New Garden Projects This Year #3

WOWSER! That is delightful Eleanor!

Thanks again everyone! It still needs a lot of work on the part that you don't see. There is a tow path on the other side of the canal and I've had lots of comments from people walking or biking on the path. One lady said she hoped i was going to put a chair down there for relaxing and that is my plan. Eleanor

I live near the canal beyond Albany.
I love to walk along the tow path and look at peoples gardens .
Keep up the good work, many will enjoy.

Thanks JoAnn! I'm one of the lucky ones where we have room to do some gardening by the canal. Most of the homes along the canal on my street have a cliff instead of a slope. I still have some planting to do on the steepest part of the slope to help hold the soil in place. Eleanor

Its a quaint walking path past many small mid 1800's houses and a few mor modern ones built in 1900's
They all have a deck cantelevered over the canal and put potted plants there if they dont have a garden at the eir backyard slopes on the other side of the path.
Its full of bikes and dogs and hard to navigate for me but in my walking days it was a lovely place to walk.
Its become pretty commercial in one area with bike shops and galleries and resturantes.The type of shop is regulated so all the buildings look as they did when the lock32 was built.New construction has to meet guidelines. I like the way it looks.
We still have old Inns that hosted travelers in 1800's.The canal made a huge fortune for many in the area .

It sounds very picturesque ge1836.

That sounds like a nice place to walk, Jo Ann. I would love to see it someday.

Karen

I love your fairy garden it is just enchanting

http://www.fingerlakes.org/nature/nature_canal.htm
Sorry I couldnt find any pix of the homes along the canal but if you google Erie Canal, Schoen Place,Northfield Common ,you'll find a lot about the area

Thanks Mona. That sounds like a nice place to walk JoAnn! The canal at the back of my yard is a feeder canal for the Hudson River. I took some close-up pics of the fairy garden last evening. Eleanor

next pic

here's another pic

here's the next pic

This message was edited May 20, 2009 7:20 AM

another pic

so far the plantings are - dwarf alberta spruce, boxwood (trying to prune like a tree), irish moss, coral bells, hosta, creeping phlox, sedums, astilbe, moonbeam coreopsis, blue star juniper, pansies and I still need to add some thyme. eleanor

Absolutely magical, Eleanor!!! You have a wonderful collection of fairies and miniatures...they work so well together. My very favorite is the teacup on the inverted mini flower pot table. You have such a good eye for designing the space. Love it!! Lucky Colin. I'd be drawn to it daily!!

Wonderful, Eleanor!!!! How simply adorable and sweet!

When I was a child I had a miniature town in the back yard. I made houses out of scrap wood with windows that had real glass that I cut myself. I made most of the furnishings myself. I had little plastic animals, and they were the inhabitants of my town. They all had names. I had roads that I kept swept with a piece of carpet remnant. Eventually my brother installed street lights all along the roads. I had one road called Big Foot Road, as it was shaped like a big foot, and it was the main road through the town. I planted all sorts of trees that I got from the woods in the area, and I kept them trimmed small like bonsai. I had eastern white pine, birch, Canadian hemlock, wild honeysuckle, spirea, choke cherry, etc. That was where I got my gardening start. I would be out there for hours "playing" in my town, keeping all the plants in tip-top shape, keeping everything clean. My brother made concrete foundations and an airport with a runway. I made mini rock walls with small rocks that I cemented together. I had a blast!!!!

Now there is a sunken patio with a moon garden surrounding it where the town used to be. It was called the Town of Chestnut. They even had a fair every year called the Chestafest. LOL!

I sometimes think of making something like that again. I keep telling myself "one of these days...." Oh, I will do it someday, just wait and see!!!!

Karen

Grammyphoeb, That is just wonderful and charming! You should really be proud of it.

What a creative kid you were Karen. Neat!

Thanks, Jen. Yes, I was very creative. Still am, I guess, but in other ways.

Karen

I love the little one you put in the container!

Thanks everyone. Karen - that must have been so much fun. Hope you find the time to do it again someday. Here's the rest of the area that still needs to be finished.








Eleanor

It levels out at the bottom of the slope and Jenn hopes to be able to put her kayak in the canal. We're not allowed to put structures in the canal so there will be no dock but hopefully some well placed rocks will help with getting into the water. Eleanor

pretty neat

nice jobs everyone.

Karen - I love your stone path into the bed - are you going to put a bench at the end of it so you can sit and enjoy?

Beautiful spot, Eleanor.

Karen - I really enjoyed reading about your mini-town and Chestafest! That is so cool! I hope you'll rebuild it soon. It sounds so creative and fun!! Imagination impresses me so much!!

wow just amazing the girls just love it and want one now lol

Well, get busy, Mona!! LOL

Karen, I'm also thinking how wonderful that you had such a helpful brother!

lol it will have to wait till the vegi garden is planted lol tomato before fairies hahahahahha
will look into something for them when school is out for the summer but I will only do it if they want to help no help no garden lol

That sounds reasonable! I can't imagine they wouldn't LOVE helping!!! I'm even tempted!! LOL

the youngest will love it she in the garden with me every chance she gets but the other one lol she is a computer patato lol

and here is the finished patio - i'll grab a shot from down below later to show it with the lattice screen to cover the foundation and ac units.

and a special thanks to patti (bbrook) who stopped by last week. you will notice i swapped the bench and table as you suggested and it does work much better - may not use those bricks for bench spot in the yard now:) what am i saying of course i will just need another bench:)

Oh, that is really lovely, Bill!! It is so inviting! What great work you do!! Very impressive!!

thx louise

wow really nice patio I need one of those do you hire out
I have the perfect spot for one but no time this year

actually I am very impressed that is a great job you are talented

Wha, I loved seeing all your amazing work. I think it is very funny that you have so many sitting spots, as I am sure you never stop working long enough to sit in any of them, except, maybe the one by the fire pit with a brew in hand, but only after dark when you no longer can see to be heaving rocks. I would need another dozen tours to take it all in and, by then, you no doubt would have added another mile of walls. My head is still spinning. What a treat! Patti

In my dreams my place will ever get to that point we have been at it since september 07 and we have only made a small dent in the work that needs to be done on this property

thx patti - i actually sit in front of the fire pit for maybe 20 minutes and take a walk about to check out hte yard - in the day light and then go back and sit :)

Talk about recycling! Hubby Used trees and logs from our back yard to make an arbor I always wished I had.