Thursday, November 6, 2008

Jamie Has Been On the Roof Again


Well, Jamie has been playing monkey again, this time he’s up on the roof with the camera. He always waits until I’m napping or no where around to do this stuff because he knows I can’t stand it. I’m glad he got these pictures though because I can get a good look at the garden without crawling up there myself.

DSC04651C

DSC04649C


As I ponder these pictures I’m making changes in my mind.

DSC04653C


You can’t tell from these pictures but that back fence is planted with Spirea, Variegated Privet and Japanese Magnolias. In a couple of years those houses will no longer be visible from the garden.

DSC04644C


Hmmmmm… Philip's irises are in these quarter round beds. Looking at these pictures and thinking something is missing. I can’t plant daylilies because one day these beds will be shade, but now the sun is too bright for shade plants… what to do…

DSC04648C


Oh yea, there’s definitely too much grass here. We’ll be digging that up soon, I’m certain of that. I see a nice little spot for a bed.

DSC04645C


Sooner or later this will be a tiny courtyard of sorts. It’s still just a concept at this point, but it will happen one day.

DSC04647C

20 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

What a great perspective. I should try that. Your beds are so neat and well edged.

Looks like no one else in your neighborhood gardens.
Marnie

Cindy, MCOK said...

Thank goodness Jamie got down from the roof safely, and once he did, I'll bet you were delighted to see the bird's eye view of the garden! Very cool pictures indeed.

Anonymous said...

Hi Randy, that is a great perspective but would make me nervous too. You have the tidiest garden ever! I can visualize the expansion of beds and shrinkage of lawn grass. ;-> HA

Frances

Wicked Gardener said...

I hear you - if my husband went on the roof like that, I would be a wreck. I won't show him your site, in case he gets any ideas. Cool pictures though. It must be neat seeing the garden from that perspective. I can't blame you for not wanting to see your neighbors!

Anonymous said...

Roof shots are essential. But I'm glad Jamie survived. Your garden is looking great. I'm still amazed by how much you've accomplished in such a short time. And I like the oomph provided by those big-leaved bananas.

Phillip Oliver said...

I love aerial shots. Randy, in a few years, when your trees get mature, you won't have to worry because when he gets up there, all he will be able to see is foliage. That happened to me a few years ago when I decided to venture up to the roof for more aerial photos. All I could see was leaves.

Wayne said...

At this rate, you won't have any lawn left in a few years! ;-)

Randy said...

Marnie,
It gives you a better idea of the layout of your yard. It really helps me decide where the beds need to go and what shape they need to be. I try to keep sharp edges on the beds; I find if I really stay on top of it, it’s a lot less work. We use to cut it with scissors, (can you believe that) since my back problems I’ve gotten pretty crafty with a weed eater. Sadly, we don’t know ANY other gardeners in our city.

Cindy,
Him being on the roof doesn’t bother me so much as this past summer when he crawled about 60 feet up a huge oak and slid on his stomach out on a limb to cut off a huge section that was about to fall down. When I woke up from my nap I could have strangled him! I call him a Lumberjamie.

Frances,
Our garden is large enough that it has a big selection of plants, but small enough we can maintain it well. Phillip’s garden is huge; I don’t know how he does it.

WG,
We live in an older neighborhood where the houses are over 40 years old, but for the most part everyone keep their yards pretty clean thank goodness. But, to me a garden looks so much better with something other than houses for a back drop.

Pam,
It amazes me too, it wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of other gardeners though. It really didn’t occure to me just exactly how much we had done until about two months ago. I was walking around the garden one night and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. It really kid of over whelmed me when I realized it.

Phillip,
I like all the flowers we can grow because of the sun, but I am SOOOOOOO ready for some nice trees again.

Wayne,
Ummmmm a few years? I expect to run out of grass next summer. LOL ;-)

Gail said...

I have wanted to get up on the roof but we have quite a pitch! No way will my spouse get up there...there was an incident with a ladder sliding with him on it!

Nothing gives you the perspective like one from above...

