Nothing like a fresh coat of white paint.

As I noted in my previous post, I regret not getting more done this summer around the house. What did get done focused mostly on the backyard and pool area; while my efforts to get the front lawn back in order bore some fruit, it was not until September that I was really able to get to work on the front of the house.

As I noted in previous posts, I have been working to restore the fence that flanks both sides of the house. I was finally able to complete the restoration of the large post at the west side, and then continued sanding and repainting all the fence pickets in-between. As of this writing, I have completed three of the eight 8-foot sections of fencing. With the sides facing the front of the house, I applied a very high-quality latex, working it in with a brush; I may use my new paint sprayer for the rest, to save time.

Just need to define this flower bed a little more...

I think I have re-painted this fence maybe twice in 25 years; this was by far the most complete wire-brush-and-sanding job that I have ever done, so hopefully it will last for a while. The treated cross beams are fine; a few of the cedar pickets (especially where they have been in contact with the ground) have seen some rot. This will be hidden by a treated 1” x 4” that I am adding at the bottom, which will not only look better buy hold back some of the soil and mulch I am adding in front.


Thus, I gave the flower beds (which reside in front of these fences) a thorough weeding and tilling—since it seems grass grows better in a flower bed than it does in the yard—and they had also been invaded by assorted weeds and vinca vines that had creeped in.

Yeah - that's what I'm talkin' about.

This also gave me an opportunity to consider a much-needed update to my planting scheme. When we first built the house, the trees in front were not so large, and the flower beds there got a lot more sunlight throughout the day. As a result, the tall tiger-lillies we inherited form my mother-in-law’s garden did wonderfully, combined with a nice purple spiderwort and a few small daylilies.

Time has taken its toll, however. Only two of the sections get sufficient sunlight these days, and the tiger lilies have more recently suffered from some kind of blight, which renders the bottom of the stalks and leaves yellow and brown. It may be a lack of oxygen or a similar issue, since they had never been divided. Remembering the wonderful old hollyhocks we had at the back of our old house, I am planning on replacing the tiger lilies with those—a more “English-looking” garden flower. I’ll leave the spiderwort in front of these and may also include a few four-o-clocks, which we also had at our old house. On the west side, something else will be called for, since the big oak tree out front (a beautiful specimen, with a trunk straight enough for a ship’s mast) casts that side of the yard in shade/semi-shade much of the day. I’m thinking maybe planting some foxglove on this side, and perhaps something else that can tolerate the light conditions.

These three beds are each approximately 8 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Till now, I had simply edged them with a spade, but to keep out the weeds I am considering a raised border of some sort. My first inclination is to use timber; I’m leaning toward using 2” x 8” with the bottom 2” buried. This will leave about 6” above ground, but then I am also planning to route the boards with joint grooves to give it a stone/masonry look—then staining it a beige/gray to match the house foundation color. I need to work in a couple inches of improved soil, compost and leaf mulch as well, so the raised border will help hold it in.

If I can just get all this remaining work done before the snow falls, I guess I’ll be satisfied. There’s more on my to-do list, but it’s possible that those parts-and-pieces will have to be built over the winter and installed in the spring. Even that will be a challenge, since I have a basement upgrade to get back to…

Sadly, this summer ended up being far less productive than I had hoped. Reviewing my “to-do” list of items that needed addressing, it seems I have only been able to complete a few of them. Now there is only the hope that the coming Fall may serve to be a more productive season as far as the house is concerned.

No, this is not the reason for my lack of productivity. A nice addition to my tiki bar, thanks to the good people at Windsor & Eton Brewery.

A large part of this was due to our trip to the UK in mid-May; between holiday planning and the weather upon our return, this set me back about 3-4 weeks in terms of my usual summer work schedule. In recent years, we’ve been able to open the pool during the first week of May, with another week or two after that to handle annual chores like cleaning the patios, doing touch-up painting on the decks and some outdoor furniture—which all has to be hauled out of storage—tidying up the perennial beds, setting up our tiki bar on the back deck and bringing all the seasonal decorative items out of the garage, shed and basement. This is then followed by planting of tropical-looking annuals in beds and in pots all around the pool.

