Daily Dose Blogger Bios
Fast, Cheap, and Perfect!
(Big, expensive hotel garden)
'Hopeful Gardener' posted a comment that deserved to be addressed in the clear light of my main page - "Do only the elite deserve well-designed gardens?" See, HG follows the good shelter mags, has sophisticated taste in gardens (well, I say that because HG happens to enjoy my work ... so, obviously, has refined taste!), and wants a front yard garden. What's the problem, you ask? Money. HG's budget is $5000.00, which is alot of money... unless you want a garden.
Most of the gardens you see in the fancy magazines are like couture clothes. Even if they look simple, hell, especially if they look simple, these gardens cost more than anyone would think. The best thing to compare making a garden to is a bathroom or kitchen remodel. A garden needs that level of work - irrigation, lighting, paving, fencing, plants - and then furniture on top of that, if you're dealing with an enclosed backyard space for dining and entertaining. There are ways to make beautiful gardens without breaking the bank - instead of investing your money, you have to invest your time. Labor cost is huge, so if you can gather friends to lay concrete pavers on a Saturday, you might save yourself a few thousand dollars on your patio. Of course, it may not be as perfect a job as my contractor's crew would do - paying the designers premium means your patio will be just right, or will be re-done until it is. There is a saying - I don't remember where I heard it - 'You can have a thing done very well, you can have a thing done fast, you can have a thing done cheaply. Of these three things, any combination of two can be achieved on a project - never all three.'
Or, you can do it yourself! I did...
(I'll explain the above saying, just read on...)
In other words, you can have your custom credenza done very well and fast - but it won't be cheap.
You can have your custom credenza done cheap and very well - but it'll take forever.
You can have your custom credenza done fast and cheap - but it won't be well done.
The more I work in this business, I think it may be true. Is this cynical?
Hello Ivette, love the blog. I have a dilemma and I dont know where I can email you so I will write you right here and hope you see my message.
Last fall I bought this amazing home with an even more amazing mature garden. Theres something always blooming even in the winter. The house has a sprinkler system that waters the entire half acre property from the ground. The thing is I have no idea how many times a week I should turn the irrigation system on when spring and summer come? And for what amount of time it should be turned on to water? I live in Texas in the North East Area very near Dallas. I hope you can help as I don't want to water the garden too much and kill it or water it too little and kill it. Thankyou!
Hi, I want you to know that I registered with Domino.com just so I could comment on your blog!
And also because I need an answer to a self-serving question. :)
Question: I live in Seattle. The Seattle climate is famous for many things, including rain, clouds, mountains, and evergreens, but it's not so famous for gorgeous plants, and yet there have to be some that grow here! I'm looking for plants with really interesting foliage, since I know flowers require more effort than I am willing to give and are overrated anyway. :) Thoughts?
Jetguer - I am green with envy! To have purchased a home with a beautiful, mature garden is an amazing thing, and I am so happy you love it! Anyway - overwatering is really the thing to worry about. It is unusual for plants that are irrigated to die from lack of water. I can only give you a very general guideline - it would be a good idea to get a consultation with a landscape maintenance company in your area, they can give you the real lowdown for what you grow. But until then, do this - in comfortable spring/summer weather, water every other day for 7 mins. When the summer gets really hot, water daily, 5mins. When the weather gets cool in the fall, 3 times a week for 5 minutes is good. Most systems have 'rain day' buttons that allow you to turn off the system during rainstorms, which is a must. Overwatering kind of looks like underwatering - leaves get yellow, wilty, then turn brown and fall off, so at the first sign of yellow leaves, water less! Enjoy your wonderland!
Aarwen - even my best friend won't comment because she 'isn't a joiner'. So thank you - I'm making her read your comment!
The coolest nursery in the world used to be up in your neck of the woods - Heronswood, erstwhile of Kingston, Washington- so I know you can grow amazing plants. Check out the books of Ken Druse - 'The Collector's Garden', 'The Natural Garden', and 'The Natural Shade Garden'... these were tremendously inspirational to me, even though I couldn't plant many of the plants he showcases because they all do better in climates like Seattle's! 'The Collector's Garden' will introduce you to incredible plants and give you resources on how to get them. My biggest piece of advice - no rhododendrons or azaleas! Try yuccas, euphorbias, cotinus ' Purple Robe' and cotinus 'Grace'... here I go - I should do a whole post on this. Now that you're all signed up, keep commenting! Thanks!
Thanks so much for your answer. I can't wait to see the 100+feet of Azaleas and Hydrangeas start blooming really soon.
Wow, Jet - azaleas and hydrangeas in Texas ... and over 100 ft of them? You go! That sounds like a garden Dallas can be proud of!
And as always, any help I can give is completely my pleasure...
The lady that lived here before us passed away in this home and she tended to her gardens all her elderly life. The home is very unique as its 2 stories but the lower story is hidden in the backyard that is hill like with trees. I also have a 15'x15' trellis that has a huge Wysteria growing on it. It spans the entire trellis and I hear from my neighbor who also has a Wysteria that they will bloom very soon. The home was on the market for a long time in part because of the gardening maintenance and because of the lady who passed away here. Fortunately the home has a great energy and I coudn't be happier. Although I am a bit worried about the daunting task of taking care of this garden. I will have plenty of help thoug because I live here with 4 other immediate relatives and we are all gardening enthusiasts. After months of shopping for a house and then finding this gem I knew it was perfect because of the location and the park like setting.
This home sounds incredible! I'm so pleased that this garden found a new, enthusiastic caretaker - every year, amazing gardens are lost because new homeowners of old homes would rather destroy complex plantings than take on the maintenance. Thank you for being willing to open yourself to this challenge - I promise you, Jetguer, you and your family be rewarded!
Hi, thank you for the great suggestions! I will check those out. And THANK YOU for saying no rhodies and no azaleas. I grew up here, and if I never saw another rhododendron again in my life, it would be too soon. No, I don't care how many colors they come in. Azaleas are better, but only slightly.
I will keep commenting. :)
Right on Aarwen! Germi at your service...