Orange Accent Home Accessories Cushion

Accent Cushion Orange

Arden Doulton Home Accessories Cushion

Arden Doulton Cushion

Outdoor Patio  Deep Seating Home Accessories Cushion

Outdoor Patio Cushion

Wicker Seat Home Accessories Cushion

Wicker Seat Cushion

Algoma Cushion

Algoma Cushions for Hanging Chairs

Sturdy Knee Home Accessories Cushion

I’m not sure when I’ll finally go pick up one of these, but I may even check out some local garage sales.  Sometimes you can find some decent used Home Accessories Cushions.

In a lucid moment, I chose the route of compliance, instead of blackmail, coercion and straight lieing.  “Why not just take those seedlings outside”?

Well ok, yes, let’s do that. But greenhouses are for those old gardener people.  Enter the porto-greenhouse.  A translucent tent that holds your seedlings.  It can be stored away in the winter, and brought out again in the spring.  It’s damn ugly, but your wife doesn’t control the backyard, so you’re gold.

Here is the best on the market:

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/portable.shtml

Shipping is expensive, and you can’t really get it in Canada.

So, I moved on to step two, which is possibly better looking, a better use of space, but not very portable, nor breaks down easily.  It is the conceptual “Lean To Greenhouse”, which fits nicely up against my fireplace.

http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=905717&Ntt=905717&catalogId=10051&storeId=10051&langId=-15&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntx=mode+matchall&recN=0&N=0&Ntk=P_PartNumber&showreviews=true

So,the first thing we can say about Feeney is that they are fast.  5 days from order to Catalog.  Now, about their Cable Trellis.  They sell two different types:

1. Somerset Trellis Kit

This Trellis looks sexy.  Very sleek and interesting.  It comes in sizes from 4 feet to 10 feet.   Cost is prohibitive: $388 for the 10×5 foot version.  I would basically need 4 of these, running me over $1000 in trellising, which is way over budget.  As well, nowhere in the catalog, does it indicate weight distribution etc. The images always show a Clematis going up the trellis, which is not a good specimen to show weight capabilities.

The package comes in a kit, so the assumption is that you’d get all the screws, bits and clamps you need.

Somerset Trellis

2. Greenway Trellis Kit

Basically an ugly BedFrame turned on its side and stuck into your garden.  This thing is really hideous.  It costs $303 US which is ridiculous.

The package comes in a kit, so the assumption is that you’d get all the screws, bits and clamps you need.

Greenway Trellis

Conclusion: Feeney tries hard, but it’s obvious that they are aiming at an industrial/commercial customer base.  Their product is not customizable and doesn’t seem to do do a very good job on top of that.  I will probably pass on them.

Luckily, I stumbled upon this site which is a clearinghouse of information about cabling organizations:

4 Specs

From that site, I found several sites, all with catalogs and product information.  The one I found the most interesting was jakob.ch/3/

They not only sell cabling, they have a line of products for vines.  Awesome!  Check out some of their product images:

Cabling Again:

If you’re like me, you refuse to pay money for Stones. I mean, you can dig them up right? And I absolutely abhor fake stones, or pre-fab stones or even those stones that have been cut to look interesting. Disgusting, really really disgusting.

So, I was talking to my Neighbor “Kessel”, who has (for lack of a better term) a Rock-Fetish. He has many moderately sized rocks in his yard. Some…and I kid you not, are around 300 pounds.  That`s a stone weight of 300 pounds.

Let’s talk about Rock size/weight and moving stones. When I first tried to uproot an 18 inch by 18 inch rock last year, I was unable to move it. It took my father, brother and myself full effort to transport that stone 100 feet back to the house. At the end of that “move”, we were so exhausted we just sat around the stone for several minutes afterward to catch our breath.

As with most important things in life, size can be deceiving.  Rocks are typically oblong and their weight is distributed in strange ways. Moving stones can sometimes place most of the weight on one arm, and very little (or less anyway) on the other. So, you’re trying to lift 100 pounds, but 70 pounds is on your left arm. You can imagine the havoc that plays when trying to lift anything seriously heavy. Furthermore, the oblong nature of rocks, makes them all the more difficult pulling them out of the ground, as they hook into the Earth.

