it's been giving me some unwelcome moments of total frustration...
don't like feeling this way.
I'm overwhelmed and feel rather helpless...
need some expert advice.
I'm considering (and Mr. HB is listening to my concerns) a complete redesign of the yard.
The garden has become far too "high maintenance" and I have been spending many many hours in the hot sun trying to get on top of it to no avail.
I LOVE my roses and plan to keep them. I want and need to find other plants that will look good and not demand too much of my energy and yet still look stylish.
(Mr. HB wants for us to be happy and content in the garden)
We had some friends over for lunch today to discuss this very topic and I am enthusiastic that we might have some help in the future.
The garden needs a plan...
I've pottered about for years with no grand scheme and the beds have evolved in a willy nilly fashion...and while they look pretty, there is a slapdash feel to the whole space.
Too many curves, plants that have "taken over" and a lawn that is filled with buttercups, dog violets and clover.
We invited a couple of friends who have glorious and beautiful gardens
a professional gardener
to walk with us through our garden
and give us some ideas...
Lunch needed to be quick as our guests had a tight timeline.
We drank tea and ate assorted "tea type" sandwiches.
(triangle sandwiches with the crusts cut off)
We served cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks and olives on the side...
Dessert was home made lemon loaf and clusters of red grapes.
We bantered about some ideas and my friend will plot out some plans
his gardener will give us the names of a few professionals that might be able to assist us in our quest.
David Austen Jude the Obscure Rose
The Humble Bungalow bathroom
Mr. HB designed the remodel of this wee space years ago.
This room is so well planned and it makes me very happy too.
Good design is SO important, in the house AND in the garden.
You can see how small the room dimensions are here as the claw foot tub nearly hits the two walls!
Mr. HB had some great tile patterns in mind...
he showed me several options and we agreed on this one.
We opted for a modern pedestal sink
and a pair of new period style lights from Water Glass Studios.
A lovely original painting on vintage linen of French country side
a gift from our dear friend and talented artist, Cheryl Fortier.
(In the reflection you might notice all my silver bangles)
There is no storage other than a medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
We re-purposed an oak arts and crafts bookcase to use for the towels.
Hope you have enjoyed this peek
"Inside the Humble Bungalow."
Hooray Hooray!
we got a smattering of rain this afternoon.
A welcome gift as we are experiencing a very dry summer here.
I hope it will help with the forest fire situation.
Our garden certainly needs the extra moisture...
the roses and hydrangeas are "needy and greedy"when it comes to water.
In other exciting news...
a group of neighbours have agreed to join me in building a small neighbourhood library box.
We plan to donate books to share
We have a glass fronted cabinet which we will paint and build a roof overtop.
We will attach some posts and erect it.
It's one of a number of neighbourhood libraries in our city.
This video is very inspiring...
Take care,
Hostess
32 comments:
I can certainly understand how you feel I am facing much the same problem
We're in the same boat. The landscaping plants that we put in 5 years ago have become haphazard as we randomly replaced plants that didn't work well initially. I think a designer is a great idea!
Such a great classic bathroom. I look forward to seeing what you guys do with the garden!
Hostess! We have the same design of light fixtures in our bathroom!
You are wise to think about making your garden a place of enjoyment without so much work needing to go into it. If you lived near here I would recommend going to the Minter Garden Store and talking to Brian Minter. The man is brilliant. Have you ever listened to him on CBC radio?
As for the clover and buttercup in your lawn, we have the same problem, with a crop of moss thrown in as well. I phoned the Minter store last week to ask what could be done and their answer was interesting. I was told there is only one true chemical left for sale to the public in Canada that will kill the clover. The woman I spoke with said we will probably soon lose that one too, and everyone is just going to have to get used to having these things in their lawn. We did try putting on one of the environmentally safe weed killers a month ago and it did nothing. And I don't want to put on a nasty chemical, especially since we have a grandchild and our dogs who are on the lawn, so I might just have to do what the person at Minter said and get used to it.
I think we are going to have the lawn completely removed and grade the area and lay down new turf. I do not like using any chemical or toxic things either. I listen to Brian Minter on the CBC and think he's wonderful!
That's fabulous! Did you order yours from Waterglass Studio?
I will show what we do as the Changes take place...it won't happen all at once because we will be doing it on a budget!
I remember when you revamped your garden and it looked spectacular. You have had several years of drought and that might explain why certain plants have not survived. We are considering deer proof and drought tolerant plants.
Gardens are always a work in process...they change and evolve every year. I suppose that's what keeps us motivated.
Our lawn in the back has the same problems, overrun with clover, bugleweed and other shouldn't-be-theres, not to mention the ground covers creeping under the fence from both neighbours' properties. Plus, when the deck was rebuilt two years ago, the contractor destroyed the garden bed containing half a dozen different perennials. I look out over it in despair -- there's so much to do, I don't know where to start!
Interestingly, clover is increasingly gaining favour as a ecologically attractive lawn alternative, or deliberately mixed with grass, because of its drought tolerance as well as the way it supports those important pollinators -- honeybees and butterflies.. .
Your luncheon sounds so nice.
My husband is the gardner in the family, and we are also in the process of rethinking our plans. We have such a problem with the deer eating so much of our gardens, that he is determined to re-do with deer resistant things.
