Adventures in the Shade Garden

 Drat! I forgot to take a "before" picture! This area- while still looking kind of barren- was covered in poison ivy and woodland asters. Hey! I like woodland asters as much as the next native plant gardener but they were the only thing in this section of the shade border and were threatening to swamp the few little Hostas that lived there. Originally, I was going to re-do this are last summer but thanks to really hot, dry conditions (and a low well), I had to wait until this year.

Fortunately, I actually had a selection of plant material (mostly Hostas *1) from previous birthday requests and plants that were scattered throughout the other areas of my garden so after I weeded and removed rocks, I was ready to transplant.

Yup! That's one of the more sizable individuals I wrestled from the ground! I dug up various lonely Hostas, divided others and started planting. I also moved several into the newly dubbed "Hosta-pital" behind the barn. These specimens need a bit of TLC!

I had a "Little Mouse Ears" that I easily divided into three, but they're going to the far end of the shade garden, which I'm also replanting. Little Mouse Ears had resided under the Sand Cherry that half-way died this spring. Suddenly, it was full sun and the Ears needed moving. Anyway they will all have a place in the Shade Border after recovering.

Further along, I planted Caladium to distract from all the weeds and mess in an area I haven't tackled yet. I will be the first to acknowledge that shade gardening doesn't come as naturally to me as full sun gardening. Shady gardens may be cooler to work in, but I sometimes get the willies as they tend to be moister and slimier and you can't always see what you're putting your hand into. Yick. But they also tend to take care of themselves more after they're installed so less time is spent fondling slime.

Here's the terminus of the Shade Garden. The lovely gate that Bob made me for my birthday several years ago is such a nice transition to the wilder world beyond. And the giant pale green Colocasia makes a terrific statement (*2).

And you know me! Can't resist a bargain and can't have too many plants! While shopping at our local supermarket, how could I resist rescuing two Hostas (on two separate occasions) that had been reduced to 1/2 price! Ditto at the big box store where I was purchasing contact lens solution. They look so happy now. More residents for my expanding and improving Shade Garden: Yay!!

(*1) Named varieties of Hosta that I have collected were "Island Breeze", "Guacamole", "little Mouse Ears", and recently added "Minuteman", "Rain Forest Sunrise" and "Blue Angel". I already had "Sum and Substance" and "Empress Wu" and "Sagae"-(these last 3 are huge varieties!), along with any number of delightful by unidentified cultivars.

(*2) Thank you to our friend Roberta who has a real knack for raising an astonishing assortment of Elephant Ears!

Calvinists Just Want to Have Fun

 

We have a good friend who has on several occasions referred to Bob and I as Calvinists. I am certain that his facetious reference alludes to what he sees as a sober, hard-working couple whose idea of fun is well, sober and hard-working. I don't know about the "sober" aspect (as we do enjoy our tipple!) but I suppose the hard-working label has some truth to it. I offer the above picture for illustration.

One end of my riding area is low and because I have to squeeze every square foot of available flat land to use for my equestrian pursuits (*1), I thought to raise this end up by adding dirt. But before dirt must come rocks to stabilize and fill in some of that space that needs raising.

This requires moving rocks- of which we have plenty!- from point A to point B. There's a heap of rocks where several large trees fell down at the edge of the horse field, fortunately not too far from my low area. This necessitates pilling the rocks into the wheel barrow. Oh! We love our wheel barrows! Probably one of our most useful tools...

I transport the rocks in smaller "lady-like" loads as I am a small Calvinist and not as strong as my male counterpart. But I get the job done, singing stirring Calvinist hymns as I go. Many barrowsful did I schlepp today! Along with "contami-poop" (*2) as dirt is in short supply. The "contami-poop" fills in the spaces between the rocks and cover them. I will then add more dirt on top. Use what you have!

Yes, I realize the partially broken down manure will settle and sink, but it's available and there's more to add if it sinks a whole lot. In the meantime, I'm making progress and having a blast. I don't know about you, but even if something is hard physically, it can still be pleasant. Besides, I get the pleasure of knowing that a bit of labor makes my riding experience more fun. Anyone interested in a real good time can feel free to come on over and help me work!

(*1) The "official" size of a small dressage arena is 60' x 120' I am a tad tight on one end width-wise... the end I'm attempting to make higher. When you're piloting a 1000 pound beast around at speed, every foot counts!

(*2) "Contami-poop" is the horse manure I sequestered while Neko was on antibiotics for her Lyme disease. I also save aside the manure produced when I administer horse wormer (Yes! Ivermectin! Hard to find these days because of (ahem) alternative use as a COVID therapy. So this manure is not good for use in composting for garden use, but perfect for filling holes.

