A View of My Garden in a Mirror 2010

Monday, September 19, 2011

So I've been a little busy.....

Usually every summer I take on some type of project in our garden. However, this year it turned into many projects that all started with renting a sod cutter. I have been wanting to cut back on the grass areas in our yard for years and when my husband finally agreed, well, we went a little hog wild with the sod cutter that we rented for 2 hours. And once the sod was cut, the vacant areas screamed for a project. Now we are going into fall and so far I am at the tail end of several projects and have a feeling they will go into next summer.

Since they are not finished this is a sneak peek so I at least have something to post!
 
No this is not our patio, but it all started with this picture of a brick patio we saw in Mexico. I have always wanted to do this in our own backyard. As you will see below, the patio I am in the progress of installing is hardly anything like this other than they both have bricks.

I forgot to do the real before pictures. These are after most of the projects started, in the beginning stage.

 This location is where I wanted to put the brick patio. At the time of this picture we just had this wall of the house painted and planted the new flower bed.  If you notice to the right is a big tree stump where we had to take down another tree.

 
 So first things first, we spray painted a big circle and rented a sod cutter.

We had to get our money's worth out of the sod cutter rental so we took this area along side the deck out too. And see all the gravel pathway? I never liked that gravel so it became the base for my new patio which means I needed to come up with a new pathway...another project!

And somehow this pond ended up in the back of the pickup on a trip to Home Depot. Talk about an impulse buy! Most people buy a stick of gum on the way out of the check stand. We bought a pond! And another "project!"

This is where I started to get off track from the original patio plan. When I realized it would take me all summer to dig up the tree roots to make a base for the patio I decided to go up instead. And then I found some interesting shaped pavers and fell in love with concrete stain.

Somehow it has evolved into this. A giant sun pattern. I found some Mexican pebble stones that I plan on using in the gaps of the bricks and blocks. And I will eventually be putting in a stone mosaic in the center. I have been inspired by the stone mosaic work from Jeffrey Bale and hope to do something that is a fraction as cool as his work.

This is the current stage of the pond. I still have lots of work to do with plants, ground cover, etc.

This is part of the new pathway area which is actually about finished but I will save the pictures for later.

Another picture of the pathway area in progress.

This is a picture of our pitbull Peaches in a pink tutu in case you have never seen a pitbull in a pink tutu.

 And this is the new fencing we put in this spring to keep the pitbull with the pink tutu out of the flowerbeds along with her little obsessive compulsive sidekick Dinga.

To liven up this wall (like neon yellow wasn't enough) I painted some shutters purple and added Mexican tiles. I also added the metal and clay pot window planters. I will be planting some easy to care for succulents to these in the future.

So now I have documentation of where my spring, summer and fall of 2011 has gone, in between starting a new business (more about that later). I am far from done. I still have to finish the patio, the pond, the pathway and the side of the deck area. And then light it all up so it can be enjoyed at night too. As you can see, this is why I haven't posted much lately and will probably not post for awhile after this. But I really do enjoy sharing when I have the chance so when I have an area done I will give an update. Thanks for not giving up on me!

18 comments:

  1. What amazing projects you've been working on! Love the patio! I love the color that you painted your house. It's so nice to see that people will be more daring with house paint, our house really stands out since we are the only one that's not in the brown family.

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  2. Wow! Now that's a project. The patio is certainly beautiful. You must keep us updated on the progress. You will enjoy it quite a bit. Glad to see you back.

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  3. Your new patio is amazing! I actually like it even better than the inspiration patio from Mexico. Got a chuckle over the pitbull in the pink tutu too.

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  4. It is such a treat to hear from you, Annie and we forgive you in chunks for neglecting us for so long since you've been making magic in your garden. Your projects are looking absolutely wonderful! You can be glad you don't live in my part of the world as I'd be beating on your door, begging you to agree to do a commission for me. You are incredibly talented and I truly am in awe of all you've done so far. I would love to be able to visit your garden except you'd have a hard time booting my off your property. It is really a magical space and I do hope when you are done, you will have it featured in a glossy magazine to share with a wide readership. As always, your injections of humour make your rare posts so special. We all miss you lots, Annie, but you really are a busy young lady creating a marvellous legacy, so we do understand.

    What does Miss Peaches think of her pink tutu? She is beautiful!

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  5. Oh my goodness I love everything you have been working on and can't wait to see/read more!

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  6. Absolutely stunning! I love ALL your projects.
    Peaches, on the other hand, might start to get a complex wearing a pink tutu. I don't think you should do that(much)-LOL!

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  7. Oh my goodness, this is fantastic! What wonderful projects you've been creating and now you've inspired me. I'm going to go visit the link of the mosiac artist for more inspiration.

    I've always loved your colorful, fun gardens and now love them even more.
    Great job!

    Wish you well in your new business venture too.

    FlowerLady

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  8. I love all your photos, Annie Dear. Your projects are just awesome!! So many interesting things to see in your garden. And then there is Peaches! I'm so glad you included a photo of her. Come back soon!

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  9. Dear Annie, I also must say, "Wow!" That is an enormous amount of work to accomplish in one season. And it looks amazing! Well done. P. x

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  10. WOW!!!! Your projects are incredible!!! I also started a mosaic project this summer that I'm only 1/2 done with. I love your patio!! You could give tours of your back yard!! It is really fabulous!!

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  11. Wow! Wow! Wow! Impressive projects!!!

    Love the outcome. How long did it take to complete?

    I haven't seen a pitbull in pink tutu before. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  12. Big Wow! What a cheerful house and a happy garden! You have wonderful imagination and, the most important, make things happen! I take my hat off to you!

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  13. Hi Annie, I like your fearless sense of color, your sunny yellow house with the purple shutters! I like both your initial inspiration and the version you have created in your own yard. The new pathway is also really nice. I must stop round again to see the final reveal.

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  14. Wow, what busy gardeners! I love all of your projects. When I saw your version of the patio, it was way cooler than I thought it was going to be based on what you had said. It's awesome!

    Our front sitting area where the tree had been doesn't have anything down except for mulch from the roots so far. We would like to put brick there, but, like you, we can't get the tree roots out. I'm not sure what we are going to do next year. I thought about putting gravel down, but don't want to use it for mulch in the planting areas, which are sneaking into the sitting area.

    You mentioned your love lies bleeding not getting tall this year. My volunteers are what are tall. The two plants I bought to plant in front of the house hoping to provide some shade for the planter, are flopping all over, and only about 2 feet tall.

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  15. That looks absolutely wonderful, I love the sun pattern! I also love the pitbull in a tutu, very funny :D

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  16. I love the inspiration photo and I love what you've done!

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  17. OMG Annie, how would you like to come to Vermont? Together we could have so much fun in my yard. I just LOVE your yard and what you've done with it!

    Here's to a "green thumb" and more projects.

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  18. Love all your projects. You are so creative and it's always fun to visit!

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