Patio Table and English Garden

The patio table is basically wrapped up. Tonight I just finished grouting it, it still hasn't dried by the time I took the pics. Lastly I have to put a sealer on the table to help protect it from the elements. The grout will dry a little lighter than it is in the pics, but then again the sealer might darken it back up. I am very happy with how it turned out for my first tile job of that complexity! Now I know I will be able to do some really fancy tile floors inside the house! I must have got my mosaic ambition from my mom, you can see some of her stuff in her shop: www.etsy.com/shop/theshabbyrosecottage


Top view from the upstairs window.


Some of you may remember I had mentioned that I started planting an English Garden last fall. Here is the layout I had sketched up. The main entrance is at the lower right corner of the paper. Around the outside of the garden will be an 8' tall Arborvitae wall, putting the inside of the garden into seclusion from the rest of the yard. As you walk in, the path will split to either side and there will be planting beds along the edges and in the middle. The beds will be designated by rows of boxwood shrubs. In the very middle will be a rectangular reflecting pool, maybe I'll put some goldfish or koi in it. Off to either side of the garden will be various other plantings and some garden statues and benches. Out of the back of the garden will be a trellised exit covered with climbing roses. This exit will lead to the trail that goes through the wooded part of the yard. A second exit to the upper right will lead to an informal garden with more traditional plantings and flowers.


Keep in mind that this is just a very basic start to the garden, it is a work that will take many years to finish and grow. In this pic you are standing at the entrance. Those are a couple of the Arborvitae to the left and right, they are about 3' tall currently. Looking inward you can see the rows of boxwoods, eventually they will grow and be trimmed to be solid continuous "walls".

Here's a sideview, the purplish colored tree is a Japanese Maple. I've been having quite the battle with rabbits and deer this year. Somehow they have even been able to chew plants and trees that are fenced off!

Landscape Lighting and Bathroom Floor

I've Worked on a few different projects the last couple days, first off I put in some new landscape lighting around the house and up the side walkway. I had happened on another great deal at Lowes, they had some of the nice metal low voltage lights on clearance for 75% off! I like these inexpensive projects!


Another pic of the lights and also some of the flowers my mom came over and planted a week ago. They aren't very big yet, but should be growing pretty fast with the rain we've been getting.


Got the $5 light hung up too. I put it above the back staircase in the hallway.


This one has been a long time coming... Last year we had some water damage to the flooring in the bathroom from the tub leaking. It caused the flooring to swell and some of the wood overlay was buckling. I ended up pulling up all the oak flooring and thats how it sat for the last 6-7 months, with just the primered subfloor. As I am planning on eventually replacing the vanity and doing some nice tile work (couple years from now). I didn't want to put a lot of time or money into the floor at the moment. So for now I figured I had to at least get some sort of flooring down in there so I went with some vinyl tiles that resemble travertine. I bought 2 colors and layed it down in a checkerboard pattern. It turned out pretty nice looking.