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Post by Jazz on May 6, 2009 14:35:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2009 14:51:01 GMT
Ah, Canada in the autumn -- that is really beautiful, Jazz. I can imagine how lush it could be in full summer with a lot of new plants and flowers. But I'm sure you must have some photos of the garden buried in snow also...?
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Post by pookie on May 6, 2009 14:57:35 GMT
Beautiful garden, love the statues.Is that lavender in the pot on the table ?
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2009 16:21:36 GMT
All those lovely fallen oak and maple leaves combined is lovely. Not a leaf blower kind of gal I suspect.
Your jackmanii clematis and ornamental kale awaiting you and a healthy,hardy basil plant begging for a pesto to be made.
Your statuary is also very lovely. Thank you for the visit.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2009 16:29:29 GMT
*gasps and squeals*
This is embarrassing, but when I see a garden like that I actually have tears start in my eyes. It's something about being in the presence of the fruit of a brilliant sensibility. Sometimes a painting will affect me in the same way.
I ADORE your garden, and bow in admiration to your sense of design and deftness of gesture.
Are the blue flowers salvia? Are those Aeonium against the fence (in pots) or more ornamental brassica?
The Japanese maple is wonderful, as is the thick carpet of oak leaves, and I adore your ornaments. I could go on and on about the details, but it's the genius of their combination that really blows me away.
Thanks so much for sharing your spot of paradise!
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2009 18:14:53 GMT
I was so dazzled by the first viewing that I forgot to ask .......
How did this garden come about, please? Was there anything there at first, or is this all from the ground up?
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Post by Jazz on May 6, 2009 19:55:36 GMT
Thank you. The garden can be very lush, as you will see, and it is lovely in autumn. The plant on the table isn't lavender, but a heather...I liked it because it made me think of lavender. The plants in pots against the fence are cabbages...I was the first person I knew to grow them, long before they became 'chichi'. They were beautiful and inexpensive. "Was there anything there at first, or is this all from the ground up?" It was all from the ground up. It was such a dump when I moved in that there isn't a photo...no fence, no patio, half the yard was covered with 2" concrete to park the car and the other half was littered with broken beer bottles and weeds. Hateful. The second year of living here, I began to work...I wanted to have an oasis. There wasn't much money in my budget and so I did all of the work. I did hire a man to put in the posts for the fence, then I hammered in each board and the rather unsteady lattice. I pounded the concrete into small, moveable pieces and got rid of them. The patio was next...after some horrific quotes, I decided that I needed to do this as well. Canadian Lumber dumped 1500 bricks outside my garden gate and I wheelbarelled them in as I needed them. I built over the existing concrete, dumped a layer of sand, arranged my bricks and then tamped. (I lost 20 lbs. this summer!)   This is my original rough sketch of the oasis to come...  All gardeners understand the excitement of possibility, that something beautiful can come from a patch of dirt. The basics were completed in about a month (cleanup, fence and patio). Then the planting began and I was out there from dawn til dusk, whenever possible. My neighbors thought I was 'eccentric' since I often put on the yard lights and worked until midnight. The following year it was beginning to take shape...this photo is important for the skinny tree, my infamous red oak...  My garden changes character with each year. I had a 'rock party' once and my friends all brought special rocks for the garden...I was thrilled at the beautiful rocks that some had taken so much trouble to find...one even came from France! Within a few years, the had evolved to this...    In 2002, I decided to take away some of the patio to create more growing space...     and now,  My skinny oak tree then, and now,  |
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2009 20:08:23 GMT
What a great job! Is that a statue of you after finishing the work?  It really looks lush. Does it try to crowd you out sometimes so that you have to beat back the vegetation? |
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2009 12:05:00 GMT
Just looking at those bricks in that pile and seeing the end result(maybe not even the end,I have been known to totally rearrange similar projects much to Mr. C's chagrin) I can so appreciate and admire your drive. The idea or vision that a true gardener can conceive and then execute is the mark of gardening as art.
I have some visions of my garden that I have yet to execute,little piles of just the right stone or paver I may have picked up here or there,pieces of wrought iron,posts and whatnot.
My garden is never static by my own design.Should it ever become so I feel I might perish along side the vines.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 7, 2009 14:14:49 GMT
Just amazing.
I know you've heard "You did all this???!!!!" thousands of times, so I'll skip that. (But, damn!)
