the musings of the cottage gardener: stone wall

Making the earth laugh

"the earth laughs in flowers" -e.e.cummings This blog is a journey into that laughter. From my childhood when my job was weeding the dreaded vegetable garden (which I despised with every fiber of my being) to my very early adulthood when I planted my first impatiens (which promptly died) to now - a gardening lover and business owner; gardens have made me feel something. This is my tribute to the hard work, the boring work, the failures and the immeasurable joys of gardening. Yes, I continue to garden...and laugh.

Friday, April 9, 2010

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

This wall has been on my mind for a few years now. When I was first hired by this client, I dreamed about the possibilities, but it took awhile for them to decide to jump in and let me play a bit. Little by little, I've picked at it and hammered on it and planted a garden in front of it trying to give it some character. But still, it bugged me because it was so ugly. Under all the paint, plaster and concrete was a beautiful old stone wall; I just knew it! Today was a great day for me! I got to go crazy and have it worked on by Mike and Jose. Monday will be the final day of work, but we got a great start today. I am so excited!!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

sticks and stones

One challenge I faced with this particular property was to cover an ugly wall while keeping everything as natural and 'farmy' as possible. Vining plants, such as clematis were an obvious choice, but I felt trellises wouldn't work in this environment. So I rummaged around the yard and found branches I could use - and it worked. And it's FREE! These are before and after pictures.(or rather: after and before - I am terrible at this blogging thing!)