 

 

Visible From Outer Space: Part 1

 

OMG! So we have finally decided to erect a full scale replica of Stonehenge and invite our Druid friends to a festival celebrating the return of the autumnal equinox! NOT!!

We are actually constructing a round pen. This is in anticipation of the arrival of Nico/Neko (still don't have that spelling established...). My riding instructor/trainer Sabina has suggested- and been backed up by many, many equestrian experts- that a round pen is an excellent training tool that promotes bonding with your horse and emphasizes proper groundwork and improves their ability to physically improve and carry themselves correctly.

Of course, I turned to Bob and solemnly intoned, "Round pen..." to which he (correctly) responded, "Huh?" So we found a way to approximate a round pen for a fraction of the typical cost. Home Depot is an absolute boon to artists and artist/horse owners who want training facilities at reasonable price. A real metal gate constructed round pen averages about $1200-1600. It consists of 12 foot panels of pipe in a circle to create a pen of about 60 feet across and about 188 feet around (circumference). Ours cost way, way, WAY less!!

So  I found a site on the Internet that had instructions for casting concrete no-dig footings. And then Bob (smart man that he is) suggested that maybe pre-cast footings were available... which they were! So then I said I had pre-priced plastic PVC pipes that could be used as uprights and cross pieces around the top. The above picture is the 2" PVC pipes affixed to the cast concrete bases. They worked great; we did have to get 20 of them to go around the perimeter. And we did have to return 10 of them that turned out to be an inferior, crumbly cast. Hey! Loads of fun; they each weigh 50 pounds!!

So with new, better castings, we proceeded to erect the 10 foot cross members. And quickly found that 10 foot PVC does not like to flex to accommodate the bend of the ring. So we attempted to weight them, hoping to provoke a curve.

We carefully piled logs on boards and weighted them down in the sun, thinking that maybe the heat of the sun would help cajole them into a bend. Nope! Next morning, when we rolled all that weight off, they promptly shrugged off our attempts at bending them so back off to Hope Depot to return 9 of the 2" pipes and to get nine 1 1/4" pipes instead. (We alternated 2" pipes with 1 1/4" pipe... which worked! There was enough "give" in the smaller pipe to compensate for the bend.)

So here's Bob and the uprights for scale. Look at the middle left and there's Bob picking up rocks, because of course, wherever we put an upright, there were rocks!

Rocks: need I say more?

Anyway, once that had been accomplished, we sort of sailed along; measuring from the center point out 30 feet and establishing the outer edge. Today we finished erecting the top cross members. Essentially, that's the top picture. I have thanked the inestimable Bob and his dedication to a cause he will never share in: Bob will never "round pen" Nico/Neko the horse, or even ride her in it. But he's so game!! Willing to assist me in the above crazy project. I will post the pictures of the completed round pen in my next blog posting. It's been an interesting side line to all the other wacky things we do...

In Sickness and in Health

Behold our mystery dogwood... which turns out to be a native viburnum! (Viburnum Dentatum) It's blooming like mad and the honey bees are swarming it so we're all happy. It seems to have taken off behind the rhododendrons, now that that row of spruce and pine trees is gone. (Ah yes, "thanks" to last year's tornado...) In any event, it's a welcome addition to the garden.
I am behind: in blogging, in gardening. Alas! I have been sickened by a tick borne illness yet again, and while on the mend (I feel fine!) I cannot be in the sun so the garden suffers a surfeit of weeds and neglect. (Except for that shade garden which looks pretty darned good, being shady and therefore okay for me to toil away in.)

And rather than dwell on all the things I haven't done, I thought to "be positive" and offer pictures of the handsome accomplishments that I have managed. Like the above collection of partially assembled container offerings. (Love those geraniums with the embellished leaves!) I had been enjoying creating lavish arrangements of tender annuals for our terrace area and was having such a good afternoon, thinking that I had stayed well into the shade and avoided the sun... until I went inside and looked in the mirror. Then it became clear that I had burned in indirect sunlight! My cheeks resembled some of those brilliant red and orange flowers I was planting. (Does anyone know why antibiotics cause one to become so sensitive to sunlight?!?) In any event, I'll be even more of a mole rat going forward and not emerge from my studio until much later in the day!'

