Just a girl with a hammer

  • The 13th Annual ANLD Designers Garden Tour, June 17th

    The 13th Annual ANLD Designers Garden Tour, June 17th

    Each year the Association of Northwest Landscape Designers holds a garden tour, showing off some of the projects their members have completed. The proceeds fund scholarships for aspiring landscape designers attending local community colleges.

    I had the good luck to attend a sneak peek of the seven gardens on this year’s tour. The gardens were impressive, especially considering some of the site challenges they had to address. The theme of this year’s tour seemed to be underground streams. Many of the homes are situated on properties with underground water issues.

    #1 Terri’s Garden


    A combination of underground drains and wetland plantings combine to deal with the large amount of water flowing under this property. The garden is low-maintenance and designed to allow the owner to age in place.

    #2 Letson-Gardner Garden


    This steep yard was transformed into a spectacular terraced garden, perfect for entertaining or solo contemplation.

    #3 Mill Pond Garden

    I am still marveling over this transformed property. With a 110′ vertical rise in the back, the property was terraced with 380 tons of rockwork. This garden is mind-boggling.


    #4 Myers Garden

    This asian-inspired garden employed a number of creative solutions to manage the large amount of underground water beneath the property. It’s peaceful and lovely and you’d never guess that there’s an underground stream flowing beneath your feet.

    #5 Andora Gardens

    This is the personal garden of Ann Nickerson, an ANLD designer. This is a small but incredibly usable garden, broken into different entertaining and resting areas. 

    #6 Peck Garden

    This was my favorite garden on the tour. This is the personal garden of Marcia Peck, an ANLD designer. She has installed an interesting assortment of mosaic rockwork and the plant palette was exciting. 

    #7 Schmitt Garden

    This garden suffered from, you guessed it, poor drainage! You’d never guess it looking at it now. 

    The ANLD Designers Garden Tour will be held on Saturday June 17th from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are available online. Or leave a message and be entered to win a ticket! I will announce the winner on Thursday June 15th.

  • Flooring!

    Flooring!

    In other big project news, after eight years(!) in the house, we finally got our wood floors refinished. It took this long because I couldn’t afford it for years, then once we could I knew we’d have to move out of the house to have it done. We also had a huge question mark about the sloping subfloor under the carpet.

    We had no idea if fixing a creaky franken-floor would cost $500 or $5000. Just to recap, at one point our dining room was two rooms: a formal dining room (the side with the big window) and a kitchen nook that was 2/3 as deep as it currently is. The kitchen nook was bumped out to meet the front of the house and the wall between knocked down.

    Plywood removed and subfloor revealed

    They either ran out of money to finish out the oak flooring or got lazy? They put down plywood and slapped some carpet on top. The floor sloped and squeaked. When I moved in there was evidence of a previous roof leak (this wall is drywall when every other wall in the house is lathe and plaster and there was clearly damage to the ceiling), and the mouldings were all hiding in the garage.

    Anyhoo, we finally bit the bullet and hired Union Floor Co. In preparation I started cutting the carpet away from the wall so it could be easily rolled up the morning that work started. In the course of doing this I discovered past water damage and dried, inactivated mold. Yay! We are assuming this was from the previous leaking roof because why would you replace the plywood when you’ve had a leak and you could just put carpet on top?

    There were a couple of reasons that the floor squeaked. For starters, when they were nailing in the plywood THEY MISSED THE JOIST. So the plywood was sitting atop the joists in places. There was a particularly bad squeak that Greg would stand on and rock back and forth, just to drive me crazy, and I would think, “Oh that’s why people get divorced after a year.”

    It turns out that that squeak was caused by a nail that had been shot into our metal air duct. Every time we stepped in that spot the nail would scratch across the duct. Company that built this floor, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO REVIEW YOU ON ANGIE’S LIST.

    Other issues included the weird hatch in our closet (read more about that here):

    We had deep gouges in the bedroom where someone dragged something heavy across the floor.

    Pet stains in the living room:

    Extensive staining, water marks, and paint drips in the dining room:

    They just generally looked terrible:

    The dining room was leveled and patched with white oak flooring, as Siberian oak is no longer available.

    We moved everything into the basement and a POD outside and I decided that we are never ever moving because we have too much stuff.

    We moved out of the house for a week and into an Airbnb a block away. I was able to check in and be incredibly picky about how the floors were looking. The main worker kept saying things like, “The scratches aren’t coming out in the bedroom but you lived with them before, so . . . ” and then I’d feel like I was having a stroke.

