Every month Gardening Gone Wild features a design workshop on some subject or other. Garden bloggers are invited to share their ideas, write posts on the subject. They have carefully catalogued past workshops, and these posts can be a wonderful resource if you are thinking about a particular problem in your own garden. This month the Garden Blogger’s Design Workshop subject is “Covering the Ground.”
When Jim and I moved into this house, all there was was a bunch of ground that was covered with grass. Literally. Oh, there were elm trees around the house, there was a barn out back and a garden shed, but in essence this was a ranch house plopped into the middle of a hay field that the residents started mowing. (You can see some before and after photos at this post.) Being the sort of people we are, this state of events was not allowed to persist for long.
I’d like to focus on one particular area of the property which we have changed from a wasteland into a veritable Eden. This started out life as a particularly stressed part of the property, seeing as how it was overly shaded by our own elms and the trees on the neighbor’s property, and yet it was also very hot and dry because it sat on the west side of the house. The soil was particularly poor, as it was a spot where the ancient septic tank was emplaced, a fact that we were not aware of until it made itself known this winter. (Just a side note here, I believe that when you put things into the ground you should probably make a map of that that you can pass on to future owners so they don’t get to experience that sort of surprise. . .)
When we purchased the place, the side yard looked like this.
About ten years later, we really had done nothing to that area except to mow off the sad weeds that infested it grew there. Oh, down in the corner where it was shady I had started planting hostas and making stone edged beds, but there was nothing special happening. Then we had the big ice storm
We narrowly escaped having about half that tree go straight through the roof and into the back bedroom, master bedroom and bathroom. We realized that that elm tree was far too close to the house, and needed to “begone from there.” Instead of just having it taken down, we decided that it would make a splendid den tree for the wood peckers and other cavity nesters if we allowed it to rot gently. So we had it trimmed back severely and girdled it so it would die. Soon after that we discovered that the shade loving hostas in the corner were suffering severely from the loss of its shade, which was compounded by the fact that every other tree in the neighborhood had also lost 75% of its canopy. So Jim built a new pergola to shade the Hosta Dell.
We had already decided that we needed to do “something” back in that corner to make it more special, and since it had a rather barren aspect due to the poor dirt, and it also had a rather sharp slope down to the Hosta Dell, we would do some sort of rock garden back there. The flat area near the house was designated as the proper spot for a Japanese Rock Garden. At the same time we were studying up on the art of creating a Japanese rock garden, we also studied how to install a scree slope rock garden. One of the books I checked out from the library was “Landscaping with Stone” by Pat Sagui. I was also inspired by a rock garden I saw at the Minnesota State Arboretum.
I really liked the way it looked like a natural bluff, and aspired to create something similar at the Havens.
After a certain amount of studying, I began inventorying my rock collections, and having learned from previous messes snafus experiences, I actually made a plan for what I was going to do. We moved rock over to the building site, and I began planning out the flagstone path that would give me access to the garden, and eventually be the path to the front yard, assuming we ever get the proposed gate built.
(Note: I participated in a previous Design Workshop on Garden Paths and linked to a couple of posts on the early development of the flagstone path. They are here and here.)
The first thing I realized was that I needed to expand the Hosta Dell so the edges would line up with the gate. So I did that, and I laid out hoses to indicate the edge of the Scree Slope and began laying the flagstones.
I have found that when I am laying a stone path in an area where the underlying soil has not been disturbed, it is not really necessary to do all the excavating and sand underlayment of the rocks that the garden designers tell you you should do. So far, I have not had trouble with my rocks heaving or settling. I also have done so much of this sort of flagstone work that I pretty much figure out the step location by eye and intuition, but I do not recommend this method for a beginner. When working with such large flat pieces as this, where I am laying them in their natural state, I do not try to plan out a “regular” stairway either. This is like doing a big jigsaw puzzle where there are no guarantees that all the pieces are there and they will fit together. It helps to have a large supply and variety of rocks. A flagstone that is thicker requires a deeper hole to be laid into, sometimes you have to pull them out and replace them several times before you get the level exactly right.
Take lots of breaks, drink plenty of fluids, and don’t try to do too much at once. If a rock is too big to move by yourself, GET HELP!
After a week, the flagstone steps were really starting to take shape, and the “jigsaw puzzle” was getting worked out. You can also see that the terracing for the potential levels of the scree slope is starting to take shape. I have a certain amount of ADD, and so I tend to work on gardens in a rather “braided” fashion, rather than linear. It is certainly all right to finish a path and then start shaping beds afterwards, than doing it all at the same time as I was doing.
One month later, it looked like this.
You can see that the upper “ridge” of the scree slope has yet to be finished. But the terracing is mostly done, and I have begun filling in behind the big terrace rocks with the rubble for the scree slope. Later on, once we had plenty of rubble in there (for drainage), we filled in with