What a great little oasis! Just needs a chilled bottle and some glasses on that table.

Thanks, flora!

Thanks, Flora!

Thanks for posting. It was fun looking through the photos (stunning photography, BTW) and seeing how you and your partner worked together, each designing the part that fit his own strengths. Lovely plants and obviously well-loved by the fauna.

Lovely!

Thanks, nhbabs & hostaholic ;-)

The garden is beautiful - flowers are gorgeous. And I loved that you used a geometric pattern for the path and small patio. I think for a tiny garden with narrow lines it works much better than a curve. Very well done.

I almost didn't read past the first part of the blog. Somewhat boring and serious overkill to use a large rototiller for a space that is only 10x20 feet. (Hand digging gives you a good workout and saves $/fossil fuel).

However, I'm glad to have checked out the results. The before and after pictures are great. You've improved your property significantly, getting that oil tank removed, and putting up the fencing. And the patio and gardens are simply beautiful! LOVE the colorful flowers and the overall color scheme.

Anyway, honest question I often wonder about, do people post their blogs here to discuss perennials or increase traffic to their blog site?

Really enjoyed your garden, Scotty! I always love to see a small space turned into a beautiful and useful garden area. You did a great job on it. I love the end result. Of course, I am a fan of Agastaches and Grasses, Copper trellis, and natural wood furniture. I would love to sit out there any day.

Terrene, I am always with you in your efforts to be eco- conscious. Good suggestion about the hand digging, but I can understand that there are many reasons why someone might not do hand digging, one being a bad back. I would add that sometimes when there is a reason not to dig it yourself, how much would it cost to pay someone else to do it instead of paying to rent equipment, I wonder?

Scotty did a GREAT good deed for the environment by getting that oil tank out of there, so kudos for that.

As for posting to increase traffic to a blog, I have no problem with that at all. There are so many fascinating blogs like Scott's that it is a great winter diversion. Discussion here can often be slow this time of year, but photos of beautiful gardens are always in season to me.

gonativegal: Thanks�so glad you liked the renovation :-) You're probably right about using curves in too small of a space�the straight lines make it seem much more ordered :-)

terenne: I totally agree�the first post isn't super-exciting�but I wanted to cover it, for reference and just to put all the info out there, as I always find the preparation portion of renovations always get glossed over�and they are the parts that always seem to be hardest to wrap my head around! I agree that the large rototiller was probably a bit too much for that size space�which we laughed about after it only took about 45 minutes to complete the job! However, the ground was so hard and compacted (after 80+ years of being under a garage) that I made the decision that I'd rather get it done with so we could move on to the other parts of the reno before the summer heat set it. I've actually hand-dug every other square inch of my property�so I don't feel any guilt about renting a tiller for one piece :-) Also, since I don't own (or use) a mower, leaf blower, hedge trimmer or any other yard machinery�I sort of feel that mitigates 45 minutes of tiller usage ;-) As for driving traffic to my blog�I guess it does, but since I don't make any $$$ off my blog, it's mostly because I've already formatted the content for my blog, so it seems silly to transfer it to GardenWeb, and make their servers bear the burden :-)

prairiemoon2: Thanks�so glad you enjoyed it! If you're ever in PDX, stop on by for a chat and some ice tea (and maybe even a few Agastache cuttings)! Oh yeah, I've done my fair share of hand-digging (just ask my neighbors�and my back)! I think it was the scope of this project that really spurred me to use the tiller�what I accomplished in 45 minutes easily would have taken me days and days of hand-digging�and let's remember, our time is valuable too�and my back certainly thanked me! For all my other projects, I still plant on doing them with a good old-fashioned shovel :-)

Thanks for the invite Scott I can't think of any circumstances that would predict a trip to the West Coast any time soon, so you'll have to just keep posting photos. :-)

I do have a few Agastache, and I enjoy them. I have had 'Honey Bee Blue' for a long time and it has surprised me by self sowing itself under a Maple tree in more than half shade. I love collecting seed and smelling that root beer fragrance they give off. I had 'Tutti Fruitti' but it didn't survive one winter for me. In 2010, I bought 'Ava' and 'Orange Flare' from High Country Gardens and 'Orange Flare' didn't come back in the spring, but 'Ava' did and I am enjoying that plant. In 2011, I tried rupestris from seed and that did very well and I am waiting to see if it comes back in the spring. I also have 'Purple Pygmy' that I just got and I placed it in a spot that was part sun and I wasn't thrilled with it's performance, so I am planning to move it to full sun in the spring and I think it will do better. I saw that 'Blue Blazes' when I ordered Ava and I didn't get it so now I will have to try it. Appreciate your report on how much you like it.

Well I didn't think the first part was all that boring. It might not be as exciting as the portions dealing plants and designing (very little is though, lol!) but it showed how much work you guys put into it. I thought the part about renting the rototiller was quite interesting- I didn't know there were companies that did that (probably wouldn't since I tend to hand dig all new beds- though I don't fault you any for choosing to use a rototiller!). It is nice to see a project unfold from start to end. Usually I only get "before" and "after" pics and get so wrapped up in the project that I forget to take "during" pics!

Since you don't make money off your blog I don't see any problem in linking to it. It's practically the same thing as people linking to their online photo albums anyway, but better since you can read the thought process behind the design and why the person chose to plant this or that or do something one way instead of the other.

Anyway...Great job Scott! Hope to see more in the future!
CMK

Hi Scotty, thank you for the reply. In general, I think rototillers are over-used, and that people don't realize how much carbon emissions result from lawn mowing, weed whacking, rototilling, etc. But it sounds as if you are quite conscientious about being "green" in your garden, and certainly the judicious use of power tools is a very effective approach at times. Especially in circumstances such as yours where the soil has a very poor soil structure. Plus you're probably not harming soil micro-organisms using a rototiller in soil that is dead and compacted and doesn't have much life to start with!

I hope people understand that my inquiries are not to attack but because of a genuine desire to have an honest discussion.

Lovely! Thanks for the inspiration.

Nice job, nice blog, nice photos, beautiful garden - wow! Thanks for sharing all this with us. Rather inspirational to see what can be done, and so beautifully in a small space.

Thanks!
Dee

Your photos are great, your design is lovely. What a great job on the blog and garden.