And here's an update on that Rock Border: We have mulch fabric rolled out and rocks re-applied to maybe a third of the overall length. It's going to take a while before I secure enough rocks to cover the length! I'll have to take even more walks... HELP!! (That's lil' Robin the Good, searching in the lawn for more rocks (or more realistically she's probably looking to eat something inedible.))
At least I'm on the mend. My initial week of antibiotics had me feeling alternately pretty good and pretty atrocious. By now, my joints have stopped screaming and I seem to have regained my typical energy level. I want to garden and do stuff; now I'm awaiting an overcast day to do it all in!

*I'm also gestating a new artist's book project. Honestly? This one has been kicking around for a couple of years. It's exploring issues of income disparity and my own travails with impecunity. Stay tuned... this will be a good one! (Working title: "A Pot to Piss In, or "What's an Artist Urn (Earn)?")

Good Fences and Neighbors- Again!

I was so excited to get this project underway that I plum forgot to take pictures or document it until too late! But see all that nice new fencing? Five whole panels (at 8 feet a panel that's an additional 40 feet of coverage!) that weren't there yesterday morning...
Last week, I announced to Bob that I was considering hiring our good friend Joe to assist me in erecting more fencing. Bob eagerly seconded my idea as he has been super busy with metalwork orders and he knew how anxious I was to get this fence section completed. It is right next to my famous Lilac and Shrub Departments... new additions as of the last couple of years, and in need of a bit of privacy. I felt exposed and self-conscious while gardening down there; sometimes I'm covered from head to toe in mud (or worse!) and wearing my gardening clothes- short hand for my weirdest and most expendable outfits... ripped, torn, and filthy. So I was sparing our neighbors (very nice people) from the cringe worthy spectacle of the soiled, cursing crazy lady lurching around and stumbling over half unearthed tree stumps and poison ivy brambles.*

Even my daffodils look happier now that they are a bit more protected!
So Joe cheerfully agreed to meet me for for a day of digging, nailing, hauling and hoisting fun. He arrived at 9:00 and we lugged drill, extension cords, shovels, crow bars, electric chain saw, fence sections and saw horses into place only to realize there was a bit more "clearing" that needed doing before we set up any fence. It took us a good hour to chop, saw and haul trees, wild rose bushes, barberry and scrubby choke cherry growth away. And then we were ready to start the actual joy of post hole digging. Our soil is reliably rocky...
At some point early in our efforts, we required a ladder so that Joe- despite being heroically taller than myself- could pound the posts in. (In a moment of engineering brilliance, he thought to sharpen the ends of the posts so that they would drive in more easily) I went to Bob's studio and requested a ladder and Bob helpfully asked "how many sections we had gotten up". Hahaha! He was surprised- and concerned- when I said, "None!" I think he thought we'd never get on with the job.
But we did! By coffee time (typically about 3:00 or 3:30) we were well on our way and had completed the job by 5:00. It looks great! Even our neighbor next door suggested that we needn't have put the "good side" of the fence towards them; I'm sure they're glad to be spared my weird hijinks and wardrobe crimes AND they get the "good side" of the fence! Deal! Good neighbors!

*Additionally, we no longer have to stare at their dozen or so parked cars and snow mobiles.

Terrace Complete!

It's only fair that I insert a photo of Bob hard at work on our terrace so that you don't mistakenly think that I did all the work. So here's Bob, mixing up the final batch of mortar to finish off those decorative seams of quartz rocks. This is, after all, The House That Quartz Built.

This is a nice detail shot, showing how we cleverly united the cement areas to the mixed cement and stone areas. It's a perfect balance between playful and practical (much like us!) and it looks good to boot.  It was great to be able to say, "We're done!" and take down the construction zone fencing and open the door directly out onto the lovely new terrace...

We celebrated it's completion yesterday, despite a steady rain and less than cooperative weather in general. The last two months have been unrelentingly warm and sunny and conducive to outdoor living on a nice terrace but plan a celebration and you get rain... at least it's good for curing cement!
It's great to finally finish a project that has been on our minds for the last six years. We do spend a huge percentage of our time outside and having a new outdoor room is a treat. I have almost forgotten how awful that rotting deck was.
And if you look really carefully at the back right hand side of the terrace, you'll see the flat cement slab that was already there and to the right of that is a small pile of rocks. This was intentionally put there: it's a new toad house. We have had a toad- or a few toads that all look pretty similar- residing under our rotting deck. We provided a small heap of canted rocks on the dirt at the edge of the terrace- a perfect replacement house for our resident toads. We hope s/he enjoys it!

