Nonnie's Nest

Something pretty

2012-01-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

A few left over bits of color from an arrangement, to color up a cold grey winter day.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

What beautiful word, "THANKSGIVING." We give thanks for all our blessings, and remember to give to those who need. Wonderful time of year to center ourselves.

2011-10-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

A couple of faces of Fall, the last of the color before nature changes it all to shades gray.

2011-10-17T10:14:00.000-04:00

Hibiscus adorned a patio restaurant along the Amalfi Coast, in Italy. A cup of coffee , a cookie, and an ocean view, beautiful day.

2011-10-10T15:34:00.000-04:00

This was the garden of our Hotel in Sorento, the path to the right goes back to the pool area. The wall to the left, is the remines of a fort. The whole site sits on the bank of a gorge, that was created by a glacer.
Top photo shows the gorge below.

Veggie stand in a small piazza

2011-10-10T15:15:00.001-04:00

Beautiful veggies in morning farmers market, along the streets of Venice. Those are peppers and the white floating things are mushrooms.

2011-10-07T10:27:00.003-04:00

This is an Olive tree, on a busy street circle, in Tuscany region of Italy. They grow everywhere, even along the road side; where ever the birds plant them.

These sticks are made of Chestnut trees, they help protect the plants and trees from winds and extreme weather. Nets are sometimes attached as well. This garden was viewed along the roadside.

This is what olives look like as they fall from the trees.

Italian Holiday

2011-10-07T08:35:00.001-04:00

On a recent trip to Italy, I took photos of as many types of garden ideas as possible, including tiny, and roof top types. Space is at a premium, but a beautiful gardens were eked out in some very unusual locations.
Italy has been experiencing a very dry hot season, but that is good for the sugar in grape vineyards. 2011 will be a good year!

Novice Tomato gardening

2011-09-10T09:34:00.001-04:00

The season is ending and the colors are fading in the veggie garden.
This is my third season with tomatoes as the focus in the veggie garden. The first year, I planted Burpee, Big Boy Hybrid, it was a great success. This was a tomato that is quite common and hardy in our western New York area. Great for salads and slicing, can grow to a very large fruit. Nice tangy flavor but not good for tomato sauce, for my taste.
The second season I planted the same as above, Why mess with a good thing?
But the this season, feeling a little adventureous, I decided to mix it up a bit. I planted, Burpee, Gardener's delight, this is a very sweet cherry tomato. It can be eaten whole as a snack, or used in salad. It grows in clusters. This was very successful.
Well then I went to a Burpee Heirloom, called Black Krim, well it didn't go over so well with the family and friends, to say teh least. This is a Russian from the Crimean and Black Sea area. It is a juicy, rich flavor with brownish-purple skin. It mades a great pasta sauce but is very seedy.

2011-08-28T14:18:00.000-04:00

Garden was skunked, ever so mildly, but enough to notice. FIT really worked, took all of the added aroma away from my hard work. Now on to the cooking and freezing.

2011-08-25T09:31:00.001-04:00

1. This is my first experience with blueberry picking. For those of you who live in areas where you cant and WOULDN'T blueberry pick, this is how it is done. We drove out to some farm in the middle of somewhere, New York. My friend, who is an experienced picker, assured me this was the best place, for the quality and price. Plus, we'd get home in time for lunch.
I was instructed on how to prepare for this quest, by donning a two belted construction strung through the handle of a pail, and slung over my shoulder, and across my chest.
They grow on bushes that stand between 3 and 5ft. tall.
I was then told, to massage the clumps of berries. And it works! They fall into your hands.

2011-08-25T09:12:00.000-04:00

2. Rinse and remove twigs, spiders, and grass hoppers that land on your refrigerator.

2011-08-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

3. Frozen blueberries placed in a two cup freezer bag, for yummy pancakes this winter.

2011-08-07T13:38:00.001-04:00

This has been one of the nicest plants I have acquired this summer. It thrives in hot sun and has bloomed all summer. Very pretty show.

