Fall Planting
We visited the nursery today (I think it is my 'happy place') and brought home some plants to put in our newly reconstructed back yard: some beautiful and thorny barberry and a wonderful grass of some sort and a bushy old-fashioned rose. Our landscaping plans are starting to take shape and we are making just a little bit of progress toward our long-dreamed-of back yard. With every addition comes the suggestion of the next step.
In our other houses, we've had a formal design plan, laid out on paper by a landscape designer - plantings and hardscaping both - as a starting point for our projects. (We tried to do that this time too, but ended up with the wrong person and have been afraid to try again. That sort of thing gets expensive!) This time we decided we'd take things one step at a time and see what happens. The drainage and removal of the big tree stumps resulted in an outline and elevation change that is just going to lend itself beautifully to terracing . And there is a big tree in the back (Squirrel's tree) that needs some terracing around it as well - which will nicely echo the lower part of the yard. The 'dry river bed' of the drainage means that there is a planting area already defined next to the house. The big trees in the back corner are just inviting us to put in a little patio for our Adirondack chairs and that will require a little bridge from the deck to the second yard level with a pathway besides. See? This plan is shaping up nicely.
And along the way I'm discovering something that I should have already been practicing in life: that the anticipation, and the planning of things, can be as enjoyable as the 'obtaining' of things. Who knew? I've been pretty impatient for most of my life. When I want something, I usually want it 'now.' And since this has worked for me, maybe it's an indication that I've also been willing to work hard for things. Mostly. In any case, in my middle age, I suppose it's about time that I came to this conclusion.
(Now Mark will argue that, since the average life expectancy is closer to 80 than to 110, I am pretty far past actual 'middle' age - but we won't get distracted with that here, since I feel that in my own blog I am within my rights to be delusional about some things.)
So, "Fall Planting" seemed like it covered both topics.
In our other houses, we've had a formal design plan, laid out on paper by a landscape designer - plantings and hardscaping both - as a starting point for our projects. (We tried to do that this time too, but ended up with the wrong person and have been afraid to try again. That sort of thing gets expensive!) This time we decided we'd take things one step at a time and see what happens. The drainage and removal of the big tree stumps resulted in an outline and elevation change that is just going to lend itself beautifully to terracing . And there is a big tree in the back (Squirrel's tree) that needs some terracing around it as well - which will nicely echo the lower part of the yard. The 'dry river bed' of the drainage means that there is a planting area already defined next to the house. The big trees in the back corner are just inviting us to put in a little patio for our Adirondack chairs and that will require a little bridge from the deck to the second yard level with a pathway besides. See? This plan is shaping up nicely.
And along the way I'm discovering something that I should have already been practicing in life: that the anticipation, and the planning of things, can be as enjoyable as the 'obtaining' of things. Who knew? I've been pretty impatient for most of my life. When I want something, I usually want it 'now.' And since this has worked for me, maybe it's an indication that I've also been willing to work hard for things. Mostly. In any case, in my middle age, I suppose it's about time that I came to this conclusion.
(Now Mark will argue that, since the average life expectancy is closer to 80 than to 110, I am pretty far past actual 'middle' age - but we won't get distracted with that here, since I feel that in my own blog I am within my rights to be delusional about some things.)
So, "Fall Planting" seemed like it covered both topics.
posted by Cathy @ 2:10 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
The Barberries are called Warty barberries. A nice name huh? We did get another rose, a Stainless Steel see one pictured here http://www.growquest.com/hybrid%20t%20stainless_steel.htm We had a Stainless steel in Oregon, quite nice for a hybrid tea rose. They are very fragrant.
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