DIY Weekend Garden Project

Who doesn't love a wicker basket filled with flowers?

Rogers Gardens in Corona Del Mar California 

started this "trend" of living plants in interesting baskets

years and years ago 

and it has become one of their signature gift items 

at the nursery

They have mastered this look by making the baskets and wooden boxes waterproof

 for use inside 

or outside on your porch or garden table

They 

hide the soil and roots 

with moss and tuck little ferns, Ivy's and succulents 

into every square inch

I have quite a few pretty little baskets

 to use for this weekend project

 I have followed the "Rogers Garden method" of containing the soil 

by lining the baskets with waterproof floral paper

 You can find this paper at craft stores and floral supply stores

It's a bit like aluminum foil but has a plastic over lining 

which makes it completely waterproof

If you are using these out side you will need to poke a few holes for drainage

I secure the paper to the baskets with heavy duty staples 

so it stays put along the sides of the baskets

 Here is the little oval basket 

 It has a new home on the garden table 

in the apple orchard 

 I used some succulents in the little square ones

You can cut the paper as needed or just shape it unto your basket

 This is an old hand picking orchard bucket 

used to pick and load fruit from the tree to the bushel

It definitely  looked like it was in need of 

some cheering up

 I added some geraniums and petunias

and hung it by the little buckle on the back 

over the top of my garden gate

It will be fun to check back on these in about a month 

to see the flowers spilling over the edges

Have a fun weekend 

&

 try this little DIY project

And don't for forget about the special post on Tuesday

"Dream Home Ideas"

xo 

Kelley

Deck Details: Before and After

 Sometimes it's hard for me to remember what this place looked like when we purchased it three years ago 

because so much has changed...

but we wanted the house to remain a simple ranch house
 and not something contrived and silly;
that is also the case with the landscaping

 The latest project involving the evolution of the landscape design is the addition of this really large deck which runs the entire length of the back of the house 

 It gives us an additional 1800 square feet of outdoor living space

 which we so needed.
The weather here is really mild for much of the year and being outside is part of the experience of living in the country

The deck has a simple railing 

which mimics the ranch fencing 

which surrounds many of the planters

 and the gravel driveway and entries 

 This is the rear of the house "before" with an enclosed porch...
when we first started thinking about what we wanted for this property in terms of surfaces we never thought about decking.... but now those two large oak trees are nestled in the center of the big redwood deck!

 This area is now the English rose 

Parterre garden area

Designing and constructing landscaping on a property this large 

with this many large protected trees is difficult...and I really believe that it takes years for a yard to mature and grow into a great landscape

There is a wonderful article in this months Veranda about Molly Chappellet and her amazing garden in the Napa Valley

If you have the magazine, read it!

I embrace her philosophy about listening to the land
 and not having some grand design that needs to be followed to the letter 

 Living on a property with 20 plus, 300 year old oak trees is really amazing...you really feel like the custodian of something wonderful and spiritual, but it's also a lot of work

 We have an arborist here about twice each year to inspect the trees,

 to trim and lace out the dead stuff

We take great care to water correctly too
because the oaks can die very quickly with water at the bases

 The two trees in the photo above were barely visible when we first saw this house.
It was a mess of over grown shrubs and ivy...
Now the oaks are healthy and clean
with the veggie beds, lavender garden and lawn surrounding them

another "before" with the dry patchy grass and weird patios, 

but it sure seemed like  it had potential to us....

a decking project this size is pretty time consuming 

and takes a good layout 

especially trying to include two huge trees into the plan

 it also takes a ton of lumber!

and finally

 here is how we delt with the trees coming through the decking...I was thinking of just a simple cut out of some sort buy my contractor came up with this
clean hexagon trim idea 

 the railing floats on the inside of the deck,

 so there are no visible bolts or screws

 I added a nice over sized landing on an angle for pots and flowers and it really helps to invite you to come on up and sit under the trees...

 the west corner of the lot has yet to be worked on but

 we have some ideas for this nice sunny spot and there is a gorgeous huge oak in that corner...actually one of my favorites on the property

this weekend we plan to work in the garden

and hopefully we will take some time

to listen to the land

happy gardening

Bringing the Outside In

There are many things to dislike about living in California 

but one is definitely NOT the weather

I have been contemplating this project for the last year and finally 

decided to "get on with it...already!"

This will be a new deck and will let us enjoy our 

house from the outside a bit more

The problems to work out were
how to deal with these two massive oaks
that are within 5 to 10 feet from the existing patio

and how to make the deck appear visually as a part of the house 

and not just a landscape element

I'm showing a few before photos so you can visualize how

 plain the house is from this angle

The layout was really important and we needed to be sure not to 

injure  or impede the oaks root system

It's also important to build a deck structurally correct,
just as you would inside a house, 

so it's not spongey or wonky when you walk across it

I also worked on a design for a railing that would mimic the look
of the existing ranch fencing throughout the property

The railing is a really important design element 

and I played around with a few ideas 

until it looked just right

my carpenters are doing an amazing job too 

and always have excellent recommendations

because this is a "design build" project 

with out any plans

there are a few more details 

that will make this deck really interesting,

so we will keep hammering away!

have a wonderful weekend 

TGIF 

; 0 )

kelley