There are few more lovely gardens than yours, Woody. I always enjoy a WALAT around your yard! Thanks!

Everything looks great! I love the shed, and the hydrangeas "fit" with it beautifully. The hibiscus/conflower/butterfly bush combo is lovely - the colors are soothing and pair beautifully. I wish my gardens looked as good as your this time of year! :0)

Thanks - the garden has, somewhat surprisingly, turned into one that peaks in late spring and again in late summer.

I just noticed that the north side of the shed picture is missing! This is what should be there:
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And, since we just got back from walking the dogs and noted that the evenings are starting to feel too cool, making us think of fall, here is a picture from the first frost last year which shows the White Ash in full fall color above the roof of the house:
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I always love a good garden tour, thanks for taking the time to post all those pictures. Am I the only one who doesn't know WALAT? The best I can do is walk around like a tourist.......
Your front yard seems so different from the back, it's a nice change of scenery, and your shed colors are perfect, I might have o try a little green in the garden!

Fantastic, thank you! I like the narrated tour, it adds so much to the photos. What is that variegated beauty on the north side of the shed? All your gardens are so thoughtfully done and well-tended. Impressive work!

Thank you, Woodyoak! :-)

Woody, it’s nice to see the lay of the land and connect the dots of where everything is in your garden and that first photo really shows the privacy you’ve created.

I like that combo of Hibiscus, Coneflower and Aster. Do you trim your Hibiscus back to get it that bushy? And what a lot of berries you have on that Honeysuckle, what variety is it? The PF Clematis on the fence, again, adds so much privacy. I imagine you have a 6ft privacy fence and that is trained to the top of it? Would you say it is 8ft high there? Very pretty! Of course, I always enjoy your serene back garden and love the color of your shed with the white hydrangeas in front of it.

I’m wondering what you have planned, if you lose that tree?

Thanks for the tour!

Kato - :-) WALAT= Walking Around Looking At Things! A variation is SALAT -> Standing Around.... Gardeners do both frequently :-) The front garden is indeed very different than the back - the backyard is very shady while the front garden is sunny, so that drives the two in different directions. But it also makes the whole garden look bigger I think because it's sort of a double garden.... The front is the colorful 'public' face of the garden while the backyard is the private oasis. First-time visitors are always surprised when they enter the backyard!

Karin - the variegated dogwood is 'Wolf Eyes'. We only planted that two years ago and it hasn't bloomed yet - but the variegation is so striking and visible from a distance that flowers are totally unnecessary! We've been working at making a garden here since 1999 and it keeps changing and improving (I think!) as we consult with the 'genius loci' ('the spirit of the place' for those who aren't familiar with that term....) 'Well-tended' is not so true this year as I have been limited due to recovering from a broken leg. DH has had to do my share of the work too for most of this year. He's done a great job for the most part - I had a fit the other day when I saw him cut down some 'Lord Baltimore' hibiscus stems when he was supposed to be cutting down daisies and coneflowers that had finished blooming! :-) Weeding has fallen behind a bit too much so that is my priority now that I've been cleared to resume normal activities!

pm2 - The Disco Belle hibiscuses - for me at least - are bushy and dense without needing to be cut back at all. I am careful to remove all the round seed capsules before they mature as I'm sure they'd seed around like mad if I neglected to do that! The honeysuckle is Serotina and, if you look closely, you'll see that some of the red is still flowers - it has both flowers and berries at the moment. The 6' wooden fence is actually the neighbours' but they like the clematis - their purple Jackmani grows through it from their side - the picture I posted on the thread where orange and purple was discussed shows their clematis (and daylilies) coming over (under) the fence. The wooden fence just runs along their patio; the rest of the fencing is 4' chainlink. That's the common fencing for the older houses here and we all chat aboud gardens over the fence :-) The neighbour on the north side is an avid gardener too and our gardens sort of merge along the fence.... If we lose the ash, I'm not entirely sure what changes will occur. Much of the garden back there would survive without it and I have mulled over several options. I'll just wait and see what happens over the next few years....

Walk around like a tourist I love that, Kato! While we all WALAT and SALAT in our own gardens (I only learned that from the IDYLL threads, but absolutely love the term and Clouseau knows it now, too. He is always eager for a WALAT in the front yard without a leash-highlight of both our days), I think your version describes perfectly what we do when others post their garden pics!

Haha, I'm so bad with those Acronyms. LoL and btw are about all I can handle with any hope of knowing what's going on. Maybe I should just throw in a couple random letters every now and then and it will look like I know what I'm doing! SMS!
I've eyed that Wolf's eye dogwood a few times but i don't think I can squeeze it into the budget. I love the variegation

Oh Kato, do not toss in random letters because you never know what you are going to say since nearly every combination of letters stands for something. SMS = short message service, aka texting. You lucked out because that one is clean, but some are not! Google the Urban Dictionary if you want to be amused (and occasionally horrified) about acronyms. :)

Anyway, what were we talking about? That dogwood is fantastic. I would love something like that but I'm pretty sure they won't enjoy life in an arid place. But it's perfect for Woody's serene back yard.

