This week in between all the harvesting, I’ve been working on a small sketch:  a map of gardens at Coppertop.  A few people have asked me to describe the layout of this land, and I think I’ll add the sketched layout to the “About” page when it’s completed.

Although the wraparound deck with its view of the Cascades is our first choice of relaxation spots, some evenings we enjoy sitting on the patio by the waterfall. The sound of rushing water is soothing to the soul.

We have a small fire pit there, and it is an ideal place to sip some port. You can take the girl away from Portugal, but you can’t take port away from the girl! Anyway, I’d been talking about turning an old stump alongside the waterfall into a table of some sort — a table to set a bottle and glasses on, of course. One afternoon a couple weeks ago, Hubby drove up with a huge slice of wood in the bed of his truck. He’d seen some tree cutters taking down a big cedar near the school parking lot and asked if he might have a piece. These kind men cut us a beautiful table top!

With the warmer summer temps, we’ve continually battled string algae in the waterfall. There are no fish living in the waterfall’s pond, but it was the home of many frogs in the spring. The barley straw works to control the algae somewhat, but Hubby was in awe of some crystal clear water features on the garden tour last month, so he purchased Sludge Buster, which one homeowner recommended. One tablet didn’t do the trick, so Hubby recently decided to empty the waterfall, wash all the rocks and liners, and start fresh. Teachers on summer break can be so productive! 😉 The waterfall is now clearer than it’s ever been.

Although I’ve briefly mentioned our waterfall and patio area months ago, I can’t find where I’ve written about the rockery. We call it a rockery because that’s how the previous homeowners described it. This Coppertop feature is on a steep slope next to the patio, directly below the herb garden.

Ground covers, ferns, grasses, herbs and other plants, along with plenty of weeds, thrive in the dirt between the rocks. This weekend I’ll put a few hours into cutting back some of the more prolific ground covers. Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia, isn’t just creeping, she’s taking over. The Golden Jenny is also pretty, but way too rampant.

Time to pull up a lot. We have many wonderful houseguests arriving throughout August and into September, and we’d like the patio with its waterfall and rockery to be a place we all can relax together.