Year of the rock, The Wall

Many of you have seen my posts this summer of the different projects that have come into being. Ric has made a huge effort to complete some already started projects and to start new ones. This year our largest projects all seem to have a single theme, ROCKS. We have been gathering rocks from all over our area for several projects. We have a pile of really huge boulders in the back yard that were moved from the neighbor’s yard with a dozer for a future pond.
Then there is the pile of flat rocks that had been gathered over the last few years and is now a beautiful stone walkway with its new expanded bed. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/868140/
The expanded stonewall is the last of our rock projects for this year. The idea for the new bed came from a discussion here on DG. I was looking for some planting suggestions to spruce up an old raised bed that runs along the front of my house and the idea just grew out of that discussion. Ric had built this stonewall many years ago. It is 24ft long and a little over 3ft wide. Other than the sedums and ferns it was mostly planted with annuals and then left practically empty for most of the year. I wanted a change, something a little different.

As luck would have it earlier this spring they started removing an old bridge near our house and that gave us all the rocks we needed. The old bridge wasn’t stone but the walls at both ends were all local cut Red-stone. Every couple of nights Ric and I and sometimes our son Josh would go down and drag home what ever had been knocked loose.

We carried, dragged and pried out whatever looked good and it was a lot of work to get what we wanted before the bridge crew covered it up.

I cleaned out mostly all the plants that were in the old bed, growing between the rocks or at the base of the wall, in preparation for the new bed. Some were planted in other beds, some are still in temporary pots waiting to go back into the new bed, some where given away and in the end some were just added to the compost.



This message was edited Aug 5, 2008 2:34 AM

Well, something to read as I wait to get sleepy!

Once cleaned out Ric did some work on the old wall, resetting some of the stones and enriched the old bed with manure and lime. Then started on the new wall, setting the largest rock in the middle and working out towards each end.



This message was edited Aug 5, 2008 2:36 AM

He did get a little help here. LOL

Sally, What are you doing up in the middle of the night. You know me I'll give you plenty to read. LOL

And there. But really did it almost completely by himself.

It curves out to 6ft wide and is lower than the existing bed which gives a nice look.

The curved line of the front bed somewhat mirrors the new curved stone walkway on the other side of the entryway.

He put in a few stepping stones in the lower bed for me to use to reach the upper bed.

Tomorrow I’ll start planting it. I have a few plants to put in now 2 Encore Azaleas not sure if they will be hardy for me but just couldn’t resist. Toad lilies, Hellebores, Heuchera, some small hosta. Just for starters.

By next spring I should have it well planted. Thanks to the many discussions here on DG my eyes have been opened up to a lot of new plants. These are on a North facing wall, they get morning sun but not much afternoon sun. There is a small Red Maple planted not far from the beds that should provide some extra shade when it gets larger.
Any plant suggestions are very welcome.

Well Sally what do you think?

I think you should move the whole thing to the left about six inches LOLOL

I think John in Crozet has competition re the stone laying LOL

Boy it seems like that project just went in the blink of an eye, or is that my eyes blinking sleepily??
Dang thats nice looking dirt.
Been busy here and wish I had been sleeping, but got up and took two tylenol and half a magnesium, found some really interesting stuff to read about sunflowers- ever wondered where they came from?- and now will try the bed again.
Have fun with planting--love that stone it sure adds unique personality to your plantings
'Night

Ric, really did get moving on it once he started back up. That really came all together in the last couple of days. Boy was I surprised when I came home from shopping today. I took my DIL and little JR out for a long day of back to school shopping. He starts Kindergarten this year. The wall was finished, all the extra rocks were moved around back to the big pile and he was out getting another load of aged horse manure, when we came back.
Get some rest, I'm still up and wide awake.

That looks terrific, HollyAnn! How nice to get rock already dug up and just waiting to be hauled off. I bring a load of rock back from PA whenever I can. I followed your link about the pathway as I was curious if your technique was any easier than mine. Turns out we did it the same way! Lots of hard work but so worth it in the end. Enjoy your new beds---they're lovely!

Whew! Great rocken. I just picked a trailer load.....ala Rt. 44 mountain top. That's not many on a 3500 lb. gross. A ton is enough. You better hurry back to the cabin. I may have them all picked and hauled. I have more of a problem when I get them home. :)

That last picture looks SO LOVELY!!!

Doc, Been up that road and looked at those rocks. LOL
Last time I was on 44 I had son Josh with me. They were doing a lot of excavating and I kept telling him I was pulling over and he could load me up. If I had been driving the Explorer we just might have. LOL
Thanks Sally, I'm really pleased with the way everything has come together out front. Since spring we; pressure washed and stained the front of the house, new window boxes with trellises, the blue egg water feature, new lamppost flower bed with trellises for the clematises, stone walkway and extended bed and now the stonewall. Pretty much all done but the planting. I would like to get that forsythia out and a tree in yet this fall.

