Three Days of Work

On Saturday we began installing a brick path from the parking pad to the office door.  I wanted something that is more informal than the front sidewalk and more relaxed.  

Everything we used was recycled.  The cobblestones lining the edge were left over from the parking pad and sidewalk.  The bricks were from the massive brick bar the previous owner had built in the basement. The oral history is that Mr. Hyder, a former DC policeman, had brought all of the bricks down in his car from the Georgetown police station when it was demolished in 1978.

The first day we laid out the sides then dug out the soil.  If you notice the tree that is on the left side, you will appreciate there were lots of roots that had to be carefully cut out of the way.

The second day I hauled up all of the pavers from behind the basement, carrying them up by hand.  David leveled the base, and laid them out.  It was fussy because the bricks were hand made, and varying sizes and thicknesses.

Yesterday we finished laying out the bricks below the steps into the office, and spread the sand to hold everything in place.

We have done enough of these kinds of projects that we know how to work together. Now we are talking about how to landscape all of the open ground, to fill it with plants.

Thanks Sis!

Several years ago my sister gave me a packet of seeds from her garden, so I could try them out.  She had been collecting seed from a particular pink/magenta flowering Celosia.  Over the years she had been weeding out the white or pale pink flowering plants, to attain an intense color.  

Over the last years the plants have self-seeded throughout my garden.  I have continued selecting the same color, even though an occasional pale plant shows up, like the one in the middle of this picture.  This year is the best I have even seen them for one specific reason.  The deer have not been eating them down.  I lost the tops of several of these plants back in June, when some deer wandered through and chewed off the tops.  But for whatever reason, no other deer have been through since then.  

It cheers me up to see this wild abundance of blooms when I am feeling stressed with what is going on the world.  But I do need to go out and pull out that pale pink one before it sets any seed.

Black Gum "Afterburner"

 

Earlier in the Spring, the Cercidiphylum japonicum 'Heronswood Globe' died, with leaves turning brown and dropping off during a short period with little rain.  It has been struggling for all the years since a large Tulip Popular in our neighbor's yard, which provided wonderful afternoon shade, was cut down.  

We cut off the branches, and put a few birdhouses from our collection on the remaining stumps.  It helped provide some whimsy after losing the tree.

After a long search of what was available locally, and waiting for a 50% off sale at one nursery, I bought a Nyssa sylvatica, or Black Gum, 'Afterburner.'  Research confirmed it is a small, tough tree, which is needed for the site.  Then came a three week wait for the temperatures to drop to a more reasonable level before planting the tree.

Last week we planted the new Black Gum.  It is about two feet from the previous tree, to the left side in this photo.  It appears to be settling in very well, even with new growth.  

It will take some time before it provides shade for the ferns below, and provides the central axis around which the labyrinth circles.  It will be a few years before becoming an established presence.  But as a gardener, I have had to learn to live with hope for what will happen even when trees die.

All Over But . . .

Friday morning the moving company hauled all of the furniture and boxes from the storage bin to the house. It took them 2 1/2 hours.  We spent the rest of the day settling things in and started unpacking.  By the end of the day, we had arranged the Great Room and were able to watch the news. 

It is all looking pretty good, including the library.  Yet, much more still needs to get done.  Today, we spent the day hauling up boxes stored in the basement storage room.  Boxes full of dishes and china, glassware, tea pots, cookware, kitchen utensils, cookbooks and so on.  But there is much more, since the storage area is only half empty.  We haven't dug out the two more sets of china, spices, canned goods, and who knows what else.

We spent the night last night, the first time in nine months.  It was good.  However, the condo in DC is still full of all of the artwork, photos and albums, and lots more to take back out to the house.  So it is not over yet.

Starting to Move In

Maybe it looks like a bare room, but look at that piano!  That has been wrapped up in an old quilt, then plastic in the basement for the last nine months.  Three men came on Friday, rolled it from the basement up the hill to the front door.  The soil had been dug up for the septic tank, so they used plywood sheets under the dolly to keep it from sinking. 

David spent another two hours cleaning up the piano, which still had collected construction dust.  Now we need to get a technician into check it out and tuning it. 

I also put our new rag rug in the bedroom hallway.  We first saw Claudia Mills' rugs at Chautauqua last summer, and I fell in love with her colors and her different patterns.  I told her about my Grandmother Destiny who made rag rugs, several which I still use.  Destiny would have loved having those colors available!

So when she came to a craft show in Baltimore, back in February before everything changed, we went up to see them again.  Obviously I bought this one.  I am tempted to buy more rugs, or to get a custom sized one for my office.  But money is still tight buying essential things for the house. 

We have approved the final payment to our contractor.  There are several small punch list items before we give him a final check for the last change order.  We need to schedule moving the furniture back from the storage bin. Hopefully this week?

New Location for Shed

We spent another day getting the house ready to move things back inside.  Outside the shed had been moved to its new location away from the house. It used to sit behind the decorative block retaining wall in the center.  If you look closely at the bottom of that wall, one bright green top of the new septic tank is visible.

The Parrotia Persica had three of its lower branches cut off for the backhoe. I am very unhappy.  I will need to figure out how to balance the other side.

This is the view from the kitchen window, at the top left of the photo above.  Moving the shed has significantly improved the view so that the labyrinth garden is easily seen.  If you look closely at the base of the wall you can see the black cable wire that still needs to be reconnected.  Hopefully it will get done tomorrow.

Finally, the front of the house with four new bushes and one relocated shrub in place.  That is just the beginning of a new garden area. 

Burying the Green Monster

This morning the new fiberglass septic tank was lowered into a deep hole.  Fortunately it is all sand, so it was not difficult digging.  Here they are adjusting the tank to be sure it is level. 

After getting it in place, and the soil/sand was packed around it, they attached the line from the house to the first of three tanks.  Soon after they asked me to flush a toilet with toilet paper a couple of times.  They wanted to be sure the line was open.   It was.  Then the electricians put in all the electrical components. 

I stayed with the crew as they re-positioned the garden shed, and helped with regrading the soil.  We were almost done when the backhoe operator caught the electrical and cable wires and pulled them off the side of the house! Thankfully, no broken wires.  The guys working inside didn't know it had happened.

We left them waiting for the power company and drove back up to DC.  We wanted to arrive well before the curfew.  The electrical inspector needs to check the wiring, but that should complete all the major work on the house and allow the final inspection to be done.