Let's See Your ARBORS and TRELLISES! Part 2

Each and every photo is glorious, JD. You must be thrilled when you look at your garden in person and on film.

Arlene, it's amazing when you see it in person. All those plants tucked into small areas and they all work together to form a lovely small garden. I love to sit on the bench and just gaze at his artistry.

There is NO garden I'd like to see more than JD's, Donna. I have always been in love with courtyards and Mike's is so special. It takes a talented and creative person to accomplish what Mike has done.

It sure does...

Ok Mike, you can come back out now. We are done praising you. lolololol

LOL ! You guys are too funny. The whole thing is ever- evolving. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it isn't. Right now, with the winds we're having, I'm leery of what it will be like in the morning.

I can't wait for summer to come so I can see all of the daylilies from Arlene in bloom, as well as the ones from CalifSue...and the one from you too, Donna !

If I only had more room....

That sounds like the gardeners song JD

One more praise, JD just beautiful.

Regardless of the space we have it seems we all want more. So many people seem to confuse "space" with "gardens". One of my neighbors always talks about her front garden but I see the asphalt driveway, truck and cars that aren't in the garage, wine casks waiting to be filled (for 10 years now), wood piles, etc. while she has this concept that people visiting are viewing gardens. Aside from the dead plants and the ones that are too big for the space where she has them (like the Oakleaf hydrangea that totally blocks a path), and roses that yearn for sun but remain sitting unhappily in a shady garden there was no advance thought as to what would grow best under her conditions.

While I can fully understand wishing to grow plants that aren't tolerant of either our zones or our weather (regardless of whether it's NY or CA or FL) it's a better idea to grow plants that are happy where they're planted and where we can tend to them or else it's just another mess.

I'd much rather see a well designed and thought out plan for a 12' x 20' spot.

Here's a photo to show what I meant.

OOOOMY gawd.
They would never survive in this neighborhood. We have rules.
No TV antennas,no laundry,no outside window AC,no fences,no boats or RV's the list is long.

We're not an area with any Homeowners Association but there are restrictions on many things like fences, sheds, laundry lines, etc. There are no restrictions on autos, wood piles, or bad taste.

LOL, I live out in the country and we have $350K homes(expensive for our area) on one side of us and old mobile homes on the other. I will admit that I have an outside area stacked firewood, log splitter, coal boxes, bin for scrap metal and other collected items. It's a pretty junky looking space. But I do keep all those things in one area down near the barn not scattered all around the yard. The barn at one time held horses, ponies and goats but now is full of my husbands and sons tools. It's the area where they work on cars and whatever project they have going. We don't see the mess from the house but it is near the road and can be seen by the neighbors. Oh wait, those neighbors have race cars, yeah must have at least 10 cars (not all running) parked in the yard. LOL If I lived in a development like my parents (they don't have all the rules that yours does ge) but still an area like mine wouldn't be acceptable.
JD, I was wondering what kind of place do you live in, if you don't mind. That courtyard is a beautiful spot, is it all one house or a condo complex of some type? If it is a shared complex your neighbors must love it.

Anyone that uses wood for fireplaces or wood stoves has a wood pile but done tastefully (or not seen from any window) is fine with me. I'm sure we all have to have a place for our trash but I wouldn't want mine in full view of those passing by and I wouldn't tolerate having to see it from the house.

A barn! Oh, how my husband would love a barn!

I would love a barn too.
My best dream when a potter was to own a small farm where I could use the barn as a studio and have a sales gallery. Never had the money to take on a morgage anywhere.
We have a wood pile.
It will be cleverly disguised as a garden in the summer and is always kept neat.
The sculpture is photoshopped in
I have been moving BigDaddy hosta as well as August Moon.
They are kept at the side as SIL walks to the pile for wood in winter and early spring so that space will be filled with coleus and other annuals

Well, My barn isn't one of those big old beautiful barns, sorry to say. It started out as a 3 sided shed for a pet goat and pony. Then when we needed more room we built a 36 X 34 pole building. Wood exterior matches the house with 6 12x12 stalls and a 10ft wide concrete center isle way. A great spot to put the horses in cross ties and groom them, no standing in mud trying to clean hoofs. I had horses/ponies for 18 years then when the twins went to college and my allergies got really bad we started to find homes for the horses. It was a big lifestyle change. I do miss having them but it did open up new possibilities for me. One of which was more travel which resulted in my becoming a SCUBA diver. Ric has completely taken over the barn now. I'll have go take a picture, I think it has been cropped out of most of my yard pics as things pile up down there which doesn't make the most attractive pics. There should be some old ones of the horses with the barn in the background, they would have to be scanned in.
Talking about wood piles. I received an E-mail with these beautiful interesting pictures. One of the pictures is a stacked wood pile, really a piece of art. There is the stump of the tree with an axe in it. Then laying on it's side looking like it was just felled is a tree. The tree is really a stacked wood pile some of the wood is stacked longways to look like the trunk and branches of tree. Other pieces are stacked sideways to look like the leaves.
Here we go this side view from the house. This area between the house and barn is a fenced dog yard so there isn't much of interest planted here.