Holly, I'm reading your various threads and am really impressed by the work you've done, both physically and from a design standpoint. DH and I were just talking about how much energy we USED to have. Now if we picked up one of those rocks, we'd be hunched over for a week afterward. Good job and thank you for all the pictures, they're full of creativity.

Sally, Forgot to answer your question. "found some really interesting stuff to read about sunflowers- ever wondered where they came from?"
No I know exactly where Sunflowers come from. The #@%$#@ Chipmunks plant them in every available spot, flower bed, window and deck boxes even in my house plant pots that are vacationing outside. LOL
Thank you everyone for the nice comments for those of you that haven't seen and maybe interested in two of the other projects mentioned these links will take you to threads showing them in more detail.
Lamppost flower bed http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/839411/
Blue Egg water feature http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/831255/
Just came in for a drink heading back out for more planting and weeding.

Pamgarden, Oh I know just what you mean. Now I have lots of time and not near as much strength and Oh do those bones and muscles ache....
Ric and I will be heading back to the gym this winter. He wanted to continue going this summer. I can't even imagine going and working out at a gym and doing all this.
Plantmover do you have pictures of your stone walkway?? I'd love to see them if you do.
All finished for now. I planted what plants I have, pretty skimpy looking but I need to decide what all to get for in there and I need to see how my shade loving plants do in this bed. Ric helped me finish it off with a layer of mulch just to dress it up until I get more plants.

I love it!

Mine continues to be a work in progress. Still trying to find a low groundcover to put between the rocks. Here's a pic taken in April and a Landscaping.com link.
http://landscaping.com/ls/view/121/

Anyone remember this? http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/734264/

Then I couldn't resist - look at the other side of the house - amazing! Will be anxiously waiting to see what the two of you have in store for us next year :)

Plantmover, I suggested this plant to Rubyw and posted a picture for her. This is a lovely ground cover that can be walked on. Blue Star Creeper grows 2" I got mine from Bluestone Perennials. I really love it. Mine doesn't get much walking on but my 2 small dogs run over it all the time.

I have some planted in a shady spot and just love its dainty flowers. Didn't realize it would take full sun. I'm anxious to get some transplanted--thank you, lady!

Oh RCN, That is sooo great. Ric and I were just talking about that old thread that started it all. As I said in my first post.
"The idea for the new bed came from a discussion here on DG. I was looking for some planting suggestions to spruce up an old raised bed that runs along the front of my house and the idea just grew out of that discussion."
My gardens are becoming even more beautiful because of the good friends and great ideas that come from sharing our knowledge and creating some inspiration.
Ric said I can't create a garden in one year and I told him I'm not trying too, but we have gotten a very good start. We are heading to the back yard next, there is a pile of used brick waiting to be laid in the gazebo floor. Much easier for Ric and I can be a lot more help with this. We have a few more smaller projects in the wings. But the two next big ones will be the Conservatory and the large pond both in the back yard. Once those are in place I can really get working on the beds out back.

Well...I, for one, think you have gotten off to more than a "very good start", that's an incredible amount of work in such a short time! I'm still not accomplishing much in the gardens this year although Rick's been busy - someone has to "work"! LOL Hopefully I'll have my 'before and after' pictures of his woodland garden ready to post soon.

What a beautiful job and tell your hubby "YOU ROCK"!!!!!!

Your new rock walled raised bed is Beautiful! Holly, I'm sure your plants will be happy in their new home. What a difference in how nice it makes your house look. You must be thrilled every time you return home and see it!

Plantmover, That's a very nice stone walkway. Love the deck, looks like you have a bench seat built in all the way down that side, very nice.
I planted some Scottish and Irish Moss and Platt's Black Leptinella between our stones. Too early to tell yet how well it will do. Although you have larger spaces to plant between so that gives you more choices to look at.
Rcn, Can't wait to see your woodland garden bet it will be fantastic. You have such a wonderful knowledge of plants and such a good eye for color and form.
We had a Rock Party last night. LOL
We invited the neighbors that live next to the old bridge to come up and see the wall and have dinner, just an informal cook out. They came at 6:00 and stayed til almost midnight we had such a good time sitting out in the Gazebo and talking. We used their driveway and the corner of their property to access the biggest rocks and wanted them to see what we had done with them. Here is Ric down on their creek frontage getting one of the big rocks. He's attaching a chain to it, you can see the chain laying out on the ground. The other end (not in the picture) is attached to the explorer and after Ric would get them hooked up I would drive the explorer up the driveway and pull the rocks to the edge of their parking area. Then we would bring in the trailer and load them on that. The whole process went pretty smoothly conseriding the size of those rocks.

