BACK YARD REDO . . . .
I think I figured out that if I wait until everything is done in the backyard redo before I post about it, it is never going to happen. Too much time has passed since we started in January and this backwards mindset of mine where everything has to be in perfect order always results in “no results” and is not a good or productive thing, so I decided I won’t be able to move forward on much of anything until I start showing some pictures of what is out there. Plus, several people have been asking to see what has been going on in this big redo.
The Backyard Redo all started in January with the building of the garage, but I am going to skip over that and start with something else - totally against the grain for me because I always like things to be in order.
This is a picture of the space after the ficus tree was taken out and the garage was built.
Welcome to Little Horse Garden . . .
(look closely and you can see a lizard and Little Red)
I took these pictures yesterday of Little Horse Garden - perhaps the biggest part of the backyard redo (besides the garage).
Little Horse Garden used to be under the oak tree and consisted of three raised planters that were each about 8’ in diameter.
Since the old original Little Horse Garden is now just an open seating area where our swing and a few other things are, I moved Little Horse to the new raised planter.
The new planter is 25’ long and 9’ wide. We calculated and made it this size so we could reuse all the original retaining blocks from the three original raised planters. We only had six left over. We had to buy a few things for the redo: 9 yards of top soil to fill it all up and have it mounded in the middle for good drainage, and three beautiful palms to plant down the middle for a little shading, fertilizer and a ton or two more of the ½” white pebbles.
I reused all the old garden relics and elements I’d collected over the years, plus friends gave me a few more. Some were decayed beyond even what I might consider keeping, but I got rid of very little. I had an unbelievable amount of succulents that had been growing and reproducing for 13 years. I ended up just taking some cuttings and giving away everything else. So far, nothing has died and every single thing is growing beautifully. I was worried because they used to be in shade all day, and now they are in morning sun for about 6 hours at least. They may actually do better now that they are in the sun.
OK, I’m being really diligent and cutting myself off now from this turning into a long and rambling story. It is so easy for me to do that, but today I am disciplined!
One other thing I might add since there are broken pieces of pots through the garden . . .
We had five big pots full of the most root bound plants I have ever seen! As part of the redo I was going to throw the plants away and get new fresh ones, but getting them out of the old pots was horrible. The first two came out fairly easy (because of the shape of the pot), but the other three ceramic pots were shaped so as to not want to release anything. Pete got the smallest one out after working on it for an hour and the only damage was the two handles broke off. But the other two pots proved to be impossible and he was struggling so hard with them I eventually told him to take a hammer and break them and I would use the broken pieces in the garden somewhere. The roots were solid with no soil left at all.
As soon as I started placing and arranging the broken pots around in the garden, I loved the look. I think they fit right in and when the succulents grow bigger around them, it will be even better. You can see these broken pots throughout the garden.
looking north . . .
Although I am not overly fond of raccoons, this cute little bunch of raccoons were offered to me and I could not resist . . .
They are really relics and have mossy patina all over them. I planted a little bit of the "tiny leaf ground cover" in the basin of the large raccoon and in a few short weeks it was overflowing. I don't remember where I got the stuff or what it is called, but it is so uniform and dense, it is a wonderful filler or if you want overflow in a pot, this stuff is great. It does die back a little bit in the winter months here, but comes right back again in the spring.
mosaic turtle . . .
This is the original earthmother I made many years ago. I am probably going to have to move it though, because the tiny leaf ground cover is about to smother her . . .
pigs & chickens . . .
pigs & pumpkins . . .
I call this a zipper palm, but it is actually called a Bottle Palm. It is one of the new ones we got. When the outer skin finally splits open and falls away, it will reveal a beautiful new skin underneath . . .
toadhouse . . .
Debra's broken crackle pot got a new life here . . .
at the north end . . .
a sweet watering can that Maria gave me years ago. The bottom is totally rusted out, so it is perfect now for planting . . .
Big green ceramic lizard peeking out of the broken pot . . .
three little pigs . . .
