Bullet journals

◼ It's a new thing. Shoulda patented it.

Lime-washed pots

◼ Tara's clever outdoor makes - Home Beautiful .au

You will need:
• Terracotta pots
• Garden lime
• Artist’s acrylic paint in white
• Paintbrush
• Sandpaper, if required

Method:
1. Mix a little water and white paint with the dry lime. (Available from the gardening section at hardware stores). It should feel like wet sand.
2. Using brush, apply lime wash around pot, dabbing here and there to create a slightly patchy effect.
3. Once pot is dry, either leave textured or, for a smoother finish, use fine sandpaper to lightly rub over and remove the excess lime.
"I USE THIS EASY LIME WASH FINISH ON TERRACOTTA POTS TO SPEED UP THE 'AGEING' PROCESS AND MAKE THEM LOOK AS THOUGH THEY’VE BEEN IN A GARDEN BY THE SEA FOR YEARS" ~ TARA

Try searching 'pumpkin spider'

You'll get all kinds of cuts Halloween pics, pumpkins and spider decor, almost nothing spider related. So trying to find the 'real name' for pumpkin spiders is almost impossible. It's ◼ Araneus diadematus, or European garden spider. They're Orb Weavers, and they make huge webs, they themselves start out small and skinny every fall, but get big, fat and round, looking like orange pumpkins. Not generally poisonous.

They're the only ones I like. And I don't usually disturb them. You do have to look out for them as you go down any path, the webs are quite large and intricate. The only time I draw the line is when they put the web right in the doorway.

Image source: http://www.nicksspiders.com/nicksspiders/araneusdiadematus.htm

The sod went in, the rains came, perfect timing

The pots on the steps are there to keep the dogs off the grass at first, but as it turns out, it's totally ok to walk on it, and they love it. Lots of stuff waiting to be put in place, it is all coming together.

Ta-Da! The sod has arrived!

September Equinox:

Trying one of those Pinterest projects - turning Halloween Trick-Or-Treat pumpkin baskets into cement pumpkin planters. These'll be filled with some billowy grass and some succulents. I used about half a 60# sack of concrete for these two. If they turn out I will make some more. If they REALLY turn out, I will find some of those bigger tacky lawn decoration pumpkins and make a big one. Love Halloween anyway, and love this idea. Simple, classy and fun.

A good way to mark the Autumnal Equinox, while I wait for my sod order to arrive. More progress on the backyard clearing, too.

◼ 10 Facts About the First Day of Fall - time and date

I'm not a big fan of Fall. The days'll be getting shorter and colder, the mad rush to the holidays begins. It seems like it came early this year, the colder nights, the falling leaves.

For us it means an apple pressing, coming up. One of the good things. That, and our Indian Summer, some of the nicest days of the year on the coast.

Here's how they turned out:

The concrete mix has gravel in it, if you want the smoother look, you might want to use Quikrete. I don't mind the gravelly smile, it is for Halloween after all, and a bit of the macabre is expected. plus in a few years with some moss taking hold, they'll be all the more awesome and rustic. Now to dress them up... grassy mohawks and succulent wigs. Everyone asks are you going to paint them orange, and you could, but no, I like the grey concrete. Tempted to paint the eyes glow-in-the-dark, though, just kidding.

Ranch houses...

◼ A nice slideshow HERE including some remodeled ranch houses near the end.

Described as "a laid-back, low-slung residence with an open floor plan and sliding glass doors that linked it to the backyard....usually only one or two rooms deep with porches extending along the front and courtyards or patios in the back—perfect for enjoying fresh air and sunshine...typically feature low-pitched roofs with deep overhanging eaves—a characteristic that reinforces these homes’ horizontal appearances...the real outdoor action takes place in the backyard...ranch homes were designed for families to enjoy their leisure time in the backyard—unlike earlier architectural styles that included front porches that served as outdoor living rooms...."

Things in waiting...

Like this little Bird Fountain... Some shade sails, outdoor patio string lights (with colored bulbs for Christmas, if you want them). Lots of pots, which weren't built into the original design ideas, but should be.

With both the shade sails and the lights, there needs to be some posts of some kind to attach them to. So they wait. Because that wasn't designed into the plan either, but it needs to be. And I don't really want to do the fill-a-bucket-with-cement-and-a-pole thing, but if it comes to that, it is better to have the lights up than not. We'll see.

Ready for sod...

All that clearing this summer, now the ground is almost ready for sod. One pallet this week, and one next week.

The Great Blackberry Eradication Project is almost over.

- Those pots barricading the deck from the planting area are some of the Rescue Roses. Trying to encourage the dogs to take alternate routes so it won't be so hard on the sod once it is in.

Here's a photoshopped simulation of how it will look:

A-a-a-a-nd, here's the real thing, in progress:

Japanese elements

Sod v. Seed

All that junk has been cleared, the ground is bare coming off the deck and sweeping down about halfway through the back yard. It's been a huge effort this summer to clear it all out, it had become completely overgrown and neglected.

After debating, sod v. seed, I decided on sod. There just isn't time to deal with seed, and all the problems that will come from the dogs running through the area. It's still a problem with sod, but not as much.

