Garden Structures: The gazebo in the hill

"It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top."
- Arnold Bennett

The hill is the highest point in the farm. It accords a view of the river below and the valley beyond. In the afternoon while the rest of the farm is exposed to the heat of the sun, there is a refreshingly cool breeze that blows gently in this area. The river below must have a cooling effect on this gentle wind as it crosses this body of water on its way up the hill.

It's so nice to spend the rest of the afternoon in this area if only there's a shady place to stay under, like some leafy trees perhaps. However, only Cogon grass and other weeds grow here. Early last year we built a small and crude tin-roofed hut. This temporarily solved the shade problem. Unfortunately months later a passing storm carried the hut away.

The hilltop view, a new temporary gazebo and some newly installed plants.

The simple gazebo in these pictures was not originally a gazebo. It was recycled from parts of the structure that used to house the goats after they were relocated to their new and better house. When the nasty October storm pummeled the farm, it destroyed this abandoned goat's house but luckily it left the roof intact.

The hilltop cleared of the Cogon grass that dominates the place.

Since the crude hut at the hill is gone and there is this perfectly good roof that has no use at the moment, my father thought of using it to build a new shelter to replace the old hut that seemed to have suddenly vanished into thin air.

New plants on the slope of the hill. More will be planted soon to make this a 'greener' place.

After the structure has been erected, the surrounding area was groomed with plants from the nursery and some of the plants that were removed from the entrance to the farm when the landscaping there was completely redone. More plants will be installed soon and hopefully stunt the growth of the Cogon grass.

And what is a gazebo without a place to sit on? The wooden chairs below were just sitting in the storage so why not use them instead. They need a bit of refinishing but since this is the outdoors their weathered look fits perfectly with the surroundings.

An old Narra furniture set from the storage.

All in all, I consider this project "eco-friendly" in that the materials used were all recycled, from the roof down to the furnitures, and even the plants.

What I'm afraid of is that this structure might get blown away again once another strong storm comes. It's the wind that would actually cause more damage than the rain. I have something else in mind that should solve this problem, a different type of gazebo that can be "folded" whenever necessity dictates it. But the rainy season is still a couple of months away so for now this structure will do.
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Where trees are fallen there is grief

An old gazebo behind a towering tree.

"Give me a land of boughs in leaf,
        a land of trees that stand;
where trees are fallen there is grief;
        I love no leafless land."
A. E. Housman

In my "Gimme shelter" post, I mentioned about my plan to rebuild or resurrect a long gone gazebo in one corner of the farm. Apart from having a crude bamboo trellis built and letting a Red Jade Vine climb over it, I really haven't done anything else to rebuild the gazebo. I was biding for time until I can personally see the area and discuss with my father about a good replacement.

Come to think of it, I'm relieved that I didn't immediately go full blast with this particular project. My procrastination this time was a blessing in disguise because several days after I published that blog entry something unthinkable happened.

The fallen tree over the ruins of the old gazebo.

This tree which used to stand tall and proud was humbled by the strongest storm that ever hit the farm. During the clean-up after the storm they chopped off its branches thinking that it's a goner. But after a few months it began to sprout tender branches and new leaves. Despite its almost horizontal position it's still alive, it's  a survivor. I could have the trunk cut into pieces if I really wish so, but I feel sorry for this tree.If it's alive then it deserves to live.

And this is not just any tree, it's a Narra tree (Pterocarpus indicus). The Narra is the Philippines' national tree. It's a hardwood so hard that it's termite-resistant. The wood is reddish in color and very much sought for in house constructions and a valuable raw material in the furniture industry. A furniture made of Narra is very expensive.

Another view of the downed Narra tree.

I don't know if Mother Nature is telling me to back off, or forcing me to think things over first or challenging me to be creative in dealing with this unusual situation. Whatever solution I can come up with later, one thing is for sure, if it survives I will not sacrifice the life of this precious tree just so I could build a new structure there.
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Garden Structures: First Pergola

Several months ago in my "Gimme Shelter" post, I mentioned about my plans to resurrect an old gazebo long gone, but with a new twist. As it turned out, this project became more complicated after the passing of the October storm that brought devastation to the farm. I will delve on this topic deeper in one of my future posts.

All is not lost though. Somewhere near the shore of another fishpond was a remnant of another long gone gazebo. Since we could not build on the original planned site, I decided to build on this site instead. And on this location will rise a pergola.