Terrace Processo

So the real work on the terrace commences! (To be distinguished from all the preliminaries like hauling gravel, concrete and wood...) Bob is so smart. He figured out a nifty framework to level the areas we constructing: we wanted a combination of cement pads (that would be easier to shovel in the winter) and stone and concrete sections... along with narrower channels which are a combination of mortar and white quartz in between that would unite the pattern. And it had to slope away (slightly) from the house so as to drain well. So many things to consider!
Here we are, considering:

And then the endless mixing and applying began:

(Do I look like I know what I'm doing? Hmmmm....)These bags of cement weigh a ton (well... 90 pounds) but don't go as far as you'd think. We got 8 bags initially (remember all that math about how much weight we'd lifted one afternoon?) but we had to make a second and third trip to Home Depot for the same amount again and again.

Here's a couple of days later. Notice we have a very interesting- and stylish- mix of cement and rock going on. There's a lovely ratio of flat cement pads, radiating out from the door with the surrounding areas (that receive less foot traffic) being a mix of stone and cement. It's dynamic yet restful.

Another angle to better describe what's shaping up. We're about half way there and it is getting more exciting by the day. I can't wait to be able to use it! Next spring?

Rock Shop

Part of the fun of building the terrace is a trip to the quarry. Yay! The piles of sand, gravel, rock, slag and slurry are staggeringly high and it's like visiting the moon or Mars. The first time I went to this quarry with Bob (maybe when we were constructing the chimney? my studio?) I was intimidated by the vast barren heaps and the gigantic equipment that barrels by at what seems like a million miles an hour. Everyone is on an important mission, dwarfed by their humongous Tonka toys.

They're so purposeful and all lined up to be filled with mammoth amounts of pre-mixed concrete. Our project seems so puny in comparison. (And here's a fun fact: the gravel we're buying is absurdly cheap. An entire ton of that crushed stone we got to start the terrace was only $15. The stuff we bought today was only $25 a ton. But to get it delivered was $305! Thank goodness we have the trusty red pick up truck.) The clouds of dust are evidence of just how fast they're going.

Here's a shot of the mountain of rock that they're busily reducing to the 1/2 inch gravel like the stuff we're buying. It looks like the Grand Canyon (or again, the moon) and there are monster trucks racing up and down this very steep access road. It all seems somewhat precarious.

Here's Bob bravely facing down the giant bucket loader that is a big as our truck. These guys are pretty masterful about loading in just the amount you want. I guess they could really crush the truck beneath a pile of rubble if they wanted to. But loaded up, we safely departed and began the other fun- of shoveling off all that gravel back home...


 

Can't Stop Diggin' It

Here's an action shot from my exciting "Digging Cam". Yup! We're at it again... expanding that outdoor seating area. You will remember that as a quick fix for the garden tour, we demolished our sadly rotting "deck" and put down gravel. It looked lovely, but it was but a temporary stop along the way to true, full house-width terrace...

So I spent a pleasant afternoon carting away wheel barrows and wheelbarrows worth of dirt. (And yes, there was only one of me but three wheelbarrows. I was anticipating some friendly gnomes or dwarves to come along and help me out.) Some of the soil went to fill in a sizeable hole that Robin (who was VERY helpful during the Big Dig) had excavated beneath the picnic table. Some went to a mighty depression along side the shady area. And some simply became a pile of dirt. You never know when you'll need extra dirt! (Like when Robin re-excavates that hole...)

(The beginning of the pile of dirt, out past the horse barn.) And there's always plenty of rocks! These will probably go behind Bob's studio. Of course, none of them are flat and usable for the actual terrace; most are just handy potato sized stones, good for not much of anything.

Another live action digging photo! Isn't this exciting? I know I've mentioned before than I really like to dig in the dirt. It's truly one of my favorite mindless exercises. I guess that makes me pretty luck today as I dug away to my heart's content. By the late afternoon, it was well underway.

It needs to be deeper but I got a good start and all the sod is removed. We need more gravel and concrete, but we have the rocks for the edge and all kinds of ideas for the central pattern. I did this preparation so that Bob and I can do the construction this weekend.

And all day long, I had this bit of doggerel looping through my head. I believe it is from Vonnegut's "Slaughter House Five" (Could be re-attributing...)

 "Me and Yuri work in mine-
Holy shit! We have good time!
Every Friday we get paid-
Holy shit! No work next day!"

That just about sums it up.

