A Precipitous View
The kitchen got a spring autumn clean one day last week. I detest cleaning. Kitchens and bathrooms especially. Why can’t housework be more like gardening? One invests time and energy on a new border and, unless something nibbles or tramples.. or the weather doesn’t play ball.. or the plants don’t like the soil.. OK, maybe it’s not quite a given.. but GENERALLY.. your not inconsiderable effort is rewarded with growth and things look a whole lot better next year. Cleaning is just not like that. From the very second you step back to admire the job well done.. it all starts to go downhill. I hate it.
And was my day about to get any better? No. In the middle of cleaning the kitchen the buzzer rang from the intercom on the gate.
“It’s the scaffolders. For the chimney?”
Well just hold it right there. Can this be serious? Yes, I knew the chimney was going to happen soon. But TODAY? We’re not ready. How can someone just turn up, expect to wrap your house in scaffolding and NOT EVEN LET YOU KNOW??? And yes, the level of umbrage does indeed justify the use of all those capitals. Hard on the heels of the initial consternation, two thoughts:
1. There are plants underneath.
2. There will be scaffolding in the frame for the End of Month View.
![Chimney Repair 010 Wm[2]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Chimney-Repair-010-Wm2.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Gratuitous industrial scaffolding shot
A rope and pulley for hauling up bucket loads of cement. Not, as Mike had feared, an untimely end for those who might fail to pay the bill.
But for every cloud there is indeed a silver lining. A view of the Precipitous Bank as you’ve never seen it before and, given luck and a following wind, won’t see again. First though there was the problem of how to get up there. If my fear of heights was as profound as my fear of water it would be a non-starter. But as it was, I tried. Twice. The second time slightly higher up the ladder than the first. And boy did it wobble. In the end there was nothing for it but to follow the age old advice, fix my eyes firmly upon the house wall in front of me and grit my teeth. On the third attempt I made it.
![The bank 031 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/The-bank-031-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
The bank, from the very top level of the scaffolding.
The view from here is interesting. There are more gaps than are visible from the ground but that is OK. Having had so many plant failures in this garden I now rarely buy more than two or three of anything new. If they survive the first winter and continue to thrive I can either propagate from the originals or purchase additional plants to add to the clump. The gaps will allow for the infill. But already the tapestry of colours, foliage as well as flowers, is beginning to knit together which pleases me greatly, even though there is still a very long way to go.
![Gaura lindheimeri 'Geyser Pink' 001 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Gaura-lindheimeri-Geyser-Pink-001-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Californian poppy, Eschscholzia californica and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Geyser Pink’
Back on terra firma a sigh of relief.
And quite possibly a large glass of something too.
![The bank 033 Wm[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/The-bank-033-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
![Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' 003 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Rudbeckia-Goldsturm-003-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
The rudbeckia have been underplanted with Verbena rigida this month.
![Cornus kousa 'Satomi' 014 Wm[2]](https://i0.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Cornus-kousa-Satomi-014-Wm2.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Cornus kousa ‘Satomi’
Autumn colours now abound. Orange..
![Saxifraga stolonifera 004 Wm[1]](https://i0.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Saxifraga-stolonifera-004-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Saxifraga stolonifera
..and rich tints of burgundy. This one puts me in mind of a Scottish plaid.
![Iris foetidissima 002 Wm[2]](https://i1.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Iris-foetidissima-002-Wm2.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Something has indeed been nibbling..
Iris foetidissima
![The bank 030 Wm[1]](https://i2.wp.com/www.rustyduck.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/The-bank-030-Wm1.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
September
August
In terms of actual work this month we’ve done more clearing, most notably in the foreground of this usual view. It will develop into a white border in the fullness of time. The collapsing heap of day lilies (upper left quadrant of the slope) has finally gone too.
I still don’t know how I made it up that ladder. There’s another level again above what you can see.
Linking up with Helen’s End Of Month View (here) at The Patient Gardener’s Weblog. Click through to find out what other gardeners are up to this month, hopefully with their feet placed firmly upon the ground.
