Hydrangeas and Cosmos Around the Patio Area

Our project is now almost 4 years old. This morning I saw a beautiful sight. I looked out the windows of my studio and there were 5 gold finches munching away on the cosmos. For the first 2 years, I never saw a bird at the corner of Greene & Berkey. I am thrilled how the former gravel parking lot is now a bloom with viburnums, hydrangeas, daylilies and an assortment of other vibrant flowers.

We have worked on various projects—the gallery, the large capacity rain barrels and the permeanable pavers parking lots during the worst economic crisis since the depression. Until very recently our county had the highest unemployment rate in the country. We applied for the Lowe’s/National Trust Grant for old schools and were very disappointed last week when we learned we didn’t get the grant. The money would have made it possible to get a new roof, insulation, repair the parapet, repair the furnace and replace the 1970’s aluminum windows. We are exploring other options now.

My studio is great. I love it and I am close enough to downtown that I can walk there to get a cup of coffee. Of course those of you who know me, know that there are very few places that I can’t walk to—especially true when it comes to getting a cup of coffee. Our rain barrels are amazing! We have kept everything green and growing and have not had to use city water at all this summer. The flag irises around our detention pond are flourishing. I planted one marsh marigold to see if it would grow and it is doing great. If it continues to grow, next year we will plant more.

Randy Working on the Gallery November 2009

East Wall - December 3, 2009

North Wall - Winter Trees

South Wall - Seasonal Paintings Lake Grange

In the Spring of 2010, we will be part of the Northern Indiana Art and Earth Tour.  My studio and gallery will be open Wednesday - Friday 1:00 - 6:00 and Saturday from 10:00 - 4:00.

From the West Looking East

We planted three Carolina Allspice, two Flowering Almonds and two Moses Fire Daylilies.  Later this week we will plant a few more Carolina Allspice.  This is the part that is hard, waiting for things to grow and fill in the empy space.

Completed West Parking Area

This is a view from the detention pond looking at our new parking area and where all the cubes of pavers were originally placed.  See previous posts.

The Planting Area to the West of Our Loading Dock

We planted 2 Blue Muffin Viburnum, 1 Emerald Lustre Viburnum, a Flowering Almond and a sea of Anemones.

West Parking Area

From Greene Looking at the Parking Area, Loading Dock

Now we are wondering how soon can we brick around the loading dock/balcony/back porch  area and put in new steps and a railing.

From the School Parking Lot Looking Across the Detention Pond

The paving project is finished.  We did a lot of landscaping on Friday and Saturday.  We even did a little contouring of the hill around the detention pond. We are really pleased with the way everything looks.  The pitfall with completing a project and being excited about how things are going is that it makes us want to do more.  We are thinking how soon can we get all the windows done on the north wall? (Photo below)

10 Windows That Need Our Attention!

I figured we (once again the collective we) had 293 hours into the project, but that is only the hours I remembered to write down.  I want to thank everyone who helped out - Matt, Thor, Mike and of course Ruth for that one paver she put down.  Without their hard work and encouragement I don’t know if we would have made it.  I also want to thank the  Elkhart River Alliance for the grant that made this possible.

To see the beginning of the project click on the link “Pattern 103 Small Parking Lots”

Next weekend we plan to put up the bike rack.  After that it is on to building our rain water collection system.

One Cube Left, 29 Gone

Who would have ever thought that one lone cube of pavers would look so good.

The Pile of Pallets Just Keeps Getting Bigger

We should know tomorrow if we have enough pavers to fill in that bare spot in the picture above.  If we don’t we will just have to make a planter I guess.

Only Two Cubes Left

The parking area is finished and the only area left to lay is by the loading dock.  Notice the two lone cubes of pavers in the background.

Look At All the Empty Pallets

The End of the Day

Pavers Ready to Go for Tomorrow

We have a cube of pavers laid out ready to put in place and then only two cubes left to lay.  The final step will be spreading the layer of torpedo sand or pea gravel to fill in the joints.

We are still on target to do a little landscaping next Saturday. We will be working on the area around the Service Berry  tree above.  I think we will be planting Blue Muffin and Emerald Luster Viburnum, Anemones and maybe a Carolina Allspice.

It has been a lot of work but well worth it.  Tomorrow we are suppose to have rain and we will see how the pavers work.  Also tomorrow we are picking up our bike rack.  Yeh!

Eastside Parking Area

Empty Pallets in the Background-Yeh!

Matt walking across our new parking lot and in the background are all the empty pallets representing 13 cubes of pavers.

Breaktime on the Back Porch

Lunch time on the back porch.  One day this will be a landscaped patio area and the loading dock will be a small balcony.  It is a great place to sit a view our hard work.

Just How Heavy Are They?

Ruth at Work

Ruth wanted to try her hand at laying the pavers.

The West Parking Area

By the end of Sunday we had 10 cubes of pavers left to lay.  I couldn’t pick up one more block and we called it a day.  We are all very impressed with what we accomplished.  It was a great feeling!

Patio Looking West

I am planting a lot of lavender around the patio and it smells wonderful.

Patio from My Studio

Looking East

Entry with Summer Camp Banner

Will the Plants Every Get Big?

August 2008 Looking West

August 2008 From Studio Window

Okay this is when incremental growth seems to be not fast enough.  We have three dogwood, 3 kinds of viburnum, a variety of hydrangeas, lavender and mock orange. We are still waiting for “dirt to grow” and are thinking about what kind of ground cover we want.  We know we don’t want grass and it is too sunny for pachysandra. Someday it will all be so lovely, I can’t wait!

The top picture was taken out my studio window.  It is too hot out there now, if only those dogwood and the maple were a little bigger.

It Is Amazing What a Package of Morning Glory Seeds Will Do

The Front Elevation Looking West September 7, 2008

We are looking for park benches and a bike rack.  To help fund our garden at the Lily Art Center we have created an online social business all the income generated from the site will be invested in projects like our neighborhood green spot.  Visit our online store at www.cafepress.com/TheEdges

Bike racks encourage bike usage and benches are an invitation for people to gather.

Greene and Berkey with Banners Early May 2008

In early March the Lily Art Center held a banner workshop led by Keith Romaine.  Each participant made several colorful banners and then everyone donated 2 of their banners to Greene and Berkey.  We now have 30 banners to display at our events. The banners are a great beacon, like colorful greeters waving at people passing by.