Tony,

It sounds like a nice evening. Especially true if that might be a Cuban cigar. I guess there is one plus side to being up there.

Some people hate bugs. Hate birds. Hate rodents. But they want a garden. An all-exclusive garden.

Last time I had a Cuban cigar was 8 years ago. Dipped in cognac and savored in a canoe on a lazy river.

Cuban it was Andrew. I guess the thoughts that inspired my post were nostalgic and I didn't want to do another "is it all gone" but it does seem that the bottom has finally dropped out. I decided this week that I might give it one last shot.
Cady: the last time I mentioned smoking cigars Mike assured me that my wayward ways would end badly, I think he suggested rubbing my chest with hot sake or something. Tell him we still have a malt whisky soiree booked.
I miss the banter we used to have and I am sad that it has all gone.

Ink,
Mike is sorting out his difficulties right now, but this autumn he will be back up and about. The malt whiskey soiree is still in his book, and once he is safely settled here in Massachusetts, it's only a 9 hour drive to/from Quebec and its great cities. On our to-do schedule next spring is a trip to the Montreal botanical gardens, and, it is hoped, an opportunity for banter and whiskey for you and Mike. We'll buy a caseful after we get over the border.

Wonderful. I shall mark my calendar. Bon chance.

This dumb "gaHdener" smiled at the accounting of activity observed from the deck. Sounds like "home" to me, frankly. Sometimes we even get to see one of "the pride" bring down a rodent. I prefer collecting them before mowing, but mulching is an effective means of dispersing them. We have a pond, we deal with mosquitos... we even like bats.

I'll bet you couldn't do it for a client, either. "I love birds, but I hate rodents... . I hate rodents but I won't let my cat outdoors because I love birds and I have to safeguard my cat... . I want a pond but I can't stand mosquitos.". Frankly, I don't know how you guys manage to do it at all!

Maybe it's my red neck showing, but I have 4 outdoor cats, a dog, a pond, and our yard sure wouldn't win any prizes but it works for us. And we get a big kick out of fiddling around with it. It's good enough to entertain the cats and the dog. And it's fun to observe it from season to season and tweak it to suit our sensibilities when the mood strikes.

(no cigars, though... smoking and bladder cancer are too "close to home" for me; I deal with it too intimately to be able to joke about it. I've lost my ability to be jocular about something so serious, sorry)

"What is it that makes a garden attractive?" "I miss the banter that we used to have and I am sad that it is all gone."

Fine weather makes a garden attractive, however poor the plant collection, however frail the bones. Maybe everyone is just "out in the garden" for awhile. The days are much too fine to hang on the web much in the daylight.

Myself, I just popped in for a second, but the tri-tip is cooking on the barbecue, DH is playing the guitar on the steps to the terrace, and the hummingbirds are fighting over the canna, salvia, orchid, and stephanoitis blossoms. The Chilean Concha Y Toro Frontera Merlot is cheap and good. The garlic bread rubbed with fresh tomato and smeared with bleue is a fine accompaniment. I got the news today that a great mentor who wrote and talked about palms passed away last night. We listen for the cry of the stray grey cockatiel who has been eyeing us from the telephone wires above the alley. We know the surf is picking up tonight, and we'll be paddling out in the cool water just after sunrise. It's August. Embrace it.

ah Ivemissed the reportee of you all. Hope to be back awhile now. Ah the garden that speaks to each onedifferently?

Sitting reading a great novel in the cool Colorado evening with the remnants of the lilacs still awash in green. My drink is a nice cool lemon ice tea and feeling the cooling evening air settling in.

Hi all :)

Long time, no see, landman!

As I was sitting in the gravel bed yesterday, picking out twigs and prematurely-dropped birch leaves, I saw a dead lily-of-the-valley making jerky motions toward the field stone wall that terraces the two levels of my garden. On closer inspection, since from my ground perch I was at eye-level, it was a white-bellied mouse trying to tug the plant into its nest between the boulders. Evidently, dried L-o-t-V is good bedding. But this one was still attached to roots, and the mouse gave up the tug of war. Got to see it twitch its nose in frustration.

Is this why you all are landscape designers (or architects? Because you have found the way to relax and love and BE in your yard and appreciate what is there and you want to recreate that for others? Is it because you KNOW what heaven on earth is and you want to show others?

