B2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019
Landscaper: Three cats that live with Fugitt were involved in his plan
Continued from Page B1
game, I just really enjoy put-
ting my efforts into my own
place. That’s not to say that
as a good neighbor, I’m not
going to help somebody out
or give them ideas or help
them with something lit-
tle. But as a business, I’m
not really interested in that
anymore.”
He’s discovering every
day how gratifying it is to
work at turning his formerly
drab yard into an enjoy-
able paradise. “Before,” he
described, it was just a fi re
pit and a whole bunch of
grass. I had to dig up all the
old lawn to make planting
beds. For an old guy with
a grub hoe, that’s a lot of
work.”
Two years ago, Fugitt suf-
fered a major heart attack, so
he admits to not being able
to accomplish tasks at light-
ning speed. He knows his
limitations, so he decided it
was all right to do small sec-
tions of the yard at a time
and that’s how he kept from
being overwhelmed both
mentally and physically.
He said it’s an ongoing
transformation and every
time he walks outside in the
morning to stop and stare
as he sips a cup of coffee,
he gets new ideas. “One of
the things I’ve been blessed
with is to see something that
isn’t there and to picture it
not only as it looks now, but
what it will look like in fi ve
or even 20 years.”
And he stays fl exible
in his thinking. Nothing in
his yard is set in stone. “I
just watch it develop as it
goes and I’m always chang-
ing things.” One forgiving
aspect about landscaping,
he stressed, is “You put a
plant in some place and that
can change. Some are a lit-
tle fi nicky and they don’t
like to be moved a lot,” but
he said that most will adapt
to a location modifi cation.
If where you planted them
doesn’t work or you decide
you don’t like it where it is,
Fugitt said, “Move it.”
The arbor takes shape
In addition to digging up
and removing the old lawn,
Fugitt decided to go to work
on an inviting focal point, an
arbor at the front of the yard.
The idea for this had been
germinating long before the
project even started. During
walks to the beach and back,
just a few short blocks from
his Park Avenue corner
house, he said, “I noticed
that down on the approach
to the beach, somebody had
cut down some shore pines
compresses and is com-
monly used for paths and
driveways. He purchased it
locally, at Peninsula Land-
scape Supply.
Art everywhere
Fugitt likes the look of
what he calls, “goofy gar-
den art,” and has used it a
great deal. There is an old
boot resting on top of a tree
stump. It has plants inside.
Alongside one of the paths is
a mosaic birdbath created by
Barger. She also made a lit-
tle fairy garden and it is nes-
tled in some plants near the
same path.
Then, there are the big
pieces, two metal steel balls
in the plant areas. “They’re
actually 130-pound Rus-
sian fi shing fl oats.” He
said he dragged one from a
beach and the other is from
a garage sale. He and Barger
(who he also calls his per-
petual fi ance) go to a lot of
garage sales and keep their
eyes open for yard art.
Just dig it
His Three Musketeer cats (Henry, John and Milton, all teenagers) “helped a lot” in the whole
landscaping process, according to John Fugitt. Here, Henry sits on a front porch bench and
demands attention.
and left them stacked there
in kind of burn piles. They
never removed them.”
Every time he walked
by, he thought, “They have
some nice lines to them.” He
saw endless creative possi-
bilities, especially since he
wanted to achieve a natu-
ral look in his yard project.
And one of the perks was
that these branches had been
there drying for a couple
years and probably wouldn’t
shrink or crack if he used
them.
Fugitt doesn’t like driv-
ing his vehicle on the beach,
so one at a time on foot,
he started dragging the
branches home, up and over
the hill by Pacifi c Pines State
Park, after his beach vis-
its. He neatly stacked them
alongside the north side of
his house.
“There was a method to
my madness,” he explained
with a smile. “I was gath-
ering for a reason and this
ended up being the reason.”
When he began using
the gathered material on the
arbor, he said, “I grabbed a
couple of branches, clipped
off some little pieces and put
them on the sides.” He stood
back and looked, deciding
he really liked this. “It was
support for the arbor and
support for plants. Perfect
lines. I did the same with the
top and pieced it all together
with little pieces of wood. I
decided I liked it so much,
I’d do the same thing on the
fence.”
He did use some screws
for some attaching. He pre-
fers those to nails. But as
often as possible, to achieve
that natural look, he relied
on weaving the branches.
“It’s fun, because you play
with how they fi t together.”
He pointed to a branch on an
upright post on the left side
of the arbor’s rail. “It has
two little horns that inter-
lock right there in front.
They happen to lop right
over each other and hold that
(rail) together.”
Feline support
Three cats that live with
Fugitt were involved in his
plan. He put down hem-
lock bark in his fl ower beds.
“I thought it might keep the
cats from pooping in my gar-
den, but no. They still love
it. That’s all right, because
it’s their garden, too.”
Henry, Mike and Milton
are all teenage kitties and set
in their ways.
Reap the rewards
Landscaping and gar-
dening, according to Fugitt,
“are relaxing. People come
by and it’s a conversation
piece. It brings community
together.”
Often sitting outside with
his cup of java, Fugitt doesn’t
hesitate to answer questions
of passersby. And one thing
that Barger said describes
his friendly demeanor? “He
is so kind and has such a
good heart. And he’s so hon-
est. He exemplifi es all the
good qualities that people
should have, but that you
don’t see much nowadays.”
And he sure doesn’t mind
getting his hands dirty.
Around the bend
Still striving for the natu-
ral look, Fugitt created paths
that curved. No straight geo-
metric designs here. He said
that curves, “are softer lines.
Straight lines are hard. It’s
all about the effect you want
to have.” He fi nds these
curved paths to be inviting
and are, “always asking you
to look around the corner.”
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For the surface of each
path, he used three-quarters
minus gravel. It’s a crushed
rock with fi nes. It fi rmly
Fugitt’s yard transforma-
tion is a motivation for oth-
ers who want to try sprucing
up their own landscaping.
He encourages people to
give it a try.
“Get yourself a book,” he
suggested, especially when
it comes to choosing and
locating plants. But he said
to not be afraid to dive in
and try. He said with design-
ing a yard, there is no right
or wrong way.
“You just need to real-
ize what you want to use
the area for. That’s the big-
gest decision in landscaping
that you’ll make. Is it going
to be for recreation or fam-
ily? Or are you just going to
look at it through your win-
dow? Are you going to par-
take in it? You decide what
activities are going to be
involved and you design it
accordingly.”
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