My Better Home and Garden

So, it’s been about three weeks since I moved into my new space and it’s definitely feeling like home.

I had coffee out on the patio at the front of my place the other morning, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, the birds in the trees and the little chipmunk that was racing across the lawn.

It felt good. My potted planters were a colourful touch, a dash of red and green against the white brick. The garden along the wall needs some attention, but all in due time, as I’ll need some help there. Oh, but the planning.

I got onto Pinterest, and put small gardens in the search and yes, there went the morning. Amazing the number of gardens using rocks. I love a garden with the look of a dry creek bed, the layers of rock, the gentle curve that mimics a meandering brook.

I had such a garden once, complete with an arced bridge to go over it, joining the patio with the lawn. I have to laugh, as the bridge was grudgingly built, without an ounce of grace

I had a vision, something that I’d never seen done in that area, and one I had to convince my husband was going to be beautiful. The convincing was kind of sneaky on my part. I would do as much of the work as I could, and in order to get it finished, my husband had to finally give in and help, once I had the job near to completion.

Yet he didn’t see the need for the bridge, which I thought was crucial to the design. I tried to build the bridge myself, which was no easy task as I was useless with electrical tools, and was trying to hand saw and hammer the thing together.

The old boy just had to show me how it was done. He bought the wood, cut the curved side pieces and, voila, I had my arched oriental style bridge over my dry creek bed. It really was beautiful, and he had no problem taking credit when the garden was complimented.

I tried it again at another house, this time I had an arbour, with handmade stepping stones, and a small dry creek area that was more functional that decorative, as it handled the run off.

Run off seems to be a good spot to place a dry creek type garden, and tried it once more. This time I got fancy. I had a 24 inch circle of concrete, and I painted it to look like a pond, complete with a couple of Koi fish and lily pads.

I must have put a dozen coats of sealer on that thing to weather proof it. On a flat section of the garden, where the dry creek bed ran to the back of the property, I laid it down and arranged the rocks and plants around it…like a real pond.

It was a surprise, a bit of whimsy, in an otherwise normal garden. I wish I had picture to remember it.

I don’t have enough space for a dry creek bed type garden. But I noticed all those paths, in the picture gallery on Pinterest, that had the spaces between plain patio slabs filled with river rock, even glass stones for colour. My mind was racing with ideas.

At my back door is a neglected bit of space where I was going to put my bird feeders. It has proven to be too close to the window and too open for the birds I’d hoped to attract. But wouldn’t a bench be pretty there, with a big pot of flowers on one end that I could see from my window.

A nice spot to sit in an evening and watch the sun go down. Patio stones, joined with areas of rock, and maybe I could use the existing bricks for a pretty edging, yes, I can see it might work.

Not everyone can see the finished result as I can, or understands why I try to create something a little different. It’s the artist in me that wants to put my own touch to things.

After all, it’s the little touches that make a house a home.

It’s quiet now, the sun has set in a splendid show of colour, and the court is dark except for the one light post. It’s a perfect evening I’m thinking, as I sit here, with my feet up and write.

I wish everyone the same peace and contentment as I feel right now.