Cucumber Frame Project

2011-07-02T06:45:00.000-04:00

This is not a ladder. This is what my husband made for my cucumbers to climb on, because I borrowed his ladder last year, and he was not happy about it.

Some New friends

2011-06-14T16:42:00.000-04:00

2011-06-09T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hello all,
Life has been a bit unsettling, but maybe I am back on track. My garden is a place of peace for me, and I am sure for all of you. One of the many wonderful things about gardening is, we can always go back or start over.
When we started building this house, almost 3 years ago, we had no idea what was in store for us. Well, I can't say it was an enjoyable adventure, but we have come up on the up side, and it has become our home, but I would never do it again.
I love all your blogs, and have followed you from time to time while I was away from my own. You are humours, inspiring, educational, and compassionate. Thank you one and all for being here.

2011-06-09T10:40:00.002-04:00

2011-06-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

2011-06-09T10:33:00.001-04:00

2011-06-09T10:32:00.000-04:00

2011-06-09T10:29:00.002-04:00

2011-06-09T10:28:00.001-04:00

2011-06-09T10:27:00.002-04:00

2011-06-09T10:26:00.002-04:00

MAKING MY WAY BACK

2011-06-09T10:25:00.000-04:00

December Bits

2009-12-15T10:05:00.009-05:00

It has been a very good year, in the new house. I actually feel like we are at home now. This will be our second Christmas here.
Finding and getting that star up there was no small feat. Blown up Santas and other assorted lawn ornaments were easy to find. I'm glad we persevered. I think it looks good.
Merry Christmas to all and best wishes to all in the coming Year!

Just wanted to share with you, a new friend I spotted early one November morning. He had a few females with him.

Adventures with Leeks

2009-11-18T09:53:00.006-05:00

I pushed the harvesting until November. My reading said October for leeks. Our weather has been mild, so I gave it a try. I planted a four foot row. I didn't know what I was doing, and didn't thin them. You are suppose to build sand up around the bottom, to keep them white. I didn't do that either, since I am a lazy gardener.
This defiantly was a labor of love. I love leek soup, but I don't think I will be growing or harvesting leeks again. There's the twice trimming while growing, the picking, more trimming, washing and more washing. Then I laid them on trays to be placed into the freezer, so they wouldn't stick together. When they were frozen, I tucked small bunches into freezer bags, and refroze.
If anyone has a good potato and leek soup recipe, they'd like to pass along, please let me know.

Your Opinion Greatly Appreciated

2009-10-28T09:10:00.006-04:00

Here is the current problem, a tree may fall. This tree is on my new neighbor's property. The root base is exposed on my side of the property line. The stick in the back round marks the line. Beyond the stick is a water run off drain. When we had our house built last year, we requested some trees be left on our property. I am satisfied with those. When they leveled our land for water run off, that is when I realized the current problem.

Well I thought when the new neighbors bought the land they would see the problem with this tree and have their builder remove it. Nope!

So fellow bloggers, what would be a good band aide for my side of the stick. I thought a stone retaining wall as high as the roots, on my side of the line, might help. We could shovel in some dirt to protect the roots, for awhile anyway. I don't know how that would work in the future.

What do you think? Have at it people!

And by the way, yes I have been a negligent blogger, and I am sorry. I must confess, I have an a addiction, and it is a game called Wizard101. Just can't stop playing. Don't go there, you will get sucked in, your family will never be able to shop or check their email again.

Thanks To All

2009-09-23T16:03:00.005-04:00

This time of year is pretty much the end of summer in Western NY. I still have leeks, carrots, some tomatoes, and a few onions left in my veggie bins. It was a bountiful harvest.
I'd like to take this moment to thank all of the garden bloggers who have encouraged me, and forgave my blogging errors, graciously. This being my first year to blogging, I can't tell you how helpful and inspiring, all of you have been to me. I have taken copious notes, and followed your instructions, to find myself a better gardener, and proud it. It is to your credit, that I can walk around my garden, coffee cup in hand, before I head off to work in the morning, with a garden blogger smile.
I am indebted to you all. :)

My Bountiful Garden

2009-09-14T07:01:00.005-04:00

This is just some of the harvest. It keeps on coming. The tomato is a Burpee Big Boy Hybrid.

