Trees (for Earth Day)

Trees.  We finally bought some yesterday!  We cut ALL of them down out of the yard last year as they were either scraggly or useless bushes with ugly foliage. Half our backyard was taken up by overgrown Cotoneaster.

Note we actually had removed a row of these suckers on the far right.  The whole yard was filled with them. 

These ubiquitous bushes in Calgary are just stunning for about 5 minutes in the fall when the leaves turn a fiery red.  The rest of the year, they are patchy green, poky and nearly impossible to remove.  The story behind them is that they helped save countless farms during the Depression here on the Prairies, with years of severe drought conditions.  Those farms with Cotoneasters (which are drought resistant) were apparently protected from dust bowl conditions.

As I mentioned in the last post, we are in the 'brown' gardening stage here in Calgary. Garden centres are only just starting to open and stock summer plants.  I have been dying to go to Countryside Landscapes & Gardens in Dewinton, about 30 minutes south of downtown since we saw them at the Home Show back in February. This one seemed right up our alley - modern design, no kitschy garden ornaments, and they sell terrariums!

Find the kids in the Potentilla

They opened last week so we made the trek out there yesterday and spent most of the day browsing through their beautiful store.  The kids played in a neat little playhouse, leaving us some kid-free time (rare) to browse at our leisure.  We had decided on an Amur Maple for the backyard.  The criteria are that the tree had to be climbable/shady/fairly quick growth/no annoying sticky leaves or useless berries. The Amur Maple seemed to have a beautiful canopy and those little helicopters, which are hours of fun for parents and kids. 

Amur Maple in Fall

We found one in the tree nursery and it was actually pretty scraggly (there's nary a leaf on any of the trees right now, which actually makes it easier find the shape we want).  One of the sales staff told us that they always look slightly scraggly and only when they mature (like above) do they start to look good.  So we ended up with something I had never heard of: a mature 15 foot Mayday (Bird Cherry).  The lines of the tree are lovely and it has beautiful fragrant white flower clusters in the spring with small black chokecherries in the summer (can I eat these? Or are they useless berries?).

Spring flowers on Mayday

Ours is the one with the pink tag (I should really learn how to add an arrow)

We also found a tree we had been stalking in garden stores across Calgary for over a year now. These little Scotch Pines were raised and pruned in the Countryside nursery and are about half the price of others we've seen in the city.  We're planting him somewhere in the front yard.

Hiding under the 'hats'

I also bought a Double-Flowering plum, which I have coveted for years.  I took Ikebana courses for a couple of years and it was a staple in the class.  

Apparently this bush needs lots of sun and is most successful when it's on its own. Hmmm.  May have to make another kidney-bean garden for this guy on the front lawn. 

The trees will be delivered and planted in a couple of weeks.  Very exciting!  

LP  

The Sorbet Seelecshion (with french accent)

My laptop crashed last week.  It's 6 years old and is too hot to even keep on your lap.  I think that's like 99 in laptop years.  My mac guy was fortunately able to recover everything (he's amazing - and didn't even lecture when I told him I hadn't backed anything up on it in over 3 years). Hence the late posting on the pastel door colours.  


Here's a little insight into Calgary weather.  These pictures were taken three days apart.  And that brown/tan permeating the images? That's spring in Calgary for you.  I actually did 6 hours of brown gardening a few weeks ago - raking the dead grass, removing dead leaves from the garden, searching the ground for sprouting bulbs.  Personally, it's the toughest time of year for me here. 

BM Bird's Egg - I was surprised how much I liked the blue... 

BM Lemon Meringue - We both liked this one as a permanent option for the garage door. 

Ooo look!  It's snowing (with flakes the size of ears)! In April! (deep breath) (BM Surf Green)

So thoughts?  I'm partial to the mint for the front door and the yellow or blue for the back and garage doors. At least we know how the colour will look in the snow. 2moremonths2moremonths... 

LP

House Colour Trial #1 = Fail

What I wanted was a punch-coloured door.  We did a trial test of the house colour and the door this week on the garage.  Turns out more like a punch in the face .  This black/charcoal base is tricky.  It can look subtle and almost like a shadow with the right colour trim/door but totally offensive with the wrong colour.  See below image.

BM Aruba Blue - cover your nose

 Back to Benjamin Moore and this time for some softer colours. 

Our inspiration... 

Hubby wasn't fond of going this light. I love the simplicity of this exterior.  (Ottawa Citizen)

Definitely traditional but the overall effect is cool and inviting.  (Lavender & Lilies)

This mint door is divine. (Go Haus Go)

Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm not a fan of subtle colour.  So a pastel door is a big step for me.  

