Help tackling the front yard...raised gazebo
cadillactaste
10 years ago
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cadillactaste
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Idyll # 348 - 'We're Lost in a Masquerade'
Comments (101)What nice condolences from the Idylls on the demise of my late gazebo! It is however in a better place aka the county landfill . Though it was not visible from the pic the thing had serious rot issues and was listing drunkenly to the north. The whole thing collapsed with very little effort from the demolition squad (one guy with a crowbar) . It took about 10 minutes . Now I see that the removal of this object has completely changed the dynamic of the plantings around the perimeter. I have serious work to do to make sense of it. The shade it cast is also gone of course , so there are a couple of plants that may be unhappy-notably my 15 year old Daphne odorata and my variegated lacecap Hydrangea. Im going to spend this weekend trying to re-arrange and replant. There goes another couple hundred bucks ! Oh well. Good thing for my employee discount. By the way, I apologize for the duplicate post. I must have right-clicked one too many times ! I have to admit to going to work with a cold. However, I do try to quarantine myself in my office with my box of kleenex and stay away from the copy machine etc that is shared by all. I would also like to point out in an unrelated observation that it is 5pm and still light out. Yeee-hah ! Hey Drema, one of the names on my DD;s short list for Mister Baby is Charlie. Cindy, Ive started to purge my office too---I have stuff in there going back to ancient times. I want to leave my successor with a clean slate. Poor Chloe just when she gets rid of the guest-dog from hell ! Deanne, see above for the answer to whether I am taking the gazebo with me ! I did however keep the ball top that was at the peak. That is my gazebo memento to be put in a place of honor in the next garden. How very nice that you and Doug were able to help out the young folk across the street. Symbiosis in action ! Sobug , I vote for Sophie for the girland is Milo after Milo Minderbinder ??? See above for explanation of the gazebo removal. What is really odd is how the removal of this huge object makes my back yard look smaller to me. Maybe it served to obscure the boundaries a bit. Michelle, do we have pic of your cemetery gate ? I think old gates are just F-F. Chelone, where would you put a chandelier in the Salon with the boatload of lighting you have in there already ? Methinks your offer of 150 may be ok if the seller has had it for awhile-cash flow yknow. No injuries from your spill ? And its hard to imagine that what your hours are have any impact on the ability of the business to get the work done. Just think of the consequences if you were to walk away. Seems to me that you negotiate from a position of strength; you after all are a craftsman and as such have value beyond the basic worker bee. I hope your skills are appreciated. T, Boo is beautiful, and I must say you look like the mom and not the g-mom in both pics-with or without head ,lol ! Ok time to sign off Kathy in Napa...See MoreRestoration Planning
Comments (8)Jo Thank You so much for sharing thoughts and help and for your very kind words. We are truly thrilled to have managed to buy this property and are looking forward to living there greatly. From your 'My Page', it sounds as though you may have experienced/are experiencing a similar situation. :-))) I know you are 100% correct when you mention taking time to 'know' the property. My enthusiasm often dampens when I realize just how much time (and work) each 'wonderful idea' I have will take to accomplish. LOL!! I also know you are wise in remarking, effectively, 'first do no harm'. :-))) . . . identify what I have, where it is, if I want to keep it . . . and prune/clean/clip. There are plants, such as the Elephant Ears, which are presently located in less than ideal circumstances. Those types of issues need to be addressed first and foremost. And, to some extent, moving in at the beginning of April is almost too late to be relocating some plants. The 'English Country Garden' area is totally overgrown and frankly I'd like to eliminate that theme, replacing it with a small patio surrounded by plantings such as bananas, palms, fatsia and similar which would convey a tropical effect more in keeping with the house. This area is the Southwest side and, I believe, will get good sun. The fig tree is located here (and it needs a serious pruning) and the Elephant Ears would likely be happier here than its present location in direct unprotected sun. That said, there may be plants in this area which I like and could relocate to another area. I can't do that until I know what the plants are and the conditions each favors. So . . . maybe that is an area of first focusÂ?? The Koi Pond is another area I'd love to restore. It's such a pretty area (or could be), a quiet and peaceful spot to reflect. I'd like to put in a waterfall (think I said fountain on my webpage but really meant waterfall) here. The sound of the water would add to the ambience with the additional benefit of cleaner water. :-))) However, I need to learn much about Koi/Goldfish, and Ponds for that matter, so again, tidying & familiarizing are likely the 'watch words' (as they used to say in LHJ many many years ago). :-) The gazebo fits in with the 'Koi Pond' focus plus it will clean up the 'rose issue' so those issues are addressed in that area of focus. Good thots re: disassemble/reassemble! Think we could surely do that and it would be 'strengthened' in the process, were that needed. TYVM!! Yes, the containers by the front porch definitely need to be replaced. -- I see you read my 'babble'. :-))) -- and I'd like a terracotta pot or two on the balcony above with a 'riot of color' and trailers. I'm thinking I will lift some of my (overcrowded anyway) Crocosmia, place them in tubs and then plant them (when I get there in early April) in the planter under the living room window at the front. They should do well there as they'll get full sun much of the day; a 'done deal' for the next 2-3 years until they need lifting/dividing again. Although I happily do the clipping and pruning without trouble, IÂm a lot better at creation than I am at maintenance. :-))) This is a large property, more planted than not. The large long established trees in the front will be maintained by an arborist. That area is way past my present abilities. I want to add some color to the front as itÂs largely Âjust green but, again, I look to shrubs such as winterberry and bulbs such as Croscosmia and Daylily which will come up year after year, providing bright spots of color without excessive babysitting. In the back, we need to provide a Veg Garden area, find a spot for a greenhouse, clean up the orchard area . . . those are first/preliminary items. My thoughts presently run to surrounding the orchard with raspberries to provide the orchard a Âfence from the deer. They can have the outside berries and IÂll have the inside. :-))) The woodsy area (again with an eye to low maintenance) IÂm thinking to do multi varieties of Hostas & Ferns with more woodsy still along the perimeter path  Salal/Oregon Grape and like that. My annuals will largely be (at least for the present) in pots and hanging baskets. Somewhere I want to plant Gunnera & that may go where I extract the Elephant Ears as it likes sun. I really donÂt like how the rear patio just seems to be Âplunked down with no surrounding attractive features but I think weÂll just have to make do with pots of annuals this year and think on that over the following winter. You've helped me a whole bunch with your questions and I thank you so much for that. It's helped me to focus (apres tidy & prune) on a couple of areas that are most important to me. Come September/October I'll be more familiar with this garden and can then put an overall plan together working with the knowledge I've accumulated from 'a spring & summer in the garden'. If you hadnÂt asked these questions of me, my thoughts would still be running amuck! If you have further ideas, please do not hesitate to suggest. YouÂve been so very helpful to me IÂll happily hear more. :-))) ((( Jo ))) & many thanks, Ciao Holly...See More1st time homeowner needs serious advice!!