Pete's old work boots. I originally planted them up nine years ago and they are still holding up well . . .
one of the large aloes about ready to bloom . . .
elephant planter . . .
frogs . . .
some of the broken pots I was telling about earlier. . .
looking south . . .
I’m glad I broke through and started this thing going, so now I feel free to post out of order and random pictures.
The Backyard Redo all started in January with the building of the garage, but I am going to skip over that and start with something else - totally against the grain for me because I always like things to be in order.
This is a picture of the space after the ficus tree was taken out and the garage was built.
Welcome to Little Horse Garden . . .
(look closely and you can see a lizard and Little Red)
I took these pictures yesterday of Little Horse Garden - perhaps the biggest part of the backyard redo (besides the garage).
Little Horse Garden used to be under the oak tree and consisted of three raised planters that were each about 8’ in diameter.
Since the old original Little Horse Garden is now just an open seating area where our swing and a few other things are, I moved Little Horse to the new raised planter.
The new planter is 25’ long and 9’ wide. We calculated and made it this size so we could reuse all the original retaining blocks from the three original raised planters. We only had six left over. We had to buy a few things for the redo: 9 yards of top soil to fill it all up and have it mounded in the middle for good drainage, and three beautiful palms to plant down the middle for a little shading, fertilizer and a ton or two more of the ½” white pebbles.
I reused all the old garden relics and elements I’d collected over the years, plus friends gave me a few more. Some were decayed beyond even what I might consider keeping, but I got rid of very little. I had an unbelievable amount of succulents that had been growing and reproducing for 13 years. I ended up just taking some cuttings and giving away everything else. So far, nothing has died and every single thing is growing beautifully. I was worried because they used to be in shade all day, and now they are in morning sun for about 6 hours at least. They may actually do better now that they are in the sun.
OK, I’m being really diligent and cutting myself off now from this turning into a long and rambling story. It is so easy for me to do that, but today I am disciplined!
One other thing I might add since there are broken pieces of pots through the garden . . .
We had five big pots full of the most root bound plants I have ever seen! As part of the redo I was going to throw the plants away and get new fresh ones, but getting them out of the old pots was horrible. The first two came out fairly easy (because of the shape of the pot), but the other three ceramic pots were shaped so as to not want to release anything. Pete got the smallest one out after working on it for an hour and the only damage was the two handles broke off. But the other two pots proved to be impossible and he was struggling so hard with them I eventually told him to take a hammer and break them and I would use the broken pieces in the garden somewhere. The roots were solid with no soil left at all.
As soon as I started placing and arranging the broken pots around in the garden, I loved the look. I think they fit right in and when the succulents grow bigger around them, it will be even better. You can see these broken pots throughout the garden.
looking north . . .
Although I am not overly fond of raccoons, this cute little bunch of raccoons were offered to me and I could not resist . . .
They are really relics and have mossy patina all over them. I planted a little bit of the "tiny leaf ground cover" in the basin of the large raccoon and in a few short weeks it was overflowing. I don't remember where I got the stuff or what it is called, but it is so uniform and dense, it is a wonderful filler or if you want overflow in a pot, this stuff is great. It does die back a little bit in the winter months here, but comes right back again in the spring.
mosaic turtle . . .
This is the original earthmother I made many years ago. I am probably going to have to move it though, because the tiny leaf ground cover is about to smother her . . .
pigs & chickens . . .
pigs & pumpkins . . .
I call this a zipper palm, but it is actually called a Bottle Palm. It is one of the new ones we got. When the outer skin finally splits open and falls away, it will reveal a beautiful new skin underneath . . .
toadhouse . . .
Debra's broken crackle pot got a new life here . . .
at the north end . . .
a sweet watering can that Maria gave me years ago. The bottom is totally rusted out, so it is perfect now for planting . . .
Big green ceramic lizard peeking out of the broken pot . . .
three little pigs . . .
Pete's old work boots. I originally planted them up nine years ago and they are still holding up well . . .
one of the large aloes about ready to bloom . . .
elephant planter . . .
frogs . . .
some of the broken pots I was telling about earlier. . .
looking south . . .
I’m glad I broke through and started this thing going, so now I feel free to post out of order and random pictures.