Another patio :)

One of the projects this summer was putting in a patio where we removed this tree and bushes from. I have realized (from other people's teasing) that I have a bit of a patio problem.... this being number 4. Number one came with the house, numbers two and three were put in last year.

No, I didn't cut them down. I try very hard not to cut down anything. We moved them..... (lots of work) You can read about it here.

After that we were left with this lovely mess that we dug a little here and there for a month or two.

We got free bluestone from  house they were knocking down. We just had to dig it all up as it was an old patio that was covered in 20+ years of leaf debris.

I had decided that I didn't care if I finished the patio this year since I already finished a large rock wall and rock edging this year and was not in the mood for more rocks.

And that was fine of course until we decided to have a picnic so of course we just HAD to get this done by the time of the party...... ;)

So, balls to the wall, we dug....

And dug.... finishing at 11:30 at night...... (see crappy photo above :) Even got the stone down too.

We put in drainage pipes and more stone....

And started building another wall. (out of cottage stone ) If you do a lot of gardening I can not stress enough how great a double wheel wheel barrow is.

Go....... yard-gym!

Aahhh..... getting closer. Now it's time for stone dust. Wall just about done.

Closer...... blue stone layed, half of it level and the beginings of stone dust between the blue stone.

Kozmo, just making sure that were doing a good job......

TA DA!!!!!!

Lots of hard heavy lifting but we did it! Scratch one one more item off the list :)

Next spring I will make a garden along the back of the wall, but for now...... some poolside relaxing for the remainder of the summer. 

I even have some left overs for another patio...... ;)

You can never have too many patios,

♥jenny

Big ol' Dogwood Transplant

When we bought our new house last year we knew that the big dogwood the previous owner planted right up against the house would have to go or get moved.

We missed the window of opportunity last year to move it, so it was top priority this year. Even though we are going to be putting a patio where we are taking the tree from, it would still need to be moved. Since it was planted so close to the house it is only half a tree and whenever we get a big snowstorm it's branches end up on the ground.

I knew it was a big tree, but somehow I totally underestimated how long it would take. I thought we would move this tree, the large bush next to it and possibly another bush that day..... it ended up taking 8 hours start to finish ;)

   I always have dreams of grandeur when doing home improvement projects.........

The Mister dug it up (6 hours work) A couple of our friends came by to help us move it across the property. (thank god) I had thought we could handle it ourselves but after it was dug up I realized I was very mistaken ;) We used a ramp to get it out of the hole and on a tarp and used the tarp to drag it across the yard.

 This felt so comical that I wished I had asked someone else over just to film it...... When we got to he hole the first guy went in and we all piled u p like a 3rd grade tug o' war ;)

 This is the hole where the tree once stood. Phase .5 of the patio project.

And here she stands now......

All that's left to do is keep watering and cross my fingers. Oh yeah, she needs a little pruning to encourage root growth.

I hope she does ok, it just kills me to cut anything down. I even saved the little azalea and wild rose that were growing in front of it :)

With a bit of time and energy you can move almost anything. Most design shows love to just cut down everything and start new, that's easy. It is harder to reuse what you have and make a bore beautiful and productive garden, but I think it is so much more creative and rewarding. I am always so proud of the plants and trees I have saved and given better homes. I get to watch them flourish instead of becoming compost :)

Happy gardening,

♥jenny

Pool Garden Phase 1

The Before photo.....

New pool cover, grass around all sides of the pool. Grass looks nice but is only practical in a design magazine :)

First up. Some really great bushes
for privacy. We settled on English
Laurels and I am really happy with
them. They are evergreen, will get
up to 12 feet high and can be pruned
into a nice hedge.

Next, we dug up all the grass in the area to make way for the garden and patios.

Work in Progress!!! The Mister unloads all the stones and I lay them in sand and fit them. It's like a giant really heavy puzzle :) Then we fill the spaces in between with pea gravel.

Even Roxy likes to get in on the action!

Almost there.....

 Done!!!

When we moved I brought 4 car/ truck loads of plants from my old house.

My old garden was starting to get crowded and needed dividing  so I gave some away and took the rest. It probably could have used some more but at the end I was so overwhelmed with the move I just didn't have it in me.

