moss rock

New dry creek project done and ready for rain!

The dry creek remodel is done and I can’t wait for it to rain so I can see how well it works.

I know that the very front of the dry creek already works because I washed all the dried dirt from the driveway puddle area into the creek bed and it just dropped down between the rocks like it’s supposed to, instead to swirling in the dirt and lapping back at me.

The moss rocks are gorgeous. (I know my crew thought I was crazy when I oohed and aahed over the great colors on them!)  They’re set for the most part, but I will adjust them some more so that they look random.  (I don’t really do random, so it will have to be a very carefully-arranged faux random.)

And, as always, one project begets another.  During these two days, I:

  1.  created another bed which begs to be filled,
  2. extended the path and opened up more area that needs to be planted,
  3.  removed rock from a bed that now needs more of the moss rock and Oklahoma to define it
  4.  put two new Oklahoma flagstones where old limestone steps were, so now I need a few more to make it look even nicer,
  5.  need to take all of the white/gray flat native stone that used to line the bed and move it to the back of the property to make a path to the shed so we don’t have to walk in the mud back there when it rains.

Then there are the plants.  It’s time to move a few things, say good bye to a few things and go nursery trolling for some fabulous new additions to fill holes and begin new experiments.

This week’s lows in Austin range from 44 to 31 and next week’s lowest point only gets down to 39, so I will go ahead and start planting.  We can most certainly have another freeze as far out as the next 4 weeks, but isn’t that what gardening is all about?  Testing Mother Nature!

After the last two wonderfully warm days, I am eager to get into the garden – and glad to be done with digging and moving rock.  Plants are much easier.

What tops your garden to-do list for this spring?  Happy Gardening.

Winter is perfect for spiffy new hardscaping to satisfy gardening urges

It’s almost planting season here in Central Texas, but to keep me from jumping the gun, I’m starting my winter hardscaping project.  Winter is the perfect time to work on the bones of the garden — getting everything ready for the fun to come.

 

This was the path/dry creek when it was at its best with native stone that we collected from our property.  But over the years, the rock has been kicked around, gotten buried with soil and mulch and the side rocks  have moved out of place and gotten scraggly looking. So, yesterday my crew came here to start on this year’s main hardscape project.

They moved the existing flagstone and river rock and I outlined the new, curving shape.

Then they dug a deep trench and put in a French drain – perforated pipe with a sock on it to prevent soil from getting inside of it.  A flood of rain water comes across our driveway from our neighbor’s house and we have two downspouts that empty onto the driveway.  We (that would be the royal we) also buried the one downspout at the entrance of the creek.  This will allow the water to rush on down the path and empty into the end of the path in the woods.  This is where it normally puddles, because there isn’t much of a slope down the creek, it also backs up onto the edge of the driveway by about 4 feet by 4 feet, leaving a dirty, wet mess when it rains.

I also brought in moss rock to match the two most recent dry creek projects that we’ve updated the last two years.  You can see those projects here and here. The big, beautiful rocks along the sides are moss rock – they have great markings and lots of character and color and, yes, some mossy stuff.

At the beginning of the path, the crew had to use a chipping hammer to get out some big rocks to create a large rock basin that will help absorb the leftover water when it’s a light rain or it stops flowing.  Now it will be in the creek bed instead of in the dip on our driveway.  (Don’t get me started on the architect/builder that created this problem by not adequately assessing the drainage issue!)

Today we’re putting in some more pipe, placing some medium-sized Oklahoma stone and the final 1-3″ river rock and flagstone stepping stones.  I’m out digging and placing the decorative rocks, because they have to be just so to give it a more natural look.

So much for having the day off!

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