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Helen’s Haven’s Garden House

August 31, 2011 By 8 Comments

In too many years to count, I’ve had a re-occurring dream where I would open a door within my house and discovered a room I had yet to occupy.  The dream was always the same.  My heart fluttered at the site of this ancient place.  

The room was old and worn.  There were no freshly painted walls, of some realtor vanilla; rather, they were tattered and tired, as if it was once occupied by another being, abandoned after being bored.

The lightly crusted walls left  a faint feeling of love.  Yes, the space had once been loved; I could feel it. But it’s been a while.  I also could hear the voices of those who spent time in the room.  They were happy voices.  Vines hung from the ceiling; the floor was crunchy and brown.  There was some light in the room, but I couldn’t tell from where it came; perhaps it was covered by vines.

Often, I would fantasize about a room of my own, taking my re-occuring dream and reliving it in the light of day.   Virginia Woolf wanted A Room of One’s Own and I wanted one too.  Even when I wrote about design techniques, I would use the Garden House as an example.

There were many things holding me back. I had to first recognize the room of my own was not within the house; rather, it was a house within the garden.  I will dub her — The Garden House.

Several years ago, I reviewed Debra Prinzing’s book  Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways.  My review included a description of what my room would look like.  This room has been wrapped around my mind, heart, and dreams for far too long, it seemed more of a premonition than just a dream.

About 10 years ago, I sequestered a natural area of our half acre lot for the children’s play set.  At the time, my three kids were 1, 2, and 5 years old.

For about a year now, the kids have been done with their play set.  They tell me it’s time for me to have a room of my own. Happy of course, I mapped out the space for my Garden House and a place to one day also add chickens.  I’ve now found the perfect house, (Market Imports in Raleigh, NC), so I’m  all set. But then those pesky emotions started in.

I’m not often stymied by such emotions, well maybe I’m a bit sentimental.  Most often, I can reason through the emotions with, this was their life then, they have moved on to other interests, and the like. But as I pulled back on the sledge hammer to begin the dismantle, I got a little choked up. There were so many years of fun on this play set. The cousins, neighbors, play dates.

For hours after dark, particularly, by the light of the low voltage lights, added to the oak tree looking down at the play set.  This, of course, was by design to extend many hours of play.  My husband and the kids made up a game called swing ball, where he would throw the ball a the kids feet as they were swinging.  Even the neighborhood friends could be heard laughing and giggling along side of mine saying, Me next, me next.  

The play set had a fort area that served as a teahouse, a place for picnics, as well as, a place to acquire bruised knees and skeeter bites. During the winter, we would make a fire near the play set, gather, and make ‘smores.  We had it down.  It became our routine.

Today, my oldest child is too busy reading her books to care about the play set and the younger two, affectionally known as the babies, only pass by the play set to get to their bikes from the shed. They are done with it.  It’s time to move on. 

I was able to get past my emotions when it dawned on me that the play set will, in part, be used in the Garden House.  Pieces of wood will serve as the footing. And maybe more in the form of a bench or shelf.

As I laid out the dimensions of the Garden House, with some pieces of recycled wood, I noticed the remains of  many summer paint projects,  they were lightly crusted, with a faint feeling of love.  I could hear the voices of those who use to spend time in this room.  There were limbs with branches as thin as vines hanging over my head, blocking my light; as I moved around, the brown mulch crunched under my feet.  Then I realized,  I was standing in my dream.  I was living my dream.  It was then that I knew it was time for me to have a room of my own.

 

 

 

Post script – In anticipation of this week’s delivery, I cleared out the new area and laid out where the Garden Houses will go.  I had to take down a weeping cherry tree and move 3 blueberry bushes.  The bench will be moved to the area behind the Garden House and will be apart of the future design.  In the meantime, most of the play set remains.  I think I need to gather the kids to say our good byes, while toasting ‘smores. 

 

 

Coming soon to Helen's Haven™


I    

This is a week of transition.  From my babies to tweens; from dreams to reality.

 

 

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

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Masses of bulbs – why do less? Let’s be like P.