All veggies started from seed. The peppers are sweet from Burpee. So far, I have put up 12 pint jars of sweet pickles, 12 jars of dill, and three gallon freezer bags of tomatoes.

There was a blight that struck around here, which devastated much of the tomato crop. I had about 6 tomatoes with a white shoulder, appeared as if etched in mold. Those tomatoes were exposed more then the others. I had clipped away some foliage, to exposed them to the sun. The others were protected by dense leaf cover. A few went to the giant slugs.

The ladder experiment worked quite well, placing it over the cucumbers kept them trailing up.

Kids On The Block

2009-08-31T20:06:00.003-04:00

This is what has been going on on the lot next door. You can plainly see it's an excavation site of ancient Mayan Temple. Yes folks, we have it all, right here in Western New York; giant tomatoes plants, endless rain, and mosquitoes the size of small birds, yup.
Four, eleven year olds carved that into a pile of soil, excavated behind a new home going up. They worked for days, from morning until night with all of their garden tools. They never argued or complained. To bad it will have to be shoveled back to fill in the swamp, where some of the mosquitoes are breeding.

Plants Gone Wild

2009-08-13T20:04:00.006-04:00

My tomato plants, started as seeds in cups last February or March. I transplanted them twice to larger containers, before I took them outdoors. They were planted, with their roots and first two leaf shoots buried laying horizontally, in my raised bed. There are five plants here.
We had a 70 MPH wind and rain storm this past weekend, and much of my already weakened stakes fell even lower.
I bought new stakes and re-staked them as best I could, without losing more then five green tomatoes. There are yet a few beets at the lower left.
The little Maple in the back round has already decided it is Autumn. I think it is to deep in the ground. When they graded the land around the house, that little guy lost out.

This was the view from my bathroom window this morning. I'm not fond of Sunflowers, but up close and personal, these are beautiful. This is my seed garden of vegetables. I planted Sunflowers in the the four corners of my raised beds. This one is almost seven feet tall. The one diagonally to it, is one-third the size. Next year I will plant the bed with that sun angle in mind.

Think Vertical

2009-08-03T11:07:00.005-04:00

Although I used this in my kitchen, this peg board-vertical office, could be used in a garden shed for storage.

The racks could hold seed packets, small tools, journals, instructions; any number of items that get lost, wet or gone missing in our configurations of spreaders, buckets and tools. The dry erase board could come in handy for notes to post later to journal, or coupons from garden shops.

There are four long screws, with sleeves, securing it to the door. One inch "S" hooks were used to secure the bins.

Thoughts on the 26th rainy day.

2009-07-29T21:00:00.012-04:00

These are photos looking out of my dining room window. We built this new home because, as many "empty nesters," our turn of the century city house, got to be more labor then love. We chose the site strictly on location. It was close to family and services. It was in a first phase of a new development, a subdivision of a thirty five year old development, to the back of us.

I could intellectualize about urban sprawl, but to actually be a part of it, in such a dramatically rapid fashion, is unsettling to say the least. The land across the way, is supposed to be a New York State wetlands, but a land company purchased it, and mulched all the trees before they got permission to do so. So in order to keep it from staying a wetland, they plow a portion of it on Sundays, piece by piece.

The engineers office of our town, gives us lip service about the issue. "Yes," they say about it not being developed because, it is wet lands.

The geese, hawks, killdeer (birds) bunnies, and cranes, will be moving on. Well maybe not the geese, they seem to be settling quite nicely in our parks.

The neighbors behind us said, thirty five years ago, they were told, the woods behind them would never be developed. My house stands on that very site. Sometimes I feel very much the enemy.

