We had this flowerbed outside of our nook window. I used to love planting impatiens in it each year and it had a lovely hydrangea, bleeding heart, hosta, ground covers and........lots and lots of roots from the maple tree, so much that I couldn't plant anymore. So.................we thought it would be great to dig out the plants, build a wall and fill it in with fresh dirt, replant the plants and add some more too. Well, long story short, or short project long, we did dig out the old plants but couldn't save any of them as those roots were so thick that it took a pick axe in some parts just to remove the plants. Terry also wanted to move a sprinkler head. Luckily 20 years ago when he put our sprinkler system in he also took lots of pictures. He knew where the pipes should be. They were there alright, but directly under a huge tree root. He had to chop through the root just to find the pipe so that he could re-route the pipe for the new head. (oh please, little tree, don't die) After digging out plants and re-routing the sprinkler head, it was time to build the trenches around the bed to lay gravel and to build the wall. The pick axe came in handy many times. Terry also broke our hoe and thank goodness for good old Sears. Since it was a Craftsman hoe with a lifetime guarantee, Sears replaced it for free with their top-of-the-line, no less. Cody, Anna and Reid came to help (a Father's Day gift) and truthfully without them, we would still be putting this flowerbed in instead of enjoying it so much!! Hope you enjoy the pictures, and please come and enjoy our back yard too.
Cody beginning to edge the bed in order to begin digging the trenches. Notice that Anna is having to hold Reid back because of the next picture!
Of course Reid thought all of this dirt had been dug up just for him, and Wow, so much dirt and so little time to play in it.
Terry and Cody have dug the trenches, laid the gravel, and finally the cornerstone is in.
The wall began to grow pretty quickly from there. As in all projects, not everything fit together perfectly, so Cody hand-honed several of the blocks to get them to look and fit perfectly. Thanks Cody for your perfectionism.
Anna and I began the long job of filling and hauling the wheelbarrow with dirt from the front driveway to the back yard and dumping. After each load, we had to "dance" on the dirt to help it settle, then rake, dump, dance, sprinkle with water, dump, rake, dance etc. This process took until the end of the week!
Notice we left the end open. It was easier to wheelbarrow each load through the opening and dump it than it was to have to shovel each load back out of the wheelbarrow. Wish we had counted how many loads it took. We had 4 yards of dirt delivered and we have about 1½ yards still on the driveway. Oh, more projects to come just to use up the dirt!!
Here is the end result!!! Dirt all in, the end of the wall finished, top layer cemented to the second layer, and finally the most fun part of all, THE PLANTING!!! I mostly planted annuals this year except for 2 ferns and 3 hostas. I am hopeful that there is enough of a growing season left for all of these to grow together and create a lot of color. I have never planted rex begonias or caladiums before, so it will be fun to see how they look full-grown. There is a small area to the right of the bed that I also dug out, added dirt and planted yesterday. Next year I may make this a kitchen herb garden.
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