Woody, you must be so happy to be cleared to resume normal activities after your injury. And of all things, naturally weeding is at the top of your list, love that!

I'm definitely happy to be cleared for action again! But I'm proceeding with caution still as I have bone density issues as well as a balance problem, so don't want a repeat fracture incident. Weeding is good warm-up activity to get back in shape for more strenuous garden activities that have been neglected :-). Plus it needs doing very badly!!

Love your gardens. That ash tree is such a beautiful tree; I hope you don't lose it.

Woody, the only thing missing is a four footed friend in your garden photos. :-)

pm2 - I can provide that I'm sure.... Actually we're in mourning at the moment. With much sadness, we said Good-bye to my darling little girl, Misty, at the end of last week. She was 16 years old. I miss my little garden buddy a lot! Cole is working on filling that hole in our lives and we have another visiting little sweetie who is going home tomorrow. We will be sponsoring a Dog Guides Hearing Ear Dog (to be named Misty) in her memory.

Misty and me at a local garden a couple of years ago:

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Awww...that's terrible, Woody! I'm so sorry to hear that. You've been posting photos of Misty on GW for a long time. And that is a really cute photo of her with her head looking out through that railing. That is the tough part of having a pet, is knowing it's going to be short term. Sixteen years is a long time for a dog though, which shows how well she's been loved and taken care of.

What does it mean to sponsor a Hearing Ear Dog? Do you have the dog in your home for a period of time?

pm2 - we only had Misty for 11 years - she was an abused/rescued dog so she had some 'issues' but was an adorable, loyal companion to us here.

Sponsoring a dog means paying for the training and the cost of the client coming to the facility to be trained with the dog before it goes home with them. HED are the cheapest to sponsor! The dogs for the blind or the SSD (special skills dogs) for the physically disabled take longer to train so are more expensive to sponsor. We volunteer at the Dog Guides facility and work with the HED and SSD dogs. So we'll have spent some time with the dog during its training. They will likely take a dog that is nearly finished its training and rename it Misty, rather than start with a new puppy since it takes 2+ years or so from the birth of the HED dog to when it goes home with the client. Cole, the miniature poodle we bought this past November through their 'career change' program is a 'failed' puppy - he would have been a HED but failed to make it into training after his time with the foster home due to 'resource guarding' issues (Bossy Boots is one of his nicknames here :-)
Here is Cole and Callie - a.k.a. 'little red-headed girl' - (a friend's Autralian Terrier that has been staying here for the past three weeks) by the shed this morning:
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Dogs are an important part of the garden here and the garden layout was planned with dogs in mind.

I find it interesting that a poor little abused dog is now part of a sponsorship for a dog being trained to help someone who is deaf and to train the deaf person to use the dog, thereby being part of the process of providing a dog and a disabled person a much better life, then Misty had for her first 5 years. That seems like a great idea and a worthwhile charity as well.

Has Cole had a lot of pros against that one con of 'resource guarding'? I would think he would otherwise be well trained.

I'm wondering what kind of decisions you made to accommodate the dogs in the garden? I feel lucky that our son's dog Noodles seems very easy to get along with. She enjoys the garden and has the run of it. She has a circuit like a racetrack, across the lawn and in behind the bushes and out again, then around all the vegetable beds and across the lawn again. At certain times of year, when bulbs are everywhere, I need to keep her from doing that, but right now, she seems to manage without hurting anything important. Where I have a rock edging, along my long bed, I've taught her to keep out of there and she now stops at the rock edge and will sit there and watch me when I am working in the bed. She's been pretty easy. Thankfully, she doesn't dig, which I wouldn't like to deal with.

Cole looks very alert and obedient in that photo. What size poodle is it, a miniature or a toy? Callie looks just like a Cairn terrier we had once. I would imagine she would be a digger, no?

I meant to ask you, do you feed your dogs commercial food or make your own?

Woody, I'm so sorry to hear about Misty.

Thank you for posting all the photos. I always enjoy seeing your garden with your great mix of plant material and wonderful beds. I really like how the different areas of your garden have such a different feel to them, even in photos. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be in real life. Aren't we lucky that you've created such a beautiful yard that we get to enjoy!

