Projects Summer 2013

Here you go Happy,
This run is all finished. I have more edging to do in the Secret Garden but this side is finished. Next I am going to take more of the sod up and level up the ground. Not only is there a slight down hill slope but there is also a grade difference along the run. Then the next edging work will be that raised bed you see in the pictures. Ric tossed that together from some old boards. That is getting the same brick edge along with the blue bottles that you have all gifted me. Not sure when I will start working on that. The glue I am using is a construction adhesive used for gluing cement blocks

Question for you, Holly--or Ric.

When i stack the rocks for my edging--should I glue them together
with this glue? What is the name of it? Does it come in a Caulk tube?

I know when i am mowing the lawn--and I get close to the edge of the rocks,
I could dislodge them if i am not careful.

Of course--the other option would be--to dig away a strip of grass in front of the
rocks so there will not BE any grass....HA! I bet the weeds will find it!!

Still to come...just want to know everything I do is OK.
The below job on the front side needs some help--I know it..

Thanks, G.

OK! Ric--this will be the start of me trying to do the corner bed...
Phase #1--if you will....

I am hoping for your expertise and guidance on this. I DO NOT
want idle compliments--or how good i am doing..please....
I want constructive suggestions--positive or negative--and alternate ideas.
I am NOT a builder--but in my "pea brain" I am hoping I have it
figured out....where I may be wrong is on the "structural" end of it...
I do not want to have to re-arrange all the rocks if something fails...

SO! I started this afternoon. Nice cool day--why not?

Ohase #1--I bought a 4' green edging of strong plastic. It has the scalloped bottom
with the sharp points and a small lip. I wanted to put this down to,
sort of, contain the soil or gravel. Decided on gravel--bought a bag at HD.

I needed something to raise the base level a bit as the "wall of soil"
at the bed's exposed back-side is too high (it was as high as the RR tie)
for the big edging rocks to sit, properly, above the soil level.

1--Here is the edging in place and one bag of rocks layered over
the base and on top of the green edging.
On this gravel, I will position the big rocks in a logical pattern .
What do you think of this as step #1.?

At this point--everything can still be changed. Your opinion, please....

Pic #2--Close-up of the green edging. Should the rocks sit further back
from the edge of the edging?
One reason I wanted some kind of an edging is for my mower wheel
to not go bouncing off of the rocks. I know a 3/4" edging is not much--
but it may be enough--especially if I keep any grass away from the bed.
Will definitely work on that...

Pic #3--Bought 5 of these fancy edging rocks...was going to
dig them in and then set your big rocks on top of it. NADA!
Not using them...I have another small edge of a bed they will be
perfect for in the back yard. These were $2.17 each...NOT cheap....

OK. This is it so far. I await your reply....Thanks, Gita

Gita, That should give you a good base and reduce frost heaving some. I'd start the first row right behind the edging. As you place the stone try and slope them toward the back of the bed about 10 degrees off with any natural tilt going in, this keeps the stone from pushing out when the soil behind the stone freezes. Once in a great while I have to reset some stones as they do move over the years. I think I've fixed mine twice in about 30 years and the new wall I really haven't had to do much in 5-6 years. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Ric---
I never thought about the slanting backwards.......good idea..
What I can do is rake a bit more of the gravel to the front to help
create that backward slant...Sound OK?

Now--the width/depth of this space is 9 1/2" and the height to soil level is 7".
If I start with the big stones right behind the edging I am sure I will need
to add smaller stones, or different shaped stones, behind the first row
to make it look right.
I am sure there will be spaces behind the stones. What do i do then?
Just fill it with soil? I suppose that would work...
And if I cannot completely fill it--I am sure the earth will fill it by itself.
A little rain--a little mud--and it will be filled.

My remaining concern is that for me to start the stones right
behind the edging--I will have to move the gravel away from the
very front of the edging. The gravel is not too deep--maybe 2"?
It would not be a good enough "footing" for the stones.

