Big house...little beds

Hi Carson,

 I have viewed many of shows and would like to acknowledge the great vision and work of your Green Team. Carson,  our home in Bowmanville is situated in a small enclave of 48 custom homes. Only some of the residents have elected to have fence. We went with a living wall one side for privacy. We would like to engage you to provide a vision.  We have planted many perennials over the last two years and now they are mature enough to spread out and provide a more complete landscape oasis.

What next?

The McKays


Dear McKays,


First of all, let me praise the home that you have which is full of excellent character and potential.  I understand the situation that you feel like you are in and I'm going to try to be as nice as possible with the solution; You have a large home, as a result the beds and the plants that you've decided to work with seem way out of scale.  Take for example, the space between the flagstone and river rock walkway and the house.  The stretch of grass between the beds and the path makes the area feel small and contained.  Remove that grass and make it a bigger bed.  Let the plants which are currently foundation plantings have more "room to grow" !  Ultimately, when trying to plan for a home as large as yours, the outside edge of the bed should be at least 2/3's the height of the wall they are on.  So if the wall of the house is 25' (not including the roof), the edge of the bed (grass side) should be at least 16.5 ft away from the foundation.  I know this is a scary undertaking seeing as you already have lots of mature plants...but the reality is, those junipers and trees that you have planted so close to the foundation are going to become a very large problem soon.

I hope this solution hurt less then removing a bandaid...


~ Carson

Blank Slate or sterile Backyard?

Hey Carson,

We have been living this minimalist way for about 6 years and now that we have kidlets we want to use our backyard to its fullest potential.  We are planning on placing a roof and raised deck extending from the garden doors to the kitchen window.  The sun is blazing all year round and we need some protection.

Our backyard faces west and is exposed from about 12:30p.m. until the sun goes down.  It is  41 ft in length (from house to fence) x 60 ft width.  The family room window is 10 ft x 7 ft.  Just to give you a sense of size.

We enjoy our neighbours but also our privacy.  We have absolutely no privacy (no even from within our home).  I was originally going to put a wall hedge of cedars around the perimeter of my lot, but I am unsure about constant maintenance or it looking too unattractive.

We enjoy spending time outside (eating, playing, relaxing)

Kind Regards,

Tara

Hey Tara,  

6 years?  Wow.  At what point did you decide enough is enough?  So lets not waste anymore time and get some ideas flowing for you. 

First, the shade issue.  Not sure that building a roof is going to be the best idea because its very very permanent and in the winter, you lose all that amazing sun just when you need it the most.  What about something that goes up in the summer and can come down in the fall?  I've worked with a shade sail system and have had some amazing results.  Not only is it easy to put up and take down, it keeps the stylish look of your home.

As far as a deck, I'd chose patio first.  The deck will always keep you elevated, and always on display above the fences.  Get low as quickly as possible.  Also, forget about the cedar hedge.  Its never really going to do what you need it to.  Instead, work with privacy panels close to the patio.  These panels can be lattice or even opaque glass.  By putting them close to the patio instead of the fence, you generate way more privacy and in the areas that you really need it.  I've attached a picture of a project that I did which is very similar.

~ Carson

Water Collection System

Hi Carson,

I watch your show regularly and would like to experience the hug at the end of you helping me with my garden.  I am a guidance counselor who works in my community primary/elementary school and love to share garden stories with my students.  I had my house built 9 years ago and moved my garden from central Newfoundland where I was also in love with my garden.  I built my garden with pick and shovel and have no grass and all paths and flower gardens.  I get all kinds of compliments about my garden and love it.

 I have old trees in one corner which provide me with privacy but in which I would love to have more space to move cuttings from rhododendrons, etc. My Mom and I have wondered how we could redirect the drain water to the corner of my property to make a pond and somehow have a shed/overhang under which we could sit to watch my very own pond.  When I built my house I put huge windows overlooking this corner on the south side of my property and I would love to see a small pond there.  Would love to hear from you as I have the room to grow but need your expertise.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,  Mandy T.


Dear Mandy,

Sounds like the gardening bug bit you hard.  Don't worry, it's taken a chunk out of my behind too!

So I love that you've asked me a totally easy question that has a fantastic answer.  I am a huge fan of Aquascape's Rainxchange program.  In a nut shell, the rain water from your eaves trough system is collected in a chamber which is then moved into your pond.  Under the pond is where the storage unit is.  In some cases, more then 1200 litres.  If you think that 1" of rain fall on the average roof  will provide you enough water to completely fill the pond, its a great way to be green and save lots of money.  Whats also really nice about this system is the fact that the water is constantly moving, it is aerated and allows for a pressurized spigot so that you can turn on a sprinkler for your lawn or have enough pressure to wash your car.  

Here is a picture of the system.

~ Carson