Birdbath
While the ground is covered with snow and temperatures hover at zero, I’ve been trolling through photos of my visit to Seattle last July (with 70 other garden bloggers) and especially noticing ornaments in the garden, some plain and some fancy. Many of us have birdbaths in our garden – even me – who has not ornamented my garden in any thoughtful way.
Fountain
It is not a big step to go from a simple birdbath to a fancy fountain. Bird lovers tell me that the sound of running water will attract more birds than a bird feeder.
Shiny beads
Strings of beads on a trellis is pretty simple. And simply pretty.
Mosaic bench
If you sit on this fancy mosaic bench you’ll get a fancy view of Seattle.
Steps and stones
I don’t know whether to call these steps plain or fancy. Stones aren’t fancy, but they can be used in fancy ways. I was surprised to realize that ornaments in the garden can be built right into the landscape.
Pebbles can be fancy, too. This pebble mosaic stair landing is beautiful.
Large urn
A large urn in the garden is a simple idea, and beautiful even if it is empty.
Urn with plants
Put plants in a fancy urn and you have double fancy.
Garden sculpture
Is this a sculpture – or is it a planter. Pretty fancy.
Bowling ball
Lorene Edwards Forkner invited all us garden bloggers into her Seattle garden. She knows how to make really simple work in the garden. And she has written a whole book about ways we can ornament our gardens simply for a fancy effect. Have you read Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-step instructions for creative garden features, containers, lighting and more?
Entry to Japanese Garden at Bloedel Reserve
This small stone fox sculpture is set at the entry to the Japanese Garden at the Bloedel Reserve. Is it simple? Is it fancy? Is it perfectly elegant?
What kinds of ornaments do you have in your garden? Plain? Fancy?
University Village fountain
Our area suffered flooding from Tropical Storm Irene and the storm that followed a week after causing enormous damage as rivers and streams overflowed their banks. We have recovered on our road so today I prefer to think about the gentler water in our gardens that calms and soothes. Here are some of the the quiet waters I saw in Seattle this summer at the Garden Bloggers Fling.
Michelle and Christopher Epping's Garden
Kate Farley's fountain and pool
Kathryn Galbraith's fountain
Bloedel Reserve Reflecting Pool
Only a big public garden can have a big water feature like this, but most of us can find a way to bring water, reflections – and quiet reflection into our own gardens.
David Perry, Photographer
One of the stellar events of the Garden Blogger’s Seattle Fling was the workshop with David Perry, photographer extraordinaire. We only had an hour of instruction, but I went right out to use the P setting on my little Canon Power Shot A590. I call it my Point and Hope because it is so difficult to use in the sun – but it was raining at the Bloedel Reserve and I was ready to actually move the dial from Auto and adjust my exposure. Radical.
Once I put the dial on P I pressed the little button next to the LCD screen that has a tiny + slash minus. I press that button and I see a dotted line on the screen shot going from -2 to +2 with 0 in the middle which is the default Auto exposure. David says he thinks that, generally speaking, automatic settings are too bright. He recommended hitting another little button to get the exposure down to -2/3.
Willow - Automatic exposure
This is the willow tree and pond right near the Visitor’s Center where David gave his workshop. I was wasting no time. I used the automatic exposure first.
Willow with - 2/3 exposure
I can definitely see an improvement. And I am no longer afraid of the P setting. I might even try a – 1/3 or – 1 or even -2. With all intermediate settings. Experimentation is the way to go. Bracketing – trying out different settings for the same shot to see which is better. There are times when a + 1/3 or + 2/3 or +1 or +2 might be called for. But not in the rain at the Bloedel.
He gave our group another couple of tips. He recommended a flexible plastic cutting board to use as a light diffuser when the sun is too bright, or even a very mild spotlight. I found my cutting board at the Lamson and Goondow outlet. Three bucks! He also said that while he, and other professional photographers have expensive tripods, many of us might consider going to Home Depot or some such and buying a tripod that construction people use for laser leveling. Less than twenty bucks. I am ready to invest!