Your sentence, "All gardeners understand the excitement of possibility, that something beautiful can come from a patch of dirt." so perfectly covers why people garden, and why it's an art. And your statement, "My garden changes character with each year." captures how something that began as an outgrowth of ones self takes on its own being with time.
You cannot know how encouraging your story is to me personally. I was forced to leave a garden I created from nothing -- a garden that had begun to come into its own. At the moment I'm content with being surrounded with those plants I was able to take with me -- all in pots, now. However, dig I must, and your beautiful pictures and words give me hope that once again I'll have my own oasis.
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Post by lola on May 7, 2009 23:57:04 GMT
Beautiful, Jazz. Doubly impressive when you see the before photos.
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Post by Jazz on May 8, 2009 10:12:37 GMT
My garden has always reflected my state of well being...almost an exact correspondence over 24 years. If I am happy, it is lush, deeply watered and cared for. If my life is in turmoil, it is weedy and often parched, but its basic elements are always there for me...the oak tree, the apple tree, the Japanese maple, the boxwood, the Weeping Caragana. With each year, its character shifts. But, it is has always been my oasis. All of your wonderful comments are giving me energy to work on a garden problem which I will dicuss later, for your input.
The year that I moved in was dismal and poverty stricken. The summer was hot, searing and pitiless. I only went to the yard in the mornings and evenings. Overwhelming. The weeds flourished in the beige sand, cars whizzed by in the alleyway, the moronic drivers heaved beer bottles and the concrete shimmered in the mid-day heat. Dawn and dusk encouraged me. Winter was a very special time to develop my fantasies and I poured over the garden books.
When spring arrived I had energy, a bit of money and my ideas. The beauty of beginning with nothing is that you have nowhere to go, but up. Each day of work shows such advancement that people are shocked and reinforce you lavishly! Most days I worked at least 8 hours because even I was so excited at what was beginning to emerge....the clean up of the debris, build my fence (so I could be private), build the patio, dig up and get rid of the top foot of sand and replace it with topsoil. Then, the luxury of planting! Being impatient, I confess I would buy some plants that were in a more advanced state of growth....the apple tree and the cedars. That year, my garden had its first party and it was beautiful on a sultry September evening.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2009 11:59:31 GMT
As in a blank page,an empty canvas,the artist emerges,puts forth. All that psychic energy I know it well. A driving force within.
My garden too,has always been a barometer of my state of mind. Those who know me well can perceive this. That "gentle plea for chaos" of which I so fondly refer to has a thin line I've crossed over into at varying times . A painful reminder of those states of mind.
The capricious forces of nature can also be very forgiving.
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Post by Jazz on May 8, 2009 20:23:33 GMT
Beautifully expressed, Casimira. My garden is always there, no matter what mood that I am experiencing. It has become an oasis that my close friends love as well, and there is an almost palatable energy of parties, dinners or simply drinks and good conversations that we have shared over time. I would love to see photos of your garden one day.
For years, I lived in studios, then apartments. I would have a plant window and gradually plant after plant arrived until I was accused of living in a greenhouse. It was beautiful and satisfying as well, if you do not have an outdoor garden. This was creative in a very different way because as you, Bixa and others understand, very different plants are grown in the interiors and the 'furnishings' are unique.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2009 21:49:22 GMT
When I feel more confident I will share photos of my garden.
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Post by pookie on May 9, 2009 2:05:14 GMT
I have revisited this thread quite a few times now . I love it. My garden is so big it would never look like that. It has given me some great ideas though.
My daughter asked me last night what I wanted for Mothers day this Sunday .She baulked at the idea of my sugestion of another electric kitchen gadget so Im going with a Statue for my garden.
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Post by spindrift on May 12, 2009 7:52:29 GMT
Jazz - I have just seen this thread showing your remarkable garden. I well know the effort and determination that was needed to transform an ugly space into one of real beauty. Every time you walk into it you must feel it's like walking into a living painting! It's amazing how much trees and shrubs grow over 15 years. When I was designing my little garden I had to think well ahead as to how things would look in the long term....just as you did. It's not easy. You have created an oasis of calm, peace and beauty. It's inspirational.
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Post by Jazz on May 12, 2009 19:38:49 GMT
Thank you, Spindrift...I would have loved to have your beautiful garden wall and the overhanging trees!
Pookie...A very large garden has many problems. Most significently, the time to maintain it. For years, I have been working on the perfect Low to No-Maintenance garden, or, the closest thing to a forest but with some beautiful blooms. I have come close to this in my garden in the front of the house. Essentially, I like privacy and prefer not to be gardening with the passersby commenting non-stop. But, I love to garden long hours in my back garden, often into the night.