We agreed on three that didn't look too much like combinations of food, holidays or insects (inspired by bees, After 8 mints, Halloween etc.) - settling on Benjamin Moore's Bird's Egg, Surf Green and Lemon Meringue (the last one is doomed).


Trial is tomorrow.  Sure glad we have a crappy garage door that will likely undergo a number of colour tests.


LP

What Lies Beneath...

One of our biggest fears is what lies beneath the vinyl siding on our house.  I'm always spouting off to my clients about the evils of vinyl siding. And yet.... we have old vinyl siding on our house.  Removing the siding has been a big stress for us and an unplanned expense (if we need new siding) that makes it more conducive to just leave the damn stuff on. 


It was fairly mild yesterday, and maybe hubby just felt the need to rip something apart, so he took off a portion of the siding on an inconspicuous side of the house.  

Apart from a few nail holes, looks as good as 55 year old siding can look!  (It was originally red)

LP

House Colour Trial

Hubby picked up some paint colours today at Benjamin Moore to try on the house.  The first couple were too light, so he went back to pick up a black range.  I've been thinking of the downside of painting a house black or dark black grey:

• trouble finding the house at night
• ear marked as local 'haunted house'
• turn house into the inside of the sun in the summer

Lot's to consider here.  Anyhow, here is the results of our quest for the perfect black/grey + drama door.  Hot damn I'm lucky hubby and I have the same taste in colours/decor/design.

The new black roof and downspouts from our hail damage claim.  Current state: challenged.  That dirt patch on the right is not a grave, it's a garden. I keep telling hubby we need to make it bigger, otherwise it looks like something fishy is going on our house.

Picking out colours at Benjamin Moore.

This is the base colour we settled on for body, trim and sash: BM Wrought iron. And this aqua (BM Aruba Blue) sample is an option for the doors - Gloss finish of course. This blue is my fav.

How about a pink door (BM Peony) - of course this received top votes from the girls.

BM Mandarin Orange.  This one is hubby's favourite.

BM Tangy Orange.  This one is actually not as 'poppy' as I had hoped.  Hubby thinks it would make us look like we're trying too hard to be cool.

Apparently this was my colour inspiration for the doors.  Thanks Lalaloopsy.

LP

House Colours Part II

So it's been a while since I've posted.... Because I've been WORKING.  At least 12 hours a day since January.  And you know what happens when you work 12 hours a day with between 4 to 6 hours of sleep per night?  You get really sick.  Sick enough that your doctor tells you to take a month off, but you say  no way, two days, then meet in the middle at a week. I see that she is rolling her eyes while she writes me a prescription.  

So this week, for the first time in my life, I'm on sick leave for a bad virus/exhaustion.  This leaves me oodles of time to plan for the trillions of things we need to do to our house this year that I haven't had time to do.  


First on the list is to finalize house colours.  I was in Cabo last week with the fam and my bestie and when I wasn't working (seriously - it's been bad), I was grilling her for help with house colours.  She's pretty straight forward with things. I told her I couldn't find something that works with the brick wall in the front.  So she was all "so paint it out".  Hunh.  


That opens up a whole new world for me and colours as what I really want is a darker neutral house with a pop colour door.   And I'm still digging the all one colour house (body, trim, sash) with a punch coloured door like lime or smurf blue. Jay wants to paint out the garage door in the same punch colour. (smart) I've assembled a collection of my favourites:  

Modernizing a bungalow - Carolina Eclectic

Grey with a dash of pink - Holiday House Rules

The minimalist house - Homearchitecturetrend.com

Black and White Cube House, Toronto - The Most Beautiful Houses in the World

This one is my favourite: Chalet in Clearview, Ontario:Trendir

I still like this one too...

All Grey House - Amunt

LP

Tagged!

I received this tag a few weeks ago. (Thanks Heather)


Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Are jokes about "there is no Fight Club" still funny?

 11 random things about yourself:

1. I'm obsessed with octopuses. And other oddly adapted animals like the Aye Aye and Kiwi.  
2. I cannot comprehend the logic in why people replace original building materials with new inferior ones (ie wood windows for vinyl, wood floors for laminate)
3. I always take on way more than I can handle. Then get overwhelmed and just end up watching bad tv and drinking wine.
4. I love road trips.  One of my lifelong dreams is to rent a winnibego with my closest girlfriends, visit the 'Biggest of [ball of string, honeybee, logger]" along the way and wind it all up with a beauty pageant somewhere in Texas. 
5. I have a fear of revolving doors.   
6. I am terrible at mailing things.  Abysmal.  I have packages waiting to be mailed in my house that I should have mailed 7 years ago (through 4 moves)
7. I believe that most ailments can be cured with local honey and fish oil. 
8. I have phone phobia (is there an official name?)
9. My house is for the most part, clean and my closets are neurotically organized (colour coded and labelled).  But my car is always a disgusting pigpen.  
10. I have dance parties with my kids in the kitchen every night while making dinner. 
11. I love chips. 

