Dirty work: Making a new garden
Lest I give you the wrong impression that all I do in the garden is flit around taking pretty pictures of salvias and the ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave, let me show you the down and dirty on what I’ve been doing this week and last. It isn’t pretty, but this is the truth of the new-baby garden right now.
What must you do to start a new garden? Dig! When is the best time to dig up grass? A few days after a rain, when the ground is soft yet not squishy. Our recent welcome rain didn’t dent our drought, but it did soften the ground enough to make shovel work easier. I’ve planted out the raised beds that I inherited with the house, but they weren’t enough. So now I’ve started digging out several new areas in order to keep planting. This bed sits next to the deck and gets morning sun. It’s for my kids, who want to experiment and plant a few things of their own.
This bed is on the opposite side of the yard, and I extended it past the live oaks by several yards. That’s the Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata aztecorum ) that I had the temerity to divide right after I bought it. (Forgive me, Otatea! Live long and prosper! Hide that ugly chain-link fence!)
I worked all day on Monday in our record-setting 85-degree (29.4 C) heat, and I continued Tuesday morning, digging out grass and moving my free supply of small limestone boulders to edge the new beds. I wasn’t intending for the rocks to remain long-term, thinking that I would eventually replace them with chopped limestone pieces for a more finished-looking edge. But who knows. Free is good, and these do work well with the ruggedness of the lower back garden.
Last week, before the rain set in, I planted my new Australian acacias: the spindly purple-leaf acacia tree at left, and the knife-leaf acacia behind it. To the right is a ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate I transplanted from my old garden. I think the orange flowers and fruit (if it ever fruits) will look wonderful next to the blue-purple foliage of the acacias. Next I will dig out the grass around them and plant an understory.
You’ve noticed the huge limestone boulder in that picture? I thought for sure that I’d hit smaller or larger versions of the same when I started digging. But miracle of miracles, there’s just good, deep dirt all around that rock! As for the ugly board fence, that’s getting replaced with a taller, lattice-topped version just as soon as the budget allows.
I’ve been figuring out sight lines for the circle garden that I’m still tinkering with. To emphasize the strong geometry of this new space, I want to make sure there are focal points along each of the sight lines across the center. I’ve already made sure that paths enter and exit the space across the sight lines. To draw the eye across the space and give it something to alight on, I planted the acacia tree at one end. The path will go toward it before curving off to the left; the obstructing and ugly fence will be pushed up the hill to enclose the side yard, just as I fenced the side yard on the other side of the house.
Looking the other way, I placed a small sculpture backed by a section of fence to arrest the eye at the point where the path-to-be will turn left.
Moving on, I spent one rainy day last week carving mud and hauling salvaged flagstones to make steps through an existing bed, leading from a decomposed-granite path by the trampoline (to the left) up to the limestone-bedrock “path” behind the pool.
There’s an elevation change of several feet, but the work was actually kind of fun—and I know I was funny looking in my dirtiest gardening clothes topped with a blue rain slicker and huge, floppy, blue hat to keep the rain off my head and neck as I worked.
I ran the path right between some daylilies left by the previous owners. You can see some of the limestone bedrock in the foreground of the this photo. I’ll probably leave this bed unplanted until next fall. Meantime, a few plants left by the previous owners are coming up here: white plumbago, purple lantana, cannas, purple heart, and the daylilies.
So that’s the dirt on what I’ve been doing lately. Next up, after I finish digging out grass and moving rock to edge the new beds? Bringing in good dirt, planting, and mulching! Hoo-ya!
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I’ve been following yours and a few other gardening blogs over the past few months and I thought it was time I posted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your posts!
Many thanks for following along, Sherri. I’m happy to hear from you. —Pam
For kids gardens, I’ve always found they seem to like the textures and nighttime foliage of lambs ear and moon vine and all those that seemingly glow in the dark. I know I like it! Gives them something to look forward to after dark. (And maybe gets them away from the TV for awhile!) I know I tried all sorts of tactics to get mine away from the dreaded “box of noise” when back they where growing up!
Brenda
Did it work, Brenda? I’ve found that mine love picking out plants and planting, but then they’re content to forget about them. Ah well. A little surreptitious watering on my part usually keeps it going, and occasionally they’ll notice and be pleased at how “their” garden is doing. —Pam
Those huge bedrock pieces of limestone are wonderful; you know I’m envious. All that hard physical work in that heat; it is so exhausting, but sometimes you just have to get it done regardless of temps before you can do the next project. I love the mental image of you dirty and wearing rain gear!
