Summer Is One Of My Favorite Words!

Summer is one of my favorite words...Ever since I was a little girl the word "summer" conjured up thoughts of fun and freedom!  This summer has not disappointed.  

Summer started during Memorial Day Weekend for me and mine as we spent a week together at Tybee Island.  Our family has grown into a big group (yay! the more the merrier!) and we spread out among three little cottages:

Our Doc Holiday

Coral Cottage...btw did you see the article on Coral Cottage that is in the 
July/August 2014 issue of HGTV magazine?

and Bead Cottage

Source

My sister Crystal joined the party and we had quite the family reunion!  

Bill, me, Crystal, and our cousin John with his wife Judy

We kicked off the week with my nephew Billy's high school graduation.

Yaay!

Billy is my brother Bill and his wife Kim's only child and he has always been totally lovable.  Rarely do you meet a teenager who has friends of every age group, who seems really interested in what his aunt of a certain age has to say and can hold up his end of the conversation...Billy is that guy.  

Here Billy is with his mom Kim who prepared quite a 
special event to celebrate the occasion!

Just look at the tables...now I know why they used to call sideboards "groaning boards" because these tables were groaning with the weight of all the beautiful and tasty food!  I snapped a few photos while Kim was setting things out...

We had a great evening visiting and celebrating Billy while being serenaded by a great band called The Accomplices.

Bill and Kim throw the best parties!  All the guests, young and young at heart alike, had a 
great evening!

Henry with Ella and Charlotte

Meghan with her Uncle Bill

Jordan and Sarah arrived in town and came straight from the airport to the party.

Anna Kate holding the youngest guest, her two months old cousin Piper

Sisters Meghan and Kristen with Charlotte

The Fab Four...Madeline, Tyler, Anna Kate, and Violet

The guest of honor with his Aunt Vicky

We love you Billy and can't wait to see what the next chapter brings!

We Have A Plan!

It's time to landscape the yard at Doc Holiday cottage and thankfully I have a brother, Bill Griffin, a landscape architect in Savannah, who can help.  He and his crew from Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting did an amazing job at The Coral Cottage and it made a huge difference!  You can see the Before and Afters here.

Recently while I was at Doc Holiday Bill came by to measure the yard and begin working on a plan.  We talked over my wish list...

•  Plant material that was drought resistant

•  A privacy hedge on each side of the house to screen us from the park and the next door neighbor--something tall, thick, and fast-growing

• Oleanders--they are so beachy and have a long-lasting blooming season.

•  A brick patio

• Paver walkway to the back door

•  Bill's suggestion--make a place to hide the trashcans when they are not curbside for pick up.

This is the proposed plan Bill sent me....

The front of the house is facing left.

After looking up a few of the suggested plants to see what they look like and getting some questions answered...

We Have A Plan!!!

Yaaay! Wooohooo! Applause!

It has taken a while to show you through the process of bringing the yard at The Coral Cottage back to life.  It was quite a job and unlike my lengthy blog posts, the installation of this project was accomplished fairly quickly--in about a week!

With thanks to Bill Griffin of Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting for many of the photos of the finished yard,  here's The Coral Cottage yard Before and After!  Ta Daaa!

FRONT YARD

BEFORE--the yard was all sand and sand nettles with one small palm tree and a broken up sidewalk.

AFTER

One more AFTER picture from another angle.

DRIVEWAY AREA

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE--looking from backyard to the street

AFTER--you can see the outdoor shower on the left against the house!

  

 BACK YARD

BEFORE

AFTER (before we set up furniture on the patio)

BEFORE

AFTER

So that's it!  And here are the men that deserve all the credit!

L to R:  Bryan, Bill, Luis, and Tyrone from Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting

Yaaaaay!  Wooohoooo! Applause!  Take a bow guys--you deserve it!

Putting on the Finishing Touches!

It's time to put the finishing touches on the yard at the Coral Cottage!