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Your slope is looking lovely, and the autumn light is so beautiful. I’m afraid you wouldn’t have got me up that ladder. My knees would have turned to jelly and I wouldn’t have got even half way up; but it was worth it, you can really see how steep your slope is and how well everything is growing. I used to always buy plants in large numbers but now I just buy one or two for the same reasons as you.
I’ve tended to go for things that spread, persicaria and rudbeckia (if they survive) and hope the drifts of perennials and grasses will develop themselves over time. I’ve also brought in things I had in abundance elsewhere, like hardy fuchsias and the ubiquitous crocosmia, which give me a feeling of maturity already on parts of the slope.
Just looking at the photos of those views from on high made me dizzy. Nice to get an alternative view, but I like the ones from the ground more 🙂
I love the Eschscholzia and Gaura together. I think pink and orange or pink and yellow can work really well together. I have Heuchera Paris and St Johns Wort together and it looks fab. Love the autumn colours on the Cornus too. Not really ready for autumn, which is a problem since we are a month into it…
Great views and plants Jessica.
Thanks Julieanne. The Californian poppies have been a revelation this year, especially when I thought I’d lost them all at the start. They will definitely feature again next season. They’ve looked great against a maroon penstemon and now the gaura and brighten up even the dreariest day.
What a brave girl you are for going up that ladder, and what a brave girl indeed for being able to get down again! I have learnt a lot from you as to what to plant with what, and hope to apply this learning to our courtyard project, which, hopefully, should start soon. To come out of the front door and see flowers instead of piles of builders stuff, chickens, geese, plus assorted mess left from them, well….it will be so pleasing to my soul!
The first time up there all I could think about was how the hell am I going to get down. It would have been so embarrassing to have to be rescued by a fireman.. But as it turned out going down is a lot easier than going up! I am looking forward to seeing how the courtyard develops, it is the perfect spot for a garden.
Woah! A vertiginous view but how brilliant to get that perspective. Well done on conquering your fears. Your photos are absolutely beautiful. I especially like your planting combinations – the orange and pink of the Eschscholzia and Gaura, the Rudbeckia and Verbena. Lovely. (I intensely dislike cleaning kitchens and bathrooms too. Such a thankless task.) Sam x
Thanks. I’ve deliberately gone for zingy colours on the bank. It’s the only way to get them to show up from below, pastels just ‘disappear’ into a mush of nothingness.
Eek, what a view. Well done you for getting up there. I shall be teetering at the top of a step ladder later painting the back wall of the garage and trying to get it weather proofed while the sun is shining. The view won’t be nearly as good though. CJ xx
Good luck with that CJ.. be careful!
Wow … well done you, even I would have struggled to climb ladders against scaffolding and I don;t have a fear of heights. It was worth it for the birds eye view of your plot though, and it is looking VERY good 🙂
Thanks Sue. It’s more of an uncomfortable feeling than a fear.. relatively easy to overcome as it turned out, especially as I was really quite keen to see the view form the top!
I know your pain; I’m cleaning closets and it seems the job will never end. What a wonderful opportunity you’ve had to see the Precipitous Bank from another perspective…I’m glad you made it up the ladder. I’m very clumsy, so I’m not sure I would have given it a try. I love the shock of bright gold near the top of the hillside. Perhaps more coneflowers are in your future?
If I can get them to survive (it will be a first), definitely more coneflowers. I love them.
Climbing the ladder is one thing, but there are plenty of gaps in the scaffolding planks too.. I had to be very careful where I placed my feet.. and watch out for Mike as well, who considers himself ‘accident prone’!
Well done for making the climb, like you I prefer my feet on the ground! The view of your bank is amazing and the plants are filling out nicely. Love the Gaura, such a pretty plant.
I bought the Gaura just this year, three of them because they were cheap! They’ve filled out really well, slow to flower at first but really getting into it now.
I think that I even hate having men around the house doing jobs more than I do cleaning!!! My worse nightmare turned up today, three men to cut all the hedges and shrubs. Having looked out the window I see that they are now collecting all of the debris so with any luck they will have departed soon.
I strangely, actually like heights, but having conquered your fear I expect you enjoyed the view down. I like those little Cornus fruits, from a distance they look like raspberries.