That’s right, Linda. Sometimes you just have to sweat it out and get it done. I’ve got the fire of approaching summer motivating me to get these beds made and planted before it gets any hotter. —Pam
Pam, It is looking good…as a limestone gardener myself…I love both the free stone and the free form it adds to a wilder garden. The flat stones are marvelous homes for sedums to crawl on and in my garden columbine is thrilled to find purchase between the stone. It’s so exciting to watch your new garden evolve; I know you are having a wonderful time! gail
We’re both “clay and limestone” gardeners now, Gail. 🙂 I’ll remember your excellent suggestions for sedum and columbine. —Pam
Taking shaped Pam! bit by bit, stone by stone. It sounds like were both doing similar things at similar times! It was kind of nice though, warm but not hot and zero mosquitos, got to love that. I like the way you are planning your “walk-through, experience” and pathways around focal points and sculptures. Is that st augustine grass you are digging out, or the dreadlocks of Satan – Bermuda?
Great news on the earth around that limestone slab, It will look really nice with plantings around it.
Reaching for the advil…ESP.
Stone by stone—that would be a great blog name if I didn’t already have an equally appropriate one.
Yep, it’s St. Augustine that I’m digging out, thank heavens. If it were Bermuda, I’d not even bother with digging and would resort to a careful application or two of herbicide. It’s the only thing that’ll really get rid of it. —Pam
It sounds and looks as though you have had a couple of ‘advil’ nights. I love seeing the transformation and we all know what hard work digging turf and preparing planting beds can be. Did you jump in the pool whilst digging?
Not yet, Layanee, but if this heat keeps up I will! The kids have already been in once this week (it’s Spring Break), but they got out awfully fast. The water is still quite cold. —Pam
Pam,
I’m really enjoying seeing how you go about creating a new garden. I love the natural, limestone paths you’re building.
It’s very different from the ‘old’ garden, but equally lovely.
Chloe M.
Thanks, Chloe. I’m glad it seems different from the old garden. I’m using many of the same plants but in different arrangements, and with the various elevations and rugged stone hardscaping in this garden, it’s shaping up in its own, unique way. —Pam
Whew, that made me tired just reading about all you did, and my digging muscles started to feel sore, too. That’s a lot of work, but oh how nice it will be when you are done!
That’s what keeps me going, Carol. That plus the kids demanding, “When are you going to let me plant something?” —Pam
Lots of work, but you’ve got such a great place that I’m sure the results will be fantastic.
Hope you get more rain for your drought conditions.
Cameron
Hi, Cameron. I only wish I could work on it more often, but of course family and work require most of my time. Still, little by little it’s turning into a garden. —Pam
I was shoveling up grass this morning and it felt great to be outside in the warm (almost hot) sunshine. Your new garden is looking great. I knew it would!
Thanks, Phillip. There’s so far to go, but I have an image in my mind, and it’s fun to work toward it. Enjoy your digging too! —Pam
Hi Pam, enough studying, it’s time to dig! Hooray for that. The circle sounds cool. It will be fun and interesting to see what steps you take, and in what order to achieve the desired look. the Acacia makes a fine focal point, as does the rooster and fence. I especially like that fence!
Frances
Honey, I haven’t stopped digging since I moved in. 🙂 But that was nearly all in the existing raised beds. Now I’m starting new ones, and that did require some serious thinking. Still, one of the things I love about gardening is its impermanence. If something doesn’t work out, it can always be replanted and a bed’s shape or border can be altered. How freeing that is. —Pam
Wow Pam, I am about worn to a frazzle just reading all that you have been doing. It will look great when you are finished with it. I can’t wait to see the circle garden. I have several circles in my garden too. That cannonball finial in the center will be a great anchor. I bet you are cute as a button with your big floppy hat and garden attire on. Just think of all the hubbub the neighbors are churning about the new neighbors. tee hee…
Cannonball is a good way to look at it. I think of it as a chess pawn. As for the neighbors, they can’t really see what’s going on since all the work so far has been in the back yard. But they are such nice people, and several of them like to garden too. —Pam
I really like those australian acacias you added to your garden. And the paths are also very cool. I hear you about the digging – about a day or two after a good rain is the best time to dig – you can easily get the shovel into the ground, but the earth isn’t so wet that you can’t lift the earth out! ‘Cause when it is sopping wet, it is crazy-heavy! I miss real dirt…..
I need to finish up with the digging before everything dries to concrete again. I’m sorry you have no dirt. I expected to have much less at this house, but I’ve gotten lucky. —Pam
Loved seeing what you are up to, but I’m afraid “paths enter and exit the space across the sight lines” is opaque to me. Would you like to explain what that means for those of us who don’t speak Designer? Maybe a post with pictures?
Sorry, Chookie. I probably made up that terminology, and maybe no one understands what I meant. 🙂 What I was trying to explain by “sight line” is how your eye is drawn through a space by visual cues telling you where to look, i.e., focal points. In my circle garden, the center ornament provides the main focal point. But you also look over the ornament to the other side of the circle, where your eye expects to find another focal point, something it can rest on. Hence the placement of the acacia at one end and the rooster sculpture at the other. The other paths that enter the circle will look across to focal points too, but I’m still working on those. There will be more pictures as I go along. —Pam
Pam, I love the image of you in the rain slicker digging in the mud! And I am SO impressed with your stairway pathstones. That’s not an easy task to get them sturdy and level with good space in between and up and down. I think that will be great in the “wilder” part of your yard. Many times I’ve wished for the budget to put up raised beds with limestone cut blocks also, but then I realize that I equally like the cottage-y look of the irregular stones on the dirt. And free always gets a big plus.