Shelagh Tucker with tomatoes and sweet peas
Compared to Heath, Seattle has a mild climate, and yet gardeners there share some of our problems. Generally, it does not get hot in Seattle. Gardeners go to great lengths pampering their tomatoes in an attempt to achieve juicy ripeness. Shelagh Tucker has a small greenhouse in her sloping back garden, but she also grows her tomatoes in a raised bed sort of hot house to provide the heat tomatoes require. Behind her, in another raised bed are beautifully trained flowering sweet peas.
Lavender
I was surprised to see so much lavender growing in Seattle gardens, great healthy clumps. Lavender does not need the heat that tomatoes do, and enjoy the wet mild winters.
Potted succulent
Because of all the seasonal rain I could see why containers with all manner of succulents are popular.
Santolina
I love santolina but have never been able to overwinter this pretty herb with its yellow button flowers. It is used widely in arid climates, but Shelagh has used gravel extensively in her garden to help retain heat, and provide sharp drainage for her plants.
Shelagh took a leaf from British gardener Beth Chatto’s book on gravel gardening to design a stunning garden featuring gravel and stone to capture heat, provide paths, and provide drainage for plants like thyme in front of her house.
Stone Mosaic
Stone and gravel become art in this beautiful mosaic.
Waterlily pool
While I am familiar with the many small in-ground pools that gardeners install for plants or fish, I was particularly fond on this raised pool which was so elegant.
'Heritage' rose
Of course, I always pay special attention to the roses in a garden. David Austin’s ‘Heritage’ is one of my favorites even though I cannot keep one alive very long myself.
Shelagh Tucker’s garden was the first garden we visited on our tour and it set the tone for the unique and personal gardens that followed.
Tags: Blogs, Other Gardens, Perennials, Seattle, Water
Bloggers, Blogs, Fascinating Characters, Garden Tours, Other Gardens, Travel | Pat August 2, 2011 | 
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As we 74 garden bloggers have toured Seattle we have visited private gardens, public gardens, and semi-public gardens to admire and learn about plants and Seattle’s history. Here is a mock orange at the Dunn Gardens.
All kinds of lavender everywhere.
Bicyclists on their own path.
Fabulous fruits at the Farmer’s Market. Cherries, peaches, all kinds of berries – vegetables, too.
Magnificent trees, towering.
Potted plants everywhere, in the gardens and on the street.
Fountains in the Mall where kids can play.
AND roses, and more roses. This in one variety growing in the enormous beds arranged around a beautiful big fountain at the University of Washington.
You will see lots more about Seattle’s gardens, and the clever ideas people have to add interest and convenience to their gardens. Stay tuned.
It was good-bye to the daylilies at the End of the Road . . .
and hello to airports in Hartford, Chicago —————- and Seattle! Seattle Gardens are on the schedule for the next few day in the company of dozens of garden bloggers. Keep watching.
Cindy on her corner of Katy - with me
Cindy MCOK, lives in Katy which is is not far from Missouri City where my daughter lives. When I told Cindy we were coming to Texas she invited us, my husband, daughter and me, to visit her garden. I thought it would be fun to feature Cindy’s garden on Three for Thursday which she started. When we first made plans she said she thought the poppies would be in bloom. And they were! We were still a distance down the street when we saw the riot of pink at the corner, Cindy’s corner. When I asked what happened when all the seeming hundreds of poppies stopped blooming, she said she pulled up the dead plants to real all the other plants that were hiding and waiting for their day in the sun.
Cindy's back garden
Behind the house Cindy has the most glorious floriferous garden. Poppies, larkspur, roses, bluebonnets and I don’t know what all were in full bloom. It was positively dazzling. She has a fish pond, shrubs, stone and gravel paths, art works and found objects on the walls. She said, “I guess you can tell I like old rusty things.”
Reve d'Or rose
Cindy has many roses, Souvenir de Malmaison, Old Blush, Carefree Beauty and any number of others, but this particularly caught my eye. Reve d’Or has a gorgeous peachy color and it is a good vigorous rose. Cindy says she periodically hacks it back and it always comes back as strong as ever. Reve d’Or, Belinda’s Dream, Madame Antoine Mari and Carefree Beauty have all been designated Earth Kind roses by Texas A&M, and they are all thriving in Cindy’s garden. Daughter Kate already has Belinda’s Dream in her garden; it was her first rose. Now she is dreaming of Rose d’Or. I expect she’ll be making a trip to the Enchanted Forest very soon.