New this year was an effort to grow more grass in the backyard bare spots (initially, this appeared to be successful, but a hot, dry July and August rendered these efforts fruitless) and I also wanted to test some of that specially formulated spray paint on our plastic outdoor furniture, which was in serious need of restoration. Our four white chaises were seriously stained and dirty—totally beyond cleaning—and I also wanted to paint a few other items (a cooler and a trash bin) a dark brown. It’s also important to note that all of this work was limited to the backyard, which is where we spend most of our time during the summer. Other than fertilizing, raking and mowing, planting a few annuals in the porch planters and setting some pots out on either side of the steps, little happens in the front of the house until the backyard is totally in order.

As it turned out, June was spent by the time this work was all completed; after another week of enjoying the fruits of my labor, I took the first weekend in July to head up to Michigan for some camping, sightseeing and volunteer activity. Two weeks later, my daughter visited from New York for a weekend, and four weeks after that my wife and I went to visit her again. Obviously, no work got done during those periods. Take away another weekend or so with cool or wet weather, and here I am now considering when to close the pool and start packing everything up for the winter. Sigh.

This is how the "She-Shed" turned out.  The space behind the curtain on the left is still needed for storage.

So what did get done? Aside from regular yearly maintenance, I was able to:

1) Rebuild, reinforce and re-paint a large bench I had built for the pool area some years ago.

2) I successfully re-painted all four of our plastic chaise lounges, in addition to a large cooler/cabinet and a trash bin. This turned out wonderfully; all the items look brand new.

3) I was able to finish staining the back of the backyard swing I moved about a year ago, and fully restored the carved wooden sign on it (dated 1997) that says Mom’s Swing.

4) Got a coat of paint on the small oriental bridge in the garden.

5) Repaired, added decorative trim and repainted a small open book case that sits next to the tiki bar on the deck. This serves as a summer home to decorative items like tiki mugs, candles, photos and other exotic knick-knacks.

6) Painted the inside of our backyard shed so that my wife could use most of it as a “She-Shed” during the summer season. The inside walls (and the roof framing)  is painted a light seafoam green; I had put in a sheet vinyl floor previously, and with a few decorative items and an area rug, it looks pretty good. Since I still need about four feet of the interior for storage (the shed is 8’ x 12’) I hung 2 color-coordinated shower curtains across part of the space to hide things like extra tables, chairs and other items that we still keep there. Come fall, the “She-Shed” goes away as we pack the shed with stuff again.

There is still much to do. I think I’ll cover that in my next post…

While I imagine a number of people throughout the UK are familiar with the handsome work of artist Jonathan Myles-Lea, he is clearly not a household name here in the US. Best known for his house and landscape portraits, his work recalls past masters like John Constable and Johannes Kip. My personal favorites feature the traditional “bird’s eye views” of country houses—a style popular throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

A view of Burghley House - from the west. Image Rights: Jonathan Myles-Lea.

Though Myles-Lea had been well-established as a noted painter of landscapes and houses, the commission he received for the April 29, 2009 cover of Country Life, featuring a fantasy 10-acre estate, clearly solidified his reputation as a worldwide talent. The resulting Dream Acres project was a central part of the 10-week series appearing in the magazine—featuring the stylized aerial views for which he has become particularly celebrated.


Other work which Myles-Lea has become notably associated with are his projects for Prince Charles at Highgrove and his aerial illustration of Sir Roy Strong’s garden, The Laskett, in 1994. It is no surprise that gardens and houses have become his primary subjects, as he graduated from The University of London with a Bachelors Degree in The History of Art & Architecture. As you might expect, his high standards and superlative work has resulted in one notable commission leading to yet another.

Plas Teg, Clwyd, North Wales, 1991. Image Rights: Jonathan Myles-Lea

The artist maintains studios in both England and the Unites States, and can be commissioned to paint portraits of your own home and garden. Much of his sketches, photos and other archival material are being collected by The University of Oxford and a book is reportedly in the works.

