Saturday, January 06, 2007
Weird weather
January? 60 degrees and rainy? Odd. But not unheard of. Still this is a record high for the day. Noticed that my chrysanthemums are growing again. One rather long stem of 3-4 inches and lots of shorter growth. I watered them yesterday. I figured, why not. This might be one of those winters that they manage to live through. I wonder if I bury the window boxes in the top of the compost heap if they'll stay warmer? An interesting experiment to try.
Landscape master plan
In November, I contacted the Land Design Office in Wynantsill to draw up a plan for our garden. They did a wonderful job! John Kelly, the owner, came over and met with us to find out what we wanted to do with the garden and hardscape around the house. This was supposed to be a Christmas surprise for my husband, but I didn't plan carefully enough, he was still home when the landscaper arrived. Oh well, he got to put his 2 cents in as well!
John took lots of notes and returned later in the week to take pictures. A month later he presented us with a plan. He'd re-arranged lots of the shrubs and trees that we already have and re-grouped the perennials into better groupings. A number of plants that I've wanted to try were also incorporated.
The plan included hardscaping - a deck, patio area, new walkways, a spot for a small water feature and some good ideas for improving drainage near the house. There's also a raised bed area around the shed for my veggies and herbs. A major issue was to fill in the edge of our property with some shrubs and trees to create a border that will look good from our side and the neighbor's, yet give our garden a bit more privacy and hopefully deter the deer from eating my veggies! We like our neighbors too much to put in a tall fence. Though I must say, the tall hedges of England with very private back gardens really appeal, regardless of how friendly the neighbors are.
The plan looks terrific. He did a great job. We have a large scale architectural type drawing to work from, a small one for easy reference. Shopping lists for new trees and shrubs, a list of plants (new and old) with pictures and growing info. And tons more stuff on the CD that he gave us. My father had some fun going over the plans when we visited last week. I left one of the big drawings and the planting list for him to examine in more detail.
Now we just have to do the work! They are a design-only company, which is just what we wanted. We can make the changes ourselves over the next few years. First step - the new deck and pation. Hopefully this spring.
John took lots of notes and returned later in the week to take pictures. A month later he presented us with a plan. He'd re-arranged lots of the shrubs and trees that we already have and re-grouped the perennials into better groupings. A number of plants that I've wanted to try were also incorporated.
The plan included hardscaping - a deck, patio area, new walkways, a spot for a small water feature and some good ideas for improving drainage near the house. There's also a raised bed area around the shed for my veggies and herbs. A major issue was to fill in the edge of our property with some shrubs and trees to create a border that will look good from our side and the neighbor's, yet give our garden a bit more privacy and hopefully deter the deer from eating my veggies! We like our neighbors too much to put in a tall fence. Though I must say, the tall hedges of England with very private back gardens really appeal, regardless of how friendly the neighbors are.
The plan looks terrific. He did a great job. We have a large scale architectural type drawing to work from, a small one for easy reference. Shopping lists for new trees and shrubs, a list of plants (new and old) with pictures and growing info. And tons more stuff on the CD that he gave us. My father had some fun going over the plans when we visited last week. I left one of the big drawings and the planting list for him to examine in more detail.
Now we just have to do the work! They are a design-only company, which is just what we wanted. We can make the changes ourselves over the next few years. First step - the new deck and pation. Hopefully this spring.
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