Food is beautiful

2009-07-22T20:17:00.008-04:00

Sun flowers, tomatoes, beets (I like the tops better then the bottoms), onions, cucumbers, parsley, peppers, lettuce (leaf), beans, more lettuce (Romaine), a few peas (growing in the shadow of the towering tomatoes), and carrots (growing in the middle of the tomatoes), and more onions.
I took out the radishes to give the late cucumbers room to grow.

I need something for the giant slugs; they look like hunks of sliced sweet potatos (ugh!).

More New Friends

2009-07-12T21:09:00.003-04:00

These came with the bare root plants I purchased a while back. They were labeled
"Flowering Shamrocks"

2009-07-12T20:58:00.003-04:00

Japanese Anemone (Anemmone x h. 'September Charm')

2009-07-12T20:39:00.004-04:00

"Queen of the Prarie" Filipendula rubra, Venuta (Magnifica)

Some of my new best friends

2009-06-30T18:09:00.002-04:00

We have lift off

2009-06-26T21:22:00.001-04:00

Love Hate Relationship

2009-06-18T10:24:00.007-04:00

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), smallest species of the onion family 'Alleaceae.' The word "Chive" derived from the French word"cive," which was derived from the Latin word for onion "cepa." It is a herbaceous plant, and has insect repelling properties-Japanese beetle. It attracts bees, and contains vitamin C + A, and traces of calcium + iron.
Such a delicate color, balancing their little puff heads atop long pale green straw shaped stems.
I planted them next to the patio, so I could run out and snip them as I need them. I planted them in that bottomless container, in the hope that I will be able to keep them from traveling to far. I have delt with these darlings before, so I am prepared.

Veggie Update

2009-06-17T17:33:00.008-04:00

In the veggie garden are: Sun flowers in the corners, Marigolds on the sides (just a few), sweet peas on the far left, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, beets, radishes (like crazy), cucumbers didn't work-some seed+ plants wilted, maybe too cold, scallions, red onions, leeks, pepper plants look almost as small as when I put them in. All plants were started as seeds, and I'm not sure I mixed the soil/fertilizer/peat, well enough.
As you can see in the top photo, there is a Maple tree shading some of the garden, right over head. We trimmed some branches this week end past. There is a large Maple as well, on the opposite side doing the same job. It's not on our lot, it's an empty lot, and I am very tempted to go over and trim it.
At the rate the veggies are growing, we will be having a Fall Harvest.
Please excuse the "text box" in the center photo.

Another Sunday Outing

2009-06-15T10:20:00.004-04:00

Saw this interesting choice of outdoor decor at the Allen Town Art Festival this weekend. Allen Town is a historic and eclectic community on the west end of Buffalo, NY. People come from all over the country to sell their wares. Paintings, crafts, hand made jewelry, leather goods, ceramics, and garden decor, from wrought iron trellis, to bird baths, were some of the items displayed.

Meet my new friends

2009-06-10T20:06:00.007-04:00

I don't know what happened, one minute I was just strolling along, and the next I knew, I was putting them in the car. I had to find good places for them, so I asked them to stand in two rows for identification. I then seperated them by sun and shade, a couple couldn't make up their minds. So here we are as follows, from left to right, back row first.

shade Deutschland Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) White
sun Coreopsis 'Full Moon'
sun Dwarf Russian Sage (Perovskia) 'Little Spike'
shade Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla)
sun Clematis 'Hagley Hybrid'

Front row:
pt.sun Charm pisifera 'Iceberg' Comefer
shade Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum hispiulum)
sun Oriental oregano 'Amethyst Falls'
pt.sun Foxglove (Digitalis x mertonensis)
sun Heather Allegro (Calluna valgaris)

2009-06-08T16:35:00.008-04:00

It's been a week since my last post. I've been pouting. I was denied access to a garden blog site, but I don't remember submitting to it. They didn't say why, only the usual requirements. Is not my subject content garden-like enough? Should I be using Latin names for my plants? I took Latin in high school, I guess I could. Would it make my content more interesting? My language isn't colorful. Is my composition not interesting enough? Boring? Dull? Should I be posting exotic places I've traveled? I'd like to save those for the winter, we have a long winter. Are my graphics not pretty enough, to pretty? I don't know.....
Anyway, over the week end, we took some little people to the Penn Dixie quarry. It was named after the company that owned it. A dry millions of years old ocean bed, provides much fun for kids with axes and hammers. We took away plenty of dirt, and trilobite fossils. Click on the photo to see it better, if you feel the need.

