A surprisingly warm winter has allowed some major structural projects to carry on. The Rose Walk’s Cedar Posts have been slowly decaying over the years and finally had to be replaced. They are the second generation of Cedar Posts that have provided structure for the Rose Walk and also acted to separate the areas of the garden from each other. Look at Geoff DiMeo, brilliant carpenter, happily standing with Charlie against the warmth of the Greenhouse admiring the beginnings of the new structure he is putting in place with Charlie’s help. Initially, Charlie thought Locust Posts would be the perfect substitute for Cedar, said to be less likely to rot and to last longer. He went on a quest for Locust Posts, but none of sufficient size and quantity were were to be found. Instead, Geoff suggested Mahogony, an elegant solution of gorgeous Posts which Geoff is beveling and topping with his handcrafted finials. As soon as it is all in place, I will show it off here.
However, as soon as the Cedar Posts had been removed, the Rose Walk and the rest of the garden looked completely flattened! Look at the poor roses tied down for the construction and notice that in the absence of any vertical divide, the entire garden seems so boring. That will soon be corrected as the Mahogony posts are finally in place and over time fade to gray.
That is not all that is going on. The huge tanks that hold the three thousand gallons of water that power the waterfalls and streams of the Waterworks had begun to leak this past summer. Winter has been the perfect time to remove them, although we will have to wait for Spring to dig in the huge new ones, now standing on the edge of the woods. Leah, our new Golden Retriever puppy, born August 2 this summer, thought all the action was terrific and the big machines great fun. She had to be protected against her enthusiasm and carefully restrained by Steve Tabacinski, our master of all the complex systems in the garden.
