This Winter's project(s)

11 years ago

First of a few major projects. The last few involve removing the turf out front completely. This change to my backyard gardens revolved around giving a large conifer specimen a bit more room and removing some paths to put in, you guessed it, more conifers. Some were moved, a few acquired in trades. There will always be more changes, but the major landscaping changes are getting close to finished.

A few before/after photos.

Originally shot this photo for the three deer(hard to see near the back), which is only the second time I've ever had a deer sighting. This was about 2010.
{{gwi:644376}}

Today, Feb 2013.
{{gwi:644377}}

The original circle path, about three years ago.
{{gwi:644378}}

Today.
{{gwi:644379}}

My paths now make two wide round-abouts around the backyard garden and while there is a flagstone path for myself, I am going to recommend most garden visitors stay on the gravel paths. Coniferites will be allowed all access. :)

One path ends in a bench, the other two in birdbaths(I have a blue ceramic one indoors for Winter).
{{gwi:644381}}
{{gwi:644383}}

Some closeups. I'd be happy to identify any plants for those interested.
{{gwi:644385}}

On the left is Picea abies 'Catharine's Golden Heart', moved for the third time in three years to give it more sunshine. It should be a nice golden color here and still get a little bit of evening shade at the peak of Summer. It's about 11-13 years old.
{{gwi:644386}}

-Will

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

sprucebud
11 years ago
Really great. I particularly like your developing Picea 'Troemner'(?).
In the final photo, what is the identity of the spruce or fir top right (to the left of the small round lime green conifer)?
Richard
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
The last few involve removing the turf out front completely

===>>>

I WIN!!! .. I WIN.. I WIN ... LOL ..

I told you the day we met here.. that front grass had to go .. lol ...

i win .. [i am over it now.. no more yelling.. lol] ..

ken

ps: no matter what you do ... it looks like you have more pots than you will ever wiggle more space for ...

did the deer ever do any damage.. or were they just taking a tour like any other conifer nuts????
Related Discussions
Winter dreaming about my spring project
Q
Comments (26)
Yardvaark, that would be part of the challenge - finding reasonably low-maintenance plants to make it all work w/o keeping you sweating too much to enjoy the view. Add considerations for the hardiness zone you're working in and the planning - alone - would keep it interesting. (Try to keep ivy and vines away from houses, sheds, and any other structures you want to keep, folks. It sure does looks pretty, but sooner or later the vines and ivy will literally tear the place to pieces and bring it down.) Missingtheobvious: Those ideas would work great as long a person used some discretion. Adding value and interest with certains types of statuary can be a *very* good thing. Gotta be careful, though. If a person takes it too far, they can unintentionally achieve a garish and visually conflicting space. Personally, I do like to try to balance the dichotomies of life in garden design - un-inhibited natural plantings vs geometrically shaped beds and walkways, for example - but it can be like performing a high-wire balancing act. One wrong move and you've created a chaotic and ugly environment instead of one that is graceful and beautiful. Beauty vs the beast within, or control vs chaos, if you will. This is one reason why English Country Gardens have been so appealing through the ages. The conflict is resolved, and wonderfully so, when the plant tells us 'This is the way I'm going to grow, no matter what!' Then, contemplating our country cottage garden, we reply with, 'Fine. You can grow any way you want, as long as you grow here, and not there.' The conflict resolved, a compromise is reached and chaos becomes indescribable beauty...and peace and rest are achieved...and not an inch of space is wasted. Which is also why I think Yardvaark's idea is so appealing. Soil and shade permitting, the plants can grow any way they need to grow, while we design and install a living 'painting' of a river or stream in a garden or landscape.
...See More
John Deere 111H winter project, fuel pump question
Q
Comments (10)
If the shaft is moving more than .010 then the shaft and or carb body is bad. The Intek is a completely diff eng. I think you may have rocker cover contact at the inner hood and the exh port is on the RH side of the engine instead of the LH side of the engine. Meaning, you will have to make a exh pipe or muffler system. I don't think an Intek would be a easy swap. You need the L Head engine. They made them up to a 13hp I think. JD used the 13 on the GX/SX85 rear engine riders. The best swap would be to put in a Kawasaki FB460V-AS/BS/ or CS00 series of engines a 12.5 hp L-Head. JD had a kit to install them on the 111 frame and produced this setup as the 112L, 111 with the Kawi installed at the factory. Deere had a RePower Kit, but I am not sure it is still available? This engine was used on the 111, 112L, RX95, 160, and 165. I also have seen them on some of the small Scag Commercial walk mowers. This engine will bolt up and use the orig muffler. You will have to do some wiring changes, I can't remember if the throttle cable would have to be changed out as well.
...See More
Winter Project
Q
Comments (1)
To soften the black, go with a flat or satin sheen. I used flat black as the trim color in my kitchen & dining area and it gave me exactly the look I wanted. I did not use primer first, just went over bare wood. It's held up perfectly.
...See More
My Tomato winter project experiment
Q
Comments (4)
Yeah its a fun project, gives me something to look forward too. Luckily it survived the Noreaster we just had. I just brought it in the house (since i could not recharge). We had no electricity for 2 days But on the bright side I had half of them already charged and used them as a source of electricity in the house to charge phones and have lights. I put the plant back in today so I don't think there was any damage to it. There is another possible Noreaster midweek. I choose the early girl because that was the only one available for live shipping across the country. Also I got a big boy, but the early girls seemed to do better under my grow light inside while getting the best one ready to go out. So basically I got 5-6 small live plants from California for about $15 combined. I would of grew from seed but I was too far into the project since my original Brandy Boy that was suposed to be the one did not make it with out the modifications to it. For the summer I will plant a a few Brandyboys, Cherokee purples, 2 early girls and some others. For that one in there, all I have to do is lift the greenhouse up over the plant and it is ready just like any other but mature. I will gradually take the panels off one by one when it warms up. the door off, then roof roof and let it sit like a regular greenhouse but still with heat when needed. Also another possitive is that when it gets warmer, I will have all those batteries to use in the house in case power goes out :)
...See More
ladylotus
11 years ago
Will, you made me chuckle after reading your were taking out the last bit of grass. ha ha.