I will play it by ear....
I may have to re-do the front portion also by adding the edging.
Many of those stones have been bumped by the mower and have moved.

The best solution for that will HAVE TO be keeping about a 4" wide
clear area outside the beds.
I pull the grass often--but it always creeps back against the beds.
There must be something unfavorable for grass to grow I can put
down in the soil so it stays clear of grass......??? Don't want to use
Round Up as it may drift into my beds.

OK! Enough chatting. Will resume this project tomorrow.
Thanks again...Gita

Gita you can tuck some pieces of sedum or fern or whatever will do well in the larger cracks.

I got the back of the barn stained today in prep for our new hen's yard. I've pretty much finished the hen house. I built it inside the barn to make caring for them in foul weather a little easier, and better protect them. We've added 6 new girls so our GD, Lily can have eggs that are not from factory chickens. She decided on Easter she doesn't want to harm animals in order to eat. She will however eat our eggs an dairy.

Hen envy here....
Dairy...are you getting goats? Or a sweet lil brown jersey cow??
Or was that she will eat our eggs and (she will eat )dairy.

LOL No Sally no dairy here just the eggs. We did for years have dairy goats that we milked twice a day and they provided us with lovely rich milk. But those days are long gone.
Lily (6), decided last Easter after looking at a very large piece of ham that she wouldn't eat meat. Stated that she wasn't going to eat meat and hurt animals. She was steadfast in her untutored belief. Good Mom Jen said that if Lily wasn't eating meat then she wouldn't either. So Jen started doing some research in an attempt to feed Lily properly and ended up watching one too many documentary on factory farms. So Jen has gone completely Vegan. Lily has swayed Lucas away from meat also but Jen is just doing a Vegetarian diet for the kids they have eggs, milk and cheese. She doesn't buy cows milk uses other types like Almond milk but does have products for the kids that has milk in it. She said she doesn't think she can bring herself to actually buy eggs any more but is willing to take ours as she knows that the chickies are living the good life. She did ask where the chickies came from. Some Hatcheries do have some ugly business practices.

Wow--Holly! What a resolve from someone that young!!!
Do you think, maybe in her school, they may have had some kind
of a presentation or discussion on animals and them being made into food?

Jen has her hands full to feed her kids with enough protein to grow on.
The vegan life takes a lot of creativity to provide the needed "building blocks"
for strong bones and growth...

I wish them all well...Gita

Until they develop a great soy ice cream Lily will eat dairy. LOL The other day when Holly had the GCs, Lucas was too full of pizza, (cheese only) to eat his treat, (ice cream), so Lily did. when they stopped by Nana's house. What happens at Nana's stays at Nana's. Lily had another, and she weighs 40# soaking wet.
When we used to go to the barn to work we took Jamie, a toddler, along and put him in the pen with the baby goats, I guess since he shared their milk he decided their food was good to, so it was not uncommon to see him bouncing around with the baby goats with a mouth full of sweet grain. ROTFLMAO It was sweet after all, treated with molasses.

Ric--That is too cute!!!
Raising a kid among the "kids'....haaaa....haaa....G.

Jen, Teaches at Lily's school and she didn't know of anyone talking about it. She is doing a good job making sure that the kids are getting all they need for a healthy lifestyle.

Ric---

I did it all today!!! Finished the rock edging. Used up all but 3
of the rocks you brought...

Looking at it--I think I could almost remove some of them.
Seems a bit high....That was very sweaty work!
Kind of hard fitting them all together....

G.

Looks great!!

Gita -- I agree -- it looks great. The next trick is to stick some creepers in between the rocks.

Happy--
Not sure i want creepers between the rocks...
It is only a 4' long section--and I like thew natural beauty of rocks.
Don't want them covered up with anything....We will see...

There is stuff growing behind them now--like Candy Tuft,
A Brunnera, Black-eyed Susans, the Carpet Rose, etc.

