My recent post about Rebecca’s garden with its eye-catching blue wall reminded me I have a pretty noticeable blue wall myself. This back wall of my house, dark under the oversized deck, was the most depressing gray in its natural state and I found the whole scene to be, well, depressing. So one day I decided it was nothing a little paint wouldn’t fix and I set out to select a lovely Colonial blue.
No, your computer monitor doesn’t need adjusting. This is, in fact, more of a bold, neon blue, a paint-store mistake I decided to live with because it’s just the underdeck, right? But then someone told me it looked tropical, like the Caribbean Sea, and in my eyes it was transformed, or about to be.
All it took was a little ivy growing up the wall in seaweed-like strands. Trips to Mexico and some islands yielded this gecko, a crab, a few fish, and a little Haitian shack. And the result, a long way from Colonial Williamsburg (thank god), has gotta be the coolest underdeck in all of Takoma. Or so the kids in the neighborhood tell me.
You have only to click here to visit one of the most beautiful gardens in the world – Wave Hill, overlooking the Hudson. You’ll see springtime, a large cactus, and my favorite – the iconic riverside pergola garden and the river below, all covered in snow. That one’s a total wow. So kudos for a stunning website. Now just give us more, cuz three just whets the appetite.
My friend Kathy and I were chatting today about Wave Hill, which I once visited while driving around by myself touring gardens. Oh what a splendid trip it was. And what an adventure it was finding my way to Wave Hill via the NYC freeway system, which I followed through a variety of multilingual encounters before finally arriving in this little Eden. Residents of its mansion have included FDR, Mark Twain and Toscanini, so even its history is attention-getting. And the best part is that now it’s a multi-faceted cultural center owned by the people of New York City.
My list of complaints is long, starting with its short life. Plus, it just doesn’t work in a border. To make room for other plants you end up removing so many lower branches the damn thing looks ridiculous.
Worst of all, this plant reminds me of how little I knew when I planted it and how thoughtlessly I made choices. Its large all-wrongness is getting me down. Not once but twice I bought this horticultural mistake produced by our own National Arboretum. But one has already fallen and the other won’t last long. And thank goodness, too, because its very weakness means the City of Takoma Park will allow me to remove it. Hey, not long ago even this crappy tree would have been protected, until our crazy tree law was finally relaxed to the level of sanity. (Have I mentioned how knee-jerk-left we are here in kooky Takoma? It’s still way better than knee-jerk right.)
But moving on. After hating this thing for about a decade, I’ve excitedly decided to remove it and replace it w
ith my new passion in plants – no surprise to readers here – conifers. So imagine this: a small grove of something like pine, cedar, cyprus or arbovitae. I’m thinking three of one kind in a dark green mixed with two of another species in a lighter green.
O gardeners of the world, what conifers make your heart quicken?
From the bleakness of a January day in here in Maryland, I sure enjoy visiting Rebecca’s garden in Tucson, Arizona, which looks like this right now. The combination of the muted tones of the Catalina Mountains in the distance and the bold primary colors of the plants in bloom really packs a wallop. And because Rebecca’s a very artistic person, she knew to pull her townhouse backyard together by installing a long curving raised garden across the back and painting it this fabulous color.
Here’s Rebecca looking unconscionably fit and dishy. She’s another really cool person who also just happens to love gardening, which to me seem
s so natural, I’m frequently surprised when people don’t.
I’ll be emailing her to tell her I’ve posted here about her garden, and maybe she’ll send us a comment telling us what’s happening there now or what new developments she has in store for her garden. Hinting.
My last post casually referred to sitting in these chairs while admiring an oak tree, which is fine, but whoa, Nelly, they deserve more attention than that. In fact, I’m here to profess my love for these chairs and go so far as to suggest you get one for yourself, or something like it. Here’s why.
They have history and style. They’re comfortable, especially with the optional foot stool or in the chaise lounge version. The arms are flat and wide enough to hold a drink, reducing the need for a small table. They can add any look to your garden – either stained and weathered or painted your favorite garden-worthy color. This teal is my favorite and it’s repeated on my tool shed. My neighbors use it, too, so I know it isn’t just me.
And here are your options, which you’ll see by Googling something like "Adirondack chair" or "garden furniture". White pine chairs like these start as low as $90, the chaise lounge $110, a two-person bench $130, a rocker $120 and tables $65. Really affordable stuff. Yes, it requires a bit of work. I had to assemble these myself, then prime and paint twice. Every fall I touch up any gouges – at these prices you don’t get hardwood.
Speaking of hardwood, if you’re feeling a bit more generous with yourself spring for teak, a gorgeous, carefree wood. I paid $320 for this teak bench about 19 years ago, fully assembled and retail, then did absolutely nothing to it. You see the result, and close up looks just as good – smooth, no splinters – truly amazing. It’ll certainly outlast me, with no work on my part. I see on line that teak Adirondacks are on sale for a ridiculously low $150 and that benches start at $500, with assembly required.
And coincidentally, winter’s a great time to assemble and treat or paint your new garden furniture. Then by spring your garden will have new seating for you and your family or guests. Mine is mainly for the important duties of tree- and bird-watching.
Bottom line, what’s a garden without seating, anyway?
This is another of my posts from last August at another site, just something I wanted to see again and share with my current readers. It’s how I cope with winter withdrawal. Paul James is HGTV’s "The Gardener Guy".]
Again, Paul James is my gardening guru, and a full-service one, too. Mixed in with the how-to stuff is his recent segment on seeing the structure of a tree. He illustrated the technique by lying on the ground beneath a magnificent tree and then showing us what it looked like from that a
ngle and what fun it is to do it. So this is what my favorite tree looks like from the base looking up — pretty gorgeous. You could say this oak is the altar I worship at when I’m sitting in one of the Adirondacks. The photo below is the view from the chairs.
Lately, one of my favorite things has been looking at the structure of shrubs from the inside out in order to prune them correctly for function and beauty. Now I’m thinking that looking at the structure of a tree is even better because it’s pure pleasure — you don’t have to jump and improve on it.
And about the tree houses. When I bought the property in 1985 there were about 20 of them on four different trees – handmade and installed at least 20 years earlier. To neighbors walking through the woods they were a landmark, so as they’ve fallen down over the years I’ve rehung or replaced them. This season there were four families of chicks and I could watch them being fed from the chairs. Damn, it doesn’t get any better than that.
My recent post about Rebecca’s garden with its eye-catching blue wall reminded me I have a pretty noticeable blue wall myself. This back wall of my house, dark under the oversized deck, was the most depressing gray in its natural state and I found the whole scene to be, well, depressing. So one day I decided it was nothing a little paint wouldn’t fix and I set out to select a lovely Colonial blue. 