The view down is spectacular, especially the other way over the lawn and looking down the hill rather than up.
I know just what you mean about having workmen in, I hate it too. A feeling of not being able to relax in your own house. And we have the inevitable builder’s radio. Why can’t they just enjoy the peace and quiet that was here before they arrived?
I agree with you completely. I would rather be in the garden than doing house chores any day. I love the photo of the saxifraga, beautiful colors and lovely veined leaves. I do not climb ladders anymore but applaud you for getting the view from on high.
Now that I’ve done it a few times the ladder has got easier. It probably won’t be sundowners up there, but the view from the top does make it worth it!
Oh my, what a great view you got climbing up that ladder! I’m afraid of heights too, and like you, despise doing housework. You’re right, it all goes downhill immediately after you finish. I don’t much like having “men in big boots” working around the house either. Hope their work goes quickly.
They are taking their time, but also seem to be doing a good job so I will grin and bear it.
Amazing view, but not one that I could have captured! So good on you!! I hope that the chimney works all go well! xx
So far so good! Thanks Amy.
Haha, and when the masons come to work up there they’ll hop around, stroll back and forth, and in general act as if they’re just a few inches above solid ground!
What a difference the view from above makes. Hard to believe it’s not that long ago the bank was filled with conifers!
I didn’t watch the scaffolding go up, just as well, because those guys were like monkeys apparently. They obviously know what they are doing but my sense of balance would not be up to it.
It’s all looking rather glorious.
Getting there. I keep reminding myself it’s only year one and I have to be patient. Thanks CT.
Your fall garden is looking great. Those cornus leaves are really striking.
Aren’t they just. It’s such a good value tree.
Its one thing to climb the ladder but another to hang on there and take photos, which are all lovely by the way, so worth the trip! I hope the Chimney repairs go smoothly.
There are two platforms on the scaffolding, one above the other. I was standing on those. But even so, it’s quite a dizzying feeling looking down!
I can contain my fear of heights if I am standing on something reasonably solid, but I just can’t cope with ladders!! My answer to housework is to do it every week – the more often you do it, the easier and quicker it is ……. except of course for my studio, which I only hoover when you can no longer tell that the carpet is dark brown!! And of course I like the “industrial” photo!!!
ps – perhaps I should disable the exclamation mark on my keyboard!!
I put that photo in there just for you Anne.. I’m sorry it’s not rusty. But the rope is fraying!!
The bank is looking lovely! Congratulations on climbing up the scaffolding! I climbed a cherry tree last year to prune it – thought nothing of it as I used to love climbing trees! Mr Bumbleandme had to rescue me after five minutes! Getting old is very cruel! X
I was extremely worried about how I was going to get down. I had visions of a fire engine turning up with a platform swung out to rescue me from. That thought got me down again quicker than anything!
I don’t know how you made it up the ladder it looks such a long way down. I’m just like you I much prefer gardening to housework! Sarah x
The ladder is quite steep which actually makes it easier. I did the same thing at our last place when we had a chimney rebuilt. Then the ladder was resting on the roof so the angle was much shallower with a longer horizontal distance to cover. That really felt like being out in thin air!
Well done, getting up so high. The view was amazing, so glad you took a camera.
An opportunity not to be missed!
Hi Jessica, kudos to a brave woman! The photos that you took from up there really have been worth it! I think your bank looks fantastic and you have made so much progress over the course of time in such a difficult terrain.
My favorite photo is the one with the pink gaura and the California poppies, though. Not a color combination that you commonly see, but it certainly works great. It has a bang-effect that grabs your attention and make you look twice. The gaura is so utterly beautiful!
Warm regards,
Christina
I made the mistake early on of using pastel shades up on the bank. The trouble is they don’t really show up from a distance, from the ground where the bank is viewed. So lately I have been going for much brighter colours, plus white, and it seems to be working better.
I’m reading a book about 100 troublesome garden weeds (suggested by Cornflower Books blog) and was surprised to see Iris foetidissima included as one of these weeds. The surprise appearance of these very attractive blooms in my front garden this year is now tempered by the fact that I now know it features on such a list.