July 13, 2011 By 2 Comments

When I visited with P. Allen Smith earlier this spring, the timing was such that I missed the display of daffodils, planted en masse. The photos were enough though to connivence me that I’m not doing enough to enhance my spring.  While my attempts were honorable, there were nothing like P’s.  I want to be like P.

In the heat of the summer, I wait for the bulb magazines to arrive.  This wait is not too different from waiting for the seed catalogs to arrive in early January.  The middle of summer has me planning for the next season.  Two favorite old standby catalogs, that I eagerly await to place orders are Brent and Becky’s Bulbs and Old House Gardens.  This year, I plan to order enough daffodils, in a new area of my lot, with a few varieties, extending the season from January through April.

The area next to my driveway is the area I plan to plant daffodils en masse.  I also have the idea of putting a river of an ornamental grass growing through the garden.

 

This is the area of my lawn that will be planted, en masse, with a variety of daffodils.

 

The blue line marks where a river of grass will go.  The area on either side of the river will be for daffodils planted en masse.

Here is a photo of the area dug out.  As you can see, I somewhat corrected my squiggly blue line.  Only one plant wide, a river of ornamental grasses will move through the side of the driveway.  In the spring, the lawn will be filled with daffodils.

The daffodils I choose will be a mix of early bloomers such as ‘February Gold’ and some mid season bloomers likeWisley. I also have my heart set on getting Butter & Eggs. A few others that strike my fancy will also be planted.  I’m estimating it will take about a 2,000 bulbs.

I’m looking forward to the effect both the grass and the daffs will afford.  My attitude will be like P’s —  more is better.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

 

 

 

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Tulipmania

April 7, 2011 By 2 Comments

I’m mad about Tulips, particularly those lusty, lovely, hybrid Dutch ones.  Most years, I planted them in the ground during the fall for a beautiful spring display. But this past fall, I was wore out.  Does that every happen to you?  When you need to be working the most in the garden, you find the gardening year has just plumb wore you out?  I really hate to admit it, but it often does me, especially when it comes to planting spring blooming bulbs each fall.

This year, I tried something different.  All my Dutch hybrid tulips were planted in pots.  Off in a secluded  area of the garden, I staged several pots, adding a mass of Tulips to each pot.  I just filled the pots about three quarters full, laid the tulips with the pointed ends up, and covered with potting soil to the top.  This allowed enough room to plant bulbs at their recommend depth of  three times the height of the bulb, or in this case, about  six inches deep. [Read more...]

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Gardening with style

March 10, 2011 By 3 Comments

Garden envy usually begins when witnessing someone else’s egregious gardening style.  This may be from your reading, visiting, or television viewing.  Your first reaction may be to want to copy it, but style cannot be copied.

Style is not found in a formula or scribed in a book; rather, style is a distinctive look that is characteristic of who you are.

Although there are many rules to guild style, ultimately, your own aesthetics will lead you to create beauty in your garden.  You define your style.  We each define our own style.

We each bring are own unique quality to everything we do.  Style can also be found in every gardening type – country, formal, contemporary – your personal style will make your garden type unique.

Are you ready to take your style outdoors but find yourself sitting in your stylish, comfy spot at home, with a favorite beverage,  flipping through gardening magazines and wonder how to create style in your garden?

You may have been comfortable creating a welcoming interior but when you began working with the scale found in the garden, you’re stymied.  With gentle guidance, you can learn how to tap your unique self and garden with style.

Each childhood memory, each turn of a page in a gardening book or magazine, or each trip to a great garden center or to your local botanical garden, or any around the country or the world, has influenced your garden style.

Translating our style to the garden may be easier than you think….

Hand me a garden magazine you just read and I can tell your garden style by reading the dog-eared pages.  It’s equivalent to reading palms.  I can see your future.

A peak at the color in your bedroom closet is often echoed in the garden – racks of red, or pink, or blue, or yellow, are often repeated as rows of color in your garden beds.

Even the way you hang your family photos on the refrigerator door, tells me a lot about your garden style.  Those of you that allow your photos to touch and overlap, or to be a bit off kilter, will gravitate to a certain garden style.  Those of you who don’t allow your photos to touch at all, will gravitate towards another style.

There is no right or wrong style.  If you express your true self and let your passion be your guide, then your unique style is the right choice.  The sum of your experiences, makes you whole.