    I had told the owner that we didn’t care how much it cost, we wanted all the scratches and stains removed, either by flipping the boards or installing new boards. It was in our contract. We didn’t move out of our house to “live with” floors that weren’t fixed because it was more effort. I called the owner and asked him to clarify with his employee that we wanted them as perfect as humanly possible.

    And they did it!

    We opted to seal the floors without a stain and they’ve assured me that the new white oak will patina to match the original Siberian oak. I’m skeptical, but my fingers are crossed. We did a satin finish, which is the least shiny option.

    The nails in the original flooring are more pronounced
    Other than that, the floors look SO GOOD.

    Former closet hatch

    Site of former floor gouges

    We’re very happy with the results. We’re also totally exhausted from cleaning the house and moving back in. There was a fine layer of dust on every surface, requiring a wipedown of all the walls, counters, windows, etc.

    I’m going to be camped out here for the next couple of weeks, until my feet stop hurting.

  • Aloha, comrades

    Aloha, comrades

    Welp, big projects have been afoot at Casa de Hammer. But it turns out that having a sibling die and then going through one of the most stressful election cycles only to be dropped into an Orwellian hellscape leaves you uninterested in blogging. For me, it left me uninterested in anything but lying on the couch and wondering what the fuck was going on. I opened my garden in June and then declined to touch it again for the rest of the year. I just couldn’t summon the energy.

    Greg and I were still trying to figure out what we wanted to do about some sort of hard surface and some sort of shade structure in the backyard when I showed him a picture of Lance’s shade structure.

    Image source: Lance at Garden Riots

    It was built by Bamboo Craftsman and we both really loved it. We wondered what if we just hired them to build us something instead of endlessly wondering what to build and then ultimately fucking it up ourselves? Also, I was stuck on the couch and I am the labor powerhouse in this house, so this was the only way it was going to get done. Whoever said “more money, more problems” was a goddamn liar because being able to hire projects out is fucking GREAT.

    The scale model

    Troy, owner of Bamboo Craftsman and the designer of our pavilion

    As a bonus, I got to dig up all the plants I had just planted after having the cedar removed.

    It turns out that doing it yourself is rewarding and thrifty but hiring people who know what they’re doing is even better.

    A trench was dug for electricity

    We told Troy that we wanted something that felt more like old Hawaii and less like a tiki bar. I also wanted a swing so I could have somewhere to sit and enjoy the view of the garden that I might enjoy tending again someday. He dubbed our project the Island Pavilion but we’ve been jokingly calling it the fallout shelter because I’m terrified of our current geopolitical situation and I really want to build an underground fallout shelter beneath it.

    Fun fact! I didn’t know how to spell “pavilion” correctly before this project.

    All of the materials, aside from the bolts and brackets, were salvage. We’re gonna be so smug at dinner parties!

    I know what you’re thinking. God, you paid someone to build you a beautiful structure and this is the best photography you can muster? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Portland has been under a foot of snow and I haven’t left the house in weeks. Also, I bought a pressure cooker so I’m focusing all of my energy on making different kinds of broth. Believe it or not, this is progress from 2016. I’m still sitting on the couch and wondering what the fuck is going on but now I have broth! That guy at New Seasons told me broth is “life giving.” Hippies are weird.

    I don’t deserve this beautiful thing.

    Better pictures soon.

  • What about that tree?

    What about that tree?

    Back in April I wrote that we were going to remove the cedar tree from our backyard. A huge thank you to everyone who gave me input on removing the pieris (it’s gone!), as well as suggestions for new plants in this area.

    Before: boxwood on the right, Pieris on the left


    The tree came down super fast by a company I can’t recommend, so I won’t mention who they are. The owner hires day laborers, pays them terribly, and they trampled my plants.

    Please enjoy this video of the top-most part of the tree being removed. I shot it while lying on the floor of our office. I had no idea how tree removal would work without a crane, so this was fascinating and nerve-wracking to watch.



    The company did a piss poor job of grinding out the stump (I should’ve used Chip Away like I have in the past), so we couldn’t sink the new fence post halfway between the existing posts, like we wanted. Eventually everything will grow in and we shouldn’t notice how stupid this fence looks.


    After we rebuilt the fence (the extra-tall post is so we can string lights from it), I had to rake up years and years of cedar detritus and all the shavings from the stump grinding. The area was a MESS.

    Then I got to cram way too many plants in!


