Tag Archives: landscaping

Body Dump

Posted on by
6

rock-garden3

After multiple seasons of chipping my lawnmower blade on a chunk of concrete protruding from the grass at the very edge of my property, I decided one day to dig the offending obstruction out of the ground.

I grabbed a shovel and set to it. The more I dug, however, the more I found. Ultimately, I discovered I had come upon the burial site of a heavy concrete birdbath — pedestal and all – chunked into several pieces. Kind of like a victim in a creepy ax murder movie, only with cement dust instead of blood. More than I had bargained for, at any rate.

rock-garden2

I loaded the pieces into my wheelbarrow and dumped them next to my driveway until I could figure out a way to get rid of the body – er, I mean birdbath. After a few months of staring at the rubble, I came up with a plan. I would hide the body in plain sight!

I had dug up a circular section of turf in the middle of my yard several months previously, admittedly with no clue as to how I was going to incorporate it into my landscape theme (or lack thereof). Keep the neighbors guessing, I always say.

So here I had this garden-like circular space and these rock-like concrete chunks. What better way to kill two birds with one birdbath, than to combine the garden and the rocks to build a rock garden!

rock-garden

Of course, I don’t really know how to make a rock garden, but I lined the circle area with the concrete chunks, and then planted a shrub in the middle for good measure. Maybe shrubs don’t belong in rock gardens, and maybe the rock garden will morph into something else over time. Apparently it’s not just the neighbors whom I confound with my actions; I have no clue either as to what I’m doing.

I think I’ve pulled off disguising the birdbath corpse, though. At least there haven’t been any robins or sparrows in long black overcoats and fedora hats pulled low over their eyes knocking at my door.

I wonder what else I will uncover as I continue my random landscape projects. I’m thinking of tearing down the old shed behind my house… what do you suppose lies hidden beneath that?

The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Repurpose

Weekend Coffee Share 9/25/16

Posted on by
2

160925

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you it’s been a busy – and mostly fun – week. Yard work, inside work, playing with the grandkids, playing with my dog Chules, nature walks, peeling almonds for almond milk, making overdue phone calls (and getting good news), sorting through things I had put aside (see previous post)…

I’m laying down a row of concrete blocks to replace a railroad tie terrace wall that runs along the back of my property. The block wall will be shorter, but the plan is to slope the upper level into a bank where I can plant a groundcover. And hopefully not have the freshly disturbed dirt wash away when the rains begin.

It’s slow going as I try to keep the blocks level and running in a straight row. I am beginning to wish I had intentionally designed the wall to curve a bit so I could worry less about alignment. Ah, hindsight.

I suppose I could rip it out and start over. I’m much better at demolishing than I am at constructing, so it would bring an instant gratification.

And then a lot more work. Obviously, I need to think this project through a bit more carefully.

It’s time to get Chules out for a walk before the day heats up. Thanks for stopping by. Let me know what you think: curved or straight?

Thanks to Diana at PartTimeMonster.com for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare.

Weekend Coffee Share 9/11/16

Posted on by
12

160911
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that my demolition activities have now extended from do-it-yourself house projects to the great outdoors. Since realizing that the majority of my yard consists of plants that are designated as weeds and invasive plant species in my county and state, I’ve decided to take on the challenge of converting my lawn into – well, something other than lawn.

Granted, the plan is a bit vague at this point, but I bought a book , Lawn Gone! Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard by Pam Penick, that may or may not be helpful (I haven’t gotten very far into reading it yet; I’ll let you know), but the title is promising.

I’m going to demolish my lawn and, as time, money, weather, health and personal inclination allow, turn it into something that doesn’t bring the term “noxious” into play.

So far, using photos from online publications, I think I’ve identified the following “weeds” in my yard: thistle (multiple varieties), Japanese knotweed, blackberry, St. John’s wort, sticky weed (catch weed), groundsel, dandelion, deadnettle, English ivy, London rocket, roberts geranium, wild carrot, prostrate knotweed, fox tail, cheat grass, and morning glory.

Obviously, there’s little room left for regular ol’ grass.

My goal is to use only organic methods of plant control, and try to use primarily materials and plant species native to my region to replace the lawn. I’m pretty sure that AstroTurf is native to this area. Or not…

If we were having coffee, I’d note that now I have dallied here so long, it’s too hot to go out and work on my grand landscaping project. Maybe I’ll just sit in the cool and read about how to get my lawn gone.

Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to pull some weeds on your way out. Bonus points for the “invasive” species.

Thanks to Diana at PartTimeMonsterBlog.com for hosting the #weekendcoffeeshare.

Weekend Coffee Share 6/18/16

Posted on by
6

160618

If we were having coffee, I’d have to admit it’s reheated from yesterday’s pot. Or maybe, if you were coming over, I would not be so lazy and would brew a fresh pot.

I’d show you the work I’ve been doing in my yard. A bit of lawn care, flower gardening and light landscaping. Whoever landscaped the yard in the first place made extensive use of creosote-treated railroad ties to terrace the multilevel property.

And now, some decades later, the ties are rotting, so I’m pulling them out and trying to come up with new ways to keep the terraces from eroding.

I’m sure inspiration will strike. Hopefully before any heavy rains come through and wash my yard away.

My sister was cleaning up her yard recently, and she offered me an assortment of rocks, bricks, pavers, blocks and tiles. Of course I said yes! I’m not totally sure how I will incorporate them into the overall landscape theme, but since there really is no theme, they’ll likely fit right in. Somewhere.

If we were having coffee, I’d have to cut it short. My dog is telling me it’s time for our walk. Thanks for stopping by.

Thank you to Diana at  Part-time Monster Blog for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.