Stoned wall part one - weekend two

 

Getting Stoned....

  As a high school kid I spent a summer building stone walls. Not remembering how back breaking it was I decided to make it my weekend project at the new house. Raised garden beds with a Connecticut Stone retaining wall to create a presence for our simple Four Square Mansard Style home. First step aligning the path around the house - I used a simple hemp string and some misc. wooden stakes from old strapping removed from the interior renovations.



Then I got to play in a machine. Perks of having an unsung hero of New England Storms as a fiance. Piling dirt along the foundation that will act as the base layer of earth for the retaining wall. The curved line of the stone wall at the front of the house was a design decision based on Feng Shui principals. A curved pathway to a home is preferred as it redirects negative energy. I don't have the luxury of that at this property so I thought by creating a curve a cross the front of the house it would be my compromise. The stone wall now at 50% will run along side the house with a side entry from a home office and the garden beds will be complete with a shade garden. Likely come fall due to exterior siding upgrades needed. Check out pictures on Instagram- HouseofDietrich. Still to lame and behind the times to upload photos here.... embarrassed party of one.

Dirt Therapy & The Voices in My Head

Spring on High St. 

Today's topic is dirt.

 That's right I'm 32 years old and I still play in the dirt. These days the spring beauty after a long winter is what gets me through the stresses of adult babysitting, other wise known as construction management or business ownership. I used to watch my mother in the garden and thought, how boring that must be, and why would I ever want to get my nails dirty. Now I understand the joy from seeing what seeds we sow. As each bud and stem pierce through the ground almost to say hello like a friend you haven't seen in a while. The blooms counter the happiness of a dog - it's the wagging tail that greets you in the morning - and this tail takes much less work.

When I figure out how to upload pictures - not sure why Picasa is necessary - I find it to be one of the most useless of software's due to its requirement to stall my computer every time I attempt to open a JPEG by uploading every image on my computer since 2009 - I digress, I will upload pictures of my current garden, newly blooming tulips and daffodils, myrtle and creeping sedum. I won't claim to know the name of every species of plant in my garden but I will share with you my findings and their bloom times as I can. While a plan my new garden bed and build a stone wall around my new house I hope to share inspirations and other musings.

Tulips on the left, Upper right Peonies (my fav) & Iris

Grasses are starting to take shape, trees are starting to fill in, the red stems of the Peonies are visible on either side of the fence & Iris are starting to fill in.

Several varieties of blue Hosta, Yucca plants 

(removed these, I am not the biggest fan) 

Ribbongrass, more hosta, sedum, peonies.