Sleepless and Pensive in Suburbia

Does not being able to sleep have its merits? I guess I'm trying to find a few... Like I am finally getting around to posting this blog. But it is 2:00 am and I'd really rather be sleeping. (Thanks to our friend Louise! She shared that she had been unable to sleep last night; although tonight is the full moon (obscured by clouds and rain).
Suddenly I find us hurtling towards the end of summer... no!!! Let's face it: it's the second week of August, my "vacation" starts next week and our garden tour is only a short two weeks off. I put vacation in quotes as we're not going anywhere and we will no doubt be consumed with last minute details in preparing our vast estate for touring by the adoring public. With every passing day, I admire the passing of yet another flower and wonder- yet again!- what will be in bloom for that tour. It's a good thing that we're surrounded by flowering weeds and large outdoor sculpture. These will provide a distraction from the rapidly imploding garden borders. It's the time of year when sheer horticultural entropy ensues and ample rain assists in making all available plants cascade and tumble into one another. It's a riotous jungle and a big mess and I secretly like this chaos. There's nothing you can do about it!
This summer I have found throwing myself full tilt into gardening has certainly helped me deal with Mommy's passing. Digging in the dirt is such a healthy occupation for me, despite contracting Lyme Disease and poison ivy seemingly every time I set foot out the door. It's a cliche, but working with Nature puts the whole cycle of life thing into perspective. Things live and then die and there's not much that you can do about that, either, except do all you can to help sustain and nurture them. Gardening is also really good for taking your mind off one thing and forcing you to concentrate on all the bloody rocks that keep burping up from underground...
I have been in plant acquisition mode this year. Not only did I order up and plant a slew of asters, but I discovered lilacs (!) and ferns (!) and we need more trees... I think this is how gardening escalates. There is always another kind of plant and another type of garden to plan. If it wasn't 2:30 am I'd probably be outside, digging.

Shrub Border Part II

And to reinforce just how much work (and fun!) I experience when creating a new border, here's a partial pile of the rocks I unearthed! Single-handedly wrenched from this stony, unforgiving New England soil. (Stirring images of doughty pioneer women...And I did get just a touch of poison ivy.)

Here's the pile of brambles I chopped, yanked, pulled and sawed down. I think I really needed to see my hard work documented...
And while I was busy hauling and planting and watering, all this other stuff was erupting:
                                                                            

Tulips! That transformed from yellow to orange and were simply super. (Sorry my picture placement is all wonky. As usual- because of that blasted Mercury retrograde or a virus, our computer is behaving oddly. Actually, I think it's still something to do with that upgrade to Windows 10...)

That's not the greatest picture but it looks really super in person... less empty space!  Robin is skulking away in the back ground; she probably stole something from me, like a perennial pot or a glove. Very sneaky! Tonight while I was planting the pansies a friend gave us (thank you Bob!), Robin stole my watering bottle, three (empty) annual packs and tried to wrestle the hose to the ground as if it were a giant Anaconda- she's very helpful!
Additionally, the sand cherry is blooming like never before and the Magnolia is still in bloom. It's really been a pretty spring. I am just beginning to feel a bit swamped (Jeremy Swamped that is) because I need to get started planting seeds and there are already weeds. No rest for the wicked!

Jules Pees on Heavy Equipment

Yes, that's a picture of Jules peeing on the heavy construction equipment up the road. On our walk the other day, Jules and I heard some terrible crashing and creaking and general large engine complaints. We turned back as it was way to noisy for our tastes. (We like peace and quiet so that we can pursue contemplative internal thoughts... that is until I sing (radically off tune) for Jules, to encourage him forward and to ward off bears, mountain lions and the like.) But I promised Jules that we'd investigate just what was going on over the weekend when the equipment was silent.
I actually remembered to bring my camera! And this is the first thing we saw:

A large pile of rocks, extricated from the ravine near the Plaster House (it's really made of stucco). There's a stream at the bottom, but they had this big honkin' bucket scoop type thing cantilevered out over the gorge.

That's the machine in repose. It's big and sort of intimidating, but I suppose that why Jules peed on it, to assert dominion over it.

Yeah, he's also peeing on that bulldozer. What a dog! I still can't figure out what they were doing besides rearranging large piles of rocks, but I tried taking a picture of the ravine...

Hard to gauge, but that's really steep. I enjoyed the skimpy piece of thin plastic hazard tape. Now there's something to grab ahold of if you chose to fall over the edge! I think the road was in danger of collapsing or something equally dramatic.

Here's my handsome dog looking up the road, ignoring the gigantic jaws of death hovering only a couple of feet away. I think he was entertaining the idea of peeing on this, too but I pulled him back in the other direction, I'll have to go back this week and see if they're finished with the project.