Its bigger storage than the three car garage that not only has two cars and a motorcycle and rider lawnmower,but a refrigerator and freezer.

Very nice, Holly.

JD, your garden is amazing! I LOVE every aspect of it!

Pirl, bless your heart, What a mess to have to look at! What a striking contrast to your beautiful landscape. So often, I only see what's out of place or messy when I look out at the garden, with my eye passing over what may be blooming and beautiful, but it seem some do the opposite. It reminds me of a house down the road from us that for 3 years was sided with that silver insulation board and had a lot of building debris in the drive and lawn, but with a decorated wreath hanging on the front. Always seemed so odd to me, like putting a bow on a dumpster, LOL.

pirl: You didn't give those people credit for color matching the orange and gray buckets to go with the silvery fire wood ! LOL Unfortunately , you can't dictate "taste" for people but setting an example can hopefully send a silent message. Then again, there are lots of folks who can't differentiate between aesthetics or the lack thereof...nor do they want to, I guess. Some people just aren't concerned about their surroundings and can be blisfully happy living with a lot of junk everywhere and no be phased by it. As we all know, for many garden and plant enthusiasts, this just doesn't "compute".

That's funny, Neal. Probably not funny to view but I know of a Tyvek house and the siding was only completed when they sold it! My eyes also hit things wrong with the garden more than what's right, like my neighbor's dead Copper Beech. It's been dead for three years now and she still hasn't had it cut down. That's not the same neighbor as the wood/trash/vehicles/driveway "garden".

JD - it's hard to find anything to praise in her gardens. She does have a great kitchen! The old saying is true: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Driving up to see the view, as posted above, is probably enough said.

Thank you, gemini. There's really "too much going on: in this garden, but I don't care. It's fun to move things around and re-do when I get bored with something, but there is a limit (which I think I exceeded a long time ago LOL ).

HollyAnn: In answer to your question, this place is an apartment building. The main building has 4 units. In the back, there are 2 small units over the garages. The garden is in between the two, thus making it a courtyard. The bldg. was built in 1928 and is typical of the So. Cal. spanish architecture from that era, but my look is completely incongruous with the architecture...something some purists would despise ! But oh well...!

Oh I have it much worse here!!
Next door to my right, a baby blue house (major yuk!!), bachelor guy, just a lawn, some shrubs under the window, along the sidewalk, bare dirt, rocks and a petrified collection of dog doo.

Across the street, a pink house, white trim. Red lava rock surrounding some juniper bushes. She loved my orange wallflowers so insisted that her 'gardener' plant some against the pink house. I like contrasts but not exactly that one. To the side of her driveway, a cactus collection (nothing wrong with that) except there is a scattering of several white empty bleach bottles scattered throughout. The elderly owner believes that placing a bleach bottle on the bare dirt would prevent the neighbor cats from doing their business there. Lovely. She's bed ridden now with live in caretakers, I think I'll go talk to them to have those bottles tossed.

To my left, another elderly neighbor that no longer leaves her house except to be taken to the doctor by her son. Her house is painted a dark redwood color and all she has planted besides a lawn are three red maple trees that pretty much match the house so tend to fade into the background, green ones sure would have looked better. Anyways, in the adjoining strip next to my front garden, she stubbornly insisted her son plant those grocery store little azalea bushes in full sun, one every 5 feet or so, despite him telling her they wouldn't do well in that condition. So he laid down plastic, ran a drip line and then mulched the entire length. Needless to say, they barely lasted a year. That was at least 2 years ago, the mulch has scattered, the plastic is now exposed and tattered, the drip line cracked and broken, weeds growing everywhere and the son has done nothing, not even remove the dead bushes. I try to at least keep it weeded. A couple of weeks ago I asked him if perhaps his mother would like seeing something planted there for her to enjoy as she looked out her kitchen window. I said I could clear up the entire area, add good compost and plant daylilies and roses, mulch them, water and care for them. I was actually excited to think I have perhaps finally found some more room for the poor daylilies I still have in 5 gal. pots! He said he would ask her. A couple of days later he said thanks but no thanks. I was surprised and said "well I hope you can at least remove the dead sticks" and I walked away. I do believe he had an influence in that no decision, probably some blah blah reason about potential neighborly problems, maybe he expects her to die soon and then they would have to ask me to remove everything so they can sell. Whatever. But I cringe every time I see that wasted space, more so now than ever.

I am surrounded.

groannnn.
In my old house the neighbor was a hoarder.
She had a true sickness, compulsively shopped and didnt throw anything away.
She nearly had a breakdown when the meter reader reported her basement as a fire hazard. She never threw away boxes from the daily deliveries from UPS.
Any one remember "The Collier Brothers"
The neighbors place is like that.
Husband had a motorcycle until the stuff in the garage buried it. They lived less than 8 feet away.
She was a pediatrician until she contracted the virulent form of breast cancer, she has been battling the disease for 5 years now, so no-one says anything.
Here is an earlier back yard they live on the right this was taken in 2004, note the deflatted swimming pool, the yard had gathered all the stuff from the bathroom remodel,yes toilet and shower stall, plus the camper made from an old ice cream truck
.I just cant go on.

looks like you needed something more than the small fence between your yards!