So we didn't buy much other than the Laurels. We used one pallet of flat stone, lots of sand and paver sand, and 1/2 a bucket load of pea gravel.

I think my little Tiki guys just make it, don't you?

Phase 2 will be at the back of the pool behind the diving board. I will be putting the rest of my plants under the Sycamore to build a shade garden. Hopefully this will happen this month. those poor plants have been in pots for over a year :(

♥jenny

New Walkway!

Well, it has been a busy summer!

I will post our big project later. But for now let's turn our attention to the old walkway........
 

 The photos don't even really do justice to how uneven and unsafe the walkway was.

 We were going to tackle it ourselves since we are major do it yourself-ers. I would say we do 99% of our renovations and projects. Mostly by ourselves but sometimes with the help of our awesome friends :)

We have only hired people a couple of times and at our old house the one time was for our large patio and retaining wall. The guy that did it was really nice and he did a great job so we had him stop by  to give us an estimate for our very sad driveway.

That was totally NOT in the budget now or in the future (unless we win the lottery). But he was interested in doing our walkway for a very reasonable price.

So what would have been a long project for us turned out to be a quick two day make-over. An who doesn't like a make-over????

TA - DA!!!!

           Oh, it looks sooooo much better.
The brick were in good shape so we just had him re- lay them.

 I forgot how awesome it is to have someone else do work on my house :)

I finally got to plant the ferns I brought from our old house.... they have been sitting in pots since last July :)

I think it makes a very nice garden spot. I will be moving that large rose bush all the way to the right to a better location in the spring. It is not in the best spot and has grown to be very lopsided. Not sure what I will put in it's place but I will keep you posted :)





Happy Gardening!

♥jenny

Another tree saved

So me and the Mr. like gardening. We also like to save and plants whenever we can. If it is not in the right spot, not doing well, I would rather move it and give it another chance.

This also applies to other people's yards :) If someone says 'oh, that needs to go' or we're just gonna cut that down', I am always excited to try and dig it up and save it.

That being said, My friend said she was cutting down a 'Bonsai" tree. So I think, cool. I have a lot of space at the new house... "I will save this poor tree from certain death".

Me and the Mr. show up Sunday morning prepared to dig up what I am thinking is a small bush/tree.

Not so.

It turns out to be a 20- 30 year old lace leaf Japanese Maple. It is beautiful. I am doubtful. I am not dressed appropriately due to my thinking it was small and the Mr. could handle it on his own. He is undeterred.

Two and a half hours later we have success and are on the road....

 I soon realize that driving down the road with a huge tree in your vehicle invites many stares...:)

More digging and worries that we have  shocked her a bit too much. It is hot, it is definitely after the best time of year to move her.

We work feverishly.... get her in, break up the dirt real nice to backfill the hole, mulch her up pretty, water...... and pray.

There she is..... It has rained twice now so that should help her settle in.... I am still prying that she makes it :)


Happy gardening!
♥jenny

Terrarium Time...

I have totally gotten on the terrarium bandwagon.

I remember them from when I was growing up. My mom had this particular one that I was obsessed with. It was an egg shaped glass container with a lid and she had these teeny tiny animals in it... a deer and a duck.

I would stare into that thing forever looking at this little fantasy world though the all the tiny plants.....


These are my first efforts:
I took a hanging candle holder that I never really used and....


Presto! My own little mini garden.

This one is my fav. I have had this beeker for forever and I have been looking for something great to do with it.


I know you can barely see him but I found a little vintage ceramic skunk to put in my little fantasy world.

Now what else can I fill with dirt.....

♥jenny

New Pool Cover

So, this is our lovely pool cover. It's really just an old tarp with holes in it :) That's what was here when we moved in so that's what went on again in the fall as my hopes of getting a new one by winter were dashed.
Much to my delight we were able to get one last week (just in time to open the pool in a month or so).

So much better.... and safer. Now all I have to do is landscape the whole area :) The grass is nice but it gets in the pool all summer. I am going to put all my perennials in here with hopes of being able to keep the deer out.

I will update as I plant away!

❤jenny