Stormwater Solution

With all the rain we've gotten in the VA area yesterday and today I thought I'd focus my post on water...

I participated in a workshop through the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) for their newest program called RiverSmart Homes. They have developed several programs to help mitigate, treat and hopefully lessen the amount of stormwater that goes into the sewer system and gets treated on site. Having the water re-charge the aquifers instead of eroding the streambanks is a huge goal, but an attainable one. It's also a beautiful habitat for birds, bees, insects and butterflies and a great amenity to look at!

One of the programs, geared toward contractor's is to install Rain Gardens for homes that have been through the DDOE application process and have received approval and grant money. The good news is that there are a LOT of homeowners who have applied and been approved. The bad news is that there aren't enough people to do the work!

This one day training taught us about the why's and how's of rain gardens as well as an afternoon session of installing one!

The first step before we even arrived on site is to do a "perk" test. This tests the percolation of the water in the soil. You don't want to install a rain garden in an area that doesn't drain well. So ensuring the soil drains within 24 hours is ideal, this is the hole (photo below) we used to test.



Here is the beautiful soil (photo below) we added to the rain garden we dug out. It was roughly 250 sq. ft. although it was a kidney shape, so not particularly easy to calculate for us "non math" people...This is a mix of compost, pine fines, sand and topsoil. Each mix is different and is based on site conditions.



Here I am (in pink!) adding the soil to the rain garden that we've dug out. Back-breaking work, but SO worth it!



Here is the finished product, lots of native plants, Viburnum, Columbine, Iris and Joe Pye Weed, these will all fill in and leave little soil exposed and will help take root to soak up all that rain!



Have any of you added a Rain Garden to your yards?

*Amy

Blue Heron vs. My Koi

Well, the heading should give you a clue that it was NOT a fair fight. When we first bought our house (it'll be 3 years in June) the previous owners had a pond, okay, a watering hole with a spitting fish. (That's me being nice.) It was really a hole in the ground with liner and some misplaced rocks. (Photo below)



But thankfully, being the uber-talented visionary landscape designer that I am (ego boost is needed today, continue to read...you'll see why) had a vision for the space. And thankfully, my husband a fellow tree-hugger and plant geek (through helping me in study in grad school) wanted the same things for this space.

His birthday present that August was a backyard overhaul. My amazing crew built us a pond, a REAL pond. I spray-painted the outline did a rough overview with my guys and they went to work, and we left town, gotta love delegating!



This was what we came home to! Don't mind all the liriope, they have all been changed, I will post updates as the season progresses.

The real reason for this post is our FISH. We each got a butterfly koi, mine a silver beauty who I named Silverado, yes, I named her, don't laugh, and Greg's was gold-no name, typical guy...She was beautiful, sleek and sexy, she would twist around in circles when we came outside.

She looked very much like this fish (photo below) from here



We go out every night when we get home to feed them. Often with a glass of wine we'll toss them their food, sit there and watch them eat and play as we unwind and talk about our day. For the past two nights I have been working late and Greg has been on fish duty. Well, last night he came into the kitchen with a VERY sad face. He was holding something in his hand...FISH SCALES. UGGGGHHHHHHH. He said "This is all that's left" and as my heart started racing faster I said "LEFT OF WHAATT??" Then promptly burst into tears. It seems that our pond has been stalked by this beastly bird (A Great Blue Heron) photo from Shari Green



So I spent the evening moping around and having Greg console me by promising to take me fish shopping this weekend. I plan to add fishing line to some of the pond, so it's unseen but will catch any other predators from fishing in my pond!

Happy Weekend to all and keep your pets safe!

*Amy

Giveaway @ La Dolce Vita

So although I only have a FEW followers, you should all know about this amazing lady and her most recent giveaway! The multi-talented & super sweet Paloma of La Dolce Vita is gifting up a cute notebook from Pretty Chic SF. I personally have a thing for the gray zebra print (photo below), but there is a style for everyone, so go check them out and leave a comment on her blog to be entered!



Even if I don't win I think they're too cute to pass up! But keep your fingers crossed! A sweet life indeed!

