The Unveiling - The Garden Gazebo, That Is!

The cast-stone pillars loaded and ready in Asheville for the long drive home.

Home (Blooming Hill) at last!

You can tell it's early.  Even the dog is yawning!

Well, if you read last week's blog entry about our journey down to Asheville, North Carolina and beyond to collect our new (old/antique) garden gazebo reminiscent of a structure straight out of a Jane Austin novel or, perhaps, that great American  saga by Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind, then you're in the right place to witness it's unveiling right here at Blooming Hill.  The truck trundled back north into Virginia last Tuesday evening.  Bright and early Wednesday morning, true to form, Peter was out working on rebuilding the structure on top of a sunny slope and flanked by lavender beds.  A firm believer in "no rest for the weary," Peter had Kevin up and out of bed bright and early, too while, Kevin, nobody's fool himself, called for more reinforcement, his friend Micheal, to come over and join in the "rebuilding" games.

Measuring and leveling.

Placing it just so...

Enough posing for pictures...Back to work!

I think I heard both the truck and trailer release a collective sigh of relief when the Peter, Kevin and Micheal finally pulled the heavy cast-stone columns and scrolled wrought iron cap out of each and back into sunlight and stable ground.  Then, the real fun began as the early morning temperatures were mobilizing to rise into the mid 90's by 12 noon.  They worked fast in order to get
the columns set and the filigreed cap in place.

How come this doesn't fit?

A few minor adjustments...

So, now, I'll let the pictures tell the story, from here, as P.Lorenz and company put their noses to the grindstone and finished the job bringing Peter's vision to a close.  I'm sure that Jane Austin and Margaret Mitchell would be proud.

A few more minor adjustments...

Just one more inch...

Toasting the gazebo with cold bottles of water, now that the hard part is done, and before the hot, hot heat of the day settled in.

 The structure was up in less time than it took to come down but just as sturdy, thanks to the project manager and lead designer, P. Lorenz (a.k.a. Peter) and his assistants, Micheal and Kevin.  It was a job well done...Wait a minute!  There are still a few more things to be done--finishing touches, that is.  Two days later, after Kevin and Micheal were long gone, Peter added pea gravel to the floor of the gazebo which added definition to the entire structure.  He also filled in and repaired several cracks and divots that had occurred throughout the years as well as from the journey to Blooming Hill.

That poor truck never catches a break .   Peter unloading pea gravel from it and onto the floor of the gazebo.

Details...Details!

Nothing major left to do at this point, however P.Lorenz likes things as close to perfect as he can get...you know those artistic designer types! You can't live with them and you can't live without them. Yet, all of his efforts and hard work were worth it and shows in the small details.

The pea gravel floor in the gazebo.

Looking up through the wrought iron cap of the gazebo. "Nothing but blue skies, do I see!"

Are we done yet?!?

This beautiful fox statue is proving more effective in scaring off the devil deer than Tucker!

Elaborate, intricate and sturdy.

"Le Pie'ce de re'sitance!"

And VIOLA!  Blooming Hill's newest addition, a centerpiece of quiet beauty and vintage charm that will grace the gardens here for years to come.  It wasn't easy.  In fact, at times it seemed as though it was a perfect war of wills between the garden gazebo and Peter.  However, in spite of everything, it turned out beautifully!  Finally, we can enjoy it's arrival home.  And, yes--I really do think that Jane Austin and Margaret Mitchell would like it very much.  What do you think?  Drop by and see it for yourself.  It's even prettier in person.