Friday, July 27, 2012

New Patio

Our deck has been slowly rotting out from under us, and last weekend we put in a new patio.  We spent one day in demolition of the old one.

We started by removing the top boards with a crow bar, then we cut through the supports or demolished them with a sledge hammer. It took us two loads to get the whole thing to the dump, and I even drove one of the trips.  The sledge hammer was the best part - I treated Mike to lots of advice about the way to use it best every time he tried to take a turn.

I wanted to replace our high deck with a low deck and stairs, but Mike really wanted a patio.  We compromised on a recycled rubber tile. I wasn't sure about it first, but now that it has been in a week, I really like it.  It has a bit of give and great grip.

Just like a stone patio, you lay a bed of gavel and level it, then add a layer of sand and level it. That took us most of the second day. We rented a tamper (to compress the sand and make it hard), then laid out the tile to see how it would look. To the right is that version before the stairs were in.

On the final day, we put in the proper boarder (I wish we had done that before tamping, as it would have saved a lot of time) and Mike built the stairs down from the patio door to the patio itself. Then we cut and placed all the partial tile. Cutting them was pretty hard at first, but Mike got the knack of it. He needed a really good grip to be able to push the jigsaw through. I think I would have struggled. He also did a number of tiles with an exacto knife.

I did come up with a good system of chalking the back of tile to get the exact line we needed. I got the idea from the chalk lines used for roofing. I chalked the back of the inside edge of the boarder, then snapped the tile against it to mark it.  Mike was pleased, but still pointed out more than once that it would have been much easier to have a plain square patio.  He's right, but this version fits the amorphous shapes of the planting beds, and makes a lovely conversational shape for the table and lounger.

Once we were done the tiles, I added a series of beds the next day to make the patio feel embedded in the yard.  Above is a photograph with the look from above so the layout is clear.

We are still debating putting tiles on the stairs, but the top small deck is painted to match the house. It is salvaged from the old deck.  We are hoping we can salvage the old bench as a boarder on the south side to block the view of the airconditioner and provide more seating.

The last thing we did was buy a few lanterns so I could sit out at night and some solar lanterns to mark the step down. We also set up Mike's outdoor kitchen between the patio and the garage (it is on the right of the night time picture). I love to be out at night reading or listening to Mike play guitar. That's where I am headed now. You can see all the images of the new deck in Mike's photos.





Sunday, July 22, 2012

Loving my yard for 100 posts

We've been home a week from Teela's and I have spent every minute I could in my yard.  We've been replacing our deck with a patio (I will do a post on that as soon as I have pictures) and I have been enjoying the full feeling of summer in the yard.

My favorite thing is eating fresh things moments after they are picked and storing food to eat in the winter. Today I picked the last of the saskatoons and froze four cups of cherries - we are sad because all the rain killed all the saskatoons at the U-Pick. I also froze 8 cups of raspberries and made the rest into fruit salad. Today we ate peas, tomatoes and beans from the garden, but we are also eating kohlrabi, cucumbers and all greens and spices this week. Mike just made homemade pesto and cherry sauce. All the picking and fresh food actually fills me up emotionally and physically.

I have 7 types of lilies and 4 types of roses blooming right now, and they are my favorites of this iteration of the yard. My astilbe and white clematis will bloom in the next couple of days, and both look like lace to me. Mike and I have taken to sitting out in the evenings listening to the fountain and looking at all the flowers. Today I bought a couple more lanterns so we can see well at night.

Currently blooming
  • 4 types of ground covers
  • 7 types of lilies
  • Lavender 
  • Sewell
  • Hosta
  • Bee balm
  • Comfrey
  • 3 types of Bell flower
  • 2 types of yarrow
  • Himalayan orchid
  • Cone flower
  • Beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squashes, peas, eggplant and spices 
This is my 100th post, and today I enjoyed looking back to see how far the yard has come. I mostly keep this blog as a record.  For example, I know I fought with cabbage moths for 4 years but my current cover appears to be working. But more importantly, the blog is a celebration for me. It notes the satisifaction (and occasionally joy - I don't feel things very strongly very often) I get loving my yard.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Riot of Color

I love the first week of July. So many of my favorite things are blooming and the yard keeps shifting colors.  Right now, my back yard is very pink, but in a few days, it will be purple. My front yard is a sea of yellow, but in a few days, it will all be covered by a canopy of orange, which is just getting started. Needless to say, I have been out everyday since school ended, wallowing in my yard.







Colors of my island bed in the center of the backyard. After these are done, this bed becomes purple and white. Lavender, daisies, and lilies are next.








Textures of orange and yellow in the front under the pine tree. Currently 6 types of yellow ground covers are blooming, providing a carpet of yellow under all the plants. The yarrow in the foreground is my only orange right now, but in less than a week, there will by 6 types of orange day lilies and asian lilies.








One of 4 blooming roses - all photo credits to Mike.
I will have roses for the next 2 weeks all over the front. Underneath these roses, my hidden veggies are also adding color. Right now I have yellow tomato flowers and big yellow blooms from a variety of squashes.  Soon I will add white bean flowers.  My coriander is already blooming, as are my herbs.




Today I am headed out into my yard to hill potatoes and do a little watering.  Yesterday Mike reinstalled the windows in greenhouse ($74 to put new glass in 2 of them, and 50 km per hour winds again today.  Maybe a glass house was a bad idea. . . ) and I moved the last of my basil starters into the yard. I keep roaming around admiring various flowers and dreaming.  As I sat on the deck this morning I watched baby birds learning fly (no small task in this wind), dragonflies, and butterflies. All this color, beauty and potential is a great start for summer.




Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Start of good eating

Ironically, just as we are ready to leave the garden, we are starting to eat from it. Yesterday we had a great tomato from the garden and the best kohlrabi. We are eating strawberries everyday and big salads. We have also been able to make our first fresh pesto of the year, which always makes Mike happy. The first of the Saskatoons are starting to ripen so I am nervous we won't get to pick any this year as I am from Teela's from the 8th to the 15th. Last year I picked on the 15th, so if I pick as soon as I get home, it might be fine.

The thing I am most excited about right now is the current success of my organic gardening. Last year, my kohlrabi were destroyed by pests, but so far my mesh covering has worked really well.  This time it is one sheet buried in the dirt, the holes are much smaller. I am still worried because last year at this time I had hope, and then the cabbage moths descended.

I have most of my greens in the square foot bed that I grow on my driveway.  Because this bed gets so much shade, my greens and green onions are doing well but not bolting.  I think my spinach will soon, but I am enjoying it while I can. Last year worms came down from the tree and ate all my baby plants so I had few greens, but I covered this bed as well in the spring and it really helped. I have staggered the plantings of various salad ingredients, so I should have various greens for most of the summer.