porches + plants

My tulips I planted in the boxes are popping up now. They are very fragrant when they are open. On a still day you can smell them when you walk on the porch. I never thought of tulips with a strong fragrance.

I had bought the rain chain over the internet at Overstock.com. There is also a website devoted to them that I looked at... http://www.rainchains.com/ There is a catchbasin under the rocks that links to the deep drywells in the front yard. We seem to be alternating between beautiful sunny days and days of soaking. Hopefully our newly seeded lawn is not drowning.


The concrete guy did a good job finishing the stoop. I had chosen these tile leaves at Seattle tile and we have fish in the back stoop.

The Nandina "Moyer's Red" seems to be doing okay. I was concerned because there are a lot of leaves on the ground around it. It seemed to be in shock for the first couple of weeks, but I think it's settling in now. The color is beautiful.

Neil put in a bench outside the back door. I have eaten lunch out here a few times with my back against the post. It's always in the sun.

mt. baker neighborhood - flower boxes

I went for a walk in my neighborhood the other evening. Only 3 blocks north of us, the house prices quickly triple and quadruple. Everything was just popping with fall colors. When I returned home and was reviewing my photos, it was interesting to see some patterns. Many of the houses I photographed had flower boxes on the houses below the windows. Not all of them were filled, but they all gave some depth to the elevation with their shadows.





At Ross Chapin Architects, our standard front porch rail incorporates flower boxes. They add a nice accent to the house and tend to be easier to maintain. We will be using this detail on the Karina as well and I can't wait to fill it with bright red flowers.