*Amy

Pastel Plant Perfection

Spring is such a beautiful time of the year here in VA, the weather is cool (almost TOO cool today), everything is BRIGHT green and all of my creativity is at it's peak. I get so inspired by seeing all the beautiful pastel colors blending together so beautifully, almost like nature's tapestry. While I was pulling plants for a customer's woodland garden I managed to snap a few photos of some beauties they were getting:

Bleeding Heart 'Candy Hearts'


Bleeding Heart 'Alba'


Foamflower I think this was 'Running Tapestry'


Do you have any of these in your yard? I'm off to work on a master plan, so I will leave you with those to enjoy for now.

Happy Monday! *Amy

Bake For Hope

If there is one cause that is close to my heart, it's Breast Cancer. My Aunt has survived it twice, she's one of 2.5 millions survivors (as of 2008)! I have clients who have it, one of my best friends mom's had it and sadly passed away because of it, thankfully none of our younger friends have been diagnosed, although with statistics saying 1 in 8 women will get the disease, I'm sure sadly it's only a time game. I have done "Race for the Cure" through Susan G. Komen in the past, but this year was intrigued by a flyer I saw called "Bake for Hope" . The Pear Tree Cottage, a cute shop in Vienna, VA where I have taught seminars is hosting the event, TODAY May 7th from 12-5. And we all know I LOVE to bake, so count me in!



Last night I whipped up these babies (photo below) from Martha Stewart's book "Cupcakes". They are her Strawberry Cupcake, however I made my own buttercream frosting and added the Pink Ribbon sprinkles to the top.



Here's a little behind the scenes baking and decorating process!

Chopped strawberries to be folded into the batter!


Mixing the batter with my AMAZING KitchenAid mixer, can't live without that baby!


Here I am folding in the strawberries, mmmm...


And then pouring them into the CUTE pink ribbon cupcake holders-just a side note, IF you should make these, they DO rise, so really only fill them 3/4 full. I had a few FAT cupcakes.


Finally, they were being frosted by me and sprinkled by my sweet husband. Honestly, I don't know many men that would put up with this nonsense! As if I have nothing else to do, aside from work an 11+ hour day, train for a triathlon, make dinner and then BAKE, haha, I guess I'm really good at overcommitting. Hey, at least I get it all done! Here they are, in their cupcake carrier from The Container Store before I dropped them off!



They were a HUGE hit, they've got TONS of great baked goods and all the proceeds go to a GREAT cause. So if you're in the area stop by! Have a GREAT weekend all!

*Amy

We put the FUN in Functional...

So I must say, although this project is ALMOST done we really have had a blast. My husband and I can do pretty much everything or nothing together and still have fun. I think that's how you know you married "the right one." This past weekend inspired by the GLASS going in (photo below) we decided to install our towel bars.



Now I'm sure most builders don't ever think about using the space the way a homeowner would, our towel bar (yes, ONE) in the master bathroom wasn't cutting it. Poor Greg had to hang his towel on the back of the door (boo) and it never quite dried (even bigger BOO!) Yes, I got the one bar (true princess!) We remedied that in the remodel and have installed TWO BIG towel bars, so they can both dry...together!

We measured out the space by holding up the bar and towel to see how far apart they'd need to be. We marked the plate that screws into the wall first to make sure they'd be level.



Once they were in fact level and evenly spaced we drilled away!



Here I am screwing in the base of the towel bar.



The first one is up and the second one is on it's way!



And here is the finished product:



We're certainly enjoying it! Let me know if you guys do? Any of you have Chrome? Or are you brass or brushed nickel people??

*Amy

So Fresh

As I was headed out the door this morning I spritzed myself with this, it's become my standby fragrance.



Sugar Lychee is the scent and the creator is a company called Fresh. I found their store while on a family trip to Boston a few years ago and fell in LOVE. I am NOT a big fragrance wearer, probably because of my job...landscape design...sliding down muddy hills in boots doesn't usually call for perfume...But this had me hooked. I was happy to find another store in New York on our annual girls trip and am thrilled they carry it at Sephora now, so I don't have to go TOO far to get it!

Their description of the fragrance is:
Top Notes: Grapefruit, Italian Lemon, Lime Blossom
Middle Notes: Lychee, Lotus Flower, Freesia
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Amber

Anyone else have a signature scent? Or are you mood dependent? They sell much more than just fragrances, so check them out!

*Amy