Another one for the books!

Ginkgo Landscape Design (that's us) does it again! HEY! Get your own! If you live nearby we can come to your house and build you a garden too!

I just love the look of the newly completed designs, especially after all the work they take. I didn't do the excavation though, that is the hard part. My specialty tends to be the stucco application...

Stop yammering and show you the photos? Okay... before photo then after photos, you get the idea. (Wanna see the construction? Here is the link: http://liciapots.blogspot.com/2008/07/installation-of-landscape-design.html )

Before:

After:

This is the new circular patio with seating wall surround (stucco by yours truly). The patio stones radiate from a central point. There are 3 entrances to the patio; a curvy path, stairs from the deck and stucco stairs (again, me and the stucco) from the "upper garden".

Originally the design encompassed more of the space (think pergolas with climbing vines and profuse color over the deck and raised circular planting beds in upper garden, from where the photo below was taken) but it was "downgraded" to adjust the budget.


In reality I think that they miss out on the long term gain of having a design that truly envelopes the garden and creates a sanctuary entirely separate of the interior of ones home. Occasionally we do get a return call to complete the installations as originally intended.

Curvy path, and further up the curvy path follow.

Plant nerds/huggers? We have:

Trees: Full Moon Maple, Fireglow Maple, Magnolia Bracken's Brown Beauty, Magnolia Moonglow, 'Diane' Witchhazel, Ginkgo Biloba 'Marieken', Cotinus 'Grace'.

Ferns: Autumn Fern 'Brilliance', Ostrich fern

Grasses: Japanese Blood Grass, Purple Flame Grass

Perennials and shrubs: Japanese Anemone 'September charm', Bear's Breeches, Daphne 'Sumer Ice', Beauty Berry 'Dark Star', Red Bells Enkianthus, Mt Airy Fothergilla, Helloborus 'Royal Heritage', Plum Pudding Heuchera, 'Snow Queen' Oakleaf Hydrangia, Blue Umbrella Hosta, Veriagated Gladwyn Iris, Honeybush (Melianthus major), 'Gulf Stream' Heavenly Bamboo, 'Coppertina' Ninebark, Japanese Tobira, Variegated Japanese Tobira, Spirea 'Little princess', Sedum 'Purple emperor'

Ginkgo Landscape Design

Wallingford Garden Tour 2008

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to have one of our competed designs included in the Wallingford Garden Tour in Seattle. The turn out was very good and we heard that they sold over 200 tickets.

Many people enjoyed the garden and it was great to see the pathways full of people and watch the kids run up and down the curves. They also enjoyed the goldfish that the homeowners had in their water basin.

The plants that most people seemed to ask about were the "Peanut Butter Plant" as it has been called. It is the Melianthus Major, and it has fantastic foliage that smells just like peanut butter. Despite being such a familiar plant, sometimes one can still not place the smell...Also, the Cotinus "Grace" Smokebush was asked about several times as this particular variety is redder in color and has larger leaves. Many people also liked the Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) in the parking strip.It's nice to see a garden at a particular point in time, but the real treat is being able to watch it on a regular basis to see all the facets of it's growth.

What's even better? If you want one, you can have one too.

See the Ginkgo Landscape Design website for more. Don't miss the fun stuff link!

monkeys with ropes

It had to be done. Now tree feels much better. It had a "haircut". It's good that there are these guys, because there were some big old branches that needed down.

When the wind blows, the limbs rattle around all over. I just assumed that having human up there would make the branches wobble, but no, humans are nothing compared to the wind. I know this, its no secret to me. Hundred pound limbs were thudding to the ground under me.

I invited the kitties to see what was going on, but Maggie was not interested. Rocky listened from a distance with his satellite ears moving around in every direction.