A Garden Friend

We found this guy relaxing on an iris pod recently. I think he was just as curious about us as we were about him! We also had an interesting encounter with a squirrel today. He charged at the cat! Luckily, there was a sliding glass door between them! Hope you are enjoying your fall. The weather has been beautiful here. There is a lot of fall planting to be done!

Staircases in the Garden

Here are a few examples of staircases that we have designed for some of our clients. I know the gardeners out there will be disappointed for the lack of plants, but it is still nice to show a good foundation for a garden. I love stairs in the landscape because they give a person a destination. They can lead someone to a patio, a sunken fire pit, a water feature or simply another area of the garden. They can also frame a landscape as in the top photo and cause a person to pause and take in the view. They also offer so many possibilities as far as container gardens, lighting display and even a place to set the pumpkins in October.

Beware Arachnophobes!

You know it's fall when the spiders start making their presence known! We found this spider spinning her web on our porch last night. When we left the house this morning, her web was complete and there she was waiting patiently for her prey. She is very large and beautiful! She is an argiope aurantia otherwise known as the "writing spider" because of the intricate zig zag down the center of her web. The males are actually much smaller and are only seen when it is time to mate. They are not poisonous so no need to rush to kill them! They are actually quite common all over the world, so you may find one in your garden one of these days! Has anyone else seen a "writing spider" lately?

Scabiosa

The scabiosa are still going strong in our yard this year. The "black night" scabiosa is such a striking color. They are a great flower to plant for a cutting garden. They last for quite some time in a vase and look really beautiful when paired with hydrangeas and roses. In the garden they can kind of flop over, but would look really nice in front of or on top of a rock wall. That way, you would be sure to see the blooms. Scabiosa are also surprisingly tough, our dog trampled them more than once this year and they still look great!

Backyard Pathway

Here is a smattering of images taken of the "wedding" project we completed last week. A big thanks to VIP Outdoor Living and David Jordan Remodeling for the amazing work they do implementing our designs. We had a very important deadline on this project and due to rain, we were pushed to the wire. We completed it Friday afternoon, a few hours before the wedding rehearsal. phew. It is good to be challenged and know that we can accomplish quality work in a limited amount of time.

There were many big decisions to be made by the homeowner and she didn't have the luxury of time that most people do for such a large project. She did a great job and has great taste. She has a unique home for small town Nebraska. She is inspired by all things Asian which was fun to include in the design.

The pathway and the fence include bamboo pieces from CaliBamboo. This is the first time I have edged a garden with bamboo and I think it does it's job beautifully. It won't be the last. The homeowners also love copper (notice their copper windows) so we decided to include copper panels on the fence. These will patina naturally over time. The fence and pathway were designed to direct visitors to the homeowners garden which includes a beautiful pond and waterfall. Previously, people would just walk straight across the lawn, bypassing much of the plantings and garden space along the way to the pond. Now they will have to slow down and enjoy the journey!

Favorite Time of Day

This is Jess, our cat, enjoying a nice little spot next to the lamb's ear in our garden. She lives for meal time and garden time! She is normally an indoor cat so getting to sit outside with us is a special treat.

We are trying to find time to work on our own garden. Being in the landscaping business it can be a challenge because we are often working on someone else's garden. We wouldn't have it any other way though, it is what we love to do! We like to work on it in the evenings while enjoying a cold refreshment usually! It is probably our dog and cat's favorite time of day. They love to watch us work!

We also really enjoy composting. It's great to generate your own dirt! We have a had a basic compost pile for quite some time, consisting of mostly leaves, weeds and some kitchen scrap, but we want to make it a richer, healthier soil. Just found this list of 75 Things You Can Compost via the Dirt Du Jour blog. It's eye-opening to see just how much you can put in your compost pile. We may need to expand our bin, it's already overflowing!

Happening in Our Garden

Here is a sampling of what is blooming in our yard this year. The coreopsis is doing well, despite the small amount of sunshine that it receives. I like the way it looks growing around the boulders.



The hydrangea is blooming! (Late Panicle Hydrangea) It glows when the late afternoon sun hits it just right.

The hostas are also blooming.

We also have plenty of ground cover sedum doing it's job and spreading like crazy.

Astilbe Love

I've grown to love astilbe this year. It can be a great addition to a "woodland" style garden. I like seeing it in a large mass like this.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

A Place to Entertain

Here are some images from a project we completed this past spring. There are a lot of fun features including a fire pit, two water features, a built-in grill, and an inviting seating wall.

Cooper, the neighbor's dog even enjoys hanging out here until his mom gets home from work!

This was a really fun project to work on and I am excited to see it once the plants get established.

As you can see, there is plenty of space for entertaining or dining al fresco.

Sculpture in the Garden

This is a "boing" sculpture by Diane Mattern. Her sculptures are a beautiful addition to any garden! She recently installed a hand rail at our home (I will post pics later) and it looks great! Sculpture can really put the finishing touch on a garden and also provide a focal point. Here are a few other pics featuring sculpture in an outdoor space. They were all taken outside of art galleries in Santa Fe, NM.


side note: that's a pretty sweet rock wall.