Bill Griffin of Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting and his crew worked hard to install our sprinkler system, plants and turf quickly and get the Coral Cottage ready for her debut at the Jane Coslick Holiday Tour of Homes back in December.

The team of three installers worked so efficiently and expertly!  Here is Bill with his crew members, Tyrone and Bryan, getting the rock in the tire track style driveway.

 Now if I had been in charge of this project, there would have been more rock in the middle than in the tire tracks area.  When they were done, it was perfect!  

Meanwhile Luis was working to put down the stepping stones.  The ones in the turf were placed on the grass and then Luis cut around them and lifted the turf out of the way before placing them into the grass--perfect fit every time!

In this photo Luis is working on a little paved pad made of stepping stones.  In a future project I want to set up a nice spot for sitting and relaxing.

 Next time I will do the reveal of the landscaping job--it looks so fabulous!  Come back for the grand finale!

It's Time to Pay the Piper!

Water is an expensive commodity at the beach but it is a necessity if you have a grassy lawn--and we wanted a grassy lawn.  Bill Griffin, our landscape architect, strongly urged us to install a sprinkler system.  I didn't want to but everyone I spoke with backed him up--if you want turf to stay alive in the hot sun, you have to water it.  So Bill's crew put the pipes in...

Source for photos:  Bill Griffin

Bill's crew laid out the pipe according to the grid on the plan and dug trenches to bury the pipes.

It required quite a network in order to water all areas of the lawn and the beds.  Once it was covered up it was time for the turf.  I'll show you in my next post!

Getting a Good Grade!

The Coral Cottage is all gorgeous-ed up but it is like a shiny jewel that needs a beautiful setting.  I hired a landscape architect from Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting.  He just happens to be my brother, Bill Griffin.

This is the yard (and the house) BEFORE anything was done.

Front yard--the sand is very deep and the front walkway is cracked-up cement.

There was a shed with a tin roof to the left.  The yard comprises a lot and a half--actually
fairly large for a lot at the beach.

Backyard with cement pad 

After measuring and evaluating the property, Bill gave me a plan showing the beds, walkways, and plant material he recommended.  You can see the three palms we planted in the front yard drawn in on the left side of the paper.

Source for this and following photos:  Bill Griffin

One thing Bill noted was that the lot sloped so that water ran off in the  direction of the house--not a good thing.  He planned to correct this problem so drainage would flow away from the house.  I'm so grateful for his expertise--this is something I would not have realized until there was a problem.  Here are photos of the yard after grading was done.

Front yard

As you can see, we opted to take down the shed.

Back yard

Good beginning--check back for how it all turns out!

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Coral Cottage interior is beautiful and ready for guests but  the yard is in desperate need of some love--and expert attention.  Cue the landscape architect:

None other than my baby brother, Bill Griffin!

Of course, he's not a baby anymore--I hope Bill will forgive this blast from the past.  Can you tell from these that he had three adoring sisters?  You can't hold me responsible--he was totally irresistible!

As you can see, I am a good bit older than Bill (12 years) so I missed living at home during many of his growing up years since I went to college about the time he started first grade!  He grew up in Savannah, graduated from Calvary Baptist Day School (where I can't help adding that he was a standout athlete in football, basketball and golf).

He went to the University of Georgia and graduated from the School of Landscape Architecture Then he decided to return to Savannah where he started his business,
Griffin Landscape Design and Contracting....

...Which brings us to now.  Recently I asked Bill to come out to the Coral Cottage to measure and make some plans for the yard.  He was happy to oblige. 

Source:  Kristen Sagar

I know what you're thinking--that as a sister I'm a freebie but that is not so--I am a client and gladly so.  If you're going to spend lots of money installing a yard, why not spend a bit more and get it right?  I did ask Bill to hold the cost down as much as possible and he gave me an excellent plan and installation for a good price.

Here's the preliminary plan that Bill worked on that day.

Source:  Kristen Sagar

It's amazing what a difference a beautiful setting can make for a home!  Can't wait to show you the process from start to finish!