2009-06-08T16:28:00.001-04:00

Mail Order

2009-06-01T17:44:00.013-04:00

This is how I received my mail order plants from DIRECTGARDENING.COM I ordered
2 Daylillies Purple D'Oro
2 Hosta.Regal Blue
2 Hydrangea Trees
2 Japanese Lily
10 Iris, Eye of Tiger Dutch
2 Monk's Cap Purple

Free:
1 Stella D'Oro Daylilly
4 Flowering Shamrock

I hope that "Instruction book" they included, has plenty of instructions, because I've never planted bare root plants before. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

In Living Color

2009-05-27T21:22:00.004-04:00

Finely starting to see the fruits of my labor, or partly my labor, mostly it goes to the "scapers."
That's a blurry Weigela, and a Lupine "Gallery Blue"

Just a word of thanks.....

2009-05-26T18:35:00.005-04:00

Just a word of thanks for all of your encouraging words, on my new house journey. I sooo miss my plantings at my old home, and I'm impatient to get back to an ample garden. I know it will take time, and I should take the time to enjoy the time in the doing, and I am. But, I miss my peonies, and my heirloom roses, I miss the forsythia, and the tulips of my old place. Plants will become familiar, and become old friends sooner then I think. I'm glad I have all of you to travel along with me. Keep blogging, even if you don't think anyone is watching, they are.

Window box

2009-05-23T22:49:00.004-04:00

This is the view from my computer room. My husband built a beautiful window box, that expands across the front widow of my house. There are three plastic bins inside the box that are easy for me to remove for planting. He attached tiny hoses in holes of the removable bins, which drain into corresponding holes drilled into the bottom of the box. Under the box are three globe box woods. After our gray northern winter, in our new house, it's a colorful view. It's finely starting to feel like our home.

A drop in the perennial bucket

2009-05-19T19:50:00.005-04:00

Today I went to the "candy store," oh you know what I mean, that garden center with the prettier, bigger, and more unusual plants ($$$). I bought 18 plants. I went to http://www.lockwoodsgreenhouses.com I got everybody into the ground. It looks like a drop in the bucket.
We even had time to get the deer fencing put up around the veggie bins. I attached tree branches every which way across the top, to try to keep the birds out. I saw it on a British blog.

Patio step

2009-05-18T15:29:00.007-04:00

Now all I need is an awning, a grill, and some furniture, for this project anyway.

Just an observation

2009-05-13T16:18:00.007-04:00

Today I'm pretty pleased with myself. I've been a little under the weather, (no pun intended), but I am rallying. My newly planted trees are bug free, and blooming nicely. My little starter seeds are all in the ground and trying to recover from transplant shock. Those poor little Cosmos are actually getting their feet dug in. Nature is truly amazing.
My husband is working on what little lawn area I have left him, he's a lawn guy, married to a garden girl. Oh well.......

Beds begun

2009-05-06T20:25:00.006-04:00

I know this doesn't look like much now, and it might not look like much later. These are Cosmos
seedling. Either the deer will step on them, or some other disaster will befall them, like my husband draging the garden hose over them. I am being hopeful.

Beds waiting

2009-05-05T23:09:00.004-04:00

This is my shade bedding, with a pea gravel path. It's very Zen, but difficult for draging a wheel barrel around.

I've purchased a couple Dusty Millers, A Blue Angel Aquiegia, and a couple Silver Scrolls Heuchera. They're going right there at that point on the left.