Often we see how someone placed a bench or sited a path, and wonder how it came to be; we notice it’s perfect placement.  You add a bench and the effect isn’t the same.  Why is that?  This is much of what my blog, Gardening With Confidence, presents – taking you through the thought process of the siting style in your garden.

Natural curiosity and wanderlust, took me around the world several times over and with each visit, I sought out great gardens along the way.  During this time, I learned to appreciate each and every garden type and all the styles that fit each type.  I’ve never met a garden I didn’t like.  It’s true.  From frothy cottage styles to minimalists contemporary styles, I see something to appreciate in each garden type.

Garden style was the common denominator for each garden type.  Reasons to add a bench or placing paths are the same if you have a formal garden or a garden filled with flea market finds.

Garden With Confidence gives you insight in considering where to add a garden gate, an arbor, a fountain, a wall.

So, get comfy and come along with me as we journey down the garden path to learn how to garden with style.

For those of you on Twitter, I hope you can tune in to Bren’s #GardenChat, when I host Gardening With Style, Monday, April 11, 2011, 9:00 PM EST.  LINK

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

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‘February Gold’ adds winter light

February 4, 2011 By 5 Comments

The joy of moving into an older, established home, comes with it the potential of an, older, established garden, as well.  But not always.  It’s best to wait and see what the garden reveals over the first year to learn what you have (and don’t have) in the garden.

This was the approach I took when we moved into our 25 year old, established home in the fall of 1997.  I didn’t want to completely redo the garden until I better understood the lay of the land and until I knew what I might already have.  But I did want to create a garden memory for my one-year old daughter, Bud.  Together we took a single ‘February Gold’ daffodil bulb and planted it about 5 inches deep with the pointed end up.  She didn’t know or understand at the time, that this bulb would greet her with a bloom on a future date in February, during a time when she would need it most.

The gardening task of planting a single bulb with a one-year child took about 3 minutes – about the amount of time to steadily hold the attention for a child this young.  The amount of time it took didn’t matter;  what mattered what was that we made the time to make it happen. It was all that would be needed to reap the awards, that coming spring.  Planting bulbs is easy. It’s remembering to plant in the fall where we often fail. So, if you forgot to plant your bulbs in the fall, mark your calendars now to order bulbs in late summer when the selection is good. Once you have them, you will be ready for planting after your area’s  first frost.

COLLECTING CONFIDENCE

Over the years, each fall, dozens and dozens of daffodils are planted in our garden.  Brent and Becky’s Bulbs have been on speed dial for some time as a reliable supplier for our garden’s bulb needs.  We try new varieties each year, as well as, add more great performers, such as the ‘February Gold’. We are also on first name basis with the folks over at Old House Gardens, including their cat, Charlie. Their catalog has also been used for reading bedtime stories, as they include interesting tidbits about the history of bulbs.

So gain your confidence this fall, and plant bulbs so you can enjoy in the spring…right when you will need it most.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook Friend’s page, Helen Yoest; or facebook Like page, Gardening With Confidence™

Helen is a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and Country Gardens magazine and she also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

AND

Helen is the founder, publisher and editor of:
Tarheel Gardening – your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts.

You can follow Tarheel Gardener.com on Twitter @TarheelGardenin and on facebook at Tarheel Gardening.com.

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Come January, we began to garden with confidence

January 12, 2011 By 4 Comments

On New Year’s day 1998, the first we shared in our “new home,” Bud and I decided to see if we could make sense of our future garden.  At 15 months, Bud was really more of a sounding board for me than a brain storming partner, but it didn’t matter. On a clear blue sky day, we walked and talk about our garden’s hopes and dreams.  She was happy with this chatter, because, after all, I’m mom and my voice soothes her. I could be softly reading the Gettysburg Address and she could be soothed.

We began by suggesting what we might want and need and where it could go. “A rose garden here in this nice sunny spot,” we chatted along on what would eventually become garden paths, and “the butterfly garden there where the land naturally slopes towards the sun. A play set with swings and a slide could go right here; it would within easy viewing distance from anywhere in the garden.” We agreed our play set would have a tea house come fort, just incase we ever had any boy siblings.  We decided we would dub our future play set, the Tea House.

