Entertaining deck gets it's structure

More progress photos from our landscape design installation. It's what we do, see more at the Ginkgo Landscape Design website!

One of the major elements missing in many gardens is the same that makes it appealing. I don't know about you but when I enter a garden space, I want to feel surrounded by it. Having tall structures (be it plants or built elements) really helps create this effect. Soon it will be wired for lighting to enable the clients to entertain easily in the evenings and get around safely after the sun has gone down.

For the time being the deck platform is being left open to allow for the electricity to be wired easily. Ultimately it will be topped off with Trex, a composite material created from wood and plastic fibers. I actually quite like it since it lasts longer than any wood surface ever could, doesn't splinter, has a nice feel on the feet (I love barefoot gardens!) and is easy to work with. As a bonus it is made with recovered material that used to be tossed into landfills. It's a little heavy and bendy (think 20 foot long 50 lb wet noodle) before it's set where it needs to be, but that helps in the long run anyway. Plus, it saves us from using long lengths of trees when we can.

I cannot wait to get the decking down and see the pool of light created from the deck lights and the pendant lights hanging from the arbor!

We have yet to add the seating surround beneath the arbor as well. It's in the works!

Beams and Joists, the making of a deck

Continuing on with the tour of a landscape design installation by Ginkgo Landscape Design (that's us). The first photo shows a midway view. The driveway has been partially removed as well as the existing deck and patio space that was so small having a trash can was crowding the space. (We built in a hidden place for those too). So this is the "before the deck" photo.

It's a nice big deck with plenty of space for a dance party. And it's plenty strong for that too.
A ton of details go into building a deck properly. This deck sets entirely on concreted piers and metal brackets. It is independent from the house. Also requested was a large landing to the back door.I am delighted as well that this deck is going to have fancy lighting! We are installing a seat rail along the outer perimiter and pergolas (similar to the fence) above. There will be downlights for the landing and stairs as well as pendants in each "window" framed by the pergola.

It's gonna be great! Keep watching and I will keep you posted!
Wanna know more about this thing we do? www.GinkgoLandscapeDesign.com

Fresh herbs for the garden and post alley

It's so cute with plants in it! The client wasted no time planting her herbs and flowers and had them planted on the first day after it was ready. There is still plenty of work to do as the entire area is set for a design, but this one bit is complete.

The next step is building the new fence that will incorporate more of the garden. Previously the focus was a large circular drive that was not even used. If you ask me, a garden is much better than a driveway could ever be. The photo may not make any sense at all but trust me, we have a grand plan. Where all the dirt is that you see used to be asphalt. It was removed with a pry bar and a sledgehammer (the old fashioned way) and is actually beneath the area where you saw the planter reused to get the proper grade level for the planter area and the circular patio.

So here is the next step... post alley. The garden will have a "proper entrance" as all spaces should. What looks like a mess of posts (post on pipe construction) will make perfect sense when the fence is up and has its hand made pergolas and trellises.

The fence boards are special because they are milled from fallen cedar trees from a family farmland rather than clearcut wood. I like to call it free range organic sustainably harvested just to be a show off. (I am. :)

Thanks for your interest, I will have more for you soon!

My mind is in the zen gutter...

A little more progress on the pergola. It withstood the weight of the foot of snow easily. No problem at all. It actually would have been a great place to take jewelry photos except for the whole below freezing (and me being a wuss) issue. We are thawed out now, and the pergola has been outfitted with a hand split bamboo gutter.

Just today we got a nice copper rain chain with cute little flower type basket things to put in that hole and drain into a pottery basin. I'll get another picture so you can see it, but this is what we have so far.

I just had to take this little art shot of the leaves atop the pergola roof. I like the leaves, they make the whole area beneath the pergola glow with color.


Have not had enough of the pergola? Here are all the posts and progress of construction http://liciapots.blogspot.com/search/label/pergola Start at the bottom if you want to go in order of time. :)

A pergola and a patio!

Isn't it pretty. It is meant for work, but I think that a nice set of French doors leading onto a relaxing patio with a hammock and a little bistro table would be so wonderful! I guess that is what the courtyard is for.

I'm ready to choose the vine for the pergola. Maybe some nice grapes, or hardy kiwi, or flower vines. I'll leave it to the landscape designer. (Grapes honey! Maggie thinks so too.)

Pergola Update

The pergola is coming along... another level of compacting the base has been done and it is being prepped for laying the patio. The kitties sometimes like to watch from the window.

Pergola construction update

There has been a whole lot of progress on the pergola. I have mostly been documenting this progress from a distance. So here it is, a custom pergola with custom cut wood from Uncle Rays mill.


I believe next up is the "floor"of poured concrete... which will eventually become a footing for us to fill in the odd corner of the house...

Yeah, we are not sure why there is a corner missing. In any case, the shed that once was is being turned into cozy wood stove heat, and the enormous old stump is waiting it's turn as it dries out for winter.

What the heck have you been so busy doing?

Oh, sorry, I have not blogged in a while. It's Wednesday and I go to work later on Wednesdays. I have time to blog, and I took some photos. Every blog post should have a photo, I don't want you to get bored now do I.


So this is what James has been doing. This is where the shed used to be. It made quite a mess being so close to the wall. The plan is to be able to have an accessible outdoor workshop so that we can build the pottery shack. I will take new photos soon as it has actually come further than this photo reflects.

In the mean time, when I am outside with the camera on a sunny day, I cannot help but take flower photos. I like the renewal that develops in the late winter season. Some plants just seem to want to hang on for dear life.

In any case, Spring will soon be here and it is time for me to figure out what to write in the Ginkgo Landscape Design newsletter.... let me know if you have any ideas.

Glulam...

We have Glulam. Glue-Lam. It's a very heavy beam (of wood, not light, besides light is not heavy). It was delivered this morning by Dunn Lumber. The point of this very heavy beam is to become a part of the support for the (very pretty and good smelling) boards that Uncle Ray cut for us. Ultimately this will be the covered outdoor workshop that will be used to build, among other things, the pottery shack. Upon construction of the pottery shack this whole LiciaPots thing will make more sense to those who look up LiciaPots.com and only see beads.

Anyway, today we moved the 300 pound beam with some of the brute force that will fail us in the lifting (ten feet in the air) process. I'll get some photos after the rain is done... maybe tomorrow.

Corner stump, why the house isn't square...

There is a little notch out of the back of the house. We though it was weird until a few things were cleared and we found this.
I'm assuming that it was a huge tree and they spared it when they built the house. It had been cut down some time before we moved here and now it is in the way of James' outdoor workshop. There are no easy projects.

There are several stumps around the yard which will someday be removed with all the changes. We plan on removing the ivy that borders the front of the yard at the street to put in a grassy (not lawn) wildflower type garden. Included will be our neighborhoods only "sidewalk". I hope people use it, that would be sweet.

We also recently collected some large rounds (of tree) from a neighbor that will need to be split and seasoned for next year. Er, this year, winter.

The projects continue.