My friends have a yard that is 10 times the size of mine. Their solution was to plant each side of the rectangle, then have a huge lawn in the middle. I am not very interested in lawns and I dislike mowing. (I wonder who invented the 'lawn'?) It depends on your climate and taste, but there are many ground covers, shrubs, trees, areas with rocks etc. that could work well for you. Even, if it is big enough, a gazebo? I would love one, but it would be ridiculous in my small garden. I like your idea of a statue.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2009 22:34:17 GMT
Mr. C. has always contended that mowing is immoral.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2009 2:36:27 GMT
My solution to having so much space to cultivate or not has evolved into turning over different sections of the garden back to nature so to speak. More of a permaculture leaning versus the constant overwhelming urge to have it all look nice. For whom is the garden to please I had to ask myself. I would be in a constant state of overwhelment had I not made this decision a few years ago. So, I have some areas (rooms if you will) where I and my friends can visit at different times of the day,night or season.It makes the whole gardening experience more at ease with the way I want to live,relaxed. The current garden has enough structure,bones,to allow the occasional indulgence at the nursery. Fortunately, my craft allows me to seek out unusual specimens and propagate them myself.
The amount of money I spent over the years on plants...
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Post by pookie on May 13, 2009 11:39:25 GMT
Jazz , I have been doing a lot of work in the garden .We have a problem with water restrictions and sandy soil . I make all my compost ,that helps improving the soil . I have a gazebo planned after the new retaining wall is built .My backyard is on 3 levels and I do have some lawn there . Can't do much until wall is built, trying to get a decent bricklayer is a big problem (I have sacked 2 already) . I am repaving shade house at present, new shade cloth will be next job.
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Post by Jazz on May 14, 2009 2:53:38 GMT
My solution to having so much space to cultivate or not has evolved into turning over different sections of the garden back to nature so to speak. More of a permaculture leaning versus the constant overwhelming urge to have it all look nice. For whom is the garden to please I had to ask myself. I would be in a constant state of overwhelment had I not made this decision a few years ago. So, I have some areas (rooms if you will) where I and my friends can visit at different times of the day,night or season.It makes the whole gardening experience more at ease with the way I want to live,relaxed. The current garden has enough structure,bones,to allow the occasional indulgence at the nursery. Fortunately, my craft allows me to seek out unusual specimens and propagate them myself. The amount of money I spent over the years on plants... A perfect philosophy of the garden, I love this. We are not here to be slaves to our gardens but to enjoy them. I was raised in the countryside, with twenty acres of land, most of which was forest or the beauty of along the river that ran through our property. Often flowers that I consider to be wildflowers are denounced as weeds! This may be why I have a greater need for a wilder look...I am very at ease with this. I suppose if I had been intelligent, I would have dutifully planted perennials the first year and that would be that. But it was always more exciting to me to change it's look and feeling each year. Yes, much money spent... Bixa, I clearly remember photos of your unique and beautiful home and garden. At this moment, with the move it is probably overwhelming, but if you created that oasis, then you can do it again. You probably have many wonderful ideas that you did not have a chance to do before, because we can only have one garden at a time! Is your new garden as huge as the last? I can't quite envision a compound and am trying to get a sense of how much privacy...land around your home that you have. Perhaps this is the time for a 'living wall'? There is no rush...you may be forced to lounge in the yard, downing quarts of sipping margaritas and nibbling on tapas as you consider all of your designs ;D You sound extremely busy Pookie! Levels are great in a garden, as are brick walls. What is a 'shade house'? Workmen can be discouraging, I had many experiences with renovators in the interior. God. |
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Post by bixaorellana on May 14, 2009 4:28:08 GMT
Ahhh ~ thank you for the encouragement, Jazz. I really do have a great deal of privacy. This is a great big piece of land & the only other inhabited house is on the far opposite end.
The yard is a mess and there is a shortage of water, but I feel pretty relaxed about it. I think inspiration will hit one day and I'll be ready to tackle at least a section. Right now I'd like to clean up an abandoned garden space right outside the porch gate to use for herbs.
As I said before, the pictures of your exquisite space that was born from unpromising beginnings is a healthy reminder of how gardens happen.
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Post by pookie on May 14, 2009 16:05:35 GMT
Jazz , A shade house is simular to gazebo covered with shade cloth to house plants that will not tolerate sun ,ie ferns .Mine is built alongside my garden shed for extra protection from wind
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