Saturate me!

The world is just better in color. Technicolor understood this, and you should too. :) Of course at this point you are way past Technicolor and may have a TV bigger than most large dogs. So yes, you understand.

And because color alone is not enough, I always like to add texture and pattern. Eventually in this garden 2 large maple trees will need to be removed. It's okay because they are in really sad shape and have been hacked to bits by the electrical company. Why we plant trees under wires is beyond me. Why the wires are not underground to eliminate the need to alter our tree planting is even further beyond me. I mean save the trouble (trees falling, constant limb trimming, wind, downed lines) and just find a reasonable way to put them underground. Plus they are darn ugly and I could go on but I will step down because this post is about stucco :) So these trees will still be used in the garden, and as acknowledgment of their service to the world their leaves are being memorialized into the stucco texture. They will either be used as woodchips in the raised planter area, or the clients may have them made into furniture if they are able. There is a company called Urban Hardwoods that makes some great items out of "discarded" trees.

This is the stucco coat in progress. James goes along and presses it onto the wall, and I get to smooth it out to get the texture we are going for. I also press in leaves that were chosen from the maple trees. (There are 3 Ginkgo leaves in it as well because, it's what we do.) The leaves are carefully smoothed over and when the stucco has set just right, I pull them out and with some luck (technique) they come out perfect. I love how they make a matte texture in the wall.

But there you have the color, with the stone caps in place and all that fun stuff.

A fun find in the garden. In the process of working in a persons garden, we tend to watch plants. At a certain point we have to decide what stays, and what goes. In most gardens, things are at such a sad state that it all goes. This one is a little different. Clearly a plant lover has lived here in the past and has planted some really unusual species. Not necessarily rare, but different than the typical Northwest Rhododendron and Juniper combination.

Here is a plant we had been watching to see what the heck it was. The flower finally came out today and it is just so cool! I know you want one! Okay, so this plant has a secret. Well, it's a secret to those of you who don't already know what it is, or cannot smell it over the computer.

Look closely...

See the flies? Yeah, so it smells like doodie. Here we are trying to stucco and wondering how a dog got into the fenced garden...

However, despite that, I still want it! It's cool looking! I have enough space in our garden to plant it somewhere away from paths and things. And it will certainly stand out from there. Definetly not a courtyard plant though. It only stinks for a day, like a yearly event to mark on the calender. Like waiting for the first crocus of spring, right?

Dracunculus vulgaris, a phallic gothic stinking plant that I think is too cool! (Yeah, they call those kinda looking plants amorphophallus. Wanna see more?)