I love reading the Real Estate Section of the Pine Cone.
House hunting is such fun. This is my latest find appropriately named “Dreams Do Come True”.
The website shows the floor plan.
The main living area has an open floor plan . The living room features a vaulted, beamed ceiling and stone fireplace.
I love the dining room with its built-in hutch and window seat with storage below.
Red being my current color of choice, the kitchen really feels cozy.
Who would not love the stainless steel appliances, farm sink, hardwood floors and quartz countertops.
There is even a great pantry area.
This floor also has a half-bath and
Master Bedroom with fireplace
The master bath has handsome cabinetry. I love the plantation shutters throughout the house.
Stairs off the kitchen
lead up to a single bedroom
With an ocean view
And another half bath.
And down to the laundry room
Three more bedrooms
A full bath
A galley across the back of the house works for a small office.
The deck
Looks down on a professionally landscaped yard.
How inviting.
There is even a garage ( I like the flower box and shutters on the garage window- that is real attention to detail).
The cottage is on Casanova 5 NW Ocean which is a great location to walk to the beach and town and is Brokered And Advertised By: Sotheby’s-Clocktower Listing Agent: Weathers
List price $2,995,000.
Now that the “bones” of our cottage garden are in place, we are ready to go shopping for flowers.
When you buy,think in terms of odd numbers 1,3,5,7 and try to mix flower shapes. I like to start with the tallest flowers first. It’s rather like casting a movie with the taller flowers as the STARS. On Carmel’s small lots these taller flowers might be planted in ones or in clusters of three.
Now we begin to add height with:
Agapanthus
Look how it calls attention to the gate at Hob Nob.
Acanthus -Bears Breeches
Works like an exclamation point to draw our eyes down the path toward the garden door.
Anemone
Standing on tall stems the graceful blooms flutter in the breezes.
Calla Lilly
A real attention getter, some gardeners plant these in the strip of earth outside the garden fence.
Cleome- Spider flower
A self-seeder, I love the way Mother Nature sprinkles it around the garden randomly. The seedlings are easy to pull it you don’t like where they land.
Centranthus
Loves Carmel’s sandy dry soil.
Cosmos
knocks your socks off in its vivid colors. Here it splashes its color around with carnations and two colors of Bougainvillea.
Crocosmia
Wow. Doesn’t it work well with the Agapanthus and mexican sage to emphasize the view through the gate?
Delphinium
Digitalis ( Foxglove) – a cottage garden favorite.
Here its vertical spires echo the vertical lines of a rustic tuteur.
Globe Allium
Lillium
and Lions Tail.
Maiden’s Wreath
is another graceful bloom to mix with some of the more rigid ones. It seems to do well with neglect.
Pride of Madeira
and Red Hot Poker
make bold statements.
while Surprise Lilly
and Verbena bonariensis
add a softer touch.
Wallflower
allows itself to be tucked in almost anywhere.
Next week we choose the Best Supporting Actors or the mid – height flowers.
When I plant my gardens, I start with some shrubs and small trees for height and bulk. They provide privacy where it is needed and reinforce the importance of your focal points.
Shrubs really call attention to the front door of this cottage. I can not even imagine it without them.
Some great shrubs and small trees for Carmel are:
Cherry Plum
Japanese Maple in every season
New Zealand Tea Tree
Abelia
Azalea
Breath of Heaven ( feathery foliage and a sweet smell)
Buddleia
Bush Daisy
Camellia
Cistus
Cuphea
Hebe
Hydrangea,
Mallow
Mexican Bush Sage
Potato bush
Princess Flower
Roses
Sweet Pea Shrub
And Wisteria
Among others.
Cottage gardens take advantage of vertical space. So remember to cover trellis, arbors, and fences with such climbers as
Ablution -Chinese Lantern
Bougainvillea
Clematis
Ivy
Passion Vine
Potato vine.
And Roses
Be patient. Next week we actually start to plant flowers.
