Category Archives: Garden Design

Step 3 – After Destruction Comes Construction

The Garden Artist Posted on by

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 3 of Rear Garden Design Project.

April, 2000

After we scooped out the soil for the creation of a back entrance to our home certain considerations needed to be addressed. The water and gas lines running to our home needed to be lowered to a new appropriate frost depth. The John Borrelli Plumbing Company brought in heavy equipment and reinstalled all our lines after the town located the entry points of our utilities.

Borelli Plumbing putting in the new gas and water lines
Borelli Plumbing putting in the new gas and water lines

The digging for the utility lines was planned to do the least damage to our existing garden. We used the plans for the dry streambed as part of our guide.

Digging the trenches for the utility lines

Digging the trenches for the utility lines

And then the rains came and came and came. The sandy soil on the sides started to slide down towards our new door. We stared out our new back window for hours hoping that the passive drainage system I designed was going to do its job. It worked exactly as I intended but we really needed to get some structure to the entryway.

Seemingly endless rains began to erode the sandy backfill

Seemingly endless rains began to erode the sandy backfill

Since I collect round things, so much of my design work entails circles. The entrance was no exception since I wanted a semi-circle as the entrance. I plotted it out on paper and then used twine to circumscribe the dimensions.

I inscribed a semi-circle for the entry platform

I inscribed a semi-circle for the entry platform

About a week later the cement was poured onto the sand base and we breathed a sigh of release. No more soil leading right up to the doorway.

The concrete had to be brought in by wheelbarrow since the truck was so big

The concrete had to be brought in by wheelbarrow since the truck was so big

_______________________________________________________

Go to Step 4 – The Stones Get Delivered

_______________________________________________________

Step 2 – Garden Excavation Starts the Project

The Garden Artist Posted on by

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 2 of Rear Garden Design Project.

On March 25, 2000 we began the excavation of the rear garden in order to add the back door entrance to the guest room addition to our home. When you first see a bobcat drive into your garden that you’ve been carefully planting and weeding over the course of 10 years it is really startling.

It was strange to see such a big bobcat driving into my precious garden
Frank Falino our Architect overseeing the bobcat excavation

The bobcat continued for hours digging down and removing the soil surrounding the rear foundation of our home. The soil in the top foot or two was good quality planting material but as they dug deeper, the quality of soil deteriorated to contractors fill which was disappointing since I was using it to build up other parts of my garden.

Dennis George watching as the project evolves
Dennis George watching as the project evolves

There is something about power equipment that mesmerizes people. As time passed, the groups standing watch at this loud and violent-like event grew. The whirring and burring of the machinery echoed disconcertedly through the woods

The mesmerizing sound of power tools
The mesmerizing sound of power tools

The saws used to cut through the concrete squealed with high ear splitting intensity while spewing clouds of dust both in and out of our home.

Within days we had a brand new back entrance to our home
Within days we had a brand new back entrance to our home

We had our back door and new full size windows looking out on our garden brightening the rooms planned for our new guest quarters. Both the inside and outside spaces were forever changed and our home felt so much larger.

So where did the excavated soil disappear to? Whenever you are moving soil on landscape design projects you need to consider where the soil is coming from and also where is it going.

The red arrow marks some of the berm we had built as a buffer to the street
The red arrow marks some of the berm we built as a buffer to the street

Part of my plan was to use the soil to create berms on the outside perimeter of the property close to the somewhat busy street running along the back of our home. The natural slope of the land scooped towards the street but the berms created an upswing and a visual and sound buffer useful for planting.

Unfortunately the better soil was at the bottom of the piles with the filler soil on top, reversing how it was excavated. I’ve been enhancing that soil for years now.

_______________________________________________________

Go to Step 3 – After Destruction Comes Construction

_______________________________________________________

Step 1 – Sometimes Garden Projects Take a Long Time

The Garden Artist Posted on by

Step 1 of Rear Garden Design Project.

In 1989 I bought my home in Northport Long Island NY. A cute little two-bedroom cape but I really bought it for the garden. It had a good skeletal structure. The property is triangular, set on a corner at a point of two (actually three) converging streets. That the perimeter is not rectangular adds to the illusion that the area is greater then its actual half-acre on the tax code.

The original rear garden in February 1989
The original rear garden in February 1989

The original garden behind the house was merely a worn path skirting a slight mound of earth leading to the rear foundation. The foundation planting consisted of two Euonymus alatus shrubs perched on each outside corner.

In 2000 after looking around for a new home in the area which my new husband Dave and I could share together,  we decided to stay on this little piece of earth and build a home specific to our evolving needs. One of the main reasons for staying was my love of the garden I’d worked on for a decade and the vision I’d been working towards.

Small basement windows in the rear of house in 2000
Small basement windows in the rear of house in 2000

In March of 2000 we began to break ground on what was to be a momentous change in our lives. We were gutting the entire house and rebuilding the interior into three floors. The rear of our home was to become the guest room entrance for the finished lower level which we were adding to the existing structure. The tiny basement windows would be replaced and the entire rear mound would be excavated to create a grand entrance.

View of rear garden looking north in 2000
View of rear garden looking north in 2000

The modest little bluestone path was to be replaced by a walkway leading to a Japanese inspired bridge, dry stream bed and planting terraces.

My drawing of the project as I envisioned it in 2000
My drawing of the project as I envisioned it in 2000

As part of my degree in Landscape Design at Farmingdale I designed and drew the plans for this project. It entailed moving water lines, electrical work and ensuring proper drainage management. Pretty complex and really creative.

