The Estate of Things

Just a friendly reminder that I want to own one of these. It’s been a little while since we talked about it. And I only bring it back up now because I’m keeping the dream alive. This puppy could cost you up to $3,000 from Design Within Reach. I am DIABOLICALLY opposed to that sum of money. But the other night I was cruising down Lincoln through Venice at warp speeds when I passed a storefront that had one of every imaginable color out on the sidewalk. I have to get back over there on a Saturday to see what the asking price is there.

I think I am in love with this…

What the hell is it? Well they are Glow bowls of course. Put airplants or tea lights in them, either way it’s magic.  I just found them on Sunset magazine’s website along with a bunch of other fabulous stuff.

It’s a last minute addition Santa, sorry I know you’ll understand.

My source for holiday outdoor eye candy is Deborah Silver’s blog Dirt Simple and her holiday portfolio.  I’ve mentioned Deborah before along with her beautiful corgis here. This is just a small sampling of some of Deborah’s beautiful creations. Deborah, I am in awe.

Eucalyptus & Noble Fir

There is still time to get a little magic going on your front stoop.

I like dags. Brad Pitt likes dags.

This is my boy Lex enjoying the NC mountain life.

This is Betsy’s patchouli-laced Newfoundland Pollock, his friends call him Pocket.

I discovered Deborah’s beautiful corgis Howard and Milo on her blog Dirt Simple. I’m not sure what part of Dirt Simple is my favorite, her Sunday musings, the images of her work, her landscape design advice or explanations about the design process. Can you tell I’m hooked!?!  Deborah is a veteran landscape designer, offering a wealth of great images of some of the projects she has worked on.  I only wish I lived closer to Detroit so I could go to Deborah’s retail spot Detroit Garden Works.  You can also visit Deborah at her website to view her beautiful portfolio and if you’re so lucky, to hire her to transform your outdoor space. I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time you’ll hear me talk about Deborah.

P.S. My Mom and I started researching long-haired corgis, do I really need more pet hair to vacuum?

Detroit Garden Works, Summer 2009

There is a lot of shelter and garden eye candy out there, this much we know. But if you ask me, Fine Gardening has got the lock on gardening for all levels be it gumshoe or advanced.  Their tips are concise and actually helpful, probably because they are written by real gardeners living in the regions they write about planting in. The writer that is advising us on the top ten shade plants for the Southeast actually lives in the Southeast.

I was recently drawn to this article in Fine Gardening about front yards and first impressions and specifically to the brief section on designing for Arts & Crafts style homes.  The edging caught my eye because its simple, tumbled bluestone and the beds aren’t raised or mounded.

Why this particular article, well because Dan and I realized that after we spent a significant pile of cash on the stone planting wall in the front of the house, we felt ourselves pulling out of the driveway slowly feeling like the front left something to be desired. I guess we thought that the wall was going to give us this instant perfection and that we were going to be the stars of the neighborhood.  Truth be told, the front yard isn’t done but it’s done for this season because we are committed to working the backyard before winter and we need our fire pit ASAP.

After standing in my front yard and staring, I realized that the beds coupled with the old concrete paths band together to become linear overkill, everything is straight and squared off.  The beds don’t have any natural curve and yes there are other obvious problems as well like the plants are young, the concrete walkways are old and non-descript and the squares of grass are boring and really unneeded and I need a window box underneath the left bank of windows.  But…as I said before, backyard takes precedent.

It does make me feel better when I remind myself of what we started with, gnarly, old and abused boxwoods and weeds.

It’s perfectly natural to fall out of your chair at this point. Did your mouth drop open? Mine did.

Not that the visual impact isn’t already enough but this is apparently a garland that trims a staircase at the Vancouver home of Thomas Hobbs & Brent Beattie. They used a chicken wire frame to craft this smorgasbord of succulents. I could eat it.

This cluster includes echeverias, sempervivums, sedums and others.  And it doesn’t winter over there, they put it in the greenhouse. 

Image via Martha Stewart Living

I think Inula Magnifica would be a great addition to my new garden, that hasn’t been created yet. It’s one of  Digging Dog Nursery’s 10 favorites. You can order yours for $6.00 each at Digging Dog.

Inula Magnifica grows to be 7-8′ tall and 4-5′ wide. That is a lot of giant, yellow daisy awesomeness. Hardy to Zone 5.

Stacked stone planting wall…that’s our plan for the weekend. So its more like working on the weekend.

Most of the images above use medium stones, we chose thin Tennessee Veneer fieldstone to compliment the river rock that was applied to the columns. 

We bought about 3400 lbs. that will cover roughly 100+ square feet. No I did not take measurements of the beds, I just bought a pallet and then will go back for more if needed.  I don’t anticipate the wall being completed this weekend so going back for more later is ok.

We’ll be sharing the progress report on the backyard at Bungalow 404 as soon as there is some progress. We are meeting with landscaper #1 today. We meet with Landscaper #2 on Monday.

This is where we are now, brace yourselves– this photo is super exciting.

Now thats inspiring.

I’m gonna take the nod from Monrovia and attempt to design and sketch my own garden.

They have some step by step instructions on how to do it. I’m sure there’s some fancy, free program download for garden layouts but I’d rather just attempt it with old fashioned colored pencils and graph paper.

We have a blank slate in the backyard at Bungalow 404, I’m embarrassed but here it is,

It’s dissapointing to look out the dining room windows and have that view.

So first we’ll make the plan then the budget and finally…the magic.  I plan on sketching on Sunday, that is my goal and I want to emphasize the word goal.

Those bushes are growing out of an old cement foundation that will need to be removed and the whole yard will have to be leveled before the real fun can begin.  You cannot tell from the image but the yard has a lot of dips and a significant slope near the back toward the woods.

We will have the yard leveled and cleaned up before we have the design plan.  We gave our heavy equipment guy a call and he plans to meet with us on Monday to assess the job and give us an estimate.  And then once he begins the view will be even more depressing.

I’m thinking about something like this…

The circular patio and wood burning fire pit are a definite.

I recently went to a wedding at this property, I like the line of small trees that separate the different zones of the garden. This property is for sale, here. 

I’d like to frame a path with lavendar, kind of like this

I love how the red rises from the lower growing grass.  It’s a great contrast, possibly planted around the circular patio?

I like the concrete stones that were used in this path.

I like this Craig Socia design, thinking a layer of evergreens possible some good old Leyland Cypress along the fence line and then a layer of shrubbery and then a third layer with perennials

My Dad is absolutely obsessed with moss right now, he actually gathers it from obscure areas in the yard and relocates it to a more conspicuous place.  I’m not sure if that is weird, I think it might be or it could just be a love for gardening.  My Mom also loves Irish moss which she currently has planted in a glazed blue pot.

This DIY project was featured in Sunset magazine and it is totally do-able.  And if you have been walking by various moss varieties at your local nursery/garden center and thinking, I love that bright green color and the fuzziness of that stuff but what can I do with it–well here’s one idea.

HOW TO MAKE ONE

1. Using terra-cotta bowls with drainage holes ― we chose 6- and 12-inch shallow ones ― as guides for circles and a metal ruler to trace stripes, cut mud flats of groundcover such as deep green Irish moss and/or golden green Scotch moss with a paring knife.

2. Fill bowls with potting soil and plant groundcover.

3. To add a circle or spiral of polished stones, arrange them on the groundcover and cut guidelines around them.

4. Remove the stones, cut out a channel between the guidelines, then replace the stones. Keep dish garden out of full sun and water once a week. Diluted plant food will help keep it green.