Garden Dreaming on Rainy Days

 

A little garden history...skipping some bits. In Hixson, the house before the previous one, I had a garden covered in wood chips with raised beds made from concrete blocks. I did this myself, altho Dave helped with the block buying, loading, stacking and pushing the wheel barrow. OK...we did it together. 

 The first year I used only one row high and decided that was a mistake and then added a second course, making the beds deeper/higher and easier to plant. Two courses made close to 15" of soil, enough to plant some trees and knock out rose bushes, without digging into the clay below.

Concrete block isn't glamorous but it is easy to afford which makes sense to use in the back yard. 
But now, I have a landscaper and will have to convince him that I really want to continue using concrete blocks for my raised beds and especially now that I have found BIGGER blocks!
The previous size was 8x8x16" and the bigger ones are 8x12x16" which makes the twin openings 9x5" instead of 5x5". That is a lot more space for the plants that I put in those openings and therefore more moisture and root space is available to the plant. Woowoo!  I went all the way to Georgia to see those blocks in reality, at a Home Depot 8 miles from home. hahaha.

 Rain has prevented anything else from  happening in the garden cleanup and so I am rethinking and re-imagining what it will all become. Sigh. Patience.

Garden Plan Prelims

We have one really sunny area, in front, so I hope to keep a lawn alive and green there. RB stands for red bud trees and dw stands for dogwood trees, two of my favorite trees both for the blossoms in Spring and their leaves and shape. I'd like to keep them in a mulched area with big flower pots between them.

 Then behind the sunny area is the shady yard where we will have a doggie fence with a gated arbor, like this:

 The 3 foot high wire grid doggie fence will be attached to the existing timbers but will have less visible uprights in the line between the house and the rest of the fence.

 Here is the view inside the yard. 

 The yard extends behind the house and is shady and full of dropping leaves and seed pods. The dogs will stay here, and we'll have a seating area that can easily be swept. Behind the fence we'll have a path surrounding and connecting all the parts of the yard. 

On the shady east side of the back yard, I hope to have a Japanese style garden with lots of ferns, hosta and other shade loving plants. O boy!

Garden Start

 

Cue peaceful sunrise music...This is the view from the front door at 6:37am.

 Moments later the cavalry have arrived to demolish all the overgrowth and weedy trees in our yard. 

 The fence is down and they took it away. Yay! It looked good in the listing pictures but was a mess in reality. Behind the fence much of the bamboo was cleared out, but some remains. It will stay because it hides another mess behind it, concrete boulders retaining the football field behind.

 The wood chipper eats the last of the large trees. 

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Friday was the last sunny day and after a rainy weekend the yard is a muddy mess. It is so much bigger than we realized now that the fence is down and the perimeter cleared. We have sunny areas, and quite shady spots, wet, dry, low and high.

The landscaper, Nick will return today to discuss plans for the yard. A million ideas have been swirling in my head and I really don't know what to do. Hopefully Nick will solve some of the mysteries.

Under Contract

 

I'm happy to say we are under contract for our downtown house. Yay! 

While in theory it was my dream home, it was not such a dream in reality. Impossible to keep clean and noisy from the fire engines, ambulances and freight trains, no where to walk the dogs without fear of them getting loose and running into Main street traffic (happened more than once!) and just too trendy for it's own good. 

 

Can anyone live like this without a bottle of spray cleaner constantly at the ready?

Anyway...

We know from experience that deals can fall through (since we've done that twice already ourselves) we are hoping this one is a go, and we await closing at the end of this month, or sooner.

So I am feeling a bit philosophical.  Our current house may be our last (never say never) and it is far from perfect, but it is definitely quiet, homey, easy to keep clean and safe. I have enlisted a landscaper and we await the drying out of the yard to begin the massive transformation. 

What I have learned is that a home needs to be conducive to gathering, close enough to chat without moving furniture and/or shouting. There needs to be sunny rooms and shady porches, trees and plants that surround the yard to coax a stroll. I am so happy to have a cheerful spot with lovely clumps of jonquils and grape hyacinth currently in bloom. My potted hosta are coming up and some have even been transplanted into the front planter beds. A garden is really important to us.

My kitchen is just right for anything I might want to cook and not having to eat at a counter has made meals just so friendly and conversation inducing. And the studio has become the family room while still allowing for creativity. We are so happy.

So it was good to experience downtown living to learn what that actually meant. The sale price of that house wiped out the cost of that try out, like it never happened. Heehee.  

  

Inspiration

Now that my fabric stash is at a manageable level, I find myself thinking about new work. I am instantly drawn to the drawn line of these tiles. Very quilty, no? Each one would make a great quilt or the repeated motif in one.

Suzanne Sullivan ceramics.

I am also inspired by the collages of Lisa Hochstein, using reclaimed paper. The edges are so important in the design and make it different than a pieced fabric work. But it could be fused and get a similar look. The layout of the elements are simple yet strong, something that always makes gets my juices flowing.

Décor sgraffito sur engobe noir

© Camille Campignion, céramiste
The playful trees and houses are so fun and have me thinking of small scenes in fabric. Fused of course.

Shapes and texture not often seen in quilts, but tempting to try. Cordula Kagemann
So many great ideas are filling my brain. And the gardening is about to start soon too. What a wonderful life!

Tunic and Scarf

 Now that I have de-accessioned my yarn I found several nearly finished projects, and feel great about returning to finish them. This totally non-itchy tunic is made from:
 Cascade Tangier -Fiber Content: 47% Silk, 19% Acrylic, 17% Cotton, 17% Rayon, and a second hand dyed merino and silk yarn, plus Noro Taiyo-Fiber Content: 40% Cotton, 30% Silk, 15% Nylon, 15% Wool

 Two items in yummy yarns offered for $100, plus shipping. Email Me. The size is 40" bust, 42"hip and it is 26" from shoulder to hip. Sold.

The Giveaway

 The Giveaway took place at my church and The Arty Girls and Knitwits were invited to come and partake. They were enthusiastic and I left the room to allow them the freedom to gobble it all up. Big zip bags were offered, and I also gave them the plastic bins to take home. It was a glorious experience for us all. I am relieved to know the gals will enjoy they goodies they acquired and I got lots of hugs out of the transaction. Just lovely! No regrets.

 

And I showed my friends the church Quilt Studio and we decided to meet there for a second monthly meeting rather than only once a month. Super great!

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So the big NOW WHAT?

I have a few things that are in need of completion and that includes five knitted items. This is an indication that I was off my game. I usually start a project and finish it before starting something else. So the plan is to finish off these projects and get them in the done column. Stay tuned. 

In the meantime, it is Spring already in Tennessee, and the rain has been steady and now we have a new pond in our back yard. Thinking ahead, I have a landscaper already enlisted to make something out of this problem yard. 

Big land moving machines will be coming here, as soon as it dries out enough to prevent a muddy mess. Sunny days are predicted for the week, so this could happen soon. I am so excited about having a really well designed shade garden, with raised beds for my fave perennials like hosta, astilbe, hydrangea, heuchera and dogwoods. Having young men doing the heavy lifting will make this a dream come true. At last. 

We are feeling a wave of peace here, and are so happy.