Structure in the Garden :: Pergola Dreams

Dreams for the garden. We all like to dream. Dreams really do come true. Sometimes. If you wait long enough. In my story, I just couldn't seem to let go of my idea of adding a potting bench to my garden. A potting bench never really seemed practical or possible in my old garden. Not the bench I wanted anyway. I looked at so many styles and configurations over the years. None really suited what I had in mind. Little did I know I would have to move from my dream garden to actually get a potting bench. (More on the bench in another post.)

An even bigger dream all along had been to install a pergola structure. There was that perfect spot just outside of the pool cage at my previous house/garden. It is a good-size brick paver patio that transitions the screened lanai to the yard. It is the perfect setting for a pergola. I dreamed about it. I talked about it. I could see it in my mind. It didn't happen. Now I don't live there anymore.

It didn't take me long to start dreaming of gardening structures at my new house. I'm hardwired to create. It's in me. It happens. There's no stopping it. Visions. Ideas. Designs. They swirl in my head and they nag my thoughts. It's a gift. I don't fight that anymore. Regardless, all my creative ideas would cost a fortune to accomplish. Since I don't have THAT luxury, I improvise.  I scale back. I find ways to makes things work with less money. I've become a DIY project girl. I've enlisted patience and I come up with ways to accomplish what I see in my mind's eye without breaking the bank. It's very fun and rewarding doing things this way, so no complaints from me. Even so, once in a while you have to call in the craftsmen. The experts. The ones you have to pay. They want real money for their trade. :-)

We did it. We hired a local company, Garden Carpentry, to build our pergola. I had talked them a few years ago about doing something in my old garden. The timing wasn't right then. Now I know why.

There was some preliminary work to do before the pergola could be installed. Brick pavers were going to be the foundation to the entire area. Before the pavers could be laid we had to re-route several downspouts that drain from the gutters on the back side of the house. That involved digging trenches, laying pipe and dropping a couple of underground box drains out in the middle landscape bed for overflow. The whole place felt a mess that day. No, it was a mess. It was also cold. So. Cold. that November day. I made soup for the crew. Thick, hot, made-from-scratch chicken and wild rice warm-your-tummy goodness.Soup has nothing to do with my story.

The paver company was not the same as the pergola company. There was some finagling of scheduling because they had to work around each other. Before the pavers were put down Garden Carpentry wanted to slip in and get the four corner posts in place. It's easier to put pavers around the post than to go through the pavers to set the posts.

Sod removal.

Once the posts were in place and 24 hours passed for the cement to set up, the paver company was back to clear the lawn and get started with the patio. Bye, bye useless grass.

It seemed like a pretty quick 2.5 days to get the pavers all in place. It was December (2014) so I was pretty busy with Christmas hustle and bustle in the middle of all of this.

There was an oddly shaped, but convenient, walkway of pavers already in place when we moved here (visible in the foreground above).

We decided to extend the new pavers from that awkward walkway to under and beyond the pergola area all the way over to the open back deck. Now the space flows from one side to the other of the back garden. The pavers that extend out beyond the pergola create an ample walkway to the deck.

When the patio was completed the guys from Garden Carpentry came in right behind the paver company to get started on their magic 

It took a few weeks of back and forth discussions preceding the construction of the pergola to get the final plans in order. These are the rafters. Aren't they beautiful? The end cuts are called ogees.  Turns out there are lots of design options for ogee cuts.  (I had to learn all this stuff as we went along). Each rafter has to be individually cut. I wanted my rafters to extend out as far as possible over the lintels. They ended up being a little more than a 2.5' overhang. The smaller cross bars on top are called purlins. Aren't you glad you know all that now!

Once Garden Carpentry was on site to start the pergola it was completed in about 3 days. I really appreciated how they worked with me to let me give my input on the design. I knew what I had in mind and with their expert knowledge the collaboration turned out to fit my vision exactly. 

In my mind the pergola was to be a multi-purposed work-station, eatery and gathering place. I wanted a place to gather my gardening supplies and a central spot to work from. It had to be large enough for a small table and a seating area.  We had it covered with a clear polycarbonate roof to keep the rain out as much as possible. All the wood was stained with *Espresso* opaque Olympia wood stain.

You can see all my paint samples painted on the right. The house was a light gray. We painted it a deeper shade of gray (Dovetail Gray -Sherwin Williams) right before the construction of the pergola started. 

The alcove where the pergola was to go was created by the angles of the outer walls of the house. It was a pretty useless area. The garage is just to the right of this photo. The alcove had become a messy gathering of all my grow pots and anything else I hadn't yet found space in the garden for yet.

Immediately the new structure made a world of difference in the overall garden environment and added to the architectural aspects of our newly acquired home. The pergola improved the balance of the back side of the house tremendously. It was as if that strange, ill-used alcove was waiting for a pergola.

You can easily see how connecting the walkway all the way across to the open deck made sense.

Remember the re-purposed painted ladder project? You can see them here. I'm benefiting from the convenience of all my seedlings and sprigs of rooted plants being right there together under this roof. It's so easy to water them (and control how much water/sun they get) with a hose nozzle also under the pergola.

The perspective looking from the yard back toward the house.

