Remodel/Rehab/Roses

This week the builders replaced the water-damaged section of sub-floor and re-framed the shower and shower bench.   They removed the old shower ceiling.  The new ceiling will be higher. 
Shower window becomes door...
Shower door becomes window...
 Ceiling drywall repair in progress
 Next is building the arched top of the entrance, and a decorative arched panel on the back wall.  
They started by planning it out on paper.
We went through a whole lot of discussion on where to locate niches for shampoo and soap.  The original places for niches we had picked would not work.   We tried various places and various sizes and various configurations.  The new shower fixture is quite large and elaborate, so we ended up deciding on a single niche with a shelf, off to one side and below eye level (grey rectangle with black line in the middle). 
 The garden provided considerable relief from the ordeal of construction.  We got a good rain on Thursday, something like 1.3" (33 mm).  I got around to removing a Rhodanthemum hosmariense from a place just too dry for it.  Even after 1.3" of rain, the spot was still powdery dry. 
Throw it out, or try to rehab it?  
It should look like this.  This plant is just about to get going on its winter display of white daisy-like flowers. 
I thought to try rehabbing the dried up one.  There was lots of dry dead growth, but there was also fresh new growth sprouting. 
 I trimmed off most everything except for a bit of new growth and replanted it in a spot that gets irrigation.  It got a deep soaking of collected rainwater.  
We'll see if it can recover.  This is a really tough and long-lived plant.

Roses.  December produces some of the prettiest.  A couple of inches of rain, mostly sunny days, and the mild late autumn sun makes colors rich. 

'Golden Buddha'.  I dug this rose out last spring and discarded it.  It came back from the roots, for which I was grateful.  
'Tuscan Sun'
'Firefighter'
 'The Endeavour'
 'Comtesse de Provence', peaking through the oak tree:
 'The Poets Wife'
 And 'Home Run'
 Surely this is the last Daylily of the year?  It is December, after all. 
 Grevillea 'Superb' of course blooms on and on, and the bees buzz and buzz

Comments

  1. A shower with a window? That sounds quite luxurious. Can you see your garden from there? That's one thing I miss in my bathroom: a view. Hope the niche debate is the biggest of your worries.

    Your roses are looking lovely, although I am unfamiliar with these varieties. I wish my daylilies would flush in December! I have never seen them in bloom because I am always in the States in the summer. I need to try other very early or very late varieties.

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    1. There's a view of trees and the hills beyond, and sunrises. Fairly bucolic. The more important factor is a window brings light in the shower and the room as a whole.

      The niche thing was one of those remodel problems that become etched in the memory, and you never look at the thingy in question whatever it might be, without a twinge of...something. Goes with the territory.

      Or repeat blooming cultivars, though for good repeat it is important to prevent seed pods from forming. Or try a deep soak and a hit of fertilizer when you get back, and see what happens.

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  2. Glad to see the bathroom remodel is making progress. So wonderful to see the roses! You might find this hard to believe, but in some areas of my garden, my soil is so sandy and well-drained, it often looks a lot like yours even after a few inches of rain.

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    1. I'm trying to understand the concept of "a few inches of rain". You mean within the same year?

      On the whole good drainage is...good, don't you think?

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  3. Having sprung from the roots - that rose will be a shining star. Obviously likes your garden.

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    1. It's a great little rose and has been for years, but it can blackspot so very badly that one day I pulled it in a fit of disgust. It forgave me! :)

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  4. Steady progress is good! We got approval from the city to proceed on our proposed kitchen renovation late Friday and the architect's first drawings arrived the day before. We're getting closer to launch and now that it's more real, I'm getting nervous.

    Your roses are so fabulous. Mine don't belong in the same genus.

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    1. Oh, the excitement begins! Congratulations! Your project is much more complex than ours, but the results will be more dramatic and make a bigger impact as well. I hope you blog it a bit. Your husband being savvy about building stuff will help in making sure it is a great success. There's always the garden (or Village, or Roger's, or...) to escape to when the chaos gets too much.

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  5. Just thinking about doing a remodel gives me a headache. It looks like you have it all under control. Ahhh it is so nice to see blooms this time of year. Your roses look fabulous especially the one you tried to eject from your garden. Good luck with the plant you are rehabbing. It looks like it might just make it.

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    1. Thank you! I hope the plant does make it. It had a good healthy root system.

      One of the best things about the remodel is that there is a layer of dust on everything in the house, but I don't have to do anything about it, because more dust will be added the next day. Hah, ha!

      Roses are a joy that never fades. When I was taking the photos the fragrance of several of them was swirling around me...sweet!

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    2. ugh, the thought of renovations ... but definitely worth it in the long run. I feel confident that Rh will recover, I hope I'm right(?) flowers gorgeous, especially the grevillea. I never cease to be amazed by their complex shapes and colours.

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