Comments (5)My dad swears by the book, "Lawn Care for Dummies." You might want to get a copy of that or some similar book. My caveat would be, and I'm not 100% sure, but it is my educated guess, that the tree in your front yard is a Norway maple. They are notorious for excluding and impeding the growth of anything in their vicinity. Their roots are so aggressive that they suck away all the nutrients and water so that anything that tries to grow under them just can't compete. Add more water and nutrients or soil under them and they will just suck away more! Plus the dense shade will limit your choice of plants for by your foundation. Edited to add that it could be a silver maple, but again, can't tell from the photo. Many of the caveats still apply for that tree as well, notoriously "rooty." Still lots of options but chose ones that can tolerate shade. Your two choices are just accept a sparse lawn (it could probably get somewhat better but with that Norway maple it will never be lush) or cut down the tree. But first show a photo of the tree's leaves and close up of the trunk and branches to confirm my suspicions. If it were me, I'd do the best I could, not try to have the perfect lawn around that tree, put edging on the beds around the perimeter like you mentioned, and add some good black dirt and replant with some nicer things in those areas. Bear in mind that shade tolerance is a must for your yard. You could mulch or put a little patio or gazebo out there somewhere if you wanted a play area with less stuff on the ground for bugs to hide in. But outside = bugs pretty much. Do not mulch under your tree. It won't do any good. The trees will just send out more roots to grow on top of the mulch. Most trees can do with an inch or two of mulch but no more. Those volcanoes of mulch under trees just kill them slowly by suffocation. In fact, keep mulch away from the trunks of trees. In the case of Norway maple, just try and overmulch them, they will just respond with, "Bring It!" There are many schools of thought on seeding a lawn. If you have more money than time, I just used to shoot out seed with my spreader before I knew there was going to be a big rain event. Some grass sprouted. Over time, it filled in. My strategy was a "survival of the fittest" strategy but it worked as well as any other strategy and was a whole lot less work than all the patching and watering I did before. Sometimes I would just sprinkle seed on bare areas. I use occasional weed killer applications and hand weeding to keep down the weeds. That's how I got my lawn into shape, a combination of weeding and reseeding over time. You'll need to do both. Grass seed has certain temperature conditions for seeding so check the package and don't seed until you're well into that zone. But then grass stops growing when it gets too hot also, so seed in spring and fall. Your biggest challenge is going to be the tree, so like I said, lower your expectations....See MoreHere's what not to do...
Comments (62)Beth, I always wondered how many roses you had because you have posted so many pictures. I'm 65 and came to the same realization several years ago. My husband kept creating new gardens, but then he does not help with the work. He thinks an inch of mulch will deter weeds and crabgrass - nope it doesn't. I cannot do it all. I would sit and cry - something you love shouldn't make you so sad. First went the biggest garden, it had gotten taken over by johnson grass and crab grass! You can tell where that garden was because some tulips and daffodils keep coming up, even though we were sure we got them all. Next went my "pond" garden. It was in full sun and I could not keep the pond clean, and I kept killing the goldfish. The row of roses next to the road are being moved as they were out of sight - out of mind. Some going to friends and some in containers. Almost did away with my oval rose garden, because it has been taken over by crabgrass, morning glories, cockleburrs (where did they come from), etc. and there were only five roses left in it. BUT came up with a new plan last weekend and am going to do the landscape cloth or plastic, then cardboard, then mulch. then I'm placing containers there with roses and other plants. First I'm going to kill as much grass and weeds as I can. I may even put a bench and arbor there. I had almost 200 roses and realized it was time to reduce the numbers. My front yard is about an acre and back about 1/2 acre so I'm glad I was able to restrain myself. I gave ones that I didn't love to friends, didn't replace ones that died if they did not make my heart flutter, of course there were also some that I loved and lost that can't be replaced... I almost completed my wish list at Roses Unlimited this spring and only have two more must haves. I am down to less than 75. I plan on giving away some more that don't make me say aaahhh when I see them. Now I believe that my yard is going to be a place of joy again, instead of a place of despair. Good luck, Beth!...See Morecadillactaste
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