Phase One Completed

2009-05-04T14:02:00.010-04:00

All professional work is completed. Beds, plantings, boulders,stone path, patio, pea gravel path and garden shed, are completed. The veggie beds, still have to be filled. I caught some kids with "light sabers," playing in there yesterday. I'd better fill it, and fence it soon, before it becomes the neighborhood playground. Now all I have to do is fill the perennial and annual beds, and pay the bill.

The stepping stone side is the sunny side, and the shed side is the shady side. I'm going to need some help with selections, so if anyone wants to make a contribution of ideas, have at it.

The Back Forty

2009-05-03T19:38:00.006-04:00

Some of the trees lining my neighbor's pool. Beautiful Blue stone from Pennsylvania.

I think the patio is going to bigger then I originally thought.

Moving Along

2009-04-30T22:26:00.004-04:00

This lot was not our first choice, I said, " I'd like not to have a lot with the electrical boxes, as a prominent landscape feature." Fine, they said.

We had to pick a different lot, because we added 6ft. to the floor plan. Manholes and electrical boxes are only a couple of my landscaping challenges.

I was at work, while these gentlemen pondered where exactly, and how they were going to place my 2 raised beds. Some serious thinking, looks to me.

Let the Games Begin

2009-04-28T14:02:00.004-04:00

View of left+right sides of house.My paint spray of property line, on right. Isn't that "man hole" lovely; it will make a nice scape challenge. You can see the veggie bins waiting in the garage.

2009-04-28T13:56:00.002-04:00

This is a list of front yard plantings-

The Dogwood, is being relaced with The Redbud Clump.

2009-04-28T13:35:00.004-04:00

Front yard

THINGS I'M DOING WHILE I'M WAITING.....

2009-04-21T22:48:00.003-04:00

CLAY

SILT

SAND

And waiting for........

2009-04-21T22:06:00.012-04:00

The article in the magazine said,"you can complete this inexpensive project in a weekend." The project was to include :
One 6-ft.-long 4x4
Six 8-ft.-long 2x6s
32 #14 wood screws (3 1/2in. each)
One 4-10ft. roll of 1/4 inch-mesh hardware cloth.
32 cu.ft. (1 1/5cu. yds.) planting mix

Now the mistake my MUSCLE and I made, was to assume the home improvement store carried 4ft. rolls of 1/4 inch mesh. They don't, they carry 3ft. 1/4 inch mesh. So we should have checked to see if we could get all the materials, before beginning the project. You can see our lovely patch work. The mesh came with a wire wrapped around the rolls, so we wove it through the mesh to secure the patches together.
The rolls of mesh were $13.00 each, 2 rolls per bed. The lumber was $44.00, per bed. We made two beds.

The Pot is Brewing

2009-04-15T18:56:00.009-04:00

This is where my garden shed is going to go, right between those two trees. There are little orange flags on the ground edging my invisible shed. The shadow at the bottom left corner is my house. I won't have to look at that plastic bag around a "manhole" drain behind the shed, after it's in place.

The shed pictured is similar to the one I'm getting. On the short end, there will be double doors like the one pictured. The window, with widow box will be on the left long side of the shed. The landscaping is going to begin on the April 27th, and the shed is going to built on site May 4th. I can't wait!

HOME COMPLEATION

2009-04-07T20:50:00.008-04:00

This is a very rough way to make a slideshow presentation, but I have wasted enough time trying to get a "slideshow" on Blogger. I tried a slideshow presentation through Photobucket, then from Flickr, but the slideshow Widget for Blogger just kept giving me an error message. I'm exhausted! Anyway if you click on VIEW ALL IMAGES at the bottom of the post, you'll see the finished product.

2009-04-07T20:47:00.002-04:00

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I SEE SPROUTS

2009-04-07T19:41:00.011-04:00

These are my babies = 17 tomato plants, and 12 sweet pepper plants. The tomatoes have been re-potted once.

They're now 2 inches from a "grow"light in the basement covered with a coat hanger frame, covered with plastic wrap. I started them 6 weeks ago. It is only about 60 degrees in my basement.

On the second floor where it is very warm, and in front of an East facing window are my flower babies. It's only been a couple of days. It snowed today.....again. We're very optimistic people here in the North. Spring will COME!