Where the pergola will be located.

In my long distance phone conversation with my dear father, he suggested that we use a sturdy material for the pergola so that it won't easily rot and even a strong storm cannot blow it away. So instead of wood, we settled for steel pipes. The project was funded and the construction commenced.

Construction of the latticework.

Assembling the pergola.

Assembling the pergola as seen from another angle.

With the pergola complete, all it needs now is a plant to climb up and fill the spaces on top. For this, I decided to use the Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea) vine which was growing passionately in the nursery. Then I was told that it was one of the storm casualties. The vine's main trunk broke at the very base and it never grew back.

Installing concrete pillars.

For now the pergola will have to wait for its permanent occupant. We ordered four pots of the Blue Passion from my mother's favorite garden store, which should be available by the latter part of this month.

But we are not done yet with this project. As you can see, the concrete floor of the old gazebo has cracked in several places. It needs a new coat of concrete to level the floor. I'm thinking of laying terracotta tiles on top of this concrete to lend a rustic look. Then we need to landscape the surrounding areas. So it means more plants are needed. Whew, and I thought this endeavor was supposedly simple.

It looks like one of the projects I mentioned in my "What's in store for 2011" entry on Fer's Garden Carnival is on its way to fruition.

Gimme Shelter

Oh, a storm is threatening my very life today;
If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away...
("Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones)

Directly opposite our humble house, on the other side of the pond, there used to stand a roomy gazebo tucked in a space between some towering trees. Its floor was made of concrete, the low walls were made of bamboo and the roof was of grass.

This gazebo was a very functional structure. It was used to entertain visitors because it was spacious, cozy and airy there. It provided shelter from the rain or the sun. On a lazy afternoon it was a common sight to see someone taking a nap inside, it was a place to relax and rest.

The little gazebo as it used to be.

For some reason I could not understand, the gazebo suffered neglect. Eventually the bamboo walls and wooden posts rotted and the roof collapsed. Still it was not repaired. After a while the concrete floor cracked. How I wish they kept this gazebo well maintained. What's left now is not even a shadow of its former self.

Last year, we bought another Red Jade Vine. I asked Dad to construct a bamboo trellis above whatever is left of the old gazebo. I asked Mom to plant the new vine close to the trellis and train it to climb the bamboo structure.

A young Red Jade vine climbing up a trellis above the cracked floor of what used to be the gazebo.

I'm planning to resurrect the gazebo but with a different look and function. I'll put tiles on the floor, replace the bamboo trellis with a latticework made of stronger material, put some outdoor furnitures under the arbor and  some lighting for the evening use. A little more landscaping around the structure will complete the transformation.

With this new design plan, it can no longer be a shelter from the rain. But on a clear day it will be a welcome respite from the heat, partly sheltered from the sun by the intertwined stems of the Red Jade Vine. Come blooming time there'll be an abundance of hanging flowers underneath a canopy of leaves to grace the presence of someone seeking cover from the sun.

The clock is ticking

The flowers of the Clock vine.

The Clock vine (Thunbergia mysorensis) is a climbing evergreen with clusters of yellow and reddish-brown flowers which form from a single stem (or raceme) and hangs low like a pendant or a chandelier.

Why it's called 'Clock ' vine, I do not know. It doesn't resemble a clock, a watch or any other mechanical means of telling time. But I believe this species has the most dramatic floral presentation in the genus 'Thunbergia'.

The flowers are dangling under the roof of a gazebo. I hope to achieve this effect with our Clock vine someday.

I first saw this vine on a visit to a zoo-cum-garden establishment a few hours away from the city of Manila a few years back. It was vigorously climbing up a gazebo. The intertwining stems were so thick that it almost looked like the whole vine is the roof of the structure. The clusters of flowers, along with aerial roots (of another vine?) hang down inside the gazebo. Very neat!

A picture our first Clock vine. Note the flowers on the lower left corner.

From then on it became a 'must have' for our garden. On one of her routine trips from the city to the farm, mother spotted a house with Clock vines on their pergola. She politely asked for cuttings and she was able to get a few stems.

Months after that we have our own Thunbergia mysorensis in our garden. It may not be as thick and robust as the one I saw but someday it will be. It's been trained to climb over a makeshift trellis and it's been growing well so much so that it started to bloom.