They will, eventually, find their own way to share some graceful bits
of hanging stems,,,

Gita

Gita, Looks great! I think you have done a great job of it.

I think it looks great, too!

You are right -- perfect as is!

Yes Gita, It does take time to fit everything, it looks good. By next spring you will know if anything pushes loose too easily. Then the most you have to do is reverse the stones and try again.

I hope not, Ric...

Earlier you mentioned heaving due to frost...
I don't think we have that serious a frost here...besides--the gravel
underneath will absorb some of the movement--if any.

Those rocks weigh a ton! I hope I never have to take them apart--but it is not
a huge area.
Thanks for your help----Gita

Gita, I think you did a marvelous job with those rocks, it looks really sturdy, and very 'neat and tidy' -- a very professional-looking job well done! =)

I don't know why I get myself into these messes, but... well, yesterday began the "Fall Clean-Up" at work and, well, you know me, can't pass up on "deadheading with a purpose", and I certainly can't pass up on FREEBIES!! Soooo, I came home with more plants... yeah, big surprise, right? It's time I branched out (heh heh, no pun intended!) and tried my hand at new different things, and of course it's time to start on some cleaning up of The Big Bed out front (now that it's been weeded, finally!). Today I shall do some more cleaning out of that bed (the alyssum are really looking ratty!) and installing the new additions, to be ready for next year. I don't remember what all I got, to be perfectly frank, but what I do remember are: A couple different types of Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, ... then there's a bleeding heart or 2 (King of Hearts), a couple different Heucheras, a Helebore (YESSSS! Finally a Helebore!!), some sort of Peony (I think it's a tree-type), and some Dahlias that are borderline-hardy around here... hmmm, what else? Oh yeah, a Great Blue Lobelia or 2, and I think there's a Bee Balm in the mix too.. don't remember for sure. I don't remember them all, but I'll make a list before I install them. Will want to keep track, AND I'll be taking pics!!

Sooo, that's my new "project" for today; installing these "new-to-me" things... AND, of course there are some seeds to be sown as well. Figure now might be an ok time, to prepare for next year with those as well. I guess it's time I got out of here and ready to go outside, I see daylight!! < =D

Speedie, Sounds like a nice new bed in the making. My beds sure could use some weeding. Ric has been working on the new Chickie Coop has it almost finished. I have been working on the Grands bedroom painted the ceiling and upper walls, some of the molding and scraped and sanded the subfloor. Going to throw a coat of paint on the subfloor then Ric will lay the new wood laminate floor. Then we can get back to the big arbor which we want to finish this fall. I am also hoping to get a few leaf molds done. Summer is slipping by fast and vacation time is coming soon.

Speedie, sounds like a fun project! :-)

Yes Ma'am, Summer really is going by fast. Gosh, already doing the Fall clean-up at work -- feels like we just got started! < =/ But, today has been fun. That is, until I ran into a little snakey in the bed. EEEEEEEEK!! Tried to take a pic of him but he ran away. .. well, maybe "ran" isn't the right word, heehee. Anyway, that minimized the digging, 'cause there's NO WAY I'm gonna dig around in the area he's in without knowing EXACTLY where he is! 0_o

Meanwhile though, I got a ton of stuff pruned way back while I was at it. GOSH but those Verbena have just run all over the place, and the Cali's from last year just spread out like nuts, WOW! But, now there's room (barely) for the goodies I got. And they are:

1 heartleaf Brunera
1 "Pink Dawn" Paeony, lactiflora
2 Hellebore 'Cotton Candy"
1 Hellebore "Red Saphire"
2 Great Blue Lobelia
1 Lobelia Cardinalis
2 Dahlia "Berliner Klein"
1 Dahlia "Happy Single Date"
1 Dahlia BK Sport
2 Dicentra Spectabilis
1 ??? ... it's in a King of Hearts Dicentra pot, but it sure looks like a Lobelia to me!
1 Variegated Garlic pot (multiple plants in 1 pot)
1 Greek Oregano
1 Italian Oregano
2 Green Creeping Thyme
2 Spearmint (Mentha Spicata)
1 Lemon Balm
2 Rosemary "Tuscan Blue"
1 Rosemary "Officinalis"