Personally, I have always found these traditional “bird’s eye views” rather enchanting, and having recently viewed my own house in a 3D view on Google Earth, I may attempt to use it as a guide to paint my own house portrait in this manner. A task for another time, however…

Inspiration for a future work of my own? Perhaps...

About one hundred years ago, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. co-founder F.A. Seiberling and his family were getting ready to move into their new home, the magnificent Tudor Revival mansion known as Stan Hywet Hall.

This year, the estate — now a public museum and gardens — is celebrating it’s 100th birthday with a series of special events, exhibits and specialty tours.

The 65,000-square-foot manor house is the sixth-largest historic home open to the public in the United States. The Tudor revival structure contains more than 21,000 panes of glass, 23 fireplaces, and intricately hand-carved wood paneling — so typical of the the luxury available to the Rubber Barons of Akron and other successful industrialists. Amazingly, the home still features 95 percent of the original furnishings chosen by the Seiberlings and their decorators.

Along with the special events, Stan Hywet Hall is launching a multi-million dollar campaign to help fund ongoing restoration work. Here are some of the events planned for 2015:

• The twice-daily “Blueprints to Bricks,” a tour focusing on the planning and construction of the estate and manor house, which required 3,000 blueprints and architectural drawings. Tour guests will visit areas and spaces not usually accessible to the public.

• “Picturing the Past,” 15 oversize photographs of the property dating from 1912 to 1915 to be exhibited outdoors on certain days during the summer. Each picture will be positioned at the photographer’s original vantage point on the grounds, allowing visitors a “now-and-then” perspective of the estate.

• The artistic installation “Bloom!,” opening June 2 in the gardens. Glass artist Craig Mitchell Smith, whose work is displayed at public gardens and arboretums throughout the country, will install 32 larger-than-life sculptures, many of them inspired by Stan Hywet. The sculptures — featuring botanical and nature themes, such as Tudor Rose— will be installed in the Breakfast Room Garden; and Butterflies of Northern Ohio, near the butterfly habitat.

• “Twilight & Flashlights,” an evening garden tour on six summer evenings in August and September. The offering will allow visitors to see “Bloom!” in a different light. All the pieces in the glass exhibit will be offered for public sale.

• The official 100th anniversary celebration, scheduled for Aug. 16 as part of Stan Hywet’s Community Day. The event will include free tours, a concert by the Goodyear Band, an antique car show, a vintage baseball game, and historic interpretations by the History First Hand acting troupe. Admission is free for registered guests.

• Several living-history days; “Woof Walk” days, for pet owners and their leashed dogs; the annual Father’s Day Classic antique car show; a gala Shakespearean ball and the annual Ohio Shakespeare Festival; and the Deck the Hall yuletide light and decoration show

About one hundred years ago, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. co-founder F.A. Seiberling and his family were getting ready to move into their new home, the magnificent Tudor Revival mansion known as Stan Hywet Hall.

This year, the estate — now a public museum and gardens — is celebrating it’s 100th birthday with a series of special events, exhibits and specialty tours.

The 65,000-square-foot manor house is the sixth-largest historic home open to the public in the United States. The Tudor revival structure contains more than 21,000 panes of glass, 23 fireplaces, and intricately hand-carved wood paneling — so typical of the the luxury available to the Rubber Barons of Akron and other successful industrialists. Amazingly, the home still features 95 percent of the original furnishings chosen by the Seiberlings and their decorators.

Along with the special events, Stan Hywet Hall is launching a multi-million dollar campaign to help fund ongoing restoration work. Here are some of the events planned for 2015:

• The twice-daily “Blueprints to Bricks,” a tour focusing on the planning and construction of the estate and manor house, which required 3,000 blueprints and architectural drawings. Tour guests will visit areas and spaces not usually accessible to the public.

• “Picturing the Past,” 15 oversize photographs of the property dating from 1912 to 1915 to be exhibited outdoors on certain days during the summer. Each picture will be positioned at the photographer’s original vantage point on the grounds, allowing visitors a “now-and-then” perspective of the estate.