The entire space has become a welcoming entry way so-to-speak into the back yard.

I use low container bowls on the edge of the walkway to keep the view open. They are filled with sun-loving herbs and flowers.

I couldn't be more pleased with the results of the pavers and the pergola. We have spent so many wonderful minutes reading, eating and gathering with friends and family under the cozy pergola. The pergola addition is one of those things that will be enjoyed for years to come.

As time goes on I'm sincerely feeling like this new home is MY home.

Soon I'll reveal the long awaited potting bench. Phase #9,989 .... :-)

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If you've just arrived to this page as a new gardening friend or perhaps missed the back story about how we moved from our home and garden of 30 years to the house next door you can catch up here... http://www.hoeandshovel.com/2014/07/a-new-journey-bitter-and-sweet.html

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Tips for Gardening in Tight Economic Times

Typically when autumn rolls around it is a priority to head to my favorite nursery and stock up on new annuals. Several times. My garden is made up of mostly foundational plants that pretty much thrive all year long. It's Florida ... remember.

There are some perennials that do better in certain seasons than others. Then there are the pockets here and there that just need some color added after the caladiums fade away. That's where the annuals come in handy.



This year has been a little different. With all the uncertainty in the economy and prices rising on every commodity I'm finding myself being more frugal about my garden addiction shopping. There have been a few new purchases but truly nothing like usual at a change of season. I did buy some new elephant ears last month ---you can see them in the middle of both photos above (first one long shot-- the second one close up). There was no tag on it so I don't know its habits or its name. The leaves are deep green with wide white veins... maybe its a taro? I just liked it and knew right where I was going to put it in the front garden.

When I first started gardening (and for many years after) I was so impatient for the end result, I wouldn't have thought about taking the time to pot up my own plants from cuttings. My neighbor used to have me save my empty plastic pots from the nursery so she could use them for just that purpose. I gladly gave her all of mine and never thought twice about doing that myself. No, too messy, too bothersome, too time consuming.

Little did I know, now that I'm getting older (did I say that?) how much fun I would have snipping and clipping and potting up cuttings to root. How satisfying it is to know you propogated your own plants from the resources in your own garden! For me, it started a few years back when I found myself enlarging every bed I had made a few years prior. It just made more economical sense to make the most of what I already had. Now days it makes even more sense.

You can see some of the recently rooted coleus were moved to the front garden last week. After being nursed for a few weeks in a location readily accessible to water but not to the general passerby they were ready for planting. All those little odds and ends pots do have a messy appearance. So I like to keep them tucked away on the north side yard where one has to make an effort to walk around to if they were going to catch sight of them.

Way back in the NE corner (above): I'm gradually evolving this area to a more woodsy and natural feel. Recently I planted ten or so variegated schefflera plants from cuttings that had been potted up in the spring. They will fill in around the combinations of fire bush, dracaenas, bromeliads, clerodendrum, jatropha, euphorbia, oakleaf hydrangea and beauty berry. They will also lend to the fullness I'm looking to acheive. Their size along with foliage of yellow and green leaves make a good blend with the plants already established in that corner.

This week there's a whole new set of cuttings (above) in my little hide away place. I've dug up runners from the snow bush, divided shell ginger, made more cuttings to root of schefflera, polka dot plant, fire bush, clerodendrum, and coccinea salvia. All of these are for another bed I visualize enlarging and planting out in the spring. I'll nurse these here all winter.

Speaking of salvia. I've made several plants from one of coccinea salvia this summer. Just cut off a stem and put it in some good soil. It will look terrible for about a week and then all of a sudden it will perk up and start sending out new leaves and buds. Too easy.

There are times when I combine a purchased plant with cuttings. There are times when I don't bother to root my cuttings first. Such is the case in the three pots above (also visible in the header). The red salvia was bought (on sale). The chartruese coleus and sweet potato vine were cut and poked into the pot. Again, keep in mind, they droop for a couple of days and then perk right up and start producing.

There are many plants that don't need to go in a pot first. In other words they can be divided and placed directly in the new location. Each gardener has to determine which plants in your garden need extra attention to root. It is only those plants that I put in pots.

Here's a rundown and tips that work for me... hopefully they'll work for you, too.

1) Think about the next season. At this point we're thinking about spring.

2) Where might you want to create a new bed or enlarge an existing one?

3) Look around your own garden to see what you could use to transplant, divide, or root for the new area.

4) Design it with these plants in mind. Usually I purchase a few as well but using your plants is a really good starting place.

5) Start with really good potting soil in appropriate sized pots for your new plant.

6) Either dig up rooted plants or make cuttings to place in the pots with your good soil.

7) By the way- I always leave a piece of the rooted plant from where I've dug one up and divided. That way there's one still growing where I took the new plant from.

8) Keep the pots near water so it won't be difficult to keep them wet until they root.

9) Remember they won't all live but that's okay. At least most of them do and that's more than you started with.

10) Don't keep them in the pots too long or they will become root bound just like any other potted plant.

11) Transfer them into the ground or pot when it's time and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

I know many dear readers have been practicing these methods a lot longer than me. What about you? How is the strained economy affecting your gardening? Maybe you cut back somewhere else so you can keep your garden purchases the same?