Decking (and the perennial gardens that surround them)

Does that work, Chris, for making it a perennial subject :-O

Valerie wrote:

Decking has taken 
> off over here in
> a big way (in fact we have erected decking as a terrace 
> instead of paving)
> and the TV gardeners seem intent on staining decking, fences 
> and anything
> else that will take colour, in blues, greens, yellow, 
> terracotta and purple
> etc.  

Wow -- I can't fathom painting a deck or staining it other than a natural
wood color, and I can't see I've done it any other way in America.  But I
think the Brits set the pace when it comes to outdoor living, for America.
To me the commitment would be too big to keep it that color and have to work
with it for years to come in the surrounding beds.

I feel I can safely add my two cents on this subject, living the Pacific
Northwest -- tree/wood country.  But before I say my piece, let's make sure
we are comparing apples to apples here.

Decking here in America, of at least the part I live in, refers to a
large-ish area of wood used for sitting and resting on, like a patio.
Sometimes they are on the ground, sometimes quite high off the ground,
attached to a second story of a house.

There was a deck at my humble abode when I moved in 10 years ago, which
within 2-3 years I put my foot through in one place (it was rotting).  I had
the deck rebuilt the next year, but if I had it to do over again, I would
not have used wood.  I love things being all natural and I love wood, etc.,
but here in my wet climate (similar to England's) a deck really makes no
sense.  I have to seal it every year from the moisture and should probably
do it two times a year.  The wood eventually swells and shrinks, causing
them to pull away, leaving gaps, splinters, etc.  

I think decks became popular here in Oregon because wood was so plentiful.
When next I replace the deck, it will be with stone or brick -- something
that lasts much longer around here.  We don't have much in the way of
freezes and thaws so I shouldn't have to deal with the heaving that creates.

I have a friend at work who recently redid an area with large paving stones
with creepers inbetween.  It would get hotter than wood, but last infinitely
longer, I think.

Some of our local American celebrity gardeners, Barbara Damroch and Eliot
Coleman, back in Maine, had another great idea I thought.  For a shady area,
they had a cedar log cut into rounds about 1-2" thick, if memory serves.
They seated these into the ground in a large area and presto!  A shady deck
that will take years to rot.

I feel that I'm being left behind in the rush to be
> different :).

I wouldn't let that worry you.  I bet you that fad won't last long.
'Course, that's what IBM said about home computers!!!...







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