What inspires?... part 6

Nature's little gifts...


I live my life with a simple ethic...when you give to nature, it gives back to you 10-fold. It is a simple rule or law of Nature and one that I hold very close to my everyday practice.

(Photo: Honey Bee hard at work inside a Butternut Squash bloom)

I consider my design work and interaction with my clients as a way to teach people about Nature and when my drawing plans are followed, trees and shrubs get planted. In a way, I do a small part (one urban yard at a time) to help restore beauty to the land and help bring Nature back in balance through the trees I plant.

Anyway, it has been a busy Spring and early summer season for me, not much time to update my blog posts lately or do much gardening. But I thought I would share this one with you....

I was really hoping to get a chance to buy some Butternut Squash plants to place in the garden for this year... a favourite for making pies, breads, soups and just baking slices in olive oil with salt & pepper. But having been so busy, I did not have the time to follow through... I had Butternut Squash growing last year and one of them had rotted while resting on the soil. So, I left it in the garden for compost...

Somehow, someway, the seeds from that squash had matured and in this Spring season they sprouted in an almost perfect line to form 4 or 5 vines. It was almost like the garden heard my thoughts and followed through for me even though I could not get to it on my own. That is what I consider one of Nature's little gifts back to me.

(Photo on Left: The Butternut Squash Vines that seeded themselves.)

A Concrete example

A while back, I had the pleasure to work in the business of concrete thanks to a good buddy of mine that needed a summer labourer for his construction company. The work is not fun and can be very hard on your body over many years. I developed a huge respect for the men I worked with that do this job for a living.

The picture above gives a great example of a concrete pad that was just poured and set in place. The forms have been pulled off and the saw cuts have been made to help control any cracks that will form. Cracks you ask? Yes! When you live in a climate that experiences cold winters that go below freezing, chances are your concrete will shift slightly and crack....

The saw cuts are important to a concrete pad. In our North Eastern climate, we experience frost! Sometimes the soils are poorly drained as well and that makes frost an even more important issue to deal with.

We see in these photos a gravel base under the concrete which allows for water to flow away from the pad but it is not always perfect! Water can pool under the pad once the soil is graded back to the top finish layer of the concrete pad.

That is why the saw cuts are made in the smooth surface. I like to call it stress cutting... these photos show an example of flat-walk sidewalks. The cuts are done about every 5 feet (shown as white dust in the picture below created by the saw as it cuts the material) The idea is to control where the cracks will occur and actually lay out a cut pattern with geometry so that it looks like a design was followed.


Another thing you will notice in these photos is that the pad has been poured with a consistent thickness. You want a uniform thickness in the concrete to ensure no weak points should the pad be subject to frost or vehicle weight.

Generally for a patio in a residential application, 4 inches of concrete is acceptable...if it is a driveway, you may need a thicker pad and deeper gravel base to handle vehicle loads.

If you intend to have concrete installed around your home, make sure you ask the crucial questions to your contractor...ask about proper drainage, frost & saw cuts, surface finishes and thickness. See that the sub-base is properly compacted and that the concrete is of good quality.

How to tell about quality?... It should have a thick consistency like a cake batter... workable enough to shape it, but not runny and loose to where it flows like water. Also, if having coloured patterned concrete installed...make sure the concrete colour dye is mixed into the entire load of concrete.

Nothing is worse then a surface application of colour and experiencing a crack that exposes the plain colour under the surface. If you use salt to control ice build up in winter, make sure you seal your concrete to help protect it's finish!

Backyard Attraction

Simply put, most homes are designed as wide as possible and placed on the property in such a way that you end up with a long narrow pathway to the rear yard.


In the above photo we see an example of the side entry into a backyard. Before Lawrence Winterburn and I got our hands on it, it was a plain and uninviting pathway. Lawrence designed a great looking fence and gate detail to draw your interest as you approach the backyard access.


Stepping through the gate, a visitor is immediately greeted by planting that draws their eyes towards the back. The scene is completed by a water feature bubbling away to create visual and audio interest which invites you to walk down the pathway.


As you arrive into the rear portion of the home, the water feature welcomes you to create an inviting space to use at your disposal. What lies beyond there is slated for another article post.

The idea with pathways is to give them just enough appeal that a visitor feels invited to walk through the passage. There is a lot happening at the end of the path which immediately sparks curiosity and a desire to go find out what else there is back there. A path should have textures and lines created by plants or paving materials that frame and direct you along your walk.