I read threads on this forum and I get uptight and nervous and tell DH "we HAVE to do things this way" and "we can't do THAT" and "it MUST be xyz". Then I read a post like this and realize "no, we don't have to do any of that, we just have to enjoy the beautiful spot of land we live on". We can enhance parts of it - or not. We can try to improve and it may work or it may not, but it will still be beautiful. We can plant perfect sets of three of each here and three of each there and it won't draw any more birds or butterflies than we already have.

Ink, I don't know if this was your intention, I doubt it was, but you have made me stop and appreciate what I have. DH and I often sit on our front porch in the evenings with a cocktail (sorry, no cigars allowed here). As we watch the hummingbirds sip nectar and the birds splash in the bird batha and our dogs lie on the porch next to us, we say "isn't this wonderful?". And it is.

So why am I always thinking I can improve on it?

Thank you.

Ann

The ancient Greeks spoke of the "genus loci," or spirit of a place. They sited a shrine to honor the Earth Goddess Gaia at Delphi in Greece because the unique personality or spirit of that place was divined to be especially suited to Gaia residing there. Understanding the forces that drew the early Greeks to reach that decision may well be a concept worth exploring.

Particularly when aided by accoutrements of indulgence that oblige us to slow our pace (such as a fine cigar accompanied with perhaps, a glass of port and a few pieces of fine chocolate) we can enjoy a brief respite seated, as it were, beside Gaia. Lately, savoring an early morning cup of freshly ground and brewed, premium coffee often suffices. The ever-so-mundane sunflower patch provides the theater to watch flocks of goldfinch. It is no wonder that early settlers of this state chose the goldfinch as the state bird. With great acumen, the finches perform their deft dance of decimation upon each ripened  but only the ripened  heads of seed. The stage lighting is provided by the crimson hues of a dawning sun.

Gaia and I pause in silent delight ... And so the day begins.

IronBelly

Perhaps it's the time of year- the light seems somehow different - especially in those quiet times of dawn and dusk, so accomodating for silent reflection on all that is good & Magical.

Ink,
It appears that all are describing the type of landscape design not taught in books. Perhaps 'comfortable' would be an adequate name description. Nice to see some old friends posting again!

What you say prairie love. When I critique a design it is from some notion of correctness unless I am offered a posters criterion. It is said that there is nothing happier than a pig in sh*t and I (the beer drinking cigar smoking guy)would not argue with that. I can easily retreat into my comfort zone and I have adapted my house and garden to reflect that, some don't have that ability and look for assistance. It is important to be in touch with what lights your candle be it coffee and goldfinch,dogs and a cocktail,a sensitive Japanese man or any of the other joys mentioned above. I have only a rambling point and that is when designing a garden start here "Comfortable".

Hey, Ink--what kind of "strange woodpecker" we talking? I'd have felt compelled to ID it...hell, I even take my bird book to the beach. (It's a mild form of mania...but I do like to KNOW who I'm looking at!)

Right now my back deck is covered with a flock of Late Adolescent Hormone Riddled ALmost College Freshmen. Primarily male, but there is a lone female in the flock. They are all imbibing mass quantities of sugar water spiked with food coloring and caffeine from colorful aluminum feeders...if I don't make my presence know they switch to some noxioius pale yellow liquid--the "feeders" are usually blue and silver...I expect 90% of the flock to migrate within the next week or two... I can't wait.

We had a GLORIOUS day today. 82 and sunny--NO humidity--a true gift for August in NC.

The adolescent hawk hung out in an oak tree near my driveway hollering for his mom and dad to come feed him. Shockingly, they still do. I guess I shouldn't be surprised...I stocked the fridge with deli and soda all summer...

melanie

It has been downright chilly here the past few nights, but the windows have remained open (dries out the swollen doors and there are too many months when they must remain closed). Praise be woolen blankets and down comforters. It was 52 degrees in the bedroom the other morning. :) (cats were pressed close).

The seasonal serenade of crickets has proven a reassuringly seasonal lullabye. My elderly mother is back with me after two months respite.

I have watched her patiently navigate the paths, scrutinizing the borders under heavy feline escort. I have to work harder now, but there is something rewarding about watching someone so limited in mobility enjoy the simple pleasure of "strolling paths" and plantings that attract insects and birds. Makes me smile to see her sitting on any of the available "resting spots". And makes me wonder how long she'll be able to remain here and enjoy such simple things...

Careful with the cigars, friends.

Comfortable.
Comfortable balance... of the planned and unplanned, hard and soft, permanent and passing, straight and curved, wet and dry, light and dark. Some shade in the harsh day, some light in the dark shadows, color and scent that excite, but don't overpower.

