more backyard ideas

stem coat rack

Beautiful but exorbitantly priced at $1000.

Lynn's doorstep

Went to Lynn's for Thanksgiving. I found she has a wooden thing in front of her door as well. This is what I was thinking of when I spec'd the deck.

plant

I passed by Michelle's office at work and she had the same plant I'm looking for. She said she's had it for 20 years.

bad math, sod and Nightcrawler (not worms)

Because of my bad math I ordered 225 square feet of sod instead of the 300 square feet I needed. I realize this mistake derives from my errant belief that there's a constant ratio between perimeter and area. My reasoning went like this. If I measure the perimeter of the yard (it's an irregular shape) I should be able to rearrange the perimeter into a different configuration and then get the correct square footage. For example, if the perimeter of the yard is 10 feet, then I can rearrange those 10 feet into a rectangle and figure out the square footage, kind of like a poor man's calculus. There's one problem  with this: there is no constant relationship between perimeter and area. A 10 foot perimeter could be arranged into a 4 x 1 grid (8 feet on the sides, 2 feet on the ends) and equal 4 square feet. Or it could be arranged into a 3 x 2 grid (6 feet on the sides, 4 feet on the ends) and equal 6 square feet. After doing some research I discovered that if the circumference of a circle is 10 feet, the area is 7.9 square feet. Three ways of arranging a perimeter of 10 feet gives you three different answers: 4, 6, and almost 8 square feet.

Interestingly, my math error was compounded by another math error which prevented the mistake from being even larger. I think what I did was the equivalent of halving the perimeter. For example, if the perimeter of the yard was 10 feet, I looked for the nearest easy multiplier to make 10 which in this case would be 5 x 2. So I multiplied the two together. In the example, this makes 10 square feet. Whatever I did for the yard, it ended up about 75 square feet short.

A simple thought experiment would have proven the error in my reasoning. Imagine a rectangle that is about 5 feet wide and only a hair thickness tall. Obviously, this isn't an accurate measure of the area of a 10 foot perimeter.

Still, I find the lack of a correspondence between perimeter and area baffling. I took a string and arranged it in different ways. I tried making rectangles and circles and I felt like primitive man as I watched the area change dramatically from one configuration to another. At some level, I still don't understand how this works.

There's some part of my mind that incorrectly assumes certain inviolable constants in math and physics, like, apparently, the relationship between perimeter and area. This also explains the X-Men physics problem that bewilders me but not people who've studied physics. The problem goes like this. Nightcrawler can teleport from any one place to another. So, to save himself from falling, he might teleport himself closer to the ground. Apparently, people who know physics find this makes total sense. To me, however, it seems like gravity would be a constant lurking in the background. Nightcrawler could teleport closer to earth, but in the act of teleportation, gravity would be conserved: Nightcrawler would only teleport more quickly to his doom.

Below: both shapes have 10 foot perimeters but different areas.

