Garden Update 3-8-11

We had another good rainstorm last weekend that helped all the newly planted trees, but it also made driving on the dirt impossible again.  Work has gone on almost daily, however.  Roger and his crew put in long, strenuous days, and Roger is a wealth of inspiration and resources (to remind you, he’s Roger Boddaert, Landscape Architect and the Tree Man of Fallbrook.)  With the rains came a little more erosion although the temporary covering of straw worked very well for retaining the topsoil.  The crew have been working on the embankment leading down to the streambed.  This is a photo of the area as it has been for many years.  The previous owner used whatever bits he could find to shore up the property: for recycling he gets a 10, but for beauty he gets a zero.

Using  a chain-link fence that I had extra, corrigated aluminum from the demolished sheds, and lots of hard labor, the area now looks like this:

The chain-link won’t ever rot, and will provide an excellent trellis for climbing plants which will help hold the soil.

Do you remember all that free broken concrete I mentioned awhile back?  The crew has turned it into two magnificent garden features:

This tiered walkway has turned an old RV parking spot that had enormous grass-covered gopher holes (made huge and dangerous by my dogs trying in vain to find those gophers) into a wonderful garden area.  It looks great from any angle, especially down from the ‘poop deck’, as I call the porch extension above.  Kumquats, passionvines, redbud and dwarf peach trees live here now. 

This retaining wall below my raised veggie beds sport a trellis for blackberries made from leftover wire and posts.  Still there is leftover cement for more projects.  What makes the above endeavors particularly sweet is that it is all about recycled and reused materials.  Keep your eyes out for free stuff: bags of clean leaves for compost, broken cement, old logs, etc., for your own garden.   Roger is particularly good at it.  In fact, today he and I both heard a chipper running in the neighborhood, and wondered what was being chipped.  He was far ahead of me, though, and arranged for the company to dump their truckload of palm chips this afternoon, and keep us in mind for more.  Its a bad season for Washingtonia palms in my neighborhood!  The chips are wet and fiberous, and will only be good for pathways.  Tomorrow the heap should be steaming!

Behind the palm mountain is still more broken cement and behind that mushroom compost: all were picked up for free! 

This week we are talking to pond guys, carpenters, greywater guys, rock guys and water guys.  The ponds are the next big project, and they have to be done right the first time.  Stay tuned!