My wife's office has an egress window. Said window area was filled with ugly pea gravel for drainage. She figured why not put a thin layer of something more attractive on top? I give you slate bits. A lovely, contemporary feel which will, I hope, soon be adorned with morning glory vines dangling down (will they succumb to my will?).
But to the rest of the garden. Lots of stone steppers lead you through, fork at the fountain--avec river stone, perhaps not big enough river stones--and twist a bit around the not so level back yard (it slopes down in two directions: toward the house and parallel to it).
Then there was extra stone, so I made a temporary path out front in the (mostly) shade bed betwixt the garage and sidewalk. Once, a boyscout used it with great whimsy after we ignored the doorbell. Oh, the path is temporary because I figure that young's weeping white birch will grow, unless the borers get to it first, but I'm trying to keep the soil around it how birches prefer so as to ensure its healthiness.
Here's a stone that weighs at least 40lbs. I found it where an iris had to go. Is it a native?
And aren't mountain bluets neat? (Centaurea montana) Ciao.
6 comments:
I love your fountain - it's exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for the advice in the previous post. Also, I love your centaurea. I have Centaurea montana 'Cupid's Dart' that's all blue, but I'll have to look for the one you have - they would look great together. Thanks for sharing your garden.
I love rocks and have haul many loads from construction sites. Apparently we live in an area with a layer of shale or some type of sedimentary rock about 6 feet deep so whenever they dig, up come a huge quantity of rocks.
I wanted to use some of the flagstones for a path but I was really concerned about heaving in winter because all of the soil under the 3" topsoil layer is clay. Preparing a bed to place the rock in seems always such a daunting task that I've put it off for many years now.
Some Grandpa Ott would look nice trailing down that gravel filled area at your wife's office imo.
Kim--Thanks for stopping by! So glad the fountain post helped you out. I'll have to look at that cupid's dart; just such a unique flower.
Ki--I certainly have all clay, no lovely topsoil (not yet--c'mon compost and wood chips), but didn't have any steppers heave this winter. And it got below zero for a while. I think the worst thing is digging in the stone, even if it's not too thick! What, with leveling, the non-flatness of the stone, doing it in August (dumb dumb dumb)....
Hmmmm... How is it that, while admiring your new fountain in your previous post, I failed to notice the flamingo?! Returning to the original post, I discovered that, yes, it was there in the photos all along. Six hours to create a thing of beauty and elegance, and then... That does it. I'm sending you a gnome. And if you object, I'll send you six gnomes...
You can't lose with rocks. I am crazy for rocks which...is a good thing. This land where I garden grows them. It may be my most successful crop and clay, I grow good clay!
Love your fountain and the rocks!
gail
Sorry it's taken me so long to get here, Benjamin, but I appreciate you taking the time to post for this month's Design Workshop. I think the stepping-stone path was an excellent choice for your site. I'm always surprised to see gardens with huge borders and no way to access them without having to walk on the soil.
Hope you're enjoying your blog-break.
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