    This is the least exciting photo ever, I know. It’s pretty unexciting in real life, too. The structure will eventually come from shrubs that are too small to see, so everything is filled in with a mix of grasses and annuals. If this turns into anything visually pleasing by the end of the summer, I will be surprised.


    In the meantime, I don’t miss the cedar at all. I’m so excited about the new trees and shrubs I have planted. Our next step is to talk to a professional about building a shade structure of some sort and figuring out whether we’re going to build a platform deck. We have been absolutely paralyzed by indecision, so it’s time to talk to someone with experience. Then we can get down to the sweet business of drinking gin and tonics and relaxing in the backyard.

    Ha ha, just kidding. I’m going to stuff more plants into this area. I’ll probably take them from the area on the left, where I crammed too many plants last summer. I can’t help myself.

  • Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, June 2016

    Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, June 2016

    On this bloom day I am going to focus on the most exciting bloom in my garden, the one that I catch passerby snapping photos of on their phones.

    On May 1st I noticed that my Dasylirion texanum was starting to form a bloom spike. I didn’t even realize that they bloom!

    Bloom spike on Dasylirion texanum

    I planted it in May of 2012, when it was just a wee thing. I got it at the Rare Plant Research sale. It’s sited in a sharp-draining gravel berm in full sun, facing dead south.

    Dasylirion texanum 1 gallon

    Dasylirion is polycarpic so, unlike agave, it should be able to survive after blooming. Reports on the internet are sparse but it seems these can bloom every four years or so. Lance at Garden Riots reports that he has lost dasylirion after blooming, so my fingers are crossed. This is probably my very favorite plant in my garden and I’d be so bummed if I had to replace it.

    On May 7th, one week later:

    Here we are on May 19th, two and a half weeks after I noticed the bloom stalk. It grew quickly, adding noticeable height on a daily basis.

    On June 5th the blooms began to emerge.

    June 8th.

    June 12th

    And June 15th, about six weeks after I first noticed the bloom spike.

    The bloom spike topped out at just over 12′ from the base of the plant. The base of the plant is showing some yellowing, which I hope is normal and not a sign of the plant dying.

    The hum of the bees covering this thing is audible from the driveway, which is pretty cool.

    Happy bloom day! As always, a big thanks to Carol, our host at May Dreams Gardens.

  • The winner of the ANLD tour ticket!

    The winner of the ANLD tour ticket!

    Using random.org, the winner of the ANLD tour ticket is Kris G! Kris, I will email you about picking it up.

  • Win a ticket to the June 18th ANLD Garden Tour!

    Win a ticket to the June 18th ANLD Garden Tour!

    I was recently able to preview the seven gardens that will be featured on this year’s Association of Northwest Landscape Designers (ANLD) tour. This annual tour is always good but I thought this year’s lineup was especially nice.

    The gardens featured on the tour are all on standard sized lots in the SE and NE Portland area. They suffered from a range of typical problems: poor flow, bad drainage, struggling lawns, or lack of privacy. I think this tour really highlights the problem-solving that landscape designers provide.

    The Bebernes-Gawf garden was possibly my favorite on the tour. A crumbling, unused driveway was transformed so artfully into garden space that I didn’t even realize it until I hit the garage door. Usable space was incorporated into a small yard in a way that makes it feel like it was originally built that way.

    That broken driveway was cut into strips and used to create a raised bed that borders a path leading to a secret garden. I LOVE when designers are able to keep resources on site instead of hauling it to the dump.

    At the end of the secret garden there’s a shelter where the owners can watch the rain fall and enjoy a pot of tea. Read more about this garden here.

    How do you garden when you live beneath two huge maples that suck every bit of water from the soil and rob your plants of sunlight? What does a landscape designer do in their own yard? Linda Hannan’s garden answers those questions. A garden “she would never design for someone else,” it is nonetheless exuberant, beautiful, and full of great ideas for using a small space to entertain AND propagate plants.See more of the Hannan garden here.

    The King garden suffered from the one-two punch of a swampy lawn AND overgrown evergreens in an unremarkable lot. It has been transformed into a lush but low-water oasis, perfect for entertaining and playing with their dog. Read more about this garden here.

    The Langeliers garden was originally an enormous lawn on an oversized lot. The homeowner was overwhelmed with the amount of lawn and underwhelmed with the mood it created. The designers created a strolling garden full of texture, color, sound, and movement. I absolutely loved this garden. You can read more about it here.

    The Ohlson garden faced a number of challenges, as it is located in historic Ladd’s Addition. Onerous restrictions from the neighborhood and the city made it a challenging garden to design, though you’d never know it looking at the final product. You can read more about it here.