We wanted herbs for cooking, open areas for running and kicking balls, flowers to smell and pick, fruit to eat, food and water for the birds and the bees, and trees to perch in so we could wile away the hours. Sound nice? We thought so.  With some forethought and planning, we knew we could build our garden to include all we shared on that January day.

Years of reading stacks of gardening magazines and books borrowed from a friend or the library, defined my gardening style.  It doesn’t take long to find a pattern in the dog-earred pages of magazines to see what appealed to my sensibilities. Making color choices for the new garden beds was going to be easy; I tend to gravitate towards hot colors – orange, red, fuchsia, and purple.

Having spent 3 years in London, my taste ran English linear.  I like the unnatural lines of straight, crisp-edged borders. I like curvilinear lines too, but for my garden at home, the lines would be straight. At least they would be in the back garden, where we visualized most of the ball kicking to occur.

We wanted a garden to provided for us in four full seasons. Given our climate and the wonderful variety of plantings available, we knew we could make this a reality.

We would visit garden centers each month to see what is blooming when and learn about a plant’s particular feature during each season. During a January visit and caressing the smooth, mottled bark of a Crape Myrtle, we decided this was just as exciting as the flowers in the summer. Picking plants during each of the seasons ensures you didn’t miss any interesting plant opportunities, even in the winter lull; especially in the winter lull.

Visiting public gardens will also give us ideas and inspiration. Each season, the gardens change, flowers wax and wane, textures tease, and foliage turns.  Each season gives you a reason to learn how we can add more to our home landscape.

With a good sense of what we wanted, the rest of January was spent sketching out ideas.  During the dark days, of that January, a lot of paper floated through the air before it landed in the recycle bin.

Even finishing the sketches though, we never really finished. The sketches became guides for putting in our garden. As time allowed and need arose, we slowly gardened with confidence.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook Friend’s page, Helen Yoest; or facebook Like page, Gardening With Confidence™

Helen is a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and Country Gardens magazine and she also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

AND

Helen is the founder, publisher and editor of:
Tarheel Gardening – your online resource for North Carolina gardening enthusiasts.

You can follow Tarheel Gardener.com on Twitter @TarheelGardenin and on facebook at Tarheel Gardening.com.
Sponsored by the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association

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A Welcoming Home as Close as the Curb

August 25, 2010 By 5 Comments

INTRO

Each day, your front garden welcomes friends and family, as well as, those passing by on foot and in vehicles.  With a few considerations, your curb appeal can pleasantly welcome visitors all season long. A desirable notion since, as the old adage goes, you don’t have a second chance to make a good first impression.

With your personality starting at the edge of your property, create a style that is uniquely yours.  As you walk up your drive, consider what others see.  Is it an expression of who you are?  Can your visitor clearly find the front door? Is it pleasing to the eye year round?  Does everything just seem to fit?   With a fresh eye, evaluate what you have and see where this may lead you.

CHOOSE A THEME

The style of your home will guide you in choosing a theme.  Staying within this theme, helps to pull everything together.  Your home’s style gives you the place to start.  Adding elements that speak to who you are, is where you come in.  Just remember, for your look to stay cohesive; for a look that all fits together, stay within your style choice.

Sweet, flirty pedestal urns will look out of place in a garden of a contemporary-style home. A ranch-style home is the most flexible in allowing you to tweak your style. If doing so, still stay within the theme of change.  Whether accentuating a traditional, relaxed, or formal look, maintain the look throughout.

YOUR BEST INVESTMENT

Your best investment of time and money is to focus on the entry way.  A visitor should not be confused; make the entrance clear and obvious.  Ideally, the path is wide enough for 2 adults to walk side-by-side (4 – 5 feet) and made with a material that compliments your home’s style.

Adding Color at the Entrance

Adding color at the entrance gives the most impact and welcomes visitors.  It also makes it easiest for the homeowner to maintain.

Color can be added to containers, garden beds, and with garden accents.

Containers

Container gardens at the home’s entrance works well with any home style.  Experiment with the placement and arrangement of containers.  A staggered, asymmetrical placement with small grouping getting bigger as you the approach the house, leads the eye forward.