_______________________________________________________

Go to Step 2 – Garden Excavation Starts the Project

_______________________________________________________

How Not To See A Rhododendron

The Garden Artist Posted on by
Rhododendron catawbiense in the window of the Artist, Mary Ahern

Rhododendron catawbiense in the window

Rhododendrons have such a great place in plant hunter’s history. Tales are still being told and re-enacted as new and old seekers traverse the back roads and non-roads of the Himalayas in search of the newest and rarest of Rhodies. Courage, stamina, and leeches always play a big role in these adventures.

Having quite a different perspective of plant hunting, I traverse the hills and dales of Long Island in search of the ever elusive cultivar not yet in my plant collection. Rather than being the intrepid adventurer of far off lands gathering seed, I drive to nurseries and make some of my decisions on whether I can lift the plant into my car. Rhodies can be backbreaking.

Which brings me to the problem of this Rhododendron catawbiense which is an original inhabitant when I bought the property in 1989. The foundation plantings were all huge view-concealing Rhodies. Over time I’ve managed to dig up and move all of them except this last remaining specimen. Some of the huge plants I moved by myself and in some cases, I hired a person with a bobcat. Some survived the transplanting and some didn’t. In retrospect, I think the fatalities had to do with watering and drought issues since the rootballs of Rhodies are pretty shallow and self-contained.

View from the dining room window of the Artist, Mary Ahern

View from the dining room window of the Rhodi in bloom

The way to view Rhododendrons is not to the exclusion of a view of the rest of your garden when sitting at your dining room table. This view is only beautiful for 2 weeks a year when the rhodi is in bloom. The only other benefit to having this view is that in the winter you can use the leaf curl as a thermometer to determine if the temperature is below freezing. Not worth it I say. So, as I’ve said every year for the last decade or so, I’m going to move that Rhodie to the woods this year.

Six Years and One Month Later in My Garden Design

The Garden Artist Posted on by
Garden Entry April 2002 of the Artist, Mary Ahern.

Garden Entry April 2002

I’ve been working on my garden for a long time. When I had the driveway widened, I had bluestone gravel put down since I like the crunching sound of homecoming when I drive off the paved street into the driveway.

I took the stones, which come up every time I sink a shovel into the garden, and used them to create the edging with the slight curves that welcome you onto the property and foreshadow the style which will be followed throughout the garden. Though I had professionals widen the driveway and initially place the stones I supplied, I moved them and moved them for quite awhile until I got the actual curves visually right.

I moved the stone edging 6 times before I was satisfied with the curves. I did this instead of joining a gym.

Garden Entry May 2008 of the Artist, Mary Ahern.

Garden Entry May 2008

I planted spring bulbs and flowers, in order to give an early season, welcome to the folks driving by and the ones who walk by on their daily exercise circuit. I am pleased how the area filled in since my initial planting in 2001. In fact, it has filled in so fully that I’m able to divide and share the wealth with some other eager gardeners.

I like the way the stones seem to have settled into their niches and look as though they’ve always lived where they are. The soil has slid through the gaps and the ground covers have leaped over the tops, naturalizing their display.

What a difference a month makes.

The Garden Artist Posted on by

Front Entry garden April 14th.Last year I took this picture in my front entry garden on April 14th. This is just at the edge of where the driveway meets the garden and as you can see, I hadn’t even finished clearing out the leaves from the miniature rhododendrons. The bulbs are all starting to come up and the azaleas behind the tree stumps are getting green. The Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ or Eastern weeping redbud tree is not yet in bloom and I haven’t turned the water on at the little globe water feature. I haven’t even gotten around to planting the hayracks on the deck banisters.

Front Entry garden May 17th.This second photo was taken a month later on May 17th and what a difference! The azaleas, which were here when I bought the property in 1989, are in bloom in the entry garden and in the distance in the front garden. The Uvularia grandiflora or Bellwort is spreading itself in front of my globe. A hosta named ‘Diana Remembered’ that I bought from Terre Nova Nursery is sprouting to the right of it on the curve. The miniature yellow green hosta to the bottom left of the image is called, ‘Green Eyes’. I love growing all different kinds and sizes of hostas but I like even better when the slugs don’t spoil the view. These mini’s I find are particularly vulnerable to becoming salad for the slugs but I like the challenge of changing their minds.

Garden Benches

The Garden Artist Posted on by

My Graduation Garden Bench 2000-2007 RIPI don’t have much seating around my woodland walks other than tree stumps since it is a place for a meandering journey rather than a destination. But I do have one bench that allows me to sit and take a break if my phone rings while I’m gardening.

It also is very much a destination for my grandsons since they use it as a stopping and starting position for their many excursions with the dinosaurs and forest tigers they’ve found roaming the woods.

This first bench I bought in 2000 to commemorate my graduation from Farmingdale State with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. By the time this photo was taken in January of 2007, the bench was beginning to sink if you sat on it so it truly became merely a garden ornament.

My Birthday Garden Bench, circa September, 2007.This next bench I bought in September of 2008 to celebrate my birthday. I found it on the web at shop-nc.com:

It surpassed my expectations in the quality of materials and the beauty of the design. I would certainly recommend the product and the company.

I took this photo in April with one of my Rhododendron PJM’s in full bloom. A few years ago I transplanted this rhodi from another part of the garden and positioned it behind the bench to give a sense of enclosure. The view beyond is borrowed scenery since my property line is about 10 feet behind the bench.

My Gingko Garden Bench looking towards our home.Here is a view from behind the bench looking towards my home. If you look closely you can see that I have secured the bench to the adjacent oak tree to prevent it from getting legs and walking out of the garden. Some years ago I found that my wood chipper had disappeared from the garden and it took me quite some time to get over the sense of violation and intrusion.