Diana’s Dirt
My name is Diana Gardner-Williams, also the name of my landscaping company. Born and raised as a bona-fide Gardner.
Buffalo, NY was my birth place and currently reside in the Greensboro (Liberty), NC area with my family. A Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture was obtained from North Carolina Agricultural and Techincal State University in 1998. I worked for a small landscape design/build company for 1 year before starting Diana Gardner-Williams, Landscape Design and Installation.
I provide landscape design plans and installation or 1 hour landscape consultations for residential homeowners of the Piedmont Triad Area.
My passion also includes speaking on the topic of gardening and landscaping design. July of 2007 the National SHARE organization invited me to present a workshop to bereaved parents of pregnancy and infant loss on creating memory gardens, honoring their children.
Feel free to contact me to present a workshop to your church groups, gardens groups, homeowners association meetings, grief support meetings or other organizations interested in the healing properties of memory gardens or general landscape design for the Piedmont Triad area.
Contact-Diana (the symbol for at)justacloudaway.com
The goal of my designs are creating beautiful and functional outdoor living spaces or gardens by incorporating these elements
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The existing style of your home
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Complimenting existing topography
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How you & your family use leisure time
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Your personality
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My landscape design expertise
My affiliations are:
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Garden Commitee of Saint PiusX Church
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Member of BNI “Diamonds” chapter of Greensboro, NC
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CEO of www.justacloudaway.com
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Member of Southeast Community Business Association
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Member of Divine Weddings and Beyond™
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Member of Merchants of Oakridge
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Publisher of Just a Cloud Away, Inc™ Journal
Barbara Adams
March 12, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I spoke to you on the phone and you directed me to this website to find a two-page questionnaire. I cannot locate the questionnaire. Please email it to me. This project is something that needs to happen very soon.
Thank you,
Barbara Adams
Anne Nagro
April 18, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hi, Diana. Deborah Bryant suggested I forward you some information about a new website I’ve started: http://www.GardenABCs.com. It’s forum and share site for parents, educators and community interested in starting and maintaining learning gardens. Learning gardens can be based in schools, run by scout groups and clubs, be designed for seniors or disabled adults, you name it! They can be butterfly gardens, vegetable patches, native plant restoration projects, and more. Please check out the site. I’d be honored if you’d particpate in our Forum, which is just getting started. A parent from North Carolina had some questions that you may be able to address. I started the site after years spent volunteering at my children’s elementary school harvest garden and all the “bumping around in the dark” many of us go through in developing these programs. Why recreate the wheel, when there are so many wonderful projects and experts to learn from?
I used to live in Greensboro, and your blog transports me back to the wonderful time I spent there.
Sincerely, Anne Nagro
Denise Szalkowski
June 23, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Hi Diane,
I’m from Fredonia, NY (45 minutes from your hometown of Buffalo, NY). First, I must say how impressed I am with your keen eye for landscaping design. I wish you still lived in Buffalo because I would hire you in a heart beat.
I do have a landscaping question which I hope you can answer. We have a traditional style home in gray siding with white trim. A very light gray brick is on part of the front of the home. The previous homeowner built a retaining wall with stacking block (the type you purchase at Home Depot). It looked good, but due to poor drainage, the wall began to fall. My husband didn’t like the look of the unnatural stone so he purchased $2,000 worth of slate rock online. He thought he was getting a light gray, however, we got more black than gray. He started to stack the wall, but I’m afraid it clashes too much with the light gray brick on the house. The wall is approximately 10-12 feet from the porch of the home. Knowing how much time he’ll need to devote to this project, I’m afraid he’s going to build something well just hate. I’d really like to get another person’s (preferably an expert like yourself) opinion before the wall is built. I’d be happy to send pictures if you would like.
lgrim
January 28, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Huh! The buffalo thing caught my eye, but even stranger I also grew up in Fredonia, but now live in Greensboro NC. Small world.
I grew up in the house in front of Forest Hills Cemetery…most beautiful cemetery I’ve ever seen. There is a plethora of great vegetation that you might want to check out there for ideas Denise.
Mark Sammelmann
January 10, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Diana,
Mark Sammelmann
January 10, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Diana,
Thank you for a very informative website. I live just
outside the St. Louis, MO area. I have a Yoshino Cherry
tree that does quite well here, It is approximately 4 years
old and I would like to relocate it to a more open area in the yard. First of all do you recommend this for this age tree and can this be performed during harsh winter conditions???
Diana Gardner-Williams
January 10, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Hi Mark, thank you for visiting.
What is the height of the Yoshino, 10-12 feet? A transplant of a speciman tree needs to have a plan and patience is the key. One always takes a rish the tree will not thrive once transplanted. In the spring you want to root prune. This will slowly acclimate the tree of taking in less water when it is moved. You know, not as much shock! Move the tree in the late fall, when dormant. In the following spring, make sure it is mulched well and incorporate composted soil. A weekly watering of 1 inch (good drenching) and your tree will thrive in its new spot. It would be a good opportunity when you move, to prune all crossing branches to improve overall form.
Hope this helps:)
tommy cowett
March 3, 2012 at 1:04 am
Diana, i love your website and blog. I wanted to share with you what happend as a resulted of taking on a project i learned from your site. Last spring i started the construction of a compost fence. First of all i thank you for the warning that neighbors might not accept the structure if it becomes unsightly. However, this fence was located in my side yard and with seasonal vegetation lnvisible to the public. I packed it full of organic debris, everything from shrub and tree prunings to fall leaves. The thing was awesome. You could smell the humate burning. It was until early winter when all the leaves were down when i got the letter from my hmo demanding removal.
Diana Digs Dirt at Cornerstone Garden
March 3, 2012 at 1:11 am
Hi Tommy, I hope you meant your HOA because your HMO has no business in your garden:) Sorry to hear about the cranky ass, I meant association……