Garden house

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A CHARMING GARDEN HOUSE

 My friend Ginny has a wonderfully charming Garden House.

                                                                                       

She is getting everything organized, pegboard for hanging garden tools,

shelving to hold baskets of vases organized by size; there is an area for Christmas & Easter decoration storage and a counter for potting & flower arranging, upon which Ginny is creating a ceramic mosaic of the 4 seasons.

                                                                                                              

What I love most about it however, are the scenes she had her friends paint on the walls.

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                      

                                                                                                         Ginny paints too, her wall below…

                                                                                                  Can’t wait to make my small contribution .

A note to my readers: the blog GARDEN PHOTO OF THE DAY written by Martha Tate will reappear shortly. Her domain name was accidentally dropped and taken by another blogger. I will post her new link as soon as it is available.

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THE BOTHY… CONTINUED

                                                                                        

Finally got the Bothy & work area  organized so I can work there and overwinter some cuttings and tender plants. No, it is not yet finished, we still lack all the windows required.  Unlike Connie of  Heartwood Roses, I have no experience with carpentry so I depend on occasional labor when I can get it. (see Connie’s greenhouse here)

                                                                                         

The pots are stored, (they will be moved later when the sink is installed in its place) the potting bench is a good height, and we incorporated a ‘drainage bench’. This should make our spring transplant marathon go smoothly with less backache.

                                                                                      

Cuttings will go into the cold frame for the winter. Below

                                                                                                    

Two comfortable chairs, an extra fridge & some storage….

                                                                                          

now for the tea making facilities….. electric kettle at  Target this week for sure!

 

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CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

Earlier this summer, as I  sat in the Circle of Friends, I realized that after the first major flush of bloom my ‘interesting hydrangeas’ really had no impact at all. What was needed was more of the strong blue mopheads.

                                                                                    

                                                                                     

So cuttings it was, since that particular hydrangea is an unknown variety and I have no idea how to locate more.

                                                                                             

Good plan? Yes, untill I saw them today; this is what they look like now.  

                                                                                

                                                                                    

Yet, on the other side …

                                                                                

the less spectacular blue mopheads dry beautifully.

                                                                              

                                                                                

What a terrific problem to have!

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THE BOTHY

                                                 

For years I have wanted a greenhouse /potting shed /garden house/ conservatory…  any structure in the garden to serve the above purposes would do. Not to be confused with a tool shed, we have one of those.

                                                       

Over the years , what I had heard from clients who built any one of the above, is that they were  expensive… One client calls  hers “The Taj” another “The Potting Chateau” … you get the idea…  

Then,  I saw the structure Susanne Hudson built in her garden. Soon as I saw Susanne’s Folly, I knew mine was within reach.

                                                                

Susanne is one of those Designers who can make something  out of nothing!! She built this  conservatory with found windows.

                                                          

Same idea as what Bunny Williams did with windows  & pilasters she rescued from a Hudson River estate. Below.

                                                           

I had to work with what I had, the abandoned chicken coop (terrible story …. dogs chewing through wire… feathers everywhere…..heartbreaking!).

‘Thrown together’ by my husband and untrained labor when I was out of town (I’m apparently too ‘demanding’!)  It was the focal point in the Potager! I don’t even have a photo and believe me…that’s a good thing!

Last week  Susanne Hudson surprised me with a visit . As fate would have it,  she had WINDOWS  in her van and she left them for me!

                                                       

Today  I am 8 windows closer to completing  my garden structure …. the BOTHY.

                                                                   

Edith Hope suggested the name when I posted a potting shed. She commented that it needed a tattered but comfortable armchair and tea making facilities. Then she would call it A BOTHY.

(A one room hut or cottage where unmarried male servants  lodged… Also an unlocked shelter where the wayfarer could seek shelter.)

I’m almost there!