A common problem for gardens in the Seattle area is the large, free supply of rocks in the soil. This leads to creative uses for rocks in the garden. One such commonly used technique is to collect the rocks and form them into a "river", as is done here. Actually not all of these rocks are mine - my neighbours the Deals have contributed (or so they claimed).
This is the south west corner of my yard.
The first flower among the new plants! This is a virburnum davidii, and they continued flowering until November. Not exactly showey flowers, but better than the bare dirt that used to be there.
One of the pieris bushes, and a camellia too. These are along the back fence.
Time to put this plant into a larger pot. The new one is to the lower right of the old one, and just above the two black pots with soil in them. I'm not sure what this plant is, as I have been told that it is a philodendron, but I think it is more likely a monstera deliciosa, which The Western Garden Book describes as "often sold as Philodendron pertusum".
Another view, showing Yvonne's quilt, which will go on the wall above the cabinet (after the cabinet goes).
The transplant is completed, the mess cleaned up, and all is set to go. I had to break the old pot to get the plant out as the roots were gripping the pot. Actually, the pot had little soil, it seemed mostly roots. I should have transplanted it much sooner.
Another month, another living fence. This is with my neighbour Phan. These trees are planted further apart than the back yard fence, but that is partly to match the existing landscape. We still need to do something around the utility boxes just to the right of this picture, but that is next year's project.
And as a birthday present for myself, I bought some new furniture. The first to arrive is the leather love seat on the left. It has a matching sofa and chair, but they were held up somewhere along the way. This shows the newly re-arranged family room.
Lot 12, opposite the front of my house, had a severely sloping lawn, which was near impossible to maintain, especially as it was in full sun, and water would just run off it. So the builder agreed to replace it with a rock retaining wall. First step is to remove the existing soil and landscape.
Next step is to place the rocks for the wall. I'm always impressed to see these large rocks being manipulated into place, with amazing dexterity by the operator of the back hoe.
The rock wall finished, landscaping still to come.
Landscaping finished, and it looks great.
Autumn starting to show its presence. Unlike the North East, the change of season here is gradual, and lasts a month or more, where the trees slowly change colour. Different trees start at different times, so the effect can extend over quite a period.
Much the same scene as the previous image, but with the addition of fog to obscure things.
1999