Its spooky how fast time flies.

It does not seem like 4 months since my last blog post…how did that happen?!

Spock analysis?

“I believe it to be combination of work commitments, summer vacationing and the fact that we have been stuck in a temporal causality loop since last April ESP.”

“That would explain the sense of déjà vu I keep having whilst visiting and photographing the gulf coast…great work Spock”

Another quick camping trip down to the Texas gulf coast, or was it the same one?

A hobbit lost in the Shire.

The dunes and grasses made a great backdrop as the sun burnt down behind them.

My fire was created by a particularly large bag of charcoal… 

…Texas sized…just light the corners!

We were treated to some great sunsets and zero sandstorms this trip – thank goodness.

https://www.eastsidepatch.com/2015/07/carry-on-camping/

Pretty much our usual set up minus the life-threatening tarp and aluminum spears.

Further down the beach there was this driftwood beach shack – pretty sure it was inhabited.

If you are into small and alternative living spaces and gardens, be sure to check out some of the documentaries on Kirsten Dirksen’s channel, very entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/user/kirstendirksen

Here is an interesting 2 hour intro-documentary film she made featuring individuals with alternative concepts of inhabiting, cultivating and harnessing nature…from Marfa to Austin to LA:

https://youtu.be/l3R4XNandug

Even though there was just a slight breeze the sandwiches somehow managed to incorporate a rather disturbing amount of sand.

She really wanted to take home some of these colorful lightning whelks,

Sinistrofulgur perversum

 

but they were all inhabited with hermit crabs who are apparently very partial to these particular shells, who wouldn’t be?

Did you know they are the state shell of Texas?

“We have been stuck in a temporal causality loop since last April ESP”

“Okay Spock, I get it!”

Back in Austin:

I have recently been installing a design in the Shoal Creek area and decided to take a quick detour to check in on a corner lot planting I executed a couple of years ago.

The plantings were doing well…pity about the introduction of the bright red curb!

Come on ponyfoot…giddy on up and cover that red ‘thang’!

I Digress.

Back to my latest design and installation in Shoal Creek:

It started with another substantial corner lot with a ton of potential.

The front entrance was screaming out for better structure…the skinny concrete path was first on my ‘that needs to go’ list.

There where a lot of conflicting mediums and contours towards the front door and around the house that obviously needed consolidation to afford a nicer experience moving in/out of the property and around to a future side courtyard.

The biggest challenge of this scheme was this bare side yard (below) which was to be a courtyard.

The client wanted a sense of enclosure in the space without being totally and visually closed off from the street/foot traffic and neighbors.

A sloping grade (in two directions) added to the design challenge and complexity of the area…

a cunning plan was required.

Design and Visualization:

The before pictures are in the bottom right.

My goal in these visuals was to communicate a more naturalistic and widened entryway to the sidewalk…more in scale with the expansive dimensions of the area.

Vertical height (left and right) was to be achieved with three blue ice cypress trees and trunking yucca in the same color palette.

Contrasting grasses and architectural whales tongue agave are peppered and repeated throughout the scheme.

For the side courtyard the introduction of three large steel panels with plasma cut ‘windows’ and integrated planter boxes enclose the space without totally privatizing it. A new house trim color was introduced to reflect the steel work and add some visual punch.

Crude card mock-ups were constructed to determine the size of panels and cut-out dimensions.

The Normandy Phase:

Contouring and tear-out.

Prepping the area.

The existing sprinkler system had to be tweaked and electricity routed for pathway lighting.

Installation:

Flagstone positioned and

side courtyard is framed up.

Final Design:

Steel panels as viewed from the street. Two sentry Texas red oaks will present future shade at both ends.

You can see the significant drop in grade.

Dwarf miscanthus grasses will fill in the area in front, echoing the rust color of the panels in the fall and winter months.

The two planter boxes house baby, heat-tolerant opuntia (spineless prickly pear cactus).

 

Two stained cedar benches and a picnic table reflect the new cedar landing platform:

The stained cedar platform covers the existing concrete steps (they are still under there) and offers a larger landing platform on which to enter the side door.

The opuntia will quickly add architectural height and visually soften the sides of the steel panels.

They are also easy to ‘train’ by snapping off paddles where they are not needed or to keep the plant pruned to a desired height.

Steel already starting to Patina.

A small corner planting bed and a stock tank (naturally) offer some convenient herbs from the side door.

The steel work and burnt pine was fabricated and installed by the talented Andrew Miller (aminc13@gmail.com)

Silvermist flagstone/edging and Tejas black gravel all work together to echo the grey of the house and rust of the steel work.

The entryway from the sidewalk was dramatically widened to eat into the real estate of the turf and be more inviting.

Perimeter planting will blend the edges as it matures.

Some great colors on this flagstone.

Large swooping arcs and widened pathways replace previous right angles:

“Stop it!”

 

Stay Tuned For:

“The Funeral Pyre“

 

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intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
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