We have our hands in many projects. Our house is in a continuous state of remodel and the to-do list just keeps growing. While it might be a good idea to finish up some of the projects that we start (ha!) one of our favorite procrastination activities, now the weather is nice, is to work in the garden. Here's one of our weekend projects.
We had a big pile of dirt that was horrible and muddy in the rain and no where to sit to enjoy the coming spring weather.
We dug jackhammered up the dirt (which we used in another part of the garden) and filled up the space with 3/4" blue crushed granite. We needed about 3.75 tons of rock to fill our area (which translated to about 5 trips in the rented truck!) but all in all, it was fairly simple and not too pricey.
We now have a fantastic sitting area with great drainage, no mud and a budding collection of succulents. Now to find some nice chairs for soaking up the sun...
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our backyard was covered with rocks, but there was plastic underneath. The idea was that the large tree used to be there, and nothing would grew. But now, we want to plant some nice green grass, and we have to remove 70 sq. yards of rocks. The dirt and grass DID accumulate over time. So, it's a big project, and it requires a lot of heavy lifting.
For all the people putting rocks on their yards - DON'T! It's hard to maintain them. Grass WILL grow! And if you ever decide to get rid of them, you know, see above... Use mulch instead: it's light-weight, cheap, looks great, very easy to renew or remove.
view Nudik's profile
Or interlocking bricks on a layer of sand then put in a leetle dirt and plant short no-mow ground cover (woolly thyme is good) in the spaces in between. No mowing, no mud, and the thyme smells yummy when you walk on it.
view seam2stressed's profile
I think it looks great. Adding oversized aggregate concrete pavers would be nice too.
view Comicgeek's profile
It does indeed look great, however it can easily lead to a disaster. We have yet to clear out and properly clean up the over 400 square feet of rock in our backyard that came along with the house. There is rotting plastic below the rocks and an enormous amount of weeds - I would never recommend this to anyone unless they are prepared for the upkeep.
view twenty twenty-one's profile
Your new aggregate area looks great! Pots are a great way to go.
Comment on the comments - Plastic was the '70s. Today it's landscape fabric that prevents weeds but lets water go through. If you have rocks and/or gravel with weeds growing through, use some white vinegar (either straight or diluted with water) in a spray bottle to kill them off. If they are sturdy, it may take a couple of tries. If you have a jungle out there, you may need to start over.
view nancyn's profile
we have river rocks (awesome!) on the landscape part of our back patio. We have the underlayment fabric. If you are not doing the underlayment, don't even bother. You will be a slave at the mercy of weed.
see the pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82525810@N00/1858923838/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/82525810@N00/1862984553/
regards,
joel
view joel maria pirela's profile