Stuck In Garden

Posted on | June 23, 2010 | 18 Comments

So what’s happening in the garden? It’s kinda stalled. I wanted to put in a patio this summer but I don’t think it’s going to happen. What I want the driveway to be is something that’s going to take a little more then peagravel. The house still needs major work that will require heavy equipment. So why am I being so silly making a garden when I should be focusing on the larger problems? Like the rotted wall and sill.

And once the house is done I might want something different out back? I really like how my neighbors split up there driveway with a fence and a garden in the middle. The con of this idea is that we would only be left with one parking spot. But we only have one car. In terms of resale I know I am going to hear the complaint that the house doesn’t have a yard but then they will complain about the lack of parking. In the end I think I would enjoy a more private space outback.

So here I am stuck. Trying to figure out where to dump the pile of rocks, bricks, and dirt that have piled up on the back side of my driveway—all found in the gardens when we cleaned them up! I know my neighbors would appreciate it me cleaning up the space. But getting rid of rocks is harder then you think—our dump has no “No Rocks” signs everywhere. So how do you get rid of the sh*t without illegally dumping the stuff in a field. Do I really have to pay someone to take away rocks? And if so what do they do with them? Probably sell them…

Below views of the garden and me in my new sun hat. I got really burnt on a friend’s boat over the weekend. I’ve learned my lesson once and for all. I am not a sun girl but I am surprised how tan I look in that photo! Oh and a photo of Mr. Jack my faithful companion watching me plant delphiniums on Monday night. Um, yes that is a stove behind Jack. Greg bought it back when he thought he was going to turn the first floor into an apartment.

Category: garden

Comments

18 Responses to “Stuck In Garden”

Lynne
June 24th, 2010 @ 1:37 am
Why are you in need of a garden right now? Because you need (a) some kind of sanctuary to escape to from the madness right now (b) something pretty to look at and (c) you need something to do that gives fast results to buoy your spirits and balance out the work still needed in the house.
Gardens are wonderful restorers of the spirit. And yours is looking beautiful btw. In my job as a nurse I see the very best and the very worst of people on a daily basis. High stress. And I come home and just walk around my garden (and it’s not fantastic by any stretch) for a little while, and somehow it calms me.
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bxcolby
June 24th, 2010 @ 5:39 am
Such a great point Lynne – my mum did exactly the same thing (and to a lesser extent so am I.) My parents bought a very run-down house when I was six – think no mains water, ancient electrics – everything needed doing. So Mum started the garden – Dad thought she was crazy but it remains her santuary today (even though the house isn’t completely finished twenty years later – houses have a tendancy to do that).

Also – more than say decorating, gardens need time to grow and mature. As crazy as you might feel at times, you need to start the garden now because it’ll take much longer than decorating a room, or fixing a wall.

As for the garden/drive; what about a product like this: http://www.britishrecycledproducts.co.uk/?Recycled_Mixed_Plastic_Products:Hebden_40_Permeable_Ecopaving ; you can drive really heavy vehicles on it and cover it with gravel,grass or a mix. I think it would allow you to use the garden in the summer and as drive in the winter. Couldn’t you also do a clever fence/gate combination to give privacy in summer and access in winter?

Am sure you’ll come up with something brilliant.
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Trish
June 24th, 2010 @ 7:31 am
I’m loving those blue garden chairs! I know how frustrating these kinds of dilemmas can be – why not try freecycle or craig’s list to get rid of the rocks?
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shannon
June 24th, 2010 @ 8:09 am
can you try to get rid of the excess dirt/rock via Freecycle? Someone might need some sort of fill for their own project.

Keep on keepin’ on Katy. I know that it may seem like why am I putting in this garden when it may change, but really do you not make your bed becuase it’s just going to get messed up again? You do these things to make your life seem in order and to make you feel good.

My mom wasn’t going to paint these built in bookshelfs that were an awful mint green in her new house because “dad is going to build some new ones” I told her that may be YEARS! Does she want to love with them for years? She painted them and it was 2 years before dad made the new shelves. And in the meantime, she wasn’t hating that room.