Your gardens are really looking nice. It looks like you have some very nice unique plants. Thanks for sharing the photos.
coniferjoy
11 years ago
Will, great pics of your conifer paradise!

Did you check your Abies naming subject which you posted recently?
Cher
11 years ago
The paths always looks great but I also like what you did this time also. Everything looks fantastic.
Cher
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
Will,

Nice photos. Another glimpse of your garden is always good for brightening a dull day. The view from above is very nice since it let's us see the forest for the trees, as it were. I think your cat must be doing a very good job of keeping the deer away if you've only had two sightings. More important is a lack of deer-related damage.

'Catharine's Golden Heart' is very beautiful. I love the color which is not seen very often, intermediate between green and gold. Is this the new location in this photo? It looks great next to 'Chief Joseph' in the close-up and the 'today' pics. It sounds like you expect it'll brighten up a bit in the new location.

A few other questions...what is the blue ribbon from tree to tree in the first photo? You've got quite a few containers, how frequently do you water during (what you call) summer? The globose fir in the last photo...'Starker's Dwarf'? In the same pic, I'd like ID for the three other plants in the center (looks like two more firs and a small golden spreading spruce?) And then in the second pic, can I get ID on the golden plant in a container just north of 6:00? And also in the next picture, what's the large container spruce, looks like a cultivar of P. orientalis?

You'll have to update us with some before/after photos of your lawn after the area is planted. Though I seem to recall something similar from around this time last year, sparking just a wee bit of controversy.

Alex

This post was edited by maple_grove on Tue, Feb 5, 13 at 15:45
davidtree
11 years ago
great looking garden
firefightergardener
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the comments, I'm grinding away on the front yard changes as well now. Taking a break and then it's back out there. One thing at least that is nice about our mild Winters is that when it doesn't rain, we can work the soil.

Ken, you are and were right, the grass was eventually all going. It was mildly amusing to mow the lawn for 40 seconds last year once a week. Now I can water for a few years and then leave the maintenance to nature.

The deer nibbled off two leaves from a Japanese maple and quickly exitted stage left once I came out to film them. I haven't seen them since - maybe because I'm at about 400 feet elevation, they just don't seem to be around much.

Richard, it's Pseudotsuga menziesii 'Fletcherii' - a gem of a dwarf discovered in 1923. :)

Edwin, I did indeed, and made many corrections - thank you! I also DO have your nursery list favorited for future access as I make changes and look for confirmations/errors in plants amongst my collection. Are you 100% with every name you list there being accurate? Thanks, as always.

Alex, 'Catharine's Golden Heart' will be much more pronounced gold this year with more sunlight. It's previous spot was about 5-6 hours of direct sun, now it's more like 8-10 hours. Bob's golden seedlings, at least those wothout 'Lemon' in their name, don't seem to burn much/at all even with full sun and warm days. Speaking of warm days, I water the pots about once a week during hot stretches, twice a month for the rest. They are doing surprisingly well and since some are very very large, they can stay in their locations, dependant on variety for many years.
Some plant ID's. Yes, Abies NORDMANNIANA 'Starker's Dwarf'(caps for emphasis, Iseli is still selling it as Abies koreana)
Also from the last photo, the taller fir at the top, Abies forrestii var. forrestii. A Conifer Kingdom product. The fir I noted above for Richard, actually a cultivar of doug fir. The golden spruce is one of Bob's seedlings, I'll need to check the name. It's pouring right now. :(

From the second photo, the golden plant towards the bottom is Pseudotsuga menziesii 'El Dorado', a new, VERY choice golden doug fir from Conifer Kingdom. It can burn in full sun, that spot gets about 4 hours and it's brilliantly gold.

The large oriental spruce is Picea orientalis 'Skylands'. :)

I'll update with more photos as I finish up the front in the next few weeks.

-Will
whaas_5a
11 years ago
Yeah buddy, thats conifer addiction right there!

Not sure if you have plans to eliminate that brick but where the brick path(s) end at the birdbath and bench, I'm of the opinion it would look nicer by pulling those bricks out and integrating the space with the rest of the layout, whether it be flat stones or not and yes this is a run on sentence!lol!
coniferjoy
11 years ago
Will, I'm sure all conifer names are correctly written at my website.
Otherwise I would like to be informed which one's I wrote wrong...
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
so are you going to drag your lawnmower to fincham's .. and trade it for another plant ... ???? .. lol ..

as always.. and forgive me.. i forgot..

thx for the tour .. and the effort to post pix ...

ken
botann
11 years ago
I don't remember a lawn at Bob's.
(I was looking at conifers!)
Mike

This Winter's project(s)

Comments (12)

sprucebud

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

ladylotus

coniferjoy

Cher

maple_grove_gw

davidtree

firefightergardener
Original Author

whaas_5a

coniferjoy

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

botann

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

This Winter's project(s)

Comments (12)

Related Discussions

firefightergardenerOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

firefightergardener
Original Author