    The Wagner garden was originally a moss-filled lawn, which suffered from drainage issues during the wet months. It’s now a lush mix of mixed beds, edibles, and a much healthier lawn. You can read more about it here.

    The Mauch garden was formerly a lawn with some rhodies, like thousands of others in Portland. The owner needed a low-maintenance garden on a small budget. The designer created a lush oasis that fit the parameters AND worked around a remodel to the back of the house. You can read more about it here. 

    Occasionally I’ve been asked by friends to design their gardens. I garden, so surely I can design one for them, right? A good designer not only has an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, they also know how to solve problems like competition from existing trees, poor drainage, lack of light, or poor access/unusable space. I can’t do that. I can’t even give my plants the space they need. A good designer will knock out a killer hardscape plan and a planting design that will work with your site and your budget. 
    The tour is Saturday June 18th. It is self-guided, so you can visit the gardens in any order you prefer. Tickets are available on the ANLD website or at Garden Fever, Al’s, Portland Nursery, or Cornell Farm. 
    I am also giving away one ticket. If you’d like to win, please leave a comment saying, “Count me in!” or something to that effect. I’ll announce the winner next week.
  • Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day April 2016

    Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day April 2016

    I love April. Our front garden is dressed like a pretty pretty princess.

     

    Cornus florida and Camassia leichtlinii ‘Blue Danube’
    Othonna cheirifolia

    Sedum parmeri

    Gaultheria Shallon

    Myosotis sylvatica ‘Victoria Blue’

    Loropetalum chinensis ‘Sizzling Pink’

    Convallaria majalis

    Prosartes hookeri

    Disporum cantoniense ‘Night Heron’

    Maianthemum racemosum

    Camassia leichtlinii ‘Blue Danube’

     

    Lewisia cotyledon

    Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’

    Lewisia cotyledon ‘White Splendor’

    A happy bloom day to you and thank you to Carol, our host at May Dreams Gardens!

  • A clean slate

    A clean slate

    Big plans are afoot here. After dealing with a poorly sited Western red cedar for seven years, I’ve decided to have it removed.

    While I was completing all the measurements required by the city, I discovered that the root flare is 30 inches from my neighbor’s foundation (and getting closer every year). 

    It also ate his hose bib. I feel bad now for not removing it earlier. It has created fencing challenges and I couldn’t be happier to see it go. With the tree gone we can safely build our platform deck as far over as we want without worrying about doing root damage.

    While I’m at it, I’m going to tear out the boxwood located in the corner of the yard. I never removed it before because I figured nothing else would be able to get up to size with competition from a mature tree.

    And while I’m dismantling the fence and digging up all of the plants in this area, I’m considering removing the pieris too. I’m conflicted about this one, because it’s evergreen and established and it requires no water BUT I just don’t love it. And as long as I’m having someone grind out stumps, I might as well have them grind that one too. It also has a filbert tree sprouting right next to it that we can’t seem to eradicate.

    All of this means that I have a huge new area where I can plant the shrubs and trees I’ve always wanted to plant. On the short list for a replacement tree is Magnoila macrophylla var. Ashei. I love the huge leaves and I covet Clifford, Loree’s Magnolia macrophylla. My tentative plan is something like this:

    Click to embiggen

    I came home from Xera with an olive tree (Olea europaea ‘Frantoio’) for the corner. Greg and Paul said it gets up to size quickly, requires little water, and has fantastic winter interest.

    Photo source

    I had been considering Arbutus unedo but Paul warned me that they are very messy. Also on the list currently:

    I have two existing Mahonia (‘Underway‘ and ‘Winter Sun‘) that will get moved a bit. I also have a golden ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Nugget’) that I’d like to keep in the area.

    If you had a blank slate, what shrubs would you plant? Would you keep the pieris? I’m on a standard city lot, so my room for large shrubs is limited and I want to plant ones that I’ll be completely in love with. Any opinions are welcome!

  • Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day March 2016

    Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day March 2016

    This March feels less floriferous than usual, I think because we had such an usually early spring last year. The hellebores are still going and the daphne is winding down.

    Mahonia nervosa

    Arctostaphylos x ‘John Dourley’

    Geranium macrorrhizum

    Arctostaphylos bakeri ‘Louis Edmonds’

    Epimedium

    Epimedium x ‘Black Sea’
    Pieris japonica

    Mukdenia rossii ‘Crimson Fans’

    A happy bloom day to you! Thanks to our host, Carol.