In my estimation, a 1 foot by 1 foot rock weighs about 100 pounds. A 2×2 rock – you’re at 200 pounds and upwards. You’re thinking, that’s ridiculous. I challenge you to go find a 1×1 stone and try and lift it. It will surprise you.

Ok, back to my neighbour Kessel. He loves rocks, and has them all over his yard.  On an extended in-depth conversation on care and cultivation of rocks, I asked him where he found all these rocks?  “Oh yeah, I love rocks. I *Pick them up wherever I find them*”.

Hold on Kessel, some of these garden stones are higher then my knee. “Oh yes, I lift them myself. I once loaded my minivan with over 1 tonne of rocks and drove them home”. And he’s not kidding either, because I’ve seen him haul several hundred pounds of rock out of his minivan (That’s a separate story on it’s own).

Well, that got me thinking. I’m a big cheapo, so his statement resonated. Why don’t I just go find my own decorative stones and bring them home? Well, because the last time I tried, My father, brother and I, almost died lifting a rock the size of a briefcase.

Case closed right? Well no, it’s amazing what saving some money will allow me to accomplish. I was/am not willing to spend money on stone. So, I was driving somewhere on a Sunday morning and I drove past a large Apartment/Condominium development project. Lots of construction happening, and hey, check it out, they were digging, hitting rocks, pulling these rocks out of the ground, and piling them up in several large mounds close to the road. I pulled over and walked over to see what I could find.

Well, I spent 20 minutes there, canvassing the area and planning (And let me tell you, Stone transport can be highly technical work).

Reasonably sure I could handle some of the smaller models, I pulled out 3 rocks. 2 fist sized, and 1 the size of my head. Well this “head” rock was so difficult to lift and load into my car, that it took me 15 minutes to move it 15 feet, and afterwards , I sat in my car covered in sweat. My hands were shaking by the time I was done. Once unloaded though, these rocks looked awesome in my yard. And the rest, so they say, is history.

Well, I went back. Every week in fact for about 10 weeks. I went back to that same Condo Development (45 minutes from my house) and I did it again. And each time I went back, I brought home bigger and bigger rocks.

Well, let me tell you, when I finally lifted a heavy stone about 2″x2″, I almost killed myself. It must have weighed a little under 200 pounds. I got it home, but it was such a workout that I decided I had to implement some form of technology going forward, because 2×2 was just too heavy and dangerous.

So the next week, I brought out some stone lifting equipment with me, and damn, what a difference.
Inventory: Dad’s dolly, a heavy shovel, a pickaxe, and a long steel bar. The dolly allowed me to transport various sized stones 20 feet with NO EFFORT. With that Dolly, I started transporting 3 or 4 200 pound rocks at a time (200 pounds is pretty much my limit. I’m not able to lift anything heavier.)

So let’s fast forward to the present. 10 weeks later, I have have brought in about 16 moderate sized rocks that now border my garden. They look great and provide me with a great conversation piece.

After all that effort, I have several lessons learned. If you’re not able to lift heavy stones, don’t allow that to be a stopping point. Hire some high school kids to do your lifting for you. Or even your spouse.

Seven stages of getting a rock out of a field and into your backyard:

1. Surveying: Probably the most important step. You could be a 300 pound powerlifter, but if you don’t know where to look for stones, you’re going to have a bare garden.  The best place is always new housing developments. Typically though, other gardeners will already be taking stones themselves. But as I found, Condo dwellers don’t want stones.

2. Get the Rock out of the ground: Tools for use:

• Heavy duty Pick Axe’s: To dig in around rocks and loosen them for lifting
• Steel bars: Long Steel bars can be jammed under the rock, then pressed in a seesaw action to pull the rock out of the ground. With a strong steel bar (at least 4 feet long), you can pop out good size rocks with some simple effort.
• Heavy Duty Shovel: A typical shovel will not be able to life a rock without damaging it’s handle.  Use the shovel to dig around rocks, and to do some minor lifting.