WISHFUL THINKING

2009-04-07T14:24:00.001-04:00

Fall Images passed on to me, so beautiful

2009-04-06T09:31:00.006-04:00

Buchart Gardens, British Columbia, Canada

2009-03-30T20:21:00.001-04:00

"Links"

Impulse Purchase

2009-03-30T11:19:00.007-04:00

Ok, here is what I picked up, an ergonomically correct shovel, http://radiusgarden.com/, a brochure for Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge http://fws.gov/northeast/iroquois/, http://buffaloaudubon.com/ brochure for Gooseneck Hill Waterfowl Sanctuary, http://gooseneckhillwaterfowlfarm.com/ , A copy of Upstate Gardeners' Journal http://www.blogger.com/jane@upstategardenenersjournal.com , containing classes, and events in the Rocherster, Buffalo, Syracuse areas, and ads for Nurseries in those areas.

I also picked up a pack of seeds for a perennial called Malva (Zebrina), I'm not sure if it will take over my yard, but it looks interesting. If anyone in this area is familiar with this plant please let me know .

Field Trip

2009-03-30T10:25:00.007-04:00

Today it is snowing, ever so lightly, but it IS snowing. Just enough to let us know that it's too early to get out there and grow something. We're probably the last "zone" to get going, but when we do, it's shovels ready, and lawn mowers buzzing at the crack of dawn.

To amuse myself, or torture myself, yesterday I dragged my daughter, and husband to "Plantasia" a garden show, at an agricultural center.

Garden nurseries, landscapers, and textured concrete vendors displayed there wares, for the garden starved shoppers. A chance to ask a few questions about their dream plans, and pick up a few garden gadgets and trinkets. My daughter scooped up a ceder trellis, and three ceder plant containers, at a very reasonable price.

Coming soon to this back yard.

2009-03-25T13:44:00.012-04:00

This is it folks. We've picked a landscaper and work should begin in mid April. I no longer will have a view of my neighbor's pool and patio, but I will have a mix tree line.

"What are they?" you say. well the proposed plan was quite extensive, to the tune of $25,ooo. What?!! They

planned a dry rock bed near the patio, off to the left. I said, "no thank you," a water feature, a rock bench, I also said, "no thank you." There were beds for both sides of the house, but I think I'll do without these. The lots on both sides of my house are empty, and as soon as I scape there, someone will build. Oh, yes, the trees, there will be evergreens, but no Arborvitae, the deer like to eat them, some spring flowering choices, and some with fall and summer interest. I know I'm being vague, but my head was swimming by the time I toured the nursery twice. I will get back to you on specifics. The photo on top appears with a slant to the grading right, but it actually slants to left.

The Bird House That Wasn't

2009-03-22T22:50:00.004-04:00

This is an example of what happens when good intentions go south. This
bird condo started out as a "gift card box" for our daughter's wedding.
My husband's friend builds bird houses. He offered to make us one. I didn't ask, "how big?" How big can a bird house be? My friend painted it, and now my husband has converted it. I might get it put out this year, but I don't think so.

2009-03-18T19:17:00.011-04:00

These are the original, and revised floor plans for our new home. Originally you had a tour of the laundry room, coming from the garage.

As we are a couple with grown children,

I decided that relocating the guest closet and making the powder room NOT part of the laundry room tour, was more accommodating for our guests.

There was no direct route from the garage to the kitchen, so we opened up a wall next to the staircase. Dragging groceries through the whole house, was not my idea of convenience.

We made the front space an office,(where I could do this work). The loft was an over-hang, which gave gave architectural interest, but I had the wall go straight up, so I could have a bigger kitchen, since we lost pantry space by putting in the doorway.

Next, the loft had a 12ft. across opening, which we walled off 3ft. on either side, for some privacy on the second level.

We extended the dining area 6ft. so when we had guests, we didn't have to bang into any furniture, or ask someone to "push in" if I wanted to scoot by with a hot platter.