Gail

Anonymous said...

Everything about your garden looks great. While I don't get on the roof, I do like to look at the garden from a second floor window, and that has helped me plan out changes or additions, and it also lets me see how much things have changed.

Jan
Always Growing

Randy said...

Gail it definitely does give you a whole new view. The entire world seems different. This is going to sound crazy, but when my Scotty Dawg was alive he spent a large portions of the day sitting on the floor at the livingroom window resting his chin on the sill and looking out. One day I decided to lay down on the floor and rest my chin in the same place to see what it looked like from his level. It was a totally different world from down there. :-)

Jan,
Trust me, if we had a second story. There would be NO roof pictures. :-)

Cosmo said...

Jamie's like one of those intrepid photographers who will do anything for a picture, huh? Like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window! (kidding) The perspective is great--it's so nice to see macroviews of gardens, and yours is so lovely. So, why not plant daylilies in the quarter beds for now, and move them when your screening plants get bigger? Daylilies actually do ok in shade here.

Oh, and I loved your post on the butterflies and bees. I'm going to plant some extra flowers for those poor drones . . .

Annie in Austin said...

Oh, how cool to see it from above, Randy! The design of the beds and hardscape is so clear and the exquisite neatness is quite intimidating! And boy, does that perspective point out how barren most people's yards are - no wonder the common term is yards not gardens.

Philo goes up on the roof once in awhile and took photos a couple of years ago. It was kind of like Phillip noted: you couldn't see half of the yard for the leaves. The other half was all young plants and small trees - bet it will be time for another look next spring before the pecans get their spring foliage.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Randy said...

Cosmo,
Jamie is quite the dedicated photog. I'm glad you enjoyed the bee and butterfly post. It was fun researching everthing and I owe a specail thankyou to a Tennessee lady named Bethie that helped me identify the skippers. I agree about the dayliies, I think I'll go ahead with that.

Annie,
Jamie did a good job didn't he? People that have never seen our garden in person can pretty much visualize the entire thing from these pictures. Jamie took these pictures just in time too. The weather is really starting to take it's toll. This past weekend we started cutting back haggard looking plants.-Randy

Unknown said...

Wow that's pretty. I am offering seeds if you are interested just drop by. You probably have them though.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Randy, the pictures that Jamie took are great. I love your grass paths. The way they draw you around the garden is delightful.

You could plant some daylilies in your garden. You might be surprised at how much shade they will tolerate and still bloom.

Gosh I keep thinking about the roof perspective. I would love to do that but I am sort of chicken. I did take a few pics from the top of a ladder this summer. I wasn't high enough to get a wide shot.

Randy said...

Lisa, the grass paths are one of my favorite things about our garden and we are just gettting started with them. When we are done they will be every where.

We have 21 under story trees and 1 curly willow that will get about 30feet planted in the back yard. So it will pretty much be a shade garden when it matures. I know that sounds like way too much, but the majority of the trees will only get 10 or 15 feet wide. I carefully drew them out full scale on graph paper, so I know about how much they will overlap. We will still have spots of sun in places. You are the second person that has told me daylilies do pretty good in shade. I'm relieved to hear that because we have 68 different cultivar planted. :-)

If you have a single story roof and you can be brave. Carefully get up there and sit down for a little while. The world looks totally different from up there. If you have some one hold the ladder it helps. :-)-Randy

Randy said...

Hey there Darla! I'm so happy you paid us a visit. How generous you are to be offering seeds! Your blog is wonderful and you have a beautiful family. You all look like you have a lot of fun together. Your sunflower tree it gorgeous and I enjoyed seeing the first bloom. Jamie and I have been trying to decide where to put in a fire pit since we don't have the portable one any more. Reading about you and your friends around yours only make me want one more.-Randy

F Cameron said...

I love the photos taken from above! Your gardens are fabulous!

Cameron

Randy said...

Cameron,
I'm glad you like the Garden. :-) As you read further you will find out we created the entire thing in under 4 months.