Tag Archive for: Landscaping

Earlier this week, I stepped outside to receive a delivery and was quite surprised at the sight that greeted me…

utility boxes

There were two men and a BIG hole in my landscape.

Of course, I knew that we had utility boxes for the phone and cable companies on our property.  But, in the 14 years that we have lived here, no one has ever paid any attention to them.

Some of you may wonder if I was angry that I had a huge hole in my front yard.

Well, I wasn’t mad.  You see, even though we own the property, I knew that utility boxes have an ‘easement’ that allows the utility companies to dig on your property without your permission.

In my work out in the field, I have encountered this often and when I design landscapes, I am careful to keep plants at least 3 ft. away from utility boxes AND keep a clear route to them from the street.

Now, utility boxes are ugly and no one likes to look at them.  But, you can add shrubs and other plants to screen them from your view.

utility boxes

BUT, be careful!  If plants are in the way – the utility company can pull them out.  The Red Yucca, above, would most likely be removed if work had to be done since they are in the way.

Be sure to keep a clear route to the street when hiding utility boxes.  

Purple Ruellia

A few of these Purple Ruellia are also in trouble if work needs to be done.

I would advise decreasing the lawn area by 3 ft. and planting the Purple Ruellia there and leaving free access for utility work that may be needed.

Utility workers

Utility workers will make reasonable attempts to protect your plants as long as they are not in the way.  They put a nylon tie around my Globe Mallow to keep it out of their way an put plastic down to protect the gravel.

It is normal to ignore the utility boxes, if you have them on your property and screening them out using plants is often, the first thing homeowners do when installing a landscape.

But, be careful where you place your plants.  Try to keep them at least 3 ft. off to the side of the utility boxes and NOT in front.

Because sooner or later, the utility company will have to dig a hole to repair and/or upgrade their wires.

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Yesterday, we received a box of my daughter, Rachele’s civilian belongings.  You see, as soon as she arrived at basic training for the Navy, she had to put all her clothes, shoes and other belongings into a box that was sent home.

An Unexpected Big Hole...

It was a clear sign of her leaving behind her civilian life and the beginning of her military career.

In the box was also her cell phone charger.  But I couldn’t find her cell phone.

Of course, leave it to my street-smart oldest daughter, Brittney, who simply looked inside one of the shoes where it was safely tucked away.

We are hoping to get our first letter from Rachele this week.  We can’t send her any letters until we receive a letter from her because we don’t get her address until she sends us that information.

We all have written her letters and I just bought a lot of stamps – so I am ready!

Church Landscape Renovation 1 Year After…

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted for a few days (or maybe not 😉  I feel somewhat incomplete when I have gone more then three days without writing a blog post, but sometimes life gets a bit crazy or sometimes I go out of town.

I went away for a few days to a ‘mystery’ location.  I had a great time and was able to take some pictures of some beautiful potted plants, annuals, perennials and shrubs.

Some of you may be able to guess where I have been from my photos….

Pink and White Cyclamen

Pink and White Cyclamen

Beautiful potted plants, Easter Lilies, Pink Primrose and Trailing Variegated English Ivy

Beautiful potted plants , Easter Lilies, Pink Primrose and Trailing Variegated English Ivy

Perennial bed full of winter-flowering perennials

Perennial bed full of winter-flowering perennials

Vegetables used as ornamental plants.

Beautiful potted plants , Vegetables used as ornamental plants.

Have you guessed where this is yet?

Let me zoom out a bit in the next few photos…

I love Icelandic Poppies, don't you?

I love Icelandic Poppies, don’t you?

beautiful potted plants

Mt. Lemmon Marigold

beautiful potted plants

Japanese Evergreen Pear Tree

beautiful potted plants

I love daisies, don’t you?

Okay, I think this photo will be a dead giveaway…

beautiful potted plants

A pair of ‘swans’ amidst Blue Pansies

Do you notice the castle in the background?

I was at Disneyland!

Now don’t think for a minute that I didn’t bring my family along…

Can you tell that the sun was in their eyes

Can you tell that the sun was in their eyes?

My husband and I decided to surprise our kids with a 3-day trip to Disneyland.

When my father-in-law died last fall, my mother-in-law received an unexpected life insurance payment from his few years on the Air Force.

She gave some the insurance money to each of us.  So, we decided to use the money to treat ourselves and the kids to a fun vacation.

my daughter

We didn’t tell the kids anything about leaving on a trip.  I had my daughter, Rachele, take the kids to church and I packed up both our cars while they were gone.

When they got home, we told them to get in the cars and we took off.  They had no idea what was going on.  Gracie (above) was in the car with my husband and I.  She guessed where we were going within 3 minutes.

However, Kai and Ruthie, who were in our daughter’s car, couldn’t figure it out.  They kept calling us on the phone, trying to guess.  About two hours later, we stopped for gas and told them where we were going.

Kai

Kai is a little wet after Splash Mountain.

We had a fabulous time and stayed until the park closed each day.

California Adventure

We even spent a whole day at ‘California Adventure’ as well.

Disneyland

I remember going to Disneyland quite often as a child and teenager.  We had taken our two oldest girls quite often when they were young.  In fact, it was our oldest daughter’s idea to go to Disneyland with the younger kids because years ago, we had surprised her and Rachele with a trip there as well.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the gardens were.  I didn’t remember them looking so nice, so I took quite a lot of photos.

There were some great examples of plants that look great in winter for our climate and a unique way to use vegetables.

I’ll share more plant and family photos once my husband emails them to me from his iPhone 🙂

Confessions from a ‘Plant Nerd’