We have two exits to the patio,(that isn't there yet) one from the dining room, and one from the kitchen.

The master bath has a walk in shower, with a teak bench.

2009-03-16T12:09:00.004-04:00

This is the first painting I've done in a long, long time. I know the proportions are a bit off, and it has some other issues, but it makes me happy. It's hanging in the kitchen, so mostly only I can see it. The colors are rich, and feel good after a hard Northern winter.

"The Birds"

2009-03-13T18:51:00.000-04:00

Did you ever see Geese on a roof? Well I hadn't, until this week. And do you know what they sound like on a roof? Well, I DO now. Something must have spooked them, and they came honking and flapping, and running around on my roof as if the roofers forgot to tack on a few shingles.

There seems to be two schools of thought why Geese don't fly South anymore. One is, in times gone by, hunters tethered some, so others would fly to them, so the hunters could shoot them. When the the hunters were not allowed to do this anymore, they let the tethered geese go free, and they were never taught to fly South. The other thought is, with the development of suburban sprawl, the Geese decided to stay and visit the artificial ponds and parks, instead of flying South. Short attention span, I guess. Sometimes I forget what I was going to get in the other room.

Another Sunday Visit

2009-03-10T09:16:00.000-04:00

Please read this entry revered, it will make more sense.

The photo with the ladder is where the plumber put the pipes for the shower, in that very wall.
Eventually the pipes were removed to the opposite wall, and that wall did become a half. What a waste of man hrs. and material.

As long as I'm talking about errors. Here's another one. That partition in the center of the picture was supposed to be a half wall in the master bath. I was assured it would be.

Another Sunday Trip

2009-03-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

This is the FIRST construction error of a few. The fire place is in the center, and book cases were to go on the left and right, the only problem was is that they were to butt up to the wall on the left. "No problem," said the foreman. Our Sunday trips out to the construction site, left me concerned until Monday, (when I calmed down) so I could speak to the builder in a rational manner. *#@!

2009-03-02T14:58:00.000-05:00

This is a better view of the back yard view we have from the house. I think we are going to settle on a tree line instead of a fence. There is a drain that runs from the left corner of our property to the right corner. There are some trees on the left that are in my yard that will be an interesting part of my landscaping plan. Some of the yard on the far right is encroaching in our property, and I will try hard to be a good neighbor.

Moving along

2009-03-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

In March in Western New York, we don't officially welcome spring until the week after St. Patricks' Day. So we have a bit to go yet, but the days are longer and some are sunny.

Here are a few pictures of the house construction so we can bring us up in time.....

Under these concrete circles are a grid of drain pipes, and in the background you can see the chain link fencing that belongs to the neighbor behind us that I'd like to not see from my property.

Meet my special friend

2009-02-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

This little note book went with me everywhere. It's a simple note book with perforated lined pages. I separated it into sections with room tabs, I made the tabs out of folded paper, and tape. I purchased self sticking card holders at the office supply store. These little pockets were worth every cent. They kept all the vendors I dealt with at hand.

As I collected color swatches of fabric, paint color pallets; I found on an online site, and photos, I slipped them all into their designated section in the book for easy excess.

I know it seems like going from finding a lot, to putting together a design book, a big leap but it took awhile, and it kept me busy, while we waited for the house to be built.

The sketch to the right is a computer generated design of my kitchen. More about that later.

In The Beginning

2009-02-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

We decided, my husband and I, that it was time to give up our large city house, and find a convenient living house, for our "senior" years. So we looked around at what was available, and decided that every existing house we saw, needed much work, so the next thought was to build.
We drove around to see what was available in developments. I didn't like the idea of a development that was so tucked away, that I'd never be able to find my way out of it. So we found one close to shopping and easy excess. And that's how it all began, with a Sunday afternoon ride, to just LOOK........

2009-02-04T17:48:00.001-05:00

February isn't pretty any more

2009-02-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my site

All are welcome to take this journey with me, in home building

and landscaping. Comments and suggestions are greatly encouraged.