And....you have always given such great garden ideas between your copper supports, how to support a wisteria, the chain swags, etc......always interesting. Thank you!!

pm2 - yes, even a 'failed' dog from Dog Guides is pretty amazing. The socialization they get during their puppyhood time in a foster home is invaluable - and something you can't replicate with your own dog. The Dog Guide puppies go EVERYWHERE with the foster 'parents' e.g. in stores, restaurants, offices; at all sorts of public events and public places, etc. etc. The foster process is designed to expose them as many new things as possible, as well as give them basic obedience training, so nothing bothers them and they are calm in unfamiliar places. One of Cole's issues is that he is still a bit too excitable and overly friendly (wants to jump up on people!) so he still needs training in that regard. He's still basically a puppy - he'll be 2 years old on the 27th of this month. When he first came he wasn't walking nicely on leash so we used the training collar combination that Dog Guides uses when the dogs are in training - a Halti combined with a martingale (the one with a loop of chain under the throat - not a full chain collar.) The leash gets attached to both collars - instant easy walking with none of the snaky, evasive manoeuvres you often see with dogs on a Halti collar alone. I'd never seen collars used like that until we started volunteering at Dog Guides. Cole now walks nicely (most of the time!) with just the martingale collar.
This is what the arrangement looks like:
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If you're ever having trouble getting a dog to walk nicely on leash, try this arrangement!

Dog Guides breeds their own dogs - although some are donated by breeders too. Cole is a miniature poodle although I think they may crossbreed the different sizes of poodles as there are some standards that are smaller than normal and some minatures that are larger than usual. They use a smaller one than Cole for a lot of HED but I think they're a bit bigger than 'toy' size so may be a cross with a miniature (?) If you love dogs, it's a fabulous place to volunteer!

As for accomodating the dogs in the garden.... The main thing is to accomodate their need to patrol territory and explore and play so they aren't bored when outside! The path network in the backyard has paths along the side fences and near the back fence. Because of the 'wet corner' the back path does not follow the back fence and there is a short (6") iron fence (just a cheapie ornamental thing) along the edge of the 'wet corner' bed to keep them out of the mud in the spring - they recognize it as a barrier and stay out. On the NW side of the back fence there is a small bank against the fence so the path runs at the base of the bank and the plantings are tough enough there so they aren't damanged when the dogs visit with the neighbours' two through the fence... :-)

traffic patterns considered in layout:
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neater version of layout:
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Callie doesn't dig - but Cole has started to excavate one place just off the patio recently! So we need to train him not to do that! Callie's breed does indeed include Cairn terriers in the mix - see link.... Noodle sounds sweet - pictures...? Do you still make her cookies? Cole eats commercial dog food - and we make the dog cookies in small training-treat size pieces to use when working on training (which is constant at his age....)

thyme - we were posting at the same time.... thank you - and back at you re the gardens - I always enjoy seeing yours (especially the fall color pictures which have inspired me to pay more attention to that here....)

This post was edited by woodyoak on Thu, Aug 8, 13 at 17:44

I hadn't thought about how much socialization they would get at Dog Guides, but imagine taking a dog everywhere you go? lol I suppose they get used to it and they have training to help the dog fit into that lifestyle pretty quickly.

Noodles is 6yrs old already and she still has trouble walking. Our son let her pull on the leash on walks and I can't walk her at all. She pulled me over trying to approach a dog while I was trying to restrain her and that was the last time I took her for a walk myself. She's only 60 pounds. But really that is the only training I think she needs. She is great at home, responds very well to voice commands, will wait and stay with me without a leash. Isn't a digger, isn't a barker. But that collar arrangement looks like the ticket. I'll have to suggest that to my son.

Yes, I thought Cole looked a little larger than a miniature. Dog Guides does sound like a great place to volunteer.

That's interesting how you planned pathways for the dogs. Our property is small and the shrub and perennial beds follow three sides of the back in a curving single continuous bed for the most part. And the vegetable garden is extended off one side. So it is a little boring after awhile. But we do have two yards that meet in the middle of our backyard and then one on each side. The sides are stockade, but the back is post and rail with wire fencing so she can visit with doggie neighbors too. I don't let her out in the front with me when I'm gardening. She can sit in the front entry and watch me out the screen door.

No, I haven't been making her cookies. She had some skin issues and after reading about it, I wondered if commercial food was causing some problem, so she has home made food now. And she gets bones from the meat department regularly too.

Well, again, so sorry about Misty!

Here is Noodles....

Woody, I am so sorry to hear abouit Misty. I do think it's wonderful though that her name will live on. What a wonderful tribute and what a fantastic porgram.

PM, Noodles is a cutie.

pm2 - Noodles is indeed a cutie - but that head, neck, chest and shoulders look like they belong to a puller! If you try that training collar combination, I'd be interested to hear whather it helps at all with her....

Woody, she really is very strong, you mean you can tell looking at her she tends to pull? Maybe I should put that to use out in the garden, pulling a cart of compost or something? (g) I keep telling her, if she would only learn to weed, I'd be all set. ;-)