shoot-scoop, the laura bruen photography blog » green

jimmy’s “green” pond project

laura bruen — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:28:35 +0000

I’ve been seriously slacking on the renovation posts, and I got a bit of slack for not posting Jimmy’s fabulous pond project quickly enough, so here we go!

Some of you may remember my Earth Day Post last year, when I spoke about the new planting bed beside the pond.

I am especially proud of this particular project as it is our first true “green” project! Meaning, we used almost 100% recycled materials found on the property!

The photo of the pond itself below is pretty much “as is” the day we moved in. Well, it was dirtier (of course) - but you can see that the waterfall is artificial rock with rust stains on it. This waterfall was always the reason for needed change for Jimmy (my fabulous husband. He tried to paint it to match the rock, but it didn’t really work well. I’ll be honest, if this pond wasn’t already here, it wouldn’t have been very high on my list of things to do, well, ever. But the way it is now, I can’t imagine not having it. Jimmy really did a fantastic job.

Without further delay…

Pond, April 2008 – we are in the process of adding outer rim of rock and planted some hydrangeas. You can see how small the hydrangeas are here! Just starting to get their leaves.

THIS year I filled up and cleaned around the pond only to find that it lost 2 feet of water overnight. Bad liner. Needs replacing. Ugh. Pain in the rear but needs to be done. Jimmy and I begin taking things apart and discovered the WEALTH of materials underneath a few inches of dirt surrounding the pond.

By the time we were done, we had found SO MANY. It was like a treasure trove!

I realize that this looks like I sat around and did nothing but take pictures, but trust me, I helped with this part, dismantling, that is. The rest was all him.

New liner.

First levels.

Hydrangeas starting up

Isn’t my man talented? Finishing touches on the waterfall

Waterfall done, planting beginnings.

Here is what my hydrangeas look like, pre-bloom!

Bloomed hydrangea!

Another time of day.

Spearmint for Mojitos!

Transplanted moss

I just really love these slate stones

Jimmy-rigged (pun intended) chandelier for dining alfresco!

Isn’t it just fantastic? I’m so proud! I can’t wait for everything to fill in.

eco-chic wrap

laura bruen — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:30:16 +0000

The wrapping idea from My 2008 Holiday Farm House Tour is featured on Coveiter’s Blog! How exciting! Many thanks to Julie and Lindsey, who run a fabulously sophisticated design blog, for featuring this. Please go check out Coveiter for some inspiration.

For those that may have missed it. Behold my gifts (to date, the only ones purchased, ack!) wrapped in Recycled W Magazine. Recycling it in this way made it easier to part with. I have a magazine addiction and a tremendously hard time parting with them. To read more about this idea and where it originated, check out my 2008 Holiday Farm House Tour.

“Holiday” (or any day, for that matter) Eco-Chic Wrap!!!

cell phone shot of the day

laura bruen — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:36:31 +0000

Beautiful bouquet I picked up today from Dearborn Farms (love that place)!

Aren’t they lovely?

farm update

laura bruen — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:06:08 +0000

I have not been a very good blogger these last few days, have I? The weather gets nice and my cell phone shots of the day start stoppin… .

Believe me, I have good reason. When I’m not working these days I’m gardening / doing extensive yard clean-up, weed control, and even found some poison ivy this year that didn’t exist the previous 2 years. Seriously, the grounds here are out of control!!! Weeds everywhere that need attention. In my (not so) spare time I took some photos of my grounds and plan to post a landscape plan once it’s finished. Since every story needs a beginning, The gardening plan must be the beginning.

I’ll leave off with a quick shot of my weeping cherry on it’s way out of bloom. I do actually have some images of the cherry in full bloom but not handy at the moment. You will notice the weeds underneath the weeping cherry, which I meticulously ripped out the previous year, only to be greeted once again this spring. Nice.

*Edited to add: At least weeding counts for good exercise!

happy earth day!

laura bruen — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:33:22 +0000

Today was Earth Day!

No better day to describe what’s happening on the grounds here at the Farm I suppose! In case you didn’t know anything about Earth Day, it’s the official day of the year where you’re actually supposed to do something good for this amazing planet we live on. Plant a tree, a seed, anything!

I’m addicted to Martha’s Gardening Section on her website. Has anyone seen the “Outdoor” Martha Stewart Living (extra) this year? The cover image was breathtaking! There are just too many awesome topics and I love reading about her gardens, both in the present especially the gardens at her old Turkey Hill Farm! I certainly have had my fair share of gardening mishaps, however.

I thought I would quickly jot down how I spent the day after getting my necessary work time in (of course )

Emma had her “Earth Day” party at school today and I provided, in lieu of cookies or some other sugary treat, some absolutely spectacular Aurea (Scotch) Moss! Emma’s classmates were the beneficiaries of these, and of course we planted some as well in our yard.

Here is the amazing Nikko Blue Hydrangea that I must plant once the weather warms up permanently. I have been told in the past that a good rule of thumb for planting outdoors is to plant once the danger of first frost is out of the way. Best to use Mother’s day as your guide. I’m sure many experts will have other opinions and I’ve planted some today despite this past Sunday being relatively cold at night.

This Nikko Blue is not going anywhere until after Mother’s day. I just started transitioning it to the outside during the day, however. Here is it’s lovely home currently – getting just the right amount of sun & shade.

But when you move it outside, my GAWD. It’s just stunning. I simply cannot wait to plant it.

Behold the current yard project. The weeds were getting ridiculous and this pond needs a makeover. I plan on removing that rock waterfall (probably move it to another location to reuse it somewhere else) and create my own out of rocks, although I am not sure if it that portion will get done this year. For now, I just wanted to get the weed barrier down and some plants around it.

The rocks are reclaimed from the yard (as in, I had to dig them out of previously defined planting areas) I plan on cleaning them up and am confident it will look *really* nice when completed – but for now, it’s just a jumbled mess!

I don’t have an official “before” but this is from the other day.

This area will be a work in progress. We worked on it today but I don’t have any photos of the progress just yet. Stay tuned!

We’ve also been sowing seeds.

Today I found a great website Ecologue! Awesome website with all sorts of green living ideas. Check out this article on Easier Ways to Honor the Earth .

Great article on composting too. Overall, a clean design and easy to navigate. 10 Stars!

And, while on the topic of composting, did everyone know that a favorite is giving away coffee grinds for your garden?

Yep. You guessed it.

Read that article.
Excerpt: “Using coffee grounds in a worm bin:
Worms fed with coffee grounds combined with other materials will flourish.”

Great! Worms all caffeinated up. Just what this farm needs, churn and burn baby. Sign me up!

the 11th hour

laura bruen — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:27:58 +0000

New film by our buddy Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo’s been involved in environmental awareness for a very long time and even has an Eco site. He has now produced 3 films. The 11th Hour, being the latest release. It has won two awards.

Click here to see the preview.

Leo has launched yet another website 11th Hour Action.