March Of The Year 2000

In March of the year 2000, the walled garden fountain looked like this.  The landscape company had just finished up the hardscape and they were installing the plants.  (Landscape companies don't plant, they "install".  Why is that?)  The landscape architect had planned for Azaleas everywhere--even in full sun ("All you need to do is water every day!").   Those Azaleas did not get "installed".  I knew better, even then.  

Yesterday:
  The area is an early Autumn mess, and I've been meditating for years on how to make it satisfactory.  The fountain bottom to be knocked out, and the fountain become a planter for a patio-sized specimen tree--an Arctostaphylos, an Aloidendron dichotoma, a Lagerstroemia, with all of the same rose behind it--probably 'Belinda's Dream'.  Still thinking on that.  

In March of the year 2000 Teddy-Bear and Hoover were our Sammies:
 They didn't like each other.  Hoover was a bully.  Can you tell by the look on Teddy-Bear's face?  He's on the left.  
 Nowadays Natasha is the bully and Boris the bullied, but he doesn't mind.  The sunshine of his heart is never shadowed.  

Then and now, the ultimate power of time is worth a meditation on this quiet Sunday morning. 

Comments

  1. Your dogs are Samoyeds! I don't know why I didn't know that. For some reason I always thought they were enormous, perhaps I associated their white coats with Great Pyrs. Poor Teddy-Bear. He looks like he's waiting to get slapped.

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    1. Hoover would growl at him and he would just wilt. "Rescue" dogs, some of them have issues. Teddy never got slapped, he was the sweetest, sweetest boy ever. (Like Boris is.)

      GeePees are better on a leash. I only wish Sammies didn't have the sled-pulling DNA because I am the sled and I don't slide so good.

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  2. It all changes over the years. I like your fountain garden as it is at this moment, I don´t think you should put plants in the fountain, water is so refreshing in your hot surroundings.
    Love those dogs , the ones in 2000 and the ones now.

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    1. Hi Janneke!

      The thing is: the fountain is about 2 meters from the koi pond. We had the fountain first as the refreshing water, then the pond, so the fountain does not seem as necessary any more.

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  3. The wall looks so much better decorated in green vines and embellished with roses. I don't get the logic used by the landscapers (do they even deserve that title?) employed by housing contractors - do they just bring in whatever plants the local supplier has on special? The choices are almost always ordinary and frequently, as in the case of the azaleas, ill-considered. As you already have the koi pond and the new fountain feature upfront, transforming the old fountain into a planter makes sense to me. I imagine the raccoons loved that fountain, though! ;)

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    1. Hi Kris! The landscape architect came with the house (friend of the builder) and I was working a lot of hours when we bought the house, so we just used her. This LA used the same 5 or 6 plants on every job. Zero interest in plants. Sigh. The hard scape design wasn't so great, either. Wish I had it to do over, but hindsight is 20/20.

      No, never any evidence of raccoon visits. Vertical sides--they don't like that. Hope you had a great Sunday!

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    2. I like the idea of a tree in the fountain! I also really like the look of the vines you have climbing the wall. If anything, If you put some of those agaves you grow so well in front of them - I think those would add some fabulous contrast to the more leafy plants. They would especially look fab if your tree of choice is that Aloidendron dichotoma you mentioned. At least that's my two cents. :)

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    3. Good ideas, thanks!

      The Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) on the walls reduces the heat in summer. Without that plant, it is much hotter with lots of reflected heat. This was about the only plant the LA chose that worked out pretty well. Everything else is gone save the lone surviving Bougainvillea on the front slope. The Parthenocissus has quite a root system, which I don't like, but overall has been fairly well behaved. If we get a cold snap to below 45F in autumn before the leaves fall they turn a beautiful red, but that's a rare event here--once a decade maybe.

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  4. My apologies if you got several comments from me...my iPad was acting up. What I tried to say was something like... I want to give Teddy-Bear some dog-lovin, what a cutie! March 2000, wow. I still lived in Spokane, and in fact hadn't bought my house there yet. Hadn't started dating my (now) husband either. Although we had met...

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    1. No, just the one. All is well.

      Teddy was a doll. A long long time ago now.

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  5. I was thinking "oh, and LA did this" on another blog, but you came to the rescue afterwards. And that from a recovering LA! But I like plants; some never do. The past to now is a worthy meditation.

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