3. Transport the Rock to your transportation:

• Your Arms/Legs - You can just lift the rock in your arms and walk it to your car.  But you need to have some physical & mental strength.  A great workout BTW (Powerlifters will routinely haul rocks as exercise).  But not the best method as you are limited by your own energy.  Most non-athletes will not last outside of 2 big rocks.
• Dolley - You need a heavy duty dolley that can withstand serious weight. My father’s dolley was meant to haul Ovens, but a 200 pound stone broke it (Refer to my note about Oblong Rock sizes above.)

4. Load the Rock into your transportation

• You easily transported a 200 pound rock to your car via a dolley. But damn, now you have to lift it 2 feet from the ground up in to your car. There’s 2 ways of doing this:
  a. Good Deadlift technique. Use your legs, keep your back straight and wear gloves. It’s a great exercise as well.
• b. Get a 4 inch thick wooden plank. Lay it from your car trunk down onto the road.  Ensure it can withstand your weight + the rock.  With a truck, you can wheel your dolley right into the truck bed. Very easy. Kessel swears by this technique.

5. Transport home

• a. ENSURE YOUR ROCKS ARE DISTRIBUTED EVENLY THROUGHOUT YOUR CAR TRUNK.  Placing 2-3 rocks all on one side will destroy your suspension. Kessel, my neighbor, hauled over 1 tonne in a Windstar Minivan.   So your vehicle can probably handle the weight as long as you distribute it properly. I’ve hauled up to 500 pounds in Stones in my Minivan.

6. Unload the rock from your transportation

• a. If you used the plank ramp, then just wheel out your rocks the same way you loaded them.
• b. If you manually lifted the rocks, remember that you don’t want to drop the stone on your driveway. It will put a hole in the pavement. Use Gloves, and proper Deadlifting technique (Goggle “Deadlift” for technique).

6. Move the rock from transportation to final location

• a. Dolley again, but watch your lawn. It can’t handle a 200 pound dolley being wheeled around. Try to move fast and minimize traffic over the same areas.  You can lay wooden boards down on your grass to protect.  (This distributes the weight of the dolley over a 6 foot area.
• Rolling: If your garden is close to your car, you could conceivably roll the rock into its final resting place.

7. Convince your spouse you’re not moving the rock anymore

• At a later day, it’s a guarantee that your wife will ask you to move the rock 15 feet to the left by the kitchen window.  Because the sun looks so much brighter there.  I recommend you pretend you can’t hear her.

Equipment we’ve discussed

1. Pickaxe - Pick Mattock

2. Dolley: Hand Truck, 400 Lb. Capacity

This bad boy can take up to 400 pounds.  Should handle most moderate sized rocks.

3. Steel Bars: Fulton Wrecker Pry Bar

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Conclusion

So at the end of the day, if you want Garden Stones / Decorative Stones, then you’re going to have invest a little time and effort to learn proper “stones transport” skills and the science behind moving stones.

Spend some time, energy and muscle (A great weight loss technique as well) and make your garden as beautiful as it can be.

I love Wisteria’s.  They look amazing and smell fragrant.  I want to grow one up the South side of my House (which is currently quite barren) (See photos below).

View at Picasa

View at Picasa

The South side of my house receives plenty of sun, which is a requirement for the Wisteria.  The one drawback is that my south side receives wind as it is open to the street.  My neighbors will be the lucky ones, as they will have a full view of the shrub it’s entire bloom time.

Wisteria Blue Moon

But there are issues.  Several in fact.

1. Wisteria are incredibly invasive, killing trees and destroying walls.  The general understanding is that they need very strong (the strongest of the vine plants) supports.  For some reason, and this is strange, I’m having trouble finding information on “strong supports” for Wisteria.  This is the limited information that I could find:

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Books on Hanging Wisteria up a wall

1. Ultimate Guide to Fences, Arbors & Trellises: Plan, Design, Build

Looks Promising

Fences, Arbors and Trellises

2. Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls

Looks the most promising of the lot.  Specifically devotes several pages to the Wisteria and the challenges (ie. the sheer weight) in growing it up the side of a building.