What is your #1 best memory – the one that will always make you smile?
Oh, so many # 1 best memories.  One was finishing a 10 day hike in the Stein Valley, BC, when I was 16 after being lost for 4 days.  


If you could do anything (career wise), and money was no object, what would that be?
I love what I do (heritage consultant / conservation specialist) but.... probably a naturopath. Then I could encourage more people to eat local honey and fish oil. 


What is the most awesome place you’ve ever visited?
Comanche National Grassland in southeastern Colorado is the most spectacular place on earth. I worked there for 4 summers in Grad school and try to go back every year.  


What is your go-to comfort food?
I'm a big fan of rice crackers and hot sauce. I lived on it when I first moved out of my parents' house at 22.  


What is your guilty pleasure (that you’re willing to admit to in a public forum?)
I have an unhealthy addiction to Mamma Yamma's tweets (@mammayamma). She's a yam puppet on kids CBC. I'm in my 30s... 


Favourite way to relieve stress?
Hot yoga.  I think about going a lot.


Favourite book?
Tale of Two Cities. 


Favorite movie?
The Sweetest Thing with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate. When Harry Met Sally. I am hoping Hunger Games will be added to this list {please don't be crappy}.  


What are you good at that hardly ever gets recognized? (example, are you a masterful karaoke singer? do you play a mean harmonica? is your hidden talent hopscotch?)
I'm quite unusually skilled at making children's Halloween costumes using primarily glue and iron ons. 


What did your 10-year-old self want to be when you grew up? Do you still want that? (Are you that?)
From a very young age I wanted to be an archaeologist.  Then I grew up, became an archaeologist, and didn't want to be one anymore.  I used to bury toys in the fall in my dad's garden and dig them up in the spring. 


What's holding you back?
I don't like digging in the snow. 





LP

A Break from the Present

My mom says the 70's were boring.  I don't know.  Looks like that guy with the moustache lacking irony, with the hot chick drinking gin & tonic's midday on the back of a hay truck are anything but boring. 

I think my love of mid century period spurs from a fascination with our society's abandonment of the traditional model of everything during this period.  How does this...

Grace Presbyterian Church - Calgary (1912: Gothic Revival) (Sean Perrin)

Change to this...

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Calgary (1968-69 - Expressionist)

What happened to our society that made us rethink an entirely new way to live, eat, pray? Burn our bras? Protest wars. Sit wherever we want on the bus? Colour our hotels butter yellow?

Holiday Inn - 8th Ave Downtown Calgary (Delcampe.com)

Modernism in the west began in earnest after the Second World War. And the initial rolling out of post war mortgage and educational programs, suburban development, embracing this new modern aesthetic were accomplished with military precision. The generations who lived and experienced a prolonged period of wars and depression (1913 to post WWII) probably yearned for a break from this past.  But despite an embrace of modern in the early 1950s, there was an undercurrent of entrenched traditionalism and conservatism. A lot of women didn't work after marriage.  


But it was the next generation in the 60' and 70's, who really shook things up with music, sex, drugs. And architecture was radical and experimental and expressed a cataclysmic shift in values of a society who were eager to formally break from the past and redefine a new future. 

A perfect hyperbolic paraboloid roof - Waikikian Hotel Lobby, 1960s (Sourced from a Flickr group on hyperbolic paraboloid roofs - amazing)

We lived in a condo for a few years downtown Vancouver and when we moved in, one of our friends gave us an interior design magazine for apartment dweller from the 1970s as a housewarming gift. 

What really strikes me about the following images from the issue is how the 'radical' was so mainstream.  And what a stark contrast with our society today (which, when you think about it, has really reverted back to this conservatism the previous generation had fought so hard to shake off).  Can you imagine a  key party spread set in a bedroom in Dwell?  It seems absurd. Yet, there's an overtone comfort and connection in these images that seems to be lacking today. 

And what?  

Look at those goofy  plates. And the lobster on a bed of grapes. 

Imagine this image in today's interior design context - complete with the stoned guy with the Puerto Rico t-shirt and rainbow window art? 

Every image contains some combination of moustaches, booze, sex, feasts or cigarettes (for my fellow gardener bloggers).

This time the alcohol matches the couch.  

LP