They were nice people ,sometimes its just easier to look beyond the mess.
She is in such trouble now I wouldnt hold anything against her.
Two small kids under 14 and husband does mstly everything.

I've had some really great neighbors with horrific yards, too. There is just a bit more space out here, so it's not quite so in your face. I think my eye tends to go to the things I want to see, it passes over the neighbors old truck (used as a shed) to the woods beyond. Since Ric and I built our home mostly ourselves, construction zone was a pretty good description for many years. I can remember explaining to a "new" neighbor that lived just down the road. That the smell they were complaining about was not my small pig pen with 3 pigs, it was the neighbor beside them with the leaking septic tank. What did they think that wet spot in their driveway was? Country living at it's best. LOL

Given your neighbors physical situation, you really can't do much, I suppose. Yes, you can and have to overlook it in a case like that. Maybe there's a way to correct the eyesore by offering to help out without being too obvious??? This is a tough one, indeed.

After reading these stories, you can see why they have rules and regulations in newer communities...but some of them go too far with that, as well. It's hard to strike a balance between tyranny and taste !

I feel for you Sue, I really do. I'm surrounded by similar things as well. The bldg. next door to me is owned by a total slumlord. I'm trying to screen out her bldg. so I don't have to look at it, but it takes time.

When I was a kid, some wierd people on our street had someone come in and remove a perfectly nice landscaping job on their house because they didn't want to take care of it. Then, they cemented in every inch of bare space and painted the entire house jet black.

The neighbors filed a lawsuit, but the only success was getting rid of the black paint. At least that worked.

On a better note.
This is the house I share with DD and SIL and 1 GD.
Quite a change you must admit.
Its almost embarassing.

here is the back, the house its at an angle at the farthest they could put it.
Its in a corner.
My gardens run down thru the spruce trees. Its so neat to have sun,shade,partshade, full shade. in a 75 foot stretch
The deck get s covered with containers.The carved bear was not my idea. SIL gifted DD for christmas. We love him anyway

LOL, That is interesting, first thought only in Fl. and I was right. I think the comment about painting goldfish in the pattern was right on. I can see a whole school of Koi swimming down the driveway. I like fun quirky houses. Not going there my self but I do like them. Years ago we had 1 pink house in the area. Sat up on a small wooded hill, mostly you couldn't see it but in the fall/winter when the leaves dropped there she stood. There were brick posts on either side of the drive way and they were painted pink, too.
Michelle, is very talented and her garden was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.

JD, NOOOO...Not too much at all! Its perfection! I have a great fondness for a great variety in a small space- the talent lies in combining it all so tastefully and artistically (let alone growing the plants well)- you got that down!

Sue, that is so funny to me. At some point you'd think people would realize damage from cats wouldn't look as bad as apparent trash laying in the beds. And OMG, that pic! I had to stare at it a moment to realize that was a drive and not a pool!

ge, that's a tough situation. Perhaps you could try a wall of tall herbacious plants (grasses, cannas, castor beans, etc.) to block it somewhat. Your home and gardens are lovely.

HollyAnn, only a couple of the pictures on that blog are of Michelle's garden, I toured it about 3 years ago and loved it, posted a whole thread of them back then. She is indeed very talented with her garden and the ones she has designed.

Calif_Sue, I remember the thread tour of her garden, she had here at DG. Then the very sad aftermath of the big freeze. I would imagine you lost a lot of plants in that, too? Now that I think of it you may have posted those pics, and there was another garden with a beautiful stone path?

Ah, yes, good memory!
I lost a few things, not too bad, all easily replaced. Happens every few years here.

I started a new thread for neighboring properties that are hideous and not a credit to the owners or the community:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/975840/

Now we can return this thread to arbors and trellises as it was meant to be.

If that blue driveway makes those people happy, so be it. They paid for it, their yard is neat and tidy, and if they lose money when the sell their house, well...
I'd pick my battles - health and safety hazards are one thing, but I hate regimented neighborhoods. JMO

Sorry, Pirl, we cross-posted! Thank you.

not an arbor, not a trellis, just something in between. I orig. planted two honeysuckles, which BTW I have not been able to ID, I think it is a common cultivar. The idea was for the two HS to grow into each other, creating a canopy of sorts. For a few years the tree trunks were green with foliage, but I thought it looked messy. So, one happy day, I removed all the lower leaves to give an illusion that the canopy was floating. As you can see, the left vine thought I was much too harsh and it has struggled. It might even be dead, but I'm not removing yet as it still might leaf out.

I made the mistake of wrapping the oaks w/ chicken wire so that I could guide the vine (that's when I thought I wanted the trunks to be "green"). Now the chicken wire has grown into the bark and I feel so bad for the trees having that ugly wire embedded into it.

It is a lovely place in my garden, you can sit in that swing and smell the HS. ahhhhh. Also, right across the bench, you cannot see it, I have sweet almond verbena which perfumes the air in summer and fall. 'nother ahhhhh.

Ilove it .
Your right about the wire.

It certainly is an ahhhhhh location, I can almost smell it too! And look at all that space! Space envy here!