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| thank goodness husband's shoulder is feeling better |
part of the 10-year plan for the country house is a new and improved (yes, better than
the blue room) garden structure in the backyard. for one, the backyard is much bigger than at the old place, so there's much more space to work with. and for another, we learned so much from our last project that we are even clearer now as to what we want and how we want it to look. so down at the bottom of the garden, we're planning a garden house. it will be a long, rather narrow structure, a bit like something
diarmuid gavin once
made.
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bad nighttime picture of inspiring page from diarmuid gavin's outer spaces book.
because i can't wait for proper light. |
the building will be made of recycled materials (husband didn't tear down that house up in vildbjerg for nothing) and will serve as a quay of sorts. up to the quay, we are creating a ship made of a hedge. in the midst of it is a picturesque old apple tree and we will also place the grill table we had made. the grill table will have a mast in the middle so that it can be turned to avoid that pesky old smoke in the eyes.
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the shape of the ship (ship shape?)
grill table frame is in the middle w/a plastic swimming pool draped over it.
nothing was tidied for the sake of this photo. |
last sunday, we tilled up the form of the ship and planted a whole lot of little baby beech trees to begin the hedge. we hadn't gathered quite enough on our trip to the forest, so we're not done, but we got a good start. and it was a lovely afternoon.
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| the stern of the beech hedge ship |
so many sources of inspiration for this...viking ships, viking excavations, my time in the maritime world, garden programs, nature, thinking about the way in which we live in our surroundings and ways of coping with the reality of our rather unpredictable weather. the structure itself will be a chance for husband to practice various old building techniques and a chance to use recycled materials that have loads of soul. strangely, tho' it's not a structure that we NEED, it may be one of the first things completed in this project. but on the other hand, who is to say one doesn't need a retreat and a place to get away from it all. and it will definitely be that.
and i must find a way to incorporate this:
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oh how i love this bit of rusty metal.
and how it reminds me somehow of what's important. and substantial. and of what's not. |
stay tuned for updates...
13 comments:
I love this project, and I am coveting your enormous backyard/garden.
xox
This is such a happy looking post! Hopeful, planting things instead of thinking about... that thing which is ahead.
I have just been thinking of making a tiny private space in our huge yard. I guess it will be tiny because I only want it for me. I don't want to share. Kind of like The Forgotten Garden and the Secret Garden.
I love the idea of the ship and the birch hedge. You are so creative.
I am so going to live vicariously through your projects! Love the idea of the ship, the recycled materials, and the birch trees from the woods. I think you DO have the makings for this to be even better than t he blue room-- But oh how I loved that room :-)
Can't wait to see the progress. xo jj
Some observations:
> My favorite photos has Sabin running in the background.
> Husband is getting quite gray (but still oh so handsome)
> Love and family bonding ooze from every frame. You are creating much more than a garden here.
Liz xo
This sounds really fantastic. I will stop by some day and see it for myself and I am all ready looking forward to it.
Hello Julie
Where did you find the rust metal stove? I love it!!
I wish you all the luck in your planting--cannot wait to see the end results.
Best
Tracy :)
what a great project!
hey!! this is a very nice blog. thanks for sharing your life and experience here. hope you never give up. keep it up.
sometimes the things you dont need are exactly the ones that you do. The first thing we did in our house renovation was to commission the stained glass windows in our bathroom. Their gorgeousness kept me sane through the dust and the "never endingness" of the rest of the project.
Sounds beautiful and much hard work, Julie!
It's nearly time for blog camp! I got your email and think I'm last to arrive, but I will look through my things tomorrow and find out.
oh, yes. just perfect. all of it. and you should do it first, then you will have somewhere to go when the house is making you crazy.
fabulous project! we also have a rusty old oven in the garden, it looks like a japanese lantern and stands in our almost japanese garden (to-be, many azaleas but still very small)
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