We have now established boundaries , an entrance and paths in our Cottage Garden. Examine the view from both inside the garden and inside the cottage. What view is pleasing and should be left open and what views are less than perfect and could be improved by creating a better place to look, a focal point. Focal points also work to draw one’s eye around the garden.
Proceed to
Step 4.
Create focal points such as
A spot to sit. This spot in front of the cottage window hides the view of the street beyond and creates a charming view from within.
This one works to draw the visitor through the garden
A birdbath anchors a planting bed.
A fantastick birdhouse
A feeder to attract wild life
A sundial
Tuteur
Or special planter
All work as places for the eye to rest for a moment.
I especially love a bee skep
To attract the bees
Hooray! We are finally ready to begin planting next week.
“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”
J. B. Priestley
I am not in Carmel today to enjoy 50 degree temperatures, flowers and a walk outside.
I am in Kansas City where the snow is falling.
Schools close.
Roads disappear.
Weather Men and Women take over the TV and radio for the day.
The stately homes of Mission Hills look lovely.
I have this view from my front porch.
And this one of my back yard.
The birds are enduring as they must.
And so I am out and about filling feeders and throwing down peanuts.
A coyote hurries through the yard, the wind ruffling his fur.
The squirrels are delighted with the peanuts and the peanut butter I spread about becomes their peanut brittle.
Little dogs
And children play and sled down the hill in my back yard.
I am glad I am looking out on it all from this window
And can turn around to my cozy fire, tea and book.
Hope you are safe and warm wherever you are.
A cottage garden needs a cottage. Try creating the feel of a cottage garden on a large suburban plot with a McMansion and it fails.
It is a distinct style incorporating informal design and dense plantings,
usually enclosed and often with a rose or vine covered gate and arbor.
Hardly what my home-owners association in Kansas City has mandated.
But on the small lots in Carmel-by-the Sea, the conditions are perfect.
Tiny front gardens thrive behind fences
or hedges of privet and boxwood.
Stone or stucco walls enclose others.
And other times flowers billow right out to the street.
How can we create sweet gardens like these. Let me try to walk you through some of the steps I take when designing gardens.
Step 1.
Create a sense of enclosure for your garden. In Carmel this is most often done with a combination of a fence and hedging plants.
Step 2.
Add a gate
and perhaps an arbor.
Let this opening create “peeks” into the garden . This gate just makes me want to step up and get a closer look.
Think about some baskets or planted pots to make it even more inviting.
Step 3.
Develop meandering pathwork. The path adds stucture, character and allows you to walk around and care for the plants.
These gardeners use pavers
Stepping stones
Carmel Stone
And gravel
A friend of ours created this smashing concrete path and embedded shells and stones she collected from all over the world. She placed each one individually. A real labor of love.
Allow plants to spill over the path
and fill the spaces between stones.
Next week, I will write about creating Focal Points around which we will start planting.
Dining al fresco in Carmel has its own particular charm. The temperate climate and Carmel’s one-of-a-kind mix of architecture make for an abundance of picturesque courtyards and hidden nooks where restaurants enchant diners.
This is a special treat for Bill and I, since there are at most 15 days a year that we are comfortable eating outside in Kansas City. Admittedly, we are picky about the temperature. But our hot, humid summers send us scurrying to air conditioning. In our cold winters we beg, “please seat us in a warm spot”.
I probably do not mention enough what a large part the climate plays when we decide to buy a second home here.
Carmel is blessed with 269 sunny days a year on average with highs between 58-70 and lows between 44 and 53 degrees. My personal favorite temperatures. A sweater, outdoor heat lamp or shady umbrella make al fresco dining a pleasure most of the year.
If sipping your morning coffee outside sounds good to you, try Katy’s Place for breakfast.
Carmel by the Sea, CA, Katy’s Place Carmel. They open at 7AM everyday.
Bring your appetite for fantastic Eggs Benedict
or Belgian Waffles
or omelets. Bill likes the Corned Beef Hash ‘n Eggs. Sit outside on the deck or inside.
