Architecture

“Posh with a Capitol P!”

ESPatch Mar 14, 2013 6 comments

My latest front and back garden design and install, this one is in East Austin.

The claustrophobic boxwoods, confined circular beds around the pecan trees and the metal edging were first on my list for the dumpster. This property was made more complicated due to the grade differences. Everything was mounded, the driveway was low, grass areas high and I really wanted to open up the existing linear (and sunken) walkway to the street.

Then it was the turf’s time to go dumpster-diving.

This existing cactus bed had some nice specimen plants and a large sago palm and opuntia that stabbed me repeatedly throughout the course of the installation process.

This metal fence also served no purpose as the wooded fence behind it created enough security and enclosure, this was also removed to further open up the space to create a better flow through the property.

The back garden had an over-sized hot tub (that was removed) and a lot bricks that had buckled as the ground shifted.

It is a documented fact that the removal of bricks defies all conventional laws of physics. There are always 35x more bricks excavated than were originally in the ground.

Large amounts of decomposed granite was delivered,

in this case three dump trucks full, this was #1…and that is a lot of granite.

lots of boulders and flagstone.

Here are some before and after images:

Enlarged cactus and succulent bed, side metal fence removal and new meandering pathways.

Flattening of the grade to create a less segmented appearance, organic flagstone pathway replaces linear concrete walkway to street.

Hot tub removal, back patio and a stock tank planted up with cattails (naturally).

Planting bed definition,

introduction of a small water feature. The home owner already had this little fountain, it worked out perfectly in terms of scale and volume. I have been sensitive to the audible volume of things in the landscape ever since my wind-chime kerfuffle some years back:

http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2008/05/wind-chimes-and-my-post-oak-a-darwin-award-nominee/

360 unification.

The future home of…well something?

Back in the Patch:

Remember when I finished this brickwork,

and the traveling folk moved in?

If you recall I gave them an ultimatum to tidy their camp up or leave,

imagine my surprise when I took a walk up the garden, turned a corner and…

found that my traveling folk had turned all posh with a capital P!

We needed a new tent and it was spring break after all.

They have practically been living in here since I pitched it.

Even our house-elf has taken to the new temporary structure.

Of course it is hard to avoid technology in the tent when you are still in WiFi distance from the house.

Moving along:

My ponds are awaiting the drop of the catkins from this overhead post oak, my net is at the ready.

Salvia has wasted no time with our recent warm temperatures.

1920’s high fashion holly fern unfurling.

Here is a great combination, if you have the space:

Sabal major with an understory of Texas red bud – my “borrowed view”.

Finally:

Yetis may or may not exist in the Siberian mountains but I do know they exist in the Patch.

Stay Tuned for:

“Candy Apples”

An everything but the kitchen sink time travel machine!

All material © 2013 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“Tortillas in the Silvermist”

ESPatch Feb 16, 2013 7 comments

This has to be one of the most ridiculous titles of any post I have written to date.

I have been laying a lot of Silvermist flagstone recently, about 11 leg-aching pallets of it to be precise and that is an awful lot of squats and nipped fingers.

Let me back up a little.

This design and installation called for a significant reduction in lawn, especially where the grass was continuously struggling. This metal edging was first on my list to go.

At the rear of the property there were a number of existing structures (that were to be removed) and large shade trees,

an area where people naturally congregate to escape the heat of the Texas star.

The rest of the space up to the house was a blank canvas, a veritable small field of turf that the client wished to reduce, leaving select areas for child-play and the occasional summer…

Well, you would not want to do this on decomposed granite after all.

Some other features on the client’s wish-list included a water feature, an entertainment patio and an area to relax in and read a book.

Pulled from Google Maps, this is the plan I submitted to break up the space.

Areas were cleared and prepped,

existing structures removed,

their foundations heaved from the ground.

I laid out soaker hoses to sculpt contours and assess spacial proportions,

before the removal of the turf began.

In keeping with the scale of the property,

some Bedrock-sized moss boulders were carefully placed at a few key eye-landing points around the property.

“Toes clear Barney?…You betcha Fred.”

An equally substantial rock was drilled, plumbed and positioned on cinder-blocks for the bubble fountain.

Here it is naturalized with a backdrop bed of roses from the Antique Rose Emporium, https://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/

The blue-grey of the Mexican beach pebbles references the color of the silvermist, the brown hues in the flagstone and moss boulders works with the color of the decomposed granite that was spread along the back fence line. When the remaining grass greens up, the contrast between these mediums will increase.

Sweeping pathways break up the space. I used smaller areas of flagstone as a decorative element to separate different aggregates,

and naturally I had to introduce a corner stock tank…the future home of a stand of cattails. (I made sure the sticker was hidden from view.)

This fledgling cypress grove will function as a privacy screen and future seclusion room as it matures.

The addition of a new screened-in porch on the side of the house and the introduction of multiple new planting beds will soften and naturalize the scheme over time, the porch providing bug-free enjoyment of the new space.

Now, where are those…

Back in the Patch:

All hell was breaking loose…

“YAA YAA, over dar…OVER DAR ESP, OVER DAR!

Calm down BL, and you are in need of a haircut if you don’t mind my saying.

Take a look, it is…………….LEAKING!!!

It appears that the frost bitten “unmentionable” from a few posts back has taken a disgusting turn for the worse:

It has apparently toppled over and is now revealing a dark glutenous interior that I immediately retreated from. If you missed the previous post this is what can happen to a frost bitten pine cone cactus. Brrr.

Kumo_Elf

I just hope our resident house-elf does not come across this oozing delicacy or I fear he will be in for another trip to the sink of shame.

I could of course dig it out, but I am not going to.

Mess my shovel up it would.

Talking about messing things up. No sooner had I laid out this brick patio then some traveling folk immediately moved in,

making themselves quite at home.

Lá breithe sona duit, miss P!

…Now, get ah yer junk af me patio if ye knaw whats good fer ya.

Finally:

These two photos just appeared the other day on my photostream:

This one was strange enough, but this next one I had to

study for some time to figure out how he achieved it.

Back in the garden:

My mountain laurel has started to produce its first blooms this week.

And the “Jewels of Opar” are once again emerging from the jungle floor.

Is that the best you can do Tarzan? Where is the heart?