I'm Afraid Chuck Might Move Out of the Neighborhood

The Georgia Perennial Plant Association hosts its annual symposium at the Atlanta Botanical Garden this year on Saturday, February 5.  If you're within a couple of hours of Atlanta, it's definitely worth the drive. This year's theme is "The Pleasure Garden."  http://www.georgiaperennial.org/

I have attended the symposium for the past few years, and always come away with some great ideas for both the stepchild garden and the garden at The Big House.  Great new plants, cool combinations that I hadn't considered before, etc.,etc.  All good things.

Here's the problem........
Dan Benarcik from Chanticleer is the first speaker that morning.  Anyone who follows this blog knows that I'm a bit of a Dan Benarcik groupie, and have absolutely no problem telling people that my goal is to have a garden that looks like Chanticleer. 

The last time I became obsessed with something from Chanticleer was the Adirondack chairs that Chuck foolishly agreed to make for me as a birthday present.  (That story is in a post here from late July of last year).  By the time they were finally finished, Chuck almost threw them across the street to my house, and I had to do the painting!

I think I need to start reminding Chuck that his chairs are one of my favorite things in the garden, and remind him that they really weren't all that difficult to make..........if Dan Benarcik has any cool new things in his presentation for me to obsess about (and he will), I'm screwed.

The Dan Benarcik Chairs

                               


Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I can be rather "persistent" about it (others may say that "obnoxious" is a better word).

Several months ago I saw Dan Benarcik, from Chanticleer, demonstrating the construction of his Adirondack chairs from Chanticleer on Sean Conway's show, Cultivating Life.  It was at that moment that I decided I needed to have THOSE chairs for my not shed.  Many people suggested many absolutely beautiful alternatives, but none were the ones I wanted.

I entered every conceivable phrase into Google to see where I might buy them, I recorded (twice) the episode of the show to make sure I didn't miss any details, and I managed to find an on-line copy of the demonstration, as well.  It was clear I would never be able to buy these.

And then one day my friend Chuck made the (now infamous) mistake of saying, "Show me the video, and I'm sure I can make these for your birthday".  Chuck is a rather accomplished woodsmith, and has done lots of the construction around the Stepchild Garden, including the building of the Not Shed.

Well, after a few months of screeching from Chuck's workshop late at night ("Does your new BFF Dan know they don't even sell wood in that size??" "Why don't I just pull measured drawings out of my butt??", "There is no friggin' way that angle is correct!" etc., etc.), as well as some new names for Dan Benarcik and Sean Conway that I can't even publish, combined with Chuck's adamant refusal to give up, the chairs are done.  And they are freakin' perfect!

Wait until he hears what I'm picturing suspended from that old Sweet Gum in the backyard.........