Another favorite of ours is The Terrace Grill at the newly remodeled La Playa Hotel
right down the street from us. The combination of good food, garden views,
a glimpse of the ocean and the music of the nearby surf is unbeatable. They offer a buffet or made-to order specialties.
They also serve a delicious, well priced “early bird” dinner.
And of course, there is the Jazz Brunch at the Mission Ranch Mission Ranch in Carmel California.
We save this for special occasions because it is pricey, but worth it. The brunch is from 10AM- 1:30PM Sundays only. We sit on the patio overlooking the meadow and Carmel Bay.
We watch grazing sheep and beautiful people ,listen to the sound of jazz drifting out the door and sip Champagne and coffee before going inside to tour the hot station, cold station, carving station AND the dessert table. The food is beautifully presented as well as delicious.
The Ranch also serves a great dinner – make reservations.
Another very popular spot in Carmel is the Village Corner Village Corner Mediterranean Bistro, Carmel-by-the-Sea with its central location at Dolores and Sixth.
I find we see more locals here. One corner is “reserved” for a group of guys who daily attempt to solve the world’s problems over breakfast and newspapers.
Lush plantings surround the patio,
fresh flowers are on the tables
and there is open fire pit in the center. They also serve a great lunch.
When I am near Carmel Plaza, I sit at a table
outside Carmel Coffee & Cocoa Bar
and enjoy a drink and Panini or Quiche to fortify myself for shopping.
Or stroll over to Bistro Beaujolais Carmel Restaurants | Bistro Beaujolais, Carmel California | Carmel’s Firok Shield Family of Restaurants .
They offer alfresco dining in a garden setting around a fire pit on a heated patio.
Or we stop for dinner on Friday or Saturday to listen to live music on the patio.
And the places to lunch!! My favorite for a leisurely lunch is Casanova’s (CASANOVA Restaurant :: Carmel’s Most Romantic Restaurant) .
Sit on the front patio
or ask to be seated in the “indoor” patio. Built around a huge tree, this space is partly covered by awnings and glass roof.
Small birds peck at the crumbs by your feet.
A favorite spot for dog lovers is the Forge In The Forest (The Forge In The Forest Restaurant) .
Ivy covered walls enclose the brick patio with its open fireplace and heaters.
And your dog can order from his very own menu.
Or drop by Hog’s Breath Inn( Hog’s Breath Inn Restaurant & Bar, located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Hogs Breath Inn, Clint Eastwood Property ) once owned by Clint Eastwood.
Step down the stairs to a patio made magical by a huge mural. Cozy yourself in front of one of the many fireplaces for a burger and fries.
Another good burger joint is Jack London’s. ( Jack Londons Restaurant & Pub – Carmel-by-the-Sea, California | )
Eat inside or out under umbrella- shaded tables.
For lunch or dinner, it’s hard to beat Porta Bella’s picturesque sidewalk seating in the Court of the Golden Bough.
Diners enjoy privacy created by plantings awarded first prize for beautiful flowerscaping from the Carmel Garden Club.
So kick off your shoes and relax.
PortaBella Restaurant on Ocean Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea
I am somewhat ashamed to say we have not yet tried Basil http://www.basilcarmel.com/index.html
despite rave reviews from our friends. The courtyard dining is alway busy. Dogs receive a complimentary bowl of water.
The hottest new night spot for a drink under the stars is the Starlight 65 Rooftop Lounge. It sits atop Vesuvio Italian Restaurant on the SE corner of Junipero and 6th .
Several years ago, we attended a tequilla tasting up here with a friend. It is a magical spot. Now it is described as having a “hip,cool vibe”. Although Bill and I are both of the above, we have yet to visit so I will have to rely on Nicole D.’s Yelp review. Nicole writes:
“This stylish rooftop lounge atop Vesuvios is the total package. I love the comfortable lounge-chic furnishings and decor and beautiful overhead strung lights; very celestial. Ringed by low-slung wicker benches and warm fire-pits, this hangout spot affords guests a fun, relaxing and comfortable venue to linger over drinks and fine food. High brow cocktails and great food await at this rooftop lounge in picturesque Carmel by the Sea.”