Wisteria Plant Blue Moon

3. Northeast Home Landscaping: including Southeast Canada

Northeast Home Landscaping: Including Southeast Canada

Details about Wisteria

This website has amazing information about Wisteria’s growing in Ontario / Zone 5:

1. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/grtlks/msg0810315814807.html

2. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1246.html

Recommended Wisteria:

The general consensus is that America Wisteria are more controlled and will bloom in Zone 4/5.  Whereas Chinese/Japanese Wisteria smell great, but can grow rampantly and out of control.  If you have a controlled area, best to go with the American varieties.

The hardiest wisteria, so far, is Wisteria ‘Blue Moon’ introduced by Rice Creek Gardens in Blaine, MN. ‘Blue Moon’ is hardier than ‘Aunt Dee’.

American Cultivars:

1. ‘Blue Moon’
2. Aunty Dee Wisteria – (wisteria_macrostachys)
3. Wilkerson Mill’s American wisteria
4. Kentucky wisteria
5. “Lawrence” Wisteria – Starts blooming right away. Recommended by the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington.

Great advice on growing a Wisteria:

http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/techniques/make-your-wisteria-bloom/a/1541

The subject of wisteria is fraught with frustration for many Canadian gardeners. There are plenty of arbors and pergolas festooned with healthy-looking wisterias that simply refuse to bloom.

So what’s the secret to getting the magnificent show of fragrant blossoms that are on view each spring at Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario? Gardener Bob May says there’s not much to it: don’t let your wisteria grow out of control and give it two good pruning’s a year-once in midsummer and the other in mid-September, or when vigorous growth has ceased.

Every three years or so, your wisteria will need a radical renewal pruning to keep it in shape. Wisteria responds best to stress. Be sparing with fertilizer and wary of high-nitrogen formulas, which will result in too much vigorous growth and foliage. And don’t overwater. The phenomenally healthy wisterias that strut their stuff on RBG’s pergola pretty much look after themselves and only get watered during extreme drought.

What’s the most floriferous wisteria on the RBG pergola? It’s ‘Lawrence’ Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda ‘Lawrence’, Zone 5).

Wisteria primer – It’s easy when you know how

1 After flowering is finished, prune entire plant back, thinning it out well and leaving just one or two buds or nodes per branch. Keep vigorous, strong shoots that have set buds or nodes at their bases. Get rid of any branches that hang down and spoil the shape of the plant. To force the plant to branch more horizontally, make your cuts on a down-facing bud (even if you cut below this bud you will get new branches).

2 By midsummer, wisterias have put on a great deal of new growth that can tangle into a big, shapeless blob, encroach on nearby plants or weigh down supports. Don’t be timid with the pruners: prune entire plant back hard to the desired size and shape and cut thin, overcrowded stems out completely. By summer’s end, new shoots will appear and replace most of what’s been cut off. This is the time to select vigorous new shoots for training along wires, a trellis or even up a tree.

3 In mid-September (or when vigorous growth has ceased), cut wisteria back again, though not as ruthlessly, to its desired shape for the following spring. This time, leave four or five nodes or buds per branch; these will form next year’s flowers and branches. If you see something resembling a witch’s broom at the ends of the branches (several short, dense shoots clustered together), don’t remove it all-it’s full of buds, so just shape carefully and thin out weaker stems and dead tips (about one-third in total). Cut back any split panicles (flower heads) and seed pods so they don’t rob energy from flower production.

4 Wisterias usually bloom on the lower 30 centimeters or so of last year’s stems. By pruning these back several times a season, a flowering, multi-branched stem-much like an apple spur-can be created. Every three years or so, when these stems have grown out too far from the main structural stem, give the plant a renewal pruning right after flowering, severely cutting back mature wood to within 7.5 centimeters of the main stem. This will open up the plant and allow in light to help stimulate new growth.

Support Data:

Wisterias climb best on wires, trellises, arbors and pergolas. They can be grown on solid, vertical surfaces if proper supports are provided, such as rows of wire attached four to six inches from the wall. Use sturdy, durable materials such as galvanized wire, tubing or wood. Copper or aluminum wire or tubing are preferred over other metals since these do not rust.

Good book on Wisteria:

Wisterias: A Comprehensive Guide

Wisterias: A Comprehensive Guide