I'm glad you got a bit of rain. We are in the mid-Atlantic region, and have had lots of rain this year, after many dry summers. Our gardens (what's left of them) look the best I've seen them.
Mary Lou
My son is a professional landscaper and is a big help with our garden, however he and I have differing tastes. I like a messy cottage type and he likes a more formal arrangement. However, he is a good son and puts his taste aside and helps. His knowledge and advice has been indespensible. His muscles, too. Your pictures in this post are fabulous! Love your set table, your bathroom, the tiles are great. Thank you for sharing.
I think it's a great idea. We hired someone initially and it worked out OK, but now considering turning the front lawn into a fruit and vegetable garden with raised planter beds, etc. So will need to hire someone to lay it out and do the initial work. Yes, gardens evolve.
That book-box video is really inspiring. I am trying to gradually "recreate" a neighbourhood book exchange in our housing complex. Last year, I led a reading group for seniors. Books are (as I learned this year in Oaxaca) a great way to build community. Your flowers are always beautiful but the "high maintenance" part must be frustrating. Good luck!
Have you thought of having the lawn area in gravel? Maybe some box hedging? (Although that needs regular clipping) That can look quite nice as per the french farmhouse look. Good idea anyway to get the professionals in. They have a good overall ‘eye’ for what can be done and the knowledge of suitable plants too.We are in the process of turning ours into a lower maintenance garden too as we have a large plot of an acre. Mulching large areas and planting heavily with native drought proof plants so that we will eventually have just the area around the house as ‘formal’ garden and a little grass to mow. That’s where the roses are so they will be safe! It will be exciting to have a new plan and won’t take long to regrow. I look forward to the unfolding plans! Tonkath x
Leslie, I love the tile.
Also, it makes me very happy to see your table setting. Even with four little kids mom would always have place mats for all six of us. Every night someone would manage to spill a glass of milk. Our parents were so patient about this it makes me happy.
I like to use no placemats or tablecloth on bare wood with cloth napkins like this setting. I think it really bothered mom so I gave in often. And it was very nice to read about this in the book you read and mentioned on your blog here. It was the one by four French women.
Mom's gardens would start out with a lot of flowers and then evolve into a garden with more evergreens as they matured.
Oh I empathize! We have morning glory vines coming in under our fence from the neighbours and bamboo...out front there is an arbutus tree which is dropping masses of leaves all over the front garden...our neighbours' plants have a definite impact on our gardens!
The bees certainly love the clover and we cannot walk barefoot on the lawn or we'd be stung! They are all abuzz on the lavender too...and we have seen a lot more butterflies than we have noticed in the past few years.
Our roses are enjoying the heat here and putting on a glorious show...the deer have voracious appetites and we have been told that they will eat almost everything if they are hungry enough...I suppose that is why the plants are labelled "deer resistant plants"
Your son sounds like a great helper...it must be wonderful to have an expert in the family!
There is a trend here installing vegetable beds where the lawns used to grow. Neighbours are also using the boulevards in front of their homes. The muscle work is daunting so hiring someone to do that is wise. I'd love to see a few pictures if you are willing to share them.
Living in a housing complex must lend itself to many opportunities to share with your neighbours. A book box or exchange sounds like a great project to spearhead...especially considering your library background.
We have a gravel driveway and paths...they require weeding as the volunteer plants pop up between the stones so I am not keen on having all the lawn removed and replaced by gravel...it does sound lovely when we walk on it. Mulch is something we will organize as a fall or winter project. We'll hire someone to do that job as I find the heavy work too difficult and Mr. HB had back surgery years ago so I don't want him injuring himself. Sounds like many of us are considering lower maintenance gardens...I think it's wise to plan ahead!
I usually use a cloth or place mats...for sandwiches and tea I thought "keep it simple."
My Mother would not approve of this habit either!!
Looking forward to seeing what you do, we both loathe gardening, it takes three gardeners to take care of ours, even though hubs is a young un, I've started dreaming about a flat with a balcony. Our gravel still needs replaced every year because we are surrounded by mature trees, ( yearly leaf work drags out so much of it) plus it destroys shoes, I am so tired of maintenance.
A little late to this post,but... Two years ago, during the big renovation/addition to our little, very old house, we decided to completely redesign the property from stem to stern. It looked like the surface of the moon for months, but the end result pleased us enormously. It didn't please some people, who thought it too spare, but we think the design carries the whole feeling of the place, house, outbuilding, etc. Have you read "Your House, Your Garden", by Gordon Heyward? It's simply brilliant. You might start there, even before you consult. A garden is a matter of personal style in the end, and you have a lot of that!
My goodness 3 gardeners...you must have a large garden. I hope that they keep it in fine shape and looking lovely. Perhaps you'd share some of the pictures on IG?
I know how shoes can be ruined by gravel...I often tip toe on it so the heels don't get all scuffed.
I haven't heard of that title...sounds like something I would be interested in reading...I'll see if my local library has a copy. Thank you!
If your library doesn't have the book, it's on Amazon, along with his 11 (!) other books. But this one, is the basis for starting a garden from the house outward.
The library has the book in their collection so I have put it on the reserve list!
Thanks again.
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