Promises, Promises

You know, we haven't done one of my "theatre references" for a while. Frankly though, on this show, that's about all I've got.
Back to the matters at hand. You saw images of these same views in past postings, and I promised to show you finished products.
Here is one of the urns that Missy and I just planted. The owner's lawn furniture cushions have blues, yellows and reds, so we wanted to pick up a little of that in the plantings.

Here's another picture of the garden from the upstairs bedroom balcony--now looking through screen. Again, as promised, the sod has been replaced and the garden looks fresh and ready for move-in.

Isn't this one of the things we love about Florida? You plant a vine, and in about a month or two it will be at the top of a trellis! Nice.

One Grecian Urn...Two Grecian Urns...

Okay, these are NOT Grecian Urns. (And, for those of you who are theatre-trivia-challenged, that is a very silly reference to The Music Man.)

In a previous posting you saw this landscape shortly after installation, and the brick pads awaiting these 4 great urns.


Well, true to the word of Michael Jones at Pondscapes, they arrived, and were picked up by Joe Argentine Landscaping. I really love the way they blend with the plantings and fountain. Next step is the planting. More fluff!! This will be done by Missy as a housewarming/welcome-to-Tampa gift from Interior Spaces. (Woops...I may have just spoiled that surprise.) I'll get more pictures once the planting has been done.

Garden Idea

Often, great ideas are born out of necessity, right? It's perfect when you can come up with an elegant solution to a problem as mundane as outdoor privacy. And Missy has done just that here!

In order to block the view to the neighbors and still allow adequate air-flow on the porch and balcony, these beautiful trellis treatments were created. Remember, "blocking the view" doesn't necessarily mean a solid wall, or thick hedge. We can actually trick the eye by putting up a partial barrier, and you won't pay attention to what's beyond.

This same idea can be used to top a solid fence. In our neighborhood, we have a 6' maximum fence height rule. But, we are not restricted from putting something such as open trellis above that. This in itself may be adequate to stop your eye, or of course plants can be grown onto the fence and trellis for a more complete block.

In our own garden, we let the vines grow on the fence, but I really like to keep the rusted iron trellis pieces bare. I have the hardest time getting Chip out there to do this trimming...I mean, it's the only thing I ask! Well, almost.

Overhead landscape view.

One of my favorite garden views is always from above. (Okay, so yes, I have been known to climb up on the roof of our house to look at the garden. And yes, maybe I did break an ankle that way, but it was worth it...I think?)
Luckily, this couple has a wonderful upstairs balcony off of their master bedroom that gives them this beautiful view, with little danger involved!
In the photo above, it's easy to see one of the pitfalls of Florida landscaping. A portion of the new sod has succumbed to fungus. Luckily, Joe of Joe Argentine Landscaping and his great crew will resolve this.

The homeowners found these neat trellises on-line. I think they were perfect for the side of the garage. They have great interest while bare, and really break up the brick wall, and they'll look even better when the vines start to grow.

Birdhouse!

Hey, I am a total sucker for garden ornaments! I mean, it's gotten so my friends have to tie my hands, take my wallet, or blindfold me to keep me from buying more for my own garden. (Ahhh, but there's still mailorder!!!)

These homeowners had this cool birdhouse commissioned in replica of one they have at another property. Needless to say, I'm jealous!
(A thoughtful correction was sent to me today by the homeowners. This beautiful piece was actually commissioned by good friends of theirs, as a replica of a birdhouse they own, and was a housewarming gift to our couple. Where can I get friends like that?!)


Hey, if this isn't still around when they move in, do you think they'd miss it?

More garden views

In the rear of the house, we were able to create a very intimate garden area, with the help of Joe Argentine landscaping. The two biggest design challenges here were to block the view of the neighbor's house on one side, and to block the view of a very large utility pole at the rear of the property. Missy designed a Southern Magnolia as the centerpiece for the new garden. This beatiful tree with foliage to the ground effectively eliminates the view of the utility pole from the back porch and most viewing angles from inside the home. Well done Missy and Joe!

A row of mature Wax Myrtles were places along the property line adjoining the neighbor. These are Florida Natives, and extremely drought and insect tolerant...what more could you ask for?

This new brick walkway leads from the back porch to a patio-seating area in the rear of the garden. The beautiful fountain was nestled into the tiered plantings, and will create a visual focal point and great water noise for the seating area.

The four brick pads along the walk way that extend into the plantings are waiting for fantastic concrete urns which have been ordered from Pondscapes. Joe Argentine's men lugged 5 different planters to the site for us so that we could photograph each one in place. We then sent the pictures to the homeowners for final selection. These urns should arrive in the next couple of weeks, and we promise to share new pictures as soon as they're planted and installed.

HG-Landscape

In our planting design for the front of the house, Missy has created new curved planting beds to give the house a lot more interest as you approach. I got to watch her in action the day she created the bed shapes with a can of the ever-useful orange ground spray paint. She managed to create beautifully shaped beds, and walked away without a speck of the orange paint on her shoes...something I've never managed to do! (Anybody need a pair of gardening shoes, size 7 with fluorescent orange toes?)

As in so many of our homes in South Tampa, this sun/shade combination yard presented one of the biggest challenges. An elegant and simple combination of plantings was chosen to work with the homes elegant brick exterior.