Sod

Medallion Plus from Pacific Sod

SOD SPECIFICATIONS: Medallion Plus® 90% IMPROVED TALL FESCUE - 10% BLUEGRASS GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Medallion Plus closely parallels Medallion tall fescue and PennBlue® in its general form and growth habits, but as with Medallion, its foliage is slightly coarser textured. Medallion Plus also requires considerably less water than bluegrass and blue/rye varieties, and is more drought, shade and disease tolerant than these varieties. Lawns planted with Medallion Plus are dense, rich looking and stay green throughout the year. They look their best when mowed at heights of 1 1/2 inches or more. RECOMMENDED USES: Medallion Plus is recommended for residential, commercial and industrial landscape installations, as well as park and recreation areas. COMPOSITION: Medallion Plus is an outstanding mix of the finest improved, turf-type tall fescues and bluegrasses which are adaptable to California's varied soil and climate conditions. It is grown in a controlled cultural environment, resulting in healthy sod which is virtually free of weeds, disease and insect infestations. MEASUREMENTS: Medallion Plus is harvested by machine to a uniform thickness of 5/8 of an inch, plus or minus 1/4 of an inch, plus top growth. SHIPPING STANDARDS: Prior to harvesting, Medallion Plus is mowed uniformly to a height of between 1 1/2 to 2 inches for shipment. It is rolled/folded with the soil facing out to protect the grass from damage, and the sod is stacked on pallets. Each pallet contains approximately 500 square feet of sod. Medallion Plus is shipped sufficiently dry for transportation and handling, yet moist enough to facilitate installation. It should be installed immediately after delivery. Shipping pallets are the property of Pacific Sod. Should pallet pick-up be required, please make arrangements with the office from which the sod was ordered. TEMPERATURE TOLERANCE: Medallion Plus has a higher temperature tolerance than bluegrass and blue/rye varieties due to its deep and extensive root system. It also grows well in a wide range of termperature conditions with very little problem. WEAR RESISTANCE: Medallion Plus wear resistance and ability to recover from occasional heavy traffic or abuse is greater than 100% tall fescues, bluegrass and blue/rye varieties. It is suitable for backyard play areas and similar situations where children and pets have frequent access. SHADE TOLERANCE: Medallion Plus prefers a sunny location, but it will perform well in light shade situations. Medallion Plus is more shade tolerant than bluegrass and blue/rye mixes. COLOR: Medallion Plus has a deep, rich, blue-green color which remains fairly consistent throughout the year when properly maintained. TEXTURE/DENSITY: Established Medallion Plus will be slightly finer in texture and denser than 100% tall fescue sods, though not as fine or dense as bluegrass or blue/rye mixes. SMOG TOLERANCE: Medallion Plus exhibits normal resistance to smog, and will suffer ill effects only if subjected to extreme smog conditions over prolonged periods of time. SALT TOLERANCE: Medallion Plus has fair tolerance to saline soil conditions, and will suffer no ill effects if the soil was properly amended before the sod was installed. ESTABLISHMENT & MAINTENANCE WATERING: Newly planted Medallion Plus should be watered daily and soaked thoroughly for the first 10 to 14 days to avoid drying out, and to enable the root system to penetrate its new soil environment. Once the sod has been established, watering frequency may be reduced. Due to varying soil and climate conditions, it is difficult to recommend a definite schedule. However, because of its deep and extensive root system, a twice-a-week soaking generally is considered adequate in most summer weather situations. MOWING: Medallion Plus should be mowed regularly with a rotary mower. It should be mowed at a height of between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches, depending on individual preference. Never remove more than one-third of the top growth at any one mowing. FERTILIZATION: To maintain its beauty, dense appearance and rich color, Medallion Plus requires a consistent fertilization schedule. In most cases, a good complete fertilizer is required twice a year with the most beneficial applications being made in the spring and fall. All other fertilizer applications may be made with a straight nitrogen product such as ammonium sulfate. During the spring, fall, and winter months, Medallion Plus should be fertilized at regular 4 to 6 week intervals with 1/2 to 1 pound of actual nitrogen applied to each 1,000 square feet of lawn. During the hot summer months, fertilizer rates may be reduced. WEED, INSECT AND DISEASE CONTROL: Medallion Plus is guaranteed to be free of weeds, insects, and disease when it is delivered. However, in some lawn installations, weed and insect infestations may occur from close proximity to neighboring lawns which have these problems.Various cultural practices may be used to eliminate these problems. If chemical controls are required, they should be used in accordance with the written instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Idea for backyard hard scape

Backyard "sculpture garden"

Notes on back

>One of the big problems I had was one with names. Tim told the guys they were building a "deck" and that got them all confused and that's why they were arguing for something bigger. It helped when I called it a "Japanese step." Finally, Ben and Britton said that what they in fact built was a "walk," like a "boardwalk." 

>One of the big problems in anything is the ability to discern voices. I had so many voices going on in this--Davis brothers arguing for different approaches. Ben said just make it straight and take out the jog which I did. That was one voice I listened to--I thought it was a good idea. The other voices I just ignored. The hard part of these things is knowing when to listen to voices and when to ignore them.

>One of the ideas that really stuck with me from the entry design for the house was the idea of "no negative spaces." I think Chris Alexander has a similar idea. Anyway, the idea is that our entry is a positive space but it also creates another positive space--the nook by the entry. Only positive spaces are useful spaces. It also strikes me that this is how the dining room was designed. There's a bump out on one side and the cabinets/display nook on the other creating a positive space. So in the backyard, I've been trying to concentrate on creating positive spaces. One way that affected the design is that unlike an earlier plan, the deck stops right at the N side of the bump out.

The problem with that configuration is that while it looked good for the entry, it made the space in front of the 3 windows look bad. That section looked crowded, like an afterthought. That's why we got rid of that.

>Vision/justification. I staked out the step/walk with bamboo to get an idea for the size. The size I arrived at just 'looked" right. I realize that looking right means a lot of different things and mixes function with meaning and visual design. part of the reason the walk looks right to me is that although it gets bigger on the south side, it has a reason to get bigger. This is where the faucet is (soon to be moved under the window) and the shower. And it makes sense because you can wash your feet and walk into the house. And the sliders side is smaller because it fits under the trellis. So looking right isn't just a 'visual design' thing, but mixes in use and our ability to enter into a space.

Deck

Is Mangaris Red Balau

Water container planter

Structure at Mark's house

Flowers and backyard floor ideas

Wildflowers on the way to Templeton, Brick Pattern at Mark's house, Float stone

Chapel/garden/lantern