:)
Shannon
http://www.cascobaysoap.blogspot.com
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Liz
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:31 am
Post ‘free landscaping rocks, first come first serve’ on Craigslist with a pic. My mom is always looking for rocks but they are really expensive.
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Patsy
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:58 am
Katy, have you though about a sort of convertible space for your driveway? There is a house over on Lee Street with a porch that turns into a parking space in the winter, when the parking ban goes into effect.
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Emily
June 24th, 2010 @ 12:06 pm
From the day that we moved into our house we knew that someday we would be adding a second story(the house was small/dated but the location was great). That didn’t stop me from tackling the garden from the first summer we lived here. Even with the recent addition my garden has survived and I can’t imagine not having been gardening all these years! Besides even if your house was perfect your garden always needs to be “renovated.” I find myself constantly moving, dividing, and replanting. It is definitely an evolving process.
Sometimes it’s the small things that keep us sane so that we can tackle the big stuff!
Good luck Katy!
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Sara Krohn
June 24th, 2010 @ 1:59 pm
re: rocks. depending on the size of your rocks, you could think along these lines: Manufactum makes a cool ‘gabion’ bench. I think Gabion refers to the cages filled with rocks that can be seen to hold up embankments. Remodelista has the nicest photo of it.
http://remodelista.com/posts/outdoors-gabion-bench-from-manufactum
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chelsea fuss
June 24th, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
Cute hat!! The garden is looking great!
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Amy
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
The garden looks lovely! Don’t feel guilty — you just have to stick stuff in right away to get it going, since it is a dynamic process. I like that pink astilbe (right?) What variety is it?
Oh, and about the rocks/junk — my town has a transfer station where residents can bring stuff, free. My family actually brings stuff to me so we can discard it there — maybe you have a town near Marblehead that has the same (and then all you need is a friend with a pickup?)
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Nicole - BKLYNcontessa
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:04 am
What a dilemma Katy :/ hmm have you thought of driving to where some houses are being built and ask the general contractor if you could dump your little pile of debris in their dumpster? I’m sure they’d allow it since it isn’t too much.
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mopar
June 25th, 2010 @ 8:24 am
Looks like the garden is growing very nicely. As Lynne put it so well above, a garden is a huge relief from construction chaos.

I love your neighbor’s fence idea. You could have a pretty substantial area back there. A little gate would be cute too.
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mopar
June 25th, 2010 @ 8:25 am
Oh, and rambling roses could grow on the fence!
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mopar
June 25th, 2010 @ 8:34 am
Sorry to post again, but I was just thinking: The parking part could be something quite decorative, such as white brick or reclaimed lumber or some other material laid in a herringbone pattern. That’s an “easy” DIY project, right? Ha ha ha, easy. Hopefully the car wouldn’t drip oil on the pavers. Or, as suggested above, you could put in those recycled plastic ring things and grow grass! So you’d have grass for your parking. Etc. Well, you’ve probably thought of all of this already.
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Katy Elliott
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:04 am
Mopar & bxcolby–

When we first moved in we wanted to do something similar to the rings with grass. Out in the Hamptons you see a number of driveways done like this.

I think the first time I spotted the look was in college at the DIA beacon.

http://www.diabeacon.org/sites/main/beacon

I’m not sure how historic the look is. I live in historic neighborhood where most things have to pass a board. Driveways are not on the list but I’m sure if I pushed the envelope too far I would get scolded. Love the look but maybe not for this house.
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Katy Elliott
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:11 am
Sara Krohn-

I’ve thought about this. I saw stools in the same look last summer?

See here: http://www.katyelliott.com/blog/2009/05/paul-raeside-photographer.html
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Katy Elliott
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:13 am
Amy-

That is a pink astilbe. I can’t remember the variety but it’s a short little guy. The leaves are much darker, thicker, and more leathery looking. Really gorgeous!

Spotted one last year on the Salem Garden Tour (no photo) more more images of the tour here: http://www.katyelliott.com/blog/2009/07/salem-garden-club-tour.html
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Sara Krohn
June 25th, 2010 @ 11:43 am
another tack: I have a friend who in the summer does not park his car in the “yard”. In place of a driveway, there are two parallel rows of bricks where a car can park in the winter, and which can be shoveled for snow. In between the bricks he plants herbs (low growing, fragrant) in the summer, but does not eat them for obvious reasons. The beauty is that in the summer it is a space for picnics, his children to play, etc.
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