a dumping ground for trash, that makes it EXTRA special!!

that's neat Patti.... at one of the barns I boarded my horse at ... there was a big chunk of wood we used to go trail riding on... and there were two old stone homes... well what was left of them anyway... i always thought they were interesting too bad it was in the middle of the woods where not too many people see them

Great job, everyone needs a place for "calm and coffee."

bbrookrd- what a beautiful spot. You did a wonderful job. Love the old stone wall.

OK you gals. I'm inviting you to come and 'work' at my place! What great visions you have. And what great stamina you have to follow through on your visions. Maybe if you visit, your enthusiasm will rub off on me!

You have such beautiful places created by beautiful people.

Thanks to all for the compliments. I'm curled up with a blanket, coffee and my laptop in the screen porch as I write this. There is a gentle rain falling and life feels good ;o) This is the first chance I've had to really enjoy the results and it makes all the pain and frustration of building it so worth it! DH got the pump for the waterfall running last night - I'll post a picture later.

Christina

This message was edited Jun 15, 2008 8:34 AM

Christina, Enjoy your vision, almost complete. Has kitty grown to love the new screen porch? Can't wait to see your new waterfall in motion. We had a nice rain earlier. Patti

Kitty LOVES the screen porch as I suspected she might. The only problem is she will climb the screen if she sees something interesting. . . bad kitty!! So we don't leave it open when we're gone for long periods of time.

Going to Stratham Circle Nursury this afternoon to look for a JM. Last year they had a nice selection and good prices. Maplewoods never got back to me so I'm taking a drive...

I don't know that nursery. I still have not gotten to Mason Hollow either. I am going off to look for a new tree for the entrance down to the stream now that our huge eyesore is gone, the old dearly beloved boat. Which is too sentimental to get rid of and we are not rich enough to launch it. I want something with spring magic, good summer habit and winter architectural form and not big and it must be able to blend in with the natural setting around it. Not much needed! Oh and not break the bank! Maybe a shad or a stand of variegated red twig dog woods or both. Enjoy your search. Patti

Patti - Your list is LONG ! Too long as I would be in jail for bouncing checks.

This is the new part of my family. Real pretty neat looking - huh?

Now THOSE are the kind of ROCKS a girl REALLY needs.LOL

Great color and texture on those stones, Sherrie!

schickenlady, Those stones would cost more than my plant list here in Nantucket. Great pile. Is it a future water feature? Patti

I suggest to put a liner in it but DH don't want to. He wanted to put that rock in that looks like the state of NH! I said no, so the giant bird bath is going in. We paid 75 bucks for the rocks this morning trucked in. 75 a ton for these colors and 100 a ton for red ones. DH threw this together real quick. He is not satisified with it yet. We need more flat ones and weggies.

DH looks tired. That stone near his right foot looks HUGE!

I'm back from my shopping trip. Only got 2 things as this nursery is more notable for its trees than perennials. I got a JM of course - Acer palmatum var. dissectum 'Tamukeyama'. Also got a dwarf oriental spruce - Picea orientalis 'Nana'.

Here's the JM with the waterfall running.

Raindrops on this silver mound looks like a bunch of diamonds. . .

Gorgeous! Both shots.
The waterfall looks nice and strong. I love it! Everything around it looks so healthy, too.

I love this little blue spruce

And the oriental spruce...kind of a funky little tree. Haven't decided where to put it yet but I'm pretty limited as it will need good sun.

Thanks nanegoat.
Schickenlady, your rock bed looks great!

What a beautiful spot.It should attract birds.

Nice, songs. I have a Tamuk above my falls.

I brought my laptop with me to the garden center and looked it up in plant files before purchasing it - noticed you had a picture posted there, Victor. How much sun does yours get - and what times?

It gets sun most of the day.

SongsofJoy - your yard is just stunning and simply picture perfection!!! Oh you must be so happy with everything you guys have done - very pretty!

What a perfectly beautiful space you have created, Christina. How cool to think to bring your laptop to the garden center with you! I never would have thunk it. I would have gone to the garden center, taken notes, come home and looked it all up on DG, and then gone back to the garden center. How wasteful of me!!

Great job Christina!! Are you for hire?? LOL

Songs-Love your pond & waterfall! That is a beautiful Japanese Maple. Everything is just beautiful!

I agree! Fantastic work Christina!!

Wow, everything just looks fabulous!

This gal could haul in a load of dandelion, place it and it would look right! :))

I think everything came out lovely! I even bookmarked your pond for ideas for myself down the road.

Anita,
What a great compliment you have just given Christina!

Thanks everyone!

Doc - that's kind of you to say, but I did have that dandelion field going earlier this spring (from neglect of that part of my yard) - and it didn't look so pretty :o)

Anita, the pond was really pretty easy to build and a simple setup (just a skimmer, pump and UV light). I plan to use it for plants and whatever frogs find their way, but no fish because of the minimal filtration so hopefully it stays looking nice with the equipment I've got. It's shallow - only about 18 inches and probably only 150-200 gallons or so. My thought was if it is small enough I might be able to keep it running in the winter with a small pond heater. The waterfall is a single boulder that DH drilled a 2 1/2 inch hole through to run the tubing. He rented the coring drill and bit from Home Depot and it took maybe a half hour to drill through.

Candyce - this was the first time I thought to bring my laptop with me. I think I'll have to do so more often because it was cool to be able to look up the plants I was considering. Thanks to the verizon card that my work supplies, I have internet anywhere there is a cell phone signal.

A friend gave me a coupon to a garden center last week. It was one I'd never been to before and I'm not one to leave any garden center unvisited, so off I went. As I strolled through, my eye was drawn to their Japanese Maple selection. They definitely had more varieties than any other place I'd been, but beyond that, I found the most gorgeous JM I've ever seen (except perhaps in pictures). It is a large Crimson Queen with great structure and form. I was undone. I had to have it. So, here she is (though pictures don't really do her justice)...

Wow - that's a beauty! Wonderful 'tiered' form. A real winner. Congrats!

Thanks - I think it's a winner for sure. And, although not cheap, it was not as expensive as some others I've seen that are not nearly so cool. The Tamukeyama originally purchased for this spot will now go in the bed by the driveway that I haven't even begun to work on yet.

I'll try to take a better picture when the lighting is better.

That's gorgeous!
And that spot was just 'made' for it! It looks right at home.

Try for a shot when the late day sun hits it, if it does. Should be dynamite. The trunk is thick so it must be quite a few years old already. Appears to have been pruned.