A pair of pots formally frames the front door.  For a more relaxed style, add layers of planters beyond the front steps.  Adding hanging baskets from the roof eaves, window boxes, and arrangements on the front porch can add impact to welcome your visitor.

Garden Beds

Well maintained garden beds and borders will convey a relaxed feeling.  Remember, the front garden is always on show.  Keeps beds weeded, pruned, and top-dressed with fresh mulch, with an edge that is clean and crisp.

Garden beds and plantings should be in scale with the home.  A Southern Magnolia is well suited as an specimen tree for a two story home, but would be overpowering next to a single story ranch.

Garden Accents

A well placed garden bench at the front entrance welcomes your visitor.  Garden art, boulders, sculpture, or a fountain can be added to create the perfect welcome.

With just a few considerations, you can begin today creating curb appeal that tells something of your personality even before you open the door and say, “Welcome.”


First printed in Triangle Gardener.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Like Page.

Each week, Helen host’s a garden talk WebTalkRadio.net show called Gardening With Confidence™.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

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50 Ways to love you garden: twenty six – add an arbor

June 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As you journey through a garden, stumbling upon an arbor will make you stop to admire the view or even stop to rest in a shady spot.

A properly placed arbor can make a garden sing.  Grand, rustic, sculptural, architectural,  or simple, each complementing a certain garden style.

An arbor covered in vines gives the visitor even more pleasure.

Usually, arbors are placed at a distance, beckoning you in to enjoy the view.  As a transitional point or focal point, arbors provide a reason to continue the journey.

A classic climber combination is a rose and clematis.  Chosen carefully, the bloom cycle coincides, creating more than the two alone could contribute.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™

Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.

Each week, Helen host’s a garden talk WebTalkRadio.net show called Gardening With Confidence™.

Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

50 Ways to love your garden: twenty five – garden seating

50 wyas to love your garden: twenty – tall, lush plantings

50 ways to love your garden: twenty one – attracting hummingbird

50 ways to love your garden: twenty two – attracting butterflies

50 Ways to love your garden: twenty three – detracting voles

50 Ways to love your garden: Twenty four – detracting deer

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50 Ways to love your garden: twenty five – garden seating

June 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Benches, dining sets, pairs or chairs, a lone chair; there are as many reasons to add seating to the garden as there are seating arrangements.

While busy gardeners may not find the time to sit; we can alway dream.  In the meantime, viewing the garden seating, from the weeding chore, can bring great joy.  And who knows, the garden seating might just lure you in to take the time to sit a spell.

A chair or bench can be placed anywhere in the garden to savor an attractive view.   Or, place the chair or bench in an area to be the view.  Pair a chair with a shade tree or put a dining set there to enjoy meals alfresco.

A bench near a water feature or a sweet smelling shrub, will make for a destination spot.

Wooden benches, metal, even plastic in the right situation, will provide years of service.  The style you choose should complement your garden style, blending into the landscape.

Helen Yoest is a garden writer and coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™
Follow Helen on Twitter @HelenYoest and her facebook friend’s page, Helen Yoest or Gardening With Confidence™ Face Book Fan Page.
Helen also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum

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50 Ways to love your garden: twenty four – deterring deer

May 26, 2010 By 4 Comments

How often have you heard, “They will eat anything if they are hungry enough?”  This is true.  Even people who know little to nothing about deer, know this to be true.

As the populations grow and grow, the need for food grows too.  You can’t “deer-proof.” but you can “deer-deter.”

For the most part, deer don’t like plants that smell, such as rosemary, lavender, garlic.  Nor do they like plants with textured leaves such as lambs’ ear and Russian sage, or those that have needles such as conifers, and thorns such as Bougainvillea.

A regular spraying with a natural repellent such as  imustgarden is also helpful.  Many will not wash off with rain or irrigation; but remember to spray new growth as it emerges.

Deer can be fenced out, but they are also very good jumpers.  If deer are a problem in your area, enclose your garden with a strong sturdy fence at least 8 feet high.

There are certain plants if you plant, they will come…hostas for one.  They just love those tasty leaves.

In summary, its best to plant the plants whey don’t like; but remember, deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough…

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