Monthly Archives: June 2012

Would you prefer a Fireplace or Fit Pit?

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Fall, Garden Structure, Uncategorized | Tagged , ,
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Cooler summer and fall nights are marked by evenings spent lounging around the fire with friends and family. In outdoor landscapes there are two solutions for fires, fireplaces and fit pits. Both have their benefits and drawbacks. Fireplaces are permanent structures requiring stricter regulations for installation, but can transform a patio to an outdoor living room. While fire pits allow you flexibly with placement and often are cheaper. Both can make a huge impact in a landscape and allow you to enjoy the outdoors further into the evening and season.

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1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

At home we have a large round cooper Smith & Hawken fire pit that is surrounded by 4 vintage butterfly chairs. I love both the look and how we can pull up more chairs as company expands, however I can go without having rainwater catching in the bowl and having to worry about my son around the low fire. What would you choose for your own home?

Front Door Containers

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C O N T A I N E R S, McCullough, My Work, Uncategorized | Tagged ,
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I finally remembered to get a photo of our front door container planted this year. Our landscape has a lot of greens, whites and purples, so I try to use the same colors in our container with modern influences taken from our home’s ranch architecture.

The plant combo this year is limited to four, but only three are currently visible. The height comes from Birds of Paradise (Nicola strelitzia) planted in the back and the trailing is Ipomoea batatas ‘Blackie Sweet Potato Vine’ and Tradescantia pallida ‘Pink Stripe’. What you cannot see is Asparagus deniflorus ‘Myers‘ – Foxtail Fern, which will take off here shortly and fill in middle section. Here is a photo of what the Foxtail Fern will look like (via Monrovia):

Here is a look at the containers compared between this year and last. The physical planters were changed to provide more contrast to the house color. Also these were taken early (2012) and late (2011) in the season so the density is not comparable yet.

 

Design 101: Rill

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Image from here

Rill Defined: A narrow sometimes linear, channel of water designed into a landscape and are often apart of a larger water feature. Rills occur naturally as signs of water erosion and have been used historically for water transportation.

Image from an older Home and Garden Magazine issue.

Designs: Rills can be used through a landscapes for multiple design solutions:

  • Highlight elevation changes
  • Enhance vanishing points and linear features
  • Water plants or fish, such has Koi,
  • Traditional to modern landscapes
  • With circulating water or reflection
  • Connect sections of garden or to provide guidance in a garden

 Examples of Rills:

A private garden in England

Image from here

Cleve West's Garden from 2012 Chelsea Flower Show. Image from here.

Image from an old issue of Home & Garden magazine

Image of the Serpentine Rill in Rousham, in UK. Image from here.

Image from here.

Stella McCartney Garden from Vogue Magazine.

Statue of David Harber that is highlighted with a rill

Image from here

Rill with water plants. Image from here.

Pimlico Online Magazine

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I want to give a quick call out for my wife and friend Jen, their online magazine just launched today. Check out Pimlico for inspiration for all your gifting and celebration needs! You will even see a bit of McCullough’s in the magazine for creating a terrarium and the summer BBQ was in our backyard.

Here is a peek at the Terrarium Article, but check out the magazine for all the details.

Planting Agave

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Last year I shared photos of a client’s antique urns planted with Agave Americana and Silver Falls Dichondra. Over the winter we stored the agave in our greenhouse and on Monday we replanted the plants in the same containers. You can see from the team planting how large both the containers and the agave plants are and how it impacts the landscape.

I will take photos of this years finished containers once the plants have more time to mature, but here they are again from last year.