Our New Landscaping

I know I gave you pictures of our house last winter when the remodel was finished and snow was everywhere but this past week I've been working on the last few pieces of the project that had to wait until spring.

If you're looking for some landscaping ideas here are three things that have put that final touch on the project.

Exposed aggregate
You see here the front steps? They were designed and finished last fall in three separate concrete pours and the designer specified exposed aggregate which was a stroke of genius.

Regular concrete is grey and smooth (not that there's anything wrong with that) but with the exposed aggregate you get the lovely texture and surface you see here which is not only very forgiving of things like chips and scratches but it's good as a non-slip surface.

Concrete (and please don't call it cement--I come from a family of civil engineers, my Dad's specialty is fancy concrete mixes so calling it cement would get you put in the corner) is made up of rocks and sand and particles called "aggregate" and typically when you have a concrete pour they finish the surface and let the whole thing dry nice and smooth.

However, for this look after they finished the surface they covered it with a solution of sugar water which prevented the topmost layer from drying.

When the steps had set they rinsed off the solution which took with it the top layer of cement that hadn't set, exposing all the aggregate in the mix and giving it the lovely pebbled look you see here. We've had so many people comment on our front steps that I figured it was worth an explanation.

Modern planters
For our new look I wanted to put planters on the three steps but I was pretty specific in what I was looking for. Not only did I want something very contemporary but I wanted it to fit with the house without competing with the design.

One of the not-so-nice things about living in Alaska is that we don't have access to things like this locally and even when I went online looking for sleek planters the cost of shipping was more than the cost of the remodel practically. No, seriously, I found small planters 10-12 inches in diameter that I liked that were selling for about $50 each then the cost of shipping (if they shipped to Alaska at all) was nearly another $50. Per planter.

Of course this was all extremely irritating as many of these online stores were offering free shipping to people "in the continental U.S." Because Alaska apparently isn't on the North American continent. We're just kind of hovering there out in the ocean void between Russia and Hawaii. Our own private vortex or something. But I digress.

So I was looking at about $300 for three planters. Not going to happen.

Which is when I had my own stroke of genius. I bought three plain black plastic tubs for about $2 each, the kind that shrubs come in at the local landscaping nursery, and planted my flowers in those. Then I went down to Western Sheet Metal and asked if they'd fabricate three cylinders to slip over the pots as a metal sleeve.

I had the option of going with aluminum or a galvanized finish and while I preferred the aluminum (which matches the aluminum around our front door) it was more expensive and would have required riveting rather than a simple weld to hold it together--more labor to complete and not as pretty as a finished product.

In about a week they made three 13-inch by 13-inch cylinders for about $20 a piece. And what was also nice is that the plastic tubs I used were too short so I was able to buy some $.60 bricks which I put under the tubs to boost them up and make them as tall as the cylinders.

I put the metal sleeve over the tops of the plastic tubs sitting on bricks and got a cheap and pretty garden solution to the "Why can't I find a contemporary planter in this entire city?" problem.

"Grasscrete"
I don't know if you've heard of this before but there is this great new trend/product called "Grasscrete" which sinks concrete stones in the ground then fills in the surrounding dirt with grass seed so that grass grows up inside and around and between the concrete blocks.

Why? Well it's strong enough that you can drive on it or park on it yet still beautifully green. It is especially good for areas where erosion is a problem or for making gorgeous green driveways--that you have to mow (the downside I suppose).

When we had the first design for our remodel it called for enlarging our driveway and paving a path from the front steps down to the street and while I admired our architect I refused to pave over more of the property. I love green and didn't want to see our yard shrink as the asphalt crept farther and farther from its boundaries so as a compromise it was suggested we go with Grasscrete, the name for the original product I've just described above.

The only problem is Grasscrete tends to be rather expensive. I believe for larger areas they have molds they set into the ground then fill with concrete which requires all sorts money. I think the quote for that little stretch we have was about $2000. Ouch. So instead we went with our own plan. We got the landscaper to level the area out then we set our own pavers ($3 each at Home Depot) and planted around them with top soil and seed and the grass is just starting to come up.

The new grass is still rather yellow and the driveway is wet from the recent watering but you get the idea. That original area of grass was the natural footpath between the street and the house and had become so compacted over the years the lawn wouldn't grow well there but now with the homemade grasscrete we should be able to keep the green, keep the design and avoid problems with compacted soil. Brilliant!

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