That is strange! I inherited this clump too and funnily enough only noticed them last year. They seem to be spreading but not aggressively so… so far!!
Congratulations for getting up the ladder when you’re not comfortable with heights. Hope you feel the views were worth it and very much hope the scaffold was assembled without too much collateral damage.
Personally, when we had scaffolding I spent so much time on the top of it I was asked if I wanted a job with the roofers (no, they weren’t really serious); I absolutely loved getting a different perspective on the garden. Given the cost and impracticality of all those metal poles, perhaps we should invest in little photo-drone thingies?
I have been up on top of the scaffolding several times since and it’s got quite a bit easier. It’s a great place to review the day’s progress on the garden! What a good idea to get a drone. Perhaps we should suggest it to Bushnell?
The slope looks lovely…and from that photograph, not nearly as steep! I am dreading getting up the ladder to paint the last gable end. On one side of the house I still need the 3m pole + be at the top of a 5m ladder. Yuck indeed….so I do congratulate you on your efforts!
Matt that sounds so dangerous, please be careful. You should have a scaffold tower, but if they are anything as expensive as here I can quite understand why you don’t.
Brava Jessica! It’s looking wonderful.
Thanks Freda.
just looking down at those bird’s eye views makes me wobble.
But it is interesting to get a different perspective.
It’s a dizzy feeling standing on the top. There was quite a breeze yesterday too, urgh!
well done Jessica, it is interesting getting the birds eye view, the slope is looking good, I’m glad I’m not alone in preferring gardening to housework, housework is one of those jobs that no one notices when it’s done, people only notice when it isn’t done! Frances
I have become a master of rationalisation when it comes to not doing housework. There’s always a reason why something else should be given a higher priority.
Hooray for conquering your fear to get great photos! All your photos of the precipitous bank are wonderful. I’ve often wondered what my garden would look like from above (I had a second-story view of my old garden) but my curiosity has yet to lead me to climb up on the roof. Maybe I’ll send my husband up with a camera the next time he’s up there to clean the gutters – or maybe I’ll just see what I can get from Google Earth.
It certainly is interesting. Looking in the opposite direction from the bank I can see the area that we’re clearing to open up a view to the wood. Or more to the point I can see how big it is and how much work it will be.. I almost wish I could have permanent scaffolding so I could get the before and after shots! As Google Earth doesn’t keep pace with the rate at which we work a drone has to be the answer!
Wow Jessica, the bank is looking great from above but so steep from the side. Your photos are wonderful and illustrate how hard you have been working. It looks to me as if the existing planting should settle and spread in which case is it time to think about planting low-growing creeping plants to knit it all together and suppress weed growth? Epimedium could be good in this context, if you haven’t already got it. I would also be tempted to leave a few openings for those must-have plants you are sure to come across on your travels. Does the work to the chimney mean you will be able to light a fire this winter? It won’t be long before gardening stops by four o’clock in the afternoon.
Yes, I’m actively seeking out low growing plants, especially for the front edge of the bank where it is particularly steep and access difficult. The chimney work should give us back a working fireplace. I’ve really missed it since moving here. There is nothing better for a cold winter’s night!
Most impressed with your climbing! It is fascinating to see something that you work with on the ground from a height. Really makes you appreciate the shapes you are drawing on the ground.
It does look good from up there, perhaps because the weeds aren’t quite so visible!
How many cups of tea have you had to make so far? X
It’s been quite warm so they’ve mostly been drinking bottled water. User friendly builders!
A gold award for bravery – I haven’t even made it into our loft.
I’ve poked my head through the loft hatch and that’ll do me.
I can’t believe you climbed up that ladder…and took photos…very brave! The garden does look lovely from above.
It’s become an evening event, to see what the builders have been up to and to view my progress in the garden. I shall quite miss the scaffolding when it goes.
Bravo! The shots of the slope from a different perspective make it worthwhile, just reading about your feat made me feel dizzy. I would definitely need to be rescued by firemen …. I know what your mean about pastels getting lost across large areas, bright colours especially yellows are great for drawing the eye and adding perspective. Adding Verbena rigida is a master touch, good height for the rudbeckia too, I wonder if it self seeds.
