Landscaping Slow Progress
This Saturday we made some progress on the new landscaping in the backyard. My goal was to get all the edging in for the back bed, remove sod, place raised vegetable beds, and add compost to other beds. We would have made more progress but Mother Nature was/is not cooperating. Yesterday it was cool with intermittent rain. While we were loading our cart with landscape edging in the outdoor section of Home Depot, it started to downpour. It continued to do that on and off all day. We had orginally hoped to get dirt and rock delivered Sunday, but with temperatures in the 30's and snow flurries, we decided against it. So unfortunately we are on hold for at least a couple of weeks since next weekend is Easter and we will not have time to get anything done.
The first thing we had to do was decide on what type of edging. We wanted something cheap, nice-looking, easy to install, bendable and dog proof. This was a tall order. After much discussion/arguing at Home Depot (in the rain of course) we finally decided on the green metal edging. We had previously used this type at our old house and it is relatively easy to install.
We brought it home and marked off the beds with a tape measure, string, spray paint and my lovely plans. We did switch around the placement of the vegetable beds because our property line is not square and the way I had drawn it on paper did not look the best when we placed them there.
The plan
I bet you are wondering why we have a line running parallel to the fence. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the bed run all the way to the fence since we are trying to hide it to make it less of a focal point?
Yes but.....
Or should I say....
We are creating the landscaping with the pups (and our sanity) in mind. They have worn a path around the perimeter of the yard and repeatedly have killed the grass. Along that back section you can also see all the holes they have dug to try to see the dog that lives behind us. (If you look closely you can also see the various materials we have unsuccessfully stuck in the holes to get them to stop). Winter is also a digger and I do not want to give her a reason or permission to be in the landscaping beds. So we are making a 2 foot rock dog path behind the landscaping and in between the vegetable beds. Will it work....I have no idea. But I am hopeful that with practice and training it will be successful. If not, it will be a very expensive and labor intensive flop.
But back to the edging....after we marked the lines we then laid down the edging and dug holes for the vegetable beds. Derek hammered down the edging with a rubber mallet. After his arm was numb, I tried a couple whacks and learned it was more difficult than it looks.
We extended the bed slightly so we did not have to cut the metal edging
We also built a support system for the raspberry bushes in the back bed. Hopefully they will form a dense thicket to hide the pretty cable box. I am trying to be optimistic that we can get the compost, garden soil and rock delivered soon so it will really start to come together. Here's hoping for rain-free warm weekends!
The first thing we had to do was decide on what type of edging. We wanted something cheap, nice-looking, easy to install, bendable and dog proof. This was a tall order. After much discussion/arguing at Home Depot (in the rain of course) we finally decided on the green metal edging. We had previously used this type at our old house and it is relatively easy to install.
We brought it home and marked off the beds with a tape measure, string, spray paint and my lovely plans. We did switch around the placement of the vegetable beds because our property line is not square and the way I had drawn it on paper did not look the best when we placed them there.
The planI bet you are wondering why we have a line running parallel to the fence. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the bed run all the way to the fence since we are trying to hide it to make it less of a focal point?
Yes but.....
Or should I say....
We are creating the landscaping with the pups (and our sanity) in mind. They have worn a path around the perimeter of the yard and repeatedly have killed the grass. Along that back section you can also see all the holes they have dug to try to see the dog that lives behind us. (If you look closely you can also see the various materials we have unsuccessfully stuck in the holes to get them to stop). Winter is also a digger and I do not want to give her a reason or permission to be in the landscaping beds. So we are making a 2 foot rock dog path behind the landscaping and in between the vegetable beds. Will it work....I have no idea. But I am hopeful that with practice and training it will be successful. If not, it will be a very expensive and labor intensive flop.
But back to the edging....after we marked the lines we then laid down the edging and dug holes for the vegetable beds. Derek hammered down the edging with a rubber mallet. After his arm was numb, I tried a couple whacks and learned it was more difficult than it looks.
We extended the bed slightly so we did not have to cut the metal edgingWe also built a support system for the raspberry bushes in the back bed. Hopefully they will form a dense thicket to hide the pretty cable box. I am trying to be optimistic that we can get the compost, garden soil and rock delivered soon so it will really start to come together. Here's hoping for rain-free warm weekends!