The downside to sod is the cost, of course, and how you'll feel if the dogs dig it up - at least with seed you can just sigh and re-seed. But this is the best choice for us. Instant green, and a good chance at success. What a difference it is going to make!

At any rate, the cost of sod isn't that bad - 2 pallets is LESS than the price of a 9 x 12' rug, if you think about it.

It is funny - along the lines of the high price of neglect - that the simple act of having a lawn is a luxury. Something everyone else has, and mows, and would never imagine not having. And yet, having had to dig it out from under the overgrowth, it's now an accomplishment and a luxury. Then again, it is something that has been needed here since we bought the place. It had a lawn that was glorified pasture grass even at its best. So in some ways this was always in the plan.

UPDATE:

We put it in last September, it's now May and the grass has benefitted from the wettest year on record. It's been mowed many times, it's lush and healthy. Yes, the dogs have dug a few holes, but they've been patched (we got matching seed for that purpose). Any concerns about cost are meaningless, the reward is worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Should have done it a long time ago.

"Rescue' Roses

All of a sudden I have a slew of 'Rescue' potted plants, picked up at some estate sales. 'Mystery' roses, unmarked, and without blooms, for the most part. Will be interesting to see what they turn out to be. One was marked Brandy, and one has a new bloom, it's quite definitely Fourth Of July. They were very dry, and are responding happily to being watered.

There were two Dahlias, one white, one unknown color.

Along with these are a bunch of nice terracotta planters, various sizes, and a super bargain.

Previous 'Rescues' include a white, and a red hydrangea.

They're currently lining the sidewalk, as I get ready to install sod, and then decide what I am doing with plantings.

A view of the future, from the past

The high price of neglect

It's another year of backbreaking clearing. Digging out the blackberries, weed eating 3' high grass, truckloads of green waste/dump runs. It's devastating. IT's overwhelming. I let it go, and it got more than away from me. It's rendered the back yard unusable.

Last summer we cleared the side yard, and it is still intact. Replanted and flourishing, hydrangeas and roses blooming, hollyhocks standing tall, Sweet Woodruff filling in. It's encouraging. And going to be even more beautiful.

This time, I hope to accomplish the same in the back, get it back to the well-on-its-way-to-garden-tour-material status. I have the benefit of mature plantings now, in the form of trees and some rhodies. Most everything else isn't there anymore, blackberries choked out every living thing. As we're clearing, daylilies are popping up and starting to sprout greenery again. A rose bloomed as if to say THANK YOU. Some things are being pruned back almost to death, and if they survive, good, if they don't they will just be replaced. It's not fun.

But there's hope.

Putting up the Costco Patio Lights

They're beautiful, they're heavy-duty old-fashioned looking lights at a super price from Costco. They look best when they're kind of randomly strung. I was going to hang them along the eaves, like you do Christmas lights, but it just doesn't have that same effect. But our deck has no pillars, there's nothing to string them TO. The trees aren't yet big enough/strong enough for the pull that would be exerted.

◼ Feit 48 ft Outdoor String Lights FROM COSTCO. (And there are colored replacement bulbs, for Christmas)

Reading up on how to string them, best advice is, run a guy wire, then clip them to the wire, which will bear the weight and put less stress on the electrical wires. Several bloggers have shown different ways they've created the necessary posts - some by embedding them in concrete in planters, allowing space for plantings as well. These have the benefit of being portable. These guys ◼ DIY Outdoor Lights installed electrical conduit as poles, embedding sleeves in the ground, and so they are also removable. ◼ THE BEST OUTDOOR LIGHTS

Like everything else, the idea of 'putting up lights' is easy. The actuality is a little more complicated. Where's the plug in? Do you need an extension cord? Where are you going to anchor it? House? Poles? Trees?

Let's say you are anchoring it to the facia, can you loop it back, to create a fan effect? But that puts extra pull on the anchor... so you may need bolts that go all the way through.

Still figuring it out, because my layout is not conducive to the kind of look I am after.

Meanwhile, the solar lights look great.

Solar pathway lights, some from Harbor Freight and some from Costco are installed on the white house trim boards, and on fenceposts. The ones on the greenhouse (from Harbor Freight) have been there for 5 years and still light up every night. The newer ones I just got at Costco, and I hope they last as long. I put them about 11.5" down the trim board, and at night the white trim lights up. It's a great look.

I also have some solar fencepost caps from Target (Smith&Hawken) - they've been going for a few years, too. Should have bought more.

The dollar store mini outdoor lights lasted for a year plus a little, but aren't lighting up anymore. They served their purpose, but they've been replaced by a nice big set from Costco that look fantastic at night, like a hotel/resort. Right now they're just tucked around, gradually being moved into place as each area is restored.

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This year's additions

A passel of terra-cotta pots, some Balinese wind chimes and smaller statuary picked up at an estate sale. A couple of fig trees (small) and a dwarf variety, in pots right now, to go in the ground later. Lots of annuals for color, some more white hydrangeas to go in the ground later, a peony. Gotta plant my deep purple lilac, too, it really was the perfect dark purple.