The verbena is certainly spreading but it seems to be more through runners than self seeding. I bought a single plant a couple of years ago and now I’ve got loads of it. It is becoming an alternative to lavender for me as I can’t get that to grow well here, it’s too wet. I’m thinking of trying it as a low informal ‘hedge’.
Eeek – I tjhink I would have struggled with the height and getting up the scaffolding too but what a wonderful different perspective it has given you of your garden and planting:)
I was surprised at how different the view is. The garden is so steep that I am used to standing at a level above the house roof and looking down, but the all round view from the chimney is obviously something I’ve not seen before.
Oh…how I loathe cleaning too! It’s like shoveling snow while it keep right on snowing! How BRAVE of you to climb that scaffold, I doubt I could have done that! But it was worth it to see the view, and how wonderful it’s all looking. You have made great inroads!xxx
It’s getting there, thanks snowbird. With the ladder it’s ‘just’ a case of keeping going to the top. Pause half way and it’s done for!
Great pictures from above. There was one other option, you could of sent Mike up with the camera!
It was tempting.
Great shots – you wouldn’t have caught me climbing the scaffold though.
It’s getting easier. I think I shall quite miss our daily visits to the chimney when the scaffolding is gone!
I’m afraid of heights, too so I’m not sure I would have made it up that ladder!! Hooray for being brave enough to make the climb. The hill looks wonderful!
Thanks Tammy. The trick really is not to look down. Although looking down when going down doesn’t seem so bad somehow. Possibly because the ground is getting nearer.
I am always in awe of your photography and doubly impressed at the views taken from a height, how brave of you! It’s like the garden program that Christine Wealden made with drones flying over the gardens, giving a completely different perspective. Oh, and I agree with you about cleaning, it’s only rearranging the dust.
Rearranging the dust is a very good way of putting it. Especially when cleaning is infrequent (ahem).. just sending it all up in the air to resettle the moment your back is turned.
You are brave!!! Love the aerial shot. As always, your garden is exquisite!
I like the aerial shot too. I’m wondering if we should build a tree house..
It looks gorgeous, even despite the scaffolding! It’s really coming together. You are very brave to climb that scaffolding! I also hate heights and cleaning. Cleaning is rather like walking the wrong way on an escalator, especially with children and a husband in the mix!
It’s crazy isn’t it. Life’s too short for cleaning. Thanks Indie.
Your garden is gorgeous from whatever angle you choose 😀 Well done for getting up there. I had to smile with the scaffolders just turning up, it happens all the time at my work, and I can’t turn them away otherwise it will be weeks before they come back. The plus side is that I have climbed both sides of a Cathedral to take in the views from the maze of steel, so it does have its plus sides! Have a great weekend and… take care up there! xx
You’ve climbed a lot higher than me Chel! The problem now is to get the scaffolders back. It is not an on demand service it seems..
Wow, getting up that ladder was brave and good work! Nice view of the garden. The Saxifraga stolonifera babies you sent me have doubled in size and are all sending out shoots, I need to find a permanent place for them (as I need for all my plants!),
I so agree with you on cleaning! Such a waste of energy, I so much prefer being out in the garden instead.
I’m so glad the Saxifrage babies are doing well. They spread like mad when they get going but are easy to relocate and so useful to have. Perfect ground cover!
I don’t think I could have gone up the ladder ! Californian poppy envy, they grow down the road but not in my garden !
Hi Penny! I’ve only tried the poppies just this year and they’ve been fabulous. I was worried about sowing seed direct as the mice (or something) usually get those, so sowed them in modules and planted them out as small plants. Might work?
Eeek, rather you than me. It does give you a totally different view though so definitely worth the effort. It’s just a good job that the large glass of something was consumed after you’d been up there and not before.
It would have been good for dutch courage but possibly not for stability!
Just stumbled on your blog and was immediately hooked by your thoughts on housecleaning. Is there something about gardeners that they will contentedly garden for hours in extreme weather but would rather poke their eyes out with a fork than houseclean? Not sure, but it seems to be a shared trait. Lovely blog!