Spirit of a place.
In this case place to enjoy the first hint of fall eve with Cohiba & cognac, and savoring the slightly slower pace now that the spring rush has ended & the kids are asleep. Pat the dog, strum the Taylor & watch the moon rise. A place for a fire if the night gets cold.

Nandina makes an accurate observation when she notes that the design people are talking about here is not included in the textbooks  it isnÂt. It is fortuitous that Tony has titled this thread as All Inclusive Design. The title also begs the question asking what is typically left out?

We are given a hint to the answer when Nandina went on to suggest that 'comfortable' (a word that almost universally infers a human experience) would be an adequate name description. The inimitable Thomas Church actually wrote a book providing an expansive treatise on what is typically left out. He expounded upon the ever-so-obvious (but curiously oblivious) reality put forward in the title of his book: Gardens Are For People.

Quite simply, the failing of far too many gardens/landscapes is that they are designed for plants and not people. While plants often play an integral part, neglecting to place a priority upon enhancing your landscape space to accommodate (comfort) people is an all too frequent flaw.

Ask yourself: Did you design your space for plants or for people  who probably really enjoy looking at plants?

IronBelly

Serendipty. Magic. This year mine included six week old kittens. One grey and one black. No mama in sight. They've been adopted. I hope they'll have a garden w/o Harry the dog.

Our yard is "designed" for people and animals. And to camouflage homlier aspects of the property (raised septic system). We arrived at what we have because we needed to solve practical problems on a limited budget.

We wanted to be able to "stroll around the grounds" when we call for the cats at the end of the day and when the dog must be taken outdoors for the first/last wee-wee of the day. Having defined "rounds" makes it more fun for us and gives all pets a chance to mark territory, "stalk" and ambush us, and the paths allow wheelbarrows and such to be easily rolled to a worksite. The plantings routinely absorb the full tilt onslaught of a 100 lb. dog and while I don't LOVE it, EH! he lives here, too and he isn't destructive in general. Neither of us complains when the dog must be taken out... it's a pleasant ramble in a peaceful setting. Even in the winter.

The fact that the paths have allowed my elderly mother the opportunity to walk safely and enjoy plantings was serendipitous; but her physical and mental health have prospered because she is able to "go for a walk" several times a day. The "tabled" lawn over the septic system provides the interesting perspective of being able to look down on rather large, lush plants while the perimeter path allows you to look up at them... FUN, and again serendipitous.

It wouldn't win any prizes, I'm sure. But it works for our family and isn't that what really counts in the final analysis?

To be really inclusive you'd need to share the cigars and beer with the wildlife (they can be rowdy enough as it is, though).

I have been most inclusive with the bumper crop of rabbits this year*. I have wherever possible included them in a Havahart trap.

*For awhile there, they decided that Colocasias and Alocasias made especially good eating.

I've been feeding squirrels, bunnies, deer, AND birds this year. Oh, and chipmunks.

Query--why don't the chipmunks irritate me the way the squirrels do? They are every bit as destructive...I'd hate to think it's the "cute factor"...but I fear it must be. Ah well, all the critters gotta eat. I'm just glad Fred the Five Foot Long Black Snake moved back in!

melanie

After your tale of the chipmunk-eating copperhead in the compost bin, Melanie, I am glad, too, that Fred has returned. He'll keep your garden free of copperheads.

I have just one chipmunk making its home in my garden. He/she is very bold and has written me off as a creampuff. He will strut right up to me when I'm watering the garden, look up at me and keep going toward the choice berries and other delights. I tolerate the one, but I suspect that a half-dozen of those striped fruit thieves would leave me babbling and frothing, running about with Havaharts and nets.

My garden is designed for people (my fiance, me) and for animals - specifically, chickens, ducks, geese and a turkey. Plus a geriatric bunny that likes to make a nice, cool ditch under the bamboo on a hot day, and ZZZZZ away the morning as geriatrics of all species like to do. The fowl have a barn, run and pen that take up half the back garden, but given their options, they will take the whole garden, making dust baths in the compost, eating anything tender and green, and working at deforestation projects.

To prevent that, I keep them penned and let out the bantam chickens after the garden has matured for the season, as they are too small to do damage to large plants. They reward me by eating bugs and weed seeds, tilling any packed soil around plant bases, and being delightful eye candy with their colors and antics.

I just have to check the garden seating for any "deposits" before plunking myself down.