I spent this week locating and budgeting the materials I will need, refining my plant selections, working on my master plan, designing the irrigation, and contacting local knowledgeable landscapers and gardeners.
Over half of the items on my material list have been located and given a cost. The current total cost of the project is roughly $205. I would say that the final cost will be around $375 with an accuracy of $25. My uncertainties are: the price of wood, how many bulbs I will buy, and whether or not I will want to buy a load of compost. All in all, this is a pretty cheap project.
Wildflowers
Oh, one big change Ive made since last week. I have decided that the main focus of the garden will be beds of dense self-seeding wildflowers. I feel that this plan, while not without drawbacks, is much more appropriate for my project, my client, and the environment. The bulbs and native perennials will still be included, but will be a secondary element to the wildflowers.
The difficulty with the wildflowers is creating a contained space for them to self-seed in. My philosophy will be to create spaces that the wildflowers will and will not want to grow, as opposed to dominating their growth with herbicides or high levels of maintenance. More specifically, making the wildflower beds very appealing to the flowers and the surrounding lawn very unappealing (very dense and well fertilized).
I have found a couple sites that sell what seem to be, good wildflower mixes. I plan on getting three, mixing them and seeding them all together. This way nature can pick which flowers are best for the different microclimates in the yard. I haven't looked at the specific seeds very rigorously and it may end up that I only need to be one or two of these.
If it works out, I think that the wildflowers will add the richness and volume to the landscape that I have been envisioning. It will create a garden that is self-maintained and always varied, It will add to the natural environment, and it will be much cheaper than conventional land
scaping.
Materials
Here is the unfinished list:
Grass seed: $15
Clover seed: $5
Mulch: Free!
Bulbs: Unknown
Wildflower mixes(3): $40
Boxwood shrubs(6): $90
Large conifer bushes (2): Unknown
Herbs: Unknown
Native perennials: Unknown
Plywood: Unknown
Wood beams: Unknown
Logs: Free!
Pebbles: Free!
Stones: Free!
Soil/compost: Unknown
Worm casting: $15
Irrigation lines: $40
This list doesn't include every little detail, but I think it includes all the important or costly items.
Interviews
Next we can talk about how my interviewing the landscapers went. It didn't really go. I started trying to contact people last sunday, and by thursday I still hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone. I was pretty distraught. But somehow, on friday I managed to get a hold of literally everyone I had b Knowledgable een trying to reach. So things didn't go exactly as I had planned, but it will still work out.
Here are the people I am going to meet with next week: Steve Brower, a local landscaper who specializes in the use of native and prairie plants. Jim Shaw Local horticulturalist. Gary Garles, local landscaper and nursery owner. Brian Robbins, local urban landscaper and permaculture enthusiast. Grover Stock, local longtime landscaper and permaculture instructor. I think that between the five of them I should be able to get all my questions answered.
Design
In the time I spent waiting for replies I made quite a bit of progress on my master design. I fixed some of the lengths and put in more of the landscaping elements. Most of my time went into creating the bed shapes. I also started putting in some plants. We will now compare my old versions to my new versions and then we can take a moment to bask in the awesomeness that radiates from my being...
Old renders:
Oringinal sketch up from memory (15 minutes without color)
First renders (couple hours spent figuring out the program and getting the measurements of the house correct)
And now the new versions:
So there we have it. I think its coming along well. Its pretty much all there, all I haven't included is the specific plants and things like the bird house, bird bath, and picnic table. But the most important part is the bed placement and size.
Art
One of my goals for this project was to create an outlet for my creative and artistic nature. So one of the ways I plan on doing this is with two guardian statues at the entrance of the pathway. Like those gargoyles at gothic churches or stone lions at wealthy estates. It was really tough for me to decide who would be there to great us. The two finalists were a stegosaurus or a rabbit. Im still determined to put a stegosaurus somewhere! But I realized that rabbits would be more appropriate. So rabbits it is! I have already located the wood I will be using and a chainsaw to do the carving. I'll probably do it when its either too hot or too rainy to work outside. Here is a rough idea of what they will look like. Bare in mind that these renders are made to be as simple as possible so that I know how to cut the rabbit out. And because Ive never done anything like this before.
Future Plans
And there you have it. Thats what Ive been doing this week. Next week will be very busy for me and I anticipate that I will continue working on my design during next block as well. Next week I have to talk with all those people and make sure my plan will work. Then I will finish the budget and sourcing. Finally I will create a plan of action and make the necesary preparations to begin working bright and early monday morning. Good, great. I guess thats it. You can leave comments below.
tata.
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