Getting to visit with Cindy and Melissa the Houston Garden Girl have really been highlights of this trip. Cindy and I reminisced about Buffa10 – and now we are waiting for our next meet-up in Seattle.
As I review and renew in my garden, I thought I ought to look back at the year on the commonweeder. The 5 most popular posts were not what I expected.
In February Mycotecture got many visitors – and continues to be visited.
In March the New York Times had an article about Femivores, women who love their chickens too much. Or something like that. I have chickens so I had to comment. Chickens – and their houses – are a popular topic on my blog – and elsewhere in the world.
In July I went to Buffalo to meet with 70 other bloggers and tour the many wonderful gardens in readiness for the Buffalo Garden Walk. My post Mirrors in the Garden – A Trend? continues to get visitors.
Carol Dukes at Flower Hill Farm
In September I visited Carol Dukes at Flower Hill Farm. We are almost neighbors. It is no surprise to me that this post was so popular. Carol and her magnificent photos have many devoted fans.
Walden Pond
My Muse Day post in December was about our trip to Walden Pond the day after Thanksgiving. As a devoted fan of Henry David Thoreau I was happy that so many others wanted to share our visit. I never cease to thank Carolyngail for hosting Muse Day.
One popular post did not surprise me. In January my dear friend and mentor Elsa Bakalar passed away. In July we celebrated her life in her garden – and that month her garden, now tended by artist Scott Prior and his wife, was featured in Horticulture Magazine - with a nod back to the article that Elsa and I had published in Horticulture in 1986. Elsa’s life touched many gardeners, locally and across the country through her book and lecture tours.
2010 was a happy year for me on the commonweeder, with increasing readership, and I look forward to 2011 and the pleasures of the garden and garden friends with great anticipation.
Rose at Ramble 0n Rose has won The Perennial Gardner’s Design Primer by Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra. Congratulations! I want to thank everyone who has helped me celebrate three years of blogging this month. And thank you Storey Publications for being so generous in making this Giveaway possible.
Our henhouse 12-2
When we moved into our house I was thrilled that there was also a hen house in the back yard. The building is about 30 feet long, divided into three sections. We store the feed, kept in metal garbage cans, as well as bales of shavings, in the first section. We also brood our chicks in that section when they arrive around the first of June. There is a chicken door that allows the chicks to go outdoors into a separate fenced yard when they get old enough.
Our henhouse, second section
The second section has egg boxes, waterers and feeders for the chickens. During the winter when the waterers freeze I rotate them through our house where they can thaw.
You can see that neither the exterior, nor the interior are objects of beauty. However, the building is functional. We have used it ever since our first spring here in 1980. You cannot really tell, but I do use the ‘deep litter’ technique. I only clean the henhouse out once a year, in the spring. Over the summer and fall the bedding and the chicken manure build up and begin to compost. The manure and the composting create some heat which helps keep the chickens warm in the winter. The manue and bedding also encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria that helps keep the chickens healthy, although their access to fresh air and sun are also important to their health. Everyone always comments on the rich yellow color of our eggs.
Our chickens in their yard
I throw cracked corn to the chickens outdoors every day. You can see we have a mixed flock. I have several Araucanas; they are not especially pretty, but they are great egg layers. Blue eggs! They lay longer for us, into their second and third year. I also have barred rocks, and New Hampshire Reds. I love having chickens because of the eggs, and because of knowing that our eggs come from happy and healthy chickens.
In case you were wondering about the third and longest section – that is not used. It is missing the end wall which was OK when we had pigs out there. Pigs only need housing for four or five months, but the space is not suitable for our hens.
I’ll be showing more hen houses built by some thoughtful people. Don’t forget to leave comments on yesterday’s post to have a chance at winning a copy of Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman. today is my exact third blogoversary and I am celebrating the commenters who visit, and the other bloggers I have met over these past years. Please celebrate with me. This Giveaway ends Saturday at midnight, but two more books are coming through the generosity of Storey Publishing.
Click here to see the latest on my book...