Now, something to keep in mind: These are all "Rescues"... not sure how many will make it, but I'm sure giving it the ol' college try! Lots of compost and Dr. Earth all purpose fertilizer in every hole. The ones I'm REALLY hoping will make it though are the Hellebores,
I've been drooling over those things so bad for the last 6 years!!!

Anyway, shower time now, see y'all later! =)

wow, what a windfall, Speedie! Hope they all do well!

speedie--

You are lucky that Boss lady allows you to "rescue" plants.
I cannot do any such thing at HD. Even if I take a cutting if something
I am throwing down the chute--I feel like i am stealing something...
BUT--I have done it a couple times--I just hide it in all the empty
pots I take home. That makes me feel doubly guilty--because now
I am hiding something.....

Good luck with all your rescues.....May they all grow and prosper.

Gita

Wow, What a nice plant list. Pictures please.

Speedie: That rescue project sounds wonderfully fun -- and the cool weather we are having should help them get a second lease on life.

I am very thankful for my BossLady, she is AWESOME!! (in more ways than just this one, too!) =) It's more wonderful than I can describe, being able to totally look forward to going to work 'cause I can enjoy the day with the Boss. =)

I will certainly take some pics... turns out I'll be off tomorrow due to impending rain. Hopefully I'll be able to catch a dry moment here and there to snap some pics of what's installed already. I've got many of the pots "placed" where I plan for them to go.. that may change as I remember that the Wax Begonias will need to get pulled out. Beware though, they currently all look AWFUL! < =P Hahahahaa!!

I've got a yearning for a nice-ish fire pit- sadly the one I liked at HD today is $379 for the kit - really? For manufactured (concrete) blocks? Maybe this is like our kitchen counter shopping where I learned that it is cheaper to ship a hunk of stone halfway around the world than it is to make a similar sized hunk of fake stone.
We'll go shopping at Stone Store or someplace before deciding.

Sally--
Just wrote and lost a whole Post for you....Something weird going on.

Anyway--to repeat--
We have those assembled Fire Pits on display, and the prices seem
unreasonable. We sell the same stones by the piece. Count the stones
in the display and price them out.
HD also sells the Fire Pits. Not sure of their prices--but under $100 seems OK.

There are also two stores I know of that recycle unused building materials
"Re-Store"--owned by Habitat for Humanity.

https://www.google.com/search?q=re+store+baltimore+md&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

And--another recycling BIG store--called "Second Chance" which is just West of the ravens Stadium. Go check these out--and take Mark with you.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Second+Chance&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

These could save you a lot of money! Gita

Sally, Ric and I still have quite a bit of nice stone that would make a great fire ring. If you are up to a road trip with a truck you could easily take home plenty of nice large rocks.

Thanks friends!. Checking out the salvage places would be fun. I'm looking for casual and cheap style here.
And if they don't work- visiting Dover PA in the fall for stone gathering would be awesome too! Now I'm feeling happier about the prospects for our fire ring.

hey, Sally, don't know if this is helpful here, but there is an existing fire pit in my backyard which I would love to get rid of. I don't know how to move it though.

Imagine that. Is it all concreted together? The kits are stones you stack up and can glue if wanted. Can you post a picture some time? If i like it and it can be put in a pickup we will take it off your hands and do all the labor.

Sally, here are a couple photos of it. The wooden trellis piece is just resting against it. It seems to be mortared together.

Oh, but that would be a lot of work to disassemble. SallyG: Probably easier just to get bricks (or stones) and start from scratch. Catmint: Sledgehammer? Could be a basis for a DG party!

I think theres no pretty way to take that apart and move it.