Macro Flowers!

m_orange
Originally uploaded by leahpeah.

I love flower pictures, especially macro lens close-ups.

Leah provides a bunch on here site. Enjoy!

Macro Flowers Playing with the macro:

Here is the whole set.

(Via leahpeah.)

...and the wall came tumbling down...

In preparation for the building of a 3-story parking garage behind our home, the car dealership started to remove our back wall today. They will be replacing it with a 10 foot cement block wall with a greenspace beyond to help mask the building (a little).

Here is a short video of the demolition process. The workers and backhoe operator were very careful to not damage the trees or the vines that I will be replacing on the new wall. We will have to live with the temporary net fencing for a few weeks, but, so far, things are running smoothly. The next step is to remove the existing footings, re-grade the surrounding area, set forms and pour the new footings. Then they can start building the new wall.

Watch the Video

Link: Books about garden walls

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, build, make, podcast, podcasting, losangeles, video

Pergola Construction Continues Completed!!!

Updated (1030am, 2/8/06): Except for a few touchups on the stain and deciding what we want to do on the ground beneath it, the pergola project is now complete. I have posted 4 new pictures of the completed structure in the photo gallery linked below.

Our new pergola has finally started to rise up from the rot of the old trellis. This pergola is much heavier and impressive than the old structure. We are building it out of 6x6 lumber and it simply presents a more imposing presence.

We were slowed a bit by a forklift accident at the lumber yard that damaged one of our 6x6 posts. Re-ordering and delivery has it arriving Monday afternoon. Then it is will have to be stained. By Tuesday we should be moving forward again.

We assembled one side of the structure on Friday, in order to set the height and level of the final structure. This will have to be disassembled, though, to make some decorative cuts on the end of each beam. Still, it is nice to finally get an idea what the structure will look like when it is completed.

During the assembly we noticed that the lumberyard had delivered us 14 foot beams instead of the 12 foot we had ordered. It looks like we will use them anyway though, as they give a nice lateral spread to the structure and make it look a bit more dramatic. Just an example of what can happen on even the smallest project.

Our contractor is taking the time and energy to make sure everything is square and level and it is nice to see such good work being put into what is a, relatively, unimportant garden structure. This pergola should server serve us for years to come. (Must be too much computer work creeping its way into my life. I see servers everywhere -D)

Link: Pergola Construction Photos
Link: Books on Pergolas

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, build, make, DIY, howto, how-to

Outdoor Sculpture for Birds & Other Living Things

Feed your feathered friends and add a delightful piece of sculpture to your garden. MoCoLoco points over to these excellent bird feeders with a "modern" twist. Even living here in my little cottage style house, I think I could find a place for several of these, if my pocketbook would allow it.

Outdoor Sculpture for Birds & Other Living Things

St. Louis designer Joe Papendick has a line of freestanding welded copper and steel birdfeeders that act as garden sculpture as well. Most of the feeders stand between 5 and 6 feet tall and are meant to be planted...

(Via MoCoLoco.)

Technorati Tags: garden, gardening, outdoors, art, wildlife, birds, birding, birdwatching

Three Sisters

Three Sisters 1
Originally uploaded by dewelch.

More daffodil pictures from my garden this afternoon. They are putting on quite a show this year and simply luxuriating in the unseasonably warm and sunny weather.

Click the photo for a complete collection of pictures on Flicker.com