Free is a blessing in this economy, isn’t it? My rounded stones are doing the job for now. But I may switch them out someday for cut stone in certain areas, particularly around the circle garden. —Pam
I can see you’re having fun out there creating new planting areas. I’m glad you have soil- that will make the whole process a lot easier. Please tell me that your pomegranate is not the full sized one but the dwarf variety. If not that fence and the acacia are in for a surprise.
It’s Punica ‘Wonderful,’ Jenny, which is supposed to be a “shrub or small tree 15 – 20 ft. tall and wide, though it can be kept pruned to around 10 by 10 ft. tall and wide,” according to one grower’s website. I think it’ll have room to do its thing, but I will certainly prune hard as necessary. —Pam
Nice! I love playing in the mud to make a new garden. The result is always worth the back aches. BTW, I find an action hoe works really well at grass removal. Then take another layer to ensure most of the weeds are gone.
Thanks for the tip, Lee. Yep, playing in the mud can be very satisfying and makes one’s inner child happy too. —Pam
It looks like you can cancel your gym membership. Lifting rocks instead of weights is way more fun.
You are so right, Grace. Whew, my muscles are feeling it! —Pam
LOL–any gardener knows that real work is involved in the garden, don’t worry! And I can’t wait to get back at it once the weather is warm enough.
I hope you get a warming trend soon, Monica. I know what it’s like to want to get your hands (or shovel) in the dirt again. —Pam
hey Its been really a treat to visit your blog, You have a beautiful garden, and hope this hard work of yours pays you equally and it comes out as a beautiful garden for you !!!
Thanks, Shweta. I’m glad you dropped by. —Pam
Isn’t digging fun? Seriously, I love getting out there and creating new planting spaces. Empty beds = possibility … there are so many wonderful things those new spaces could become! I know yours will be exceptional.
There’s a lot of possibility in a torn-up yard—which is what mine looks like at the moment. 😉 But I know it will look different very soon, and I’m certainly having fun amid the hard work of destruction. —Pam
Your garden already looks beautiful. It’s no wonder since you’ve done so much work. To have such amazing limestone bedrock and still possess plenty of dirt to dig in is good fortune indeed. The gardening gods are smiling on you, as well they should.
Cheers!
Dawn
P.S. Glad to hear your kids have already enjoyed the pool. 🙂
The gardening gods ARE smiling on me, and I feel very fortunate indeed. Thanks for visiting, Dawn. —Pam
I love your blog. Nice to see what is going on with other gardeners. I too am working on starting some new beds. It is such HARD work getting all that grass up! Tilling, shoveling or however you do it…you STILL have to get the grass up. I am trying my mom’s method this go round. My mom has gardened since she was born! She lays down newspaper and put soil on top and starts planting! She never has any grass or weeds come through. She will have 10 new beds made in the time it takes me to do one!
That method would work especially well for St. Augustine grass, I’ll bet. For Bermuda grass, though, I bet you’d just end up with an even more lush Bermuda lawn amid your new plants. Good luck with your new beds, and happy digging! I can just imagine how pretty that clematis vine on your light pole will look. —Pam
Hi, I was also going to ask you about “focal points along each of the sight lines”, I think I get it now. Makes sense! I’m inspired, I’m going out now to move some rocks. 🙂
Whoo-hoo! Moving rocks will make you feel powerful, Becky. It’s only later that you feel crippled with exhaustion. Have fun, and watch your back! —Pam
We never believed that all you do is flit – the name of your blog gives an indication of the hard work you put into your garden. I need to work on placing things to distract the eye from unsightly elements. Thanks for the reminder.
The new path looks great and fits in well with the rock around the garden. I’m envious of all that limestone.
The rock is coming in handy. It’s fun to play with, as I’ve never had a rocky garden before. —Pam
Great work, Pam. I love the path in the last few pictures. And you create a fun mental picture with the description of yourself in your rain/garden gear!
Thanks, VW. Yep, I was pretty funny looking. What a shame I didn’t have someone take a picture. 😉 —Pam
You did a great job! I love the flagstone stepping stone path(-:
Thanks, Cindee. —Pam
Seems like alot of work is going on in your new ‘baby’ garden! It’s fun to see what you are up too – as always, I’m envious of all of the stone! Also, thanks for that tulip recommendation on a separate post – and regarding blue bonnets, I’m with you on the pink ones (not a fan) – but patches of blue ones are just, well, perfect I think. I remember during some of my visits to east texas in the spring – and it’s impossible to not fall in love with those flowers. Good luck with the new garden!
Whew, I can’t even tell you how much work went on this week, but my aching back could! Thanks for stopping by, Pam. Soon I’ll have pics to show what I’ve been working on. —Pam