Thank you, Holly. I tried the Irish and Scottish mosses-love them-but it's just too toasty there for them to thrive. You will probably have much better success being farther north.

Your Rock Party sounded like great fun; I'm sure your neighbors were quite impressed with y'all's hard work!

"Rock Party" - I love it! What a wonderful way to share all your hard work :)

Oh my gosh, I am very impressed with Ric's rock laying ability. I love those rocks. John and I took the scenic route on Friday to visit our granddaughter. There was a bridge at the point where The Skyline Drive and George Washington National Park meet. The rock in that bridge looked very much like the ones that you have. It is really, really gorgeous!!!

Do you think that things will be finished enough for you to host a plant swap next spring? ha-ha I think that I have heard that you were considering it.

My hat is off to the both of you.

Ruby

Yes Ric and I are hoping to host one next spring. We will have to see if we are too far north for people to come. I would have liked to have gotten the pond started but that just isn't going to happen before next year. This was taken earlier this year we laid down some plastic and tarps just to get an idea of shape and size for the pond. This is the upper part of the yard. It will run back along the raised patio and come out into the yard . You'll be able to see it both from the patio and the Gazebo. Although it will be much closer to the patio. There are my big pond boulder piled up and waiting.

Great Day!!! They really are some boulders. How in the world did you all handle getting those moved to your property? John looked at the rock bed that you all did and he complimented Ric on his work. He said that he has done some very fine work there.

I will need to take a look and see where you are on the map too. I am nosey and want to see your place, whether there is a swap going on or not. You two really lead a full life. When you are not traveling you are working yourselves silly at the homestead. Life seems to be treating you well.

Ruby

Holly, what a wonderful addition to that area...and those boulders!!! Ric is going to have his work cut out for him moving those 'babies' :) LOL There are a couple of DGers on the NE and Pond forums whose postings inspired me for a pond/stream project. Of course, that's ALL they've done, inspire me that is, I'm still "discussing" it with Rick. Even though he initially tried to discourage me, after we attended the pond seminar in March he was more optimistic, but the longer I wait to get started...well, let's just say the "discussions" continue!

Ruby, Tell John thank you for the complement, coming from him that is high praise. Yes, things here are going very well right now, Life is good! We really do have a pretty full life, Yesterday we had a birthday party for Ric and everyone was here, next weekend his Dad is flying up from Fl. and will be staying for 2 weeks. So there will be a lot of visitors coming and going.
Josh bought a house it's a Red Stone house built in 1876 so in about 2 weeks we all will be helping him move and clean. He has a ton of things stored here at our house one whole garage is his stuff. He does have an awful lot of friends to come and help so that might not be too bad. He has a lovely big yard and guess who gets to weed and plant her little heart out. LOL
Then it will be time for our fall trips to the Outer Banks for 2 weeks home again for 2 weeks and then back away for another 2 weeks.
We are going to make a serious effort to get the brick down in the Gazebo before Ric's dad comes it will make it so much nicer and we will be doing a whole lot of entertaining when he is here.
Pretty much we will be on the run between now and the middle of October. LOL
If you get up this way we would love to have you visit.
RCN, I keep an eye on the Pond Forum, too. Those streams are really some thing. Do you think you could put a stream in Rick's Woodland Garden? I could see one running along your pathways! May be a series of small ponds with a stream running between? OH we are talking a lot of work here. LOL
Here is a picture of Josh's house. Both the living room and kitchen have unfinished stone walls inside.

The big boulders came from the neighbors land. When they built their house they dug a basement and hit these huge rocks. They piled them up along the back of their property in the hedgerow that runs between their house and ours. There were already a lot of rocks in the hedgerow as the land had been an old farm. When we were talking about what they were going to do with their yard and the hedgerow it was obvious that they didn't want the rocks so I asked if I could have them.
Not only did they give me the rocks but when they had the heavy equipment in to clean out the hedgerow they had the equipment operator move what I had wanted to my yard. Wouldn't take any money for the work either. They are huge and maybe just a little too big for the space and size of my pond but we will see. Ric keeps telling me he can move them but I keep telling him that there is a difference in moving them and placing them in a pond without tearing up the liner. We may need to get in some heavy equipment for the job. One of the rocks has this prefect dish shape with a drop off edge. It is prefect as the last rock of the waterfall before it enters the pond.
Jamie and JR taken last year after we moved the rocks over.

This message was edited Aug 11, 2008 9:57 AM