• The artistic installation “Bloom!,” opening June 2 in the gardens. Glass artist Craig Mitchell Smith, whose work is displayed at public gardens and arboretums throughout the country, will install 32 larger-than-life sculptures, many of them inspired by Stan Hywet. The sculptures — featuring botanical and nature themes, such as Tudor Rose— will be installed in the Breakfast Room Garden; and Butterflies of Northern Ohio, near the butterfly habitat.

• “Twilight & Flashlights,” an evening garden tour on six summer evenings in August and September. The offering will allow visitors to see “Bloom!” in a different light. All the pieces in the glass exhibit will be offered for public sale.

• The official 100th anniversary celebration, scheduled for Aug. 16 as part of Stan Hywet’s Community Day. The event will include free tours, a concert by the Goodyear Band, an antique car show, a vintage baseball game, and historic interpretations by the History First Hand acting troupe. Admission is free for registered guests.

• Several living-history days; “Woof Walk” days, for pet owners and their leashed dogs; the annual Father’s Day Classic antique car show; a gala Shakespearean ball and the annual Ohio Shakespeare Festival; and the Deck the Hall yuletide light and decoration show

As noted in this interesting Telegraph article we came across, returning two handsome stone beasts to pride of place at Hampton Court Palace seems a fitting way to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession in 2009. After sitting in a pub for who-knows-how-long, they were removed in the 1980's during a demolition job, where they were stored in a home until being taken by the owner to a campground in France.

Historians and antiquarians were aware of the statues' existance, and it was discovered that the the lions would have been known as "kyng's beestes" - heraldic animals that once been sprinkled generously around royal residences. Additionally, the pub where they had been originally rescued was on a direct path between two Tudor royal palaces - Hampton Court and the legendary Nonsuch Palace - so the theory that they might well have graced one of the royal palaces seemed to fit.



To celebrate Henry's 500th anniversary year, a new garden in Tudor style was commissioned from historian and garden designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan. His design for what is now known as the Chapel Court Tudor Garden included a number of hand-carved and painted heraldic beasts standing post among the flowerbeds - traditional ornamentation that would have been familiar in Tudor times. Longstaffe-Gowan was thrilled to have the beasts returned to England as part of the display. He says historians "are agreed that these are early 16th century carving, undoubtedly royal, from which palace we don't know. They're made from Taynton stone - from Oxfordshire - which is very hard and was commonly used by all Henry VIII's stonemasons. They may have been polychromed originally."

To read the entire article and see more photos, go HERE.

As noted in this interesting Telegraph article we came across, returning two handsome stone beasts to pride of place at Hampton Court Palace seems a fitting way to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession in 2009. After sitting in a pub for who-knows-how-long, they were removed in the 1980's during a demolition job, where they were stored in a home until being taken by the owner to a campground in France.

Historians and antiquarians were aware of the statues' existance, and it was discovered that the the lions would have been known as "kyng's beestes" - heraldic animals that once been sprinkled generously around royal residences. Additionally, the pub where they had been originally rescued was on a direct path between two Tudor royal palaces - Hampton Court and the legendary Nonsuch Palace - so the theory that they might well have graced one of the royal palaces seemed to fit.


To celebrate Henry's 500th anniversary year, a new garden in Tudor style was commissioned from historian and garden designer Todd Longstaffe-Gowan. His design for what is now known as the Chapel Court Tudor Garden included a number of hand-carved and painted heraldic beasts standing post among the flowerbeds - traditional ornamentation that would have been familiar in Tudor times. Longstaffe-Gowan was thrilled to have the beasts returned to England as part of the display. He says historians "are agreed that these are early 16th century carving, undoubtedly royal, from which palace we don't know. They're made from Taynton stone - from Oxfordshire - which is very hard and was commonly used by all Henry VIII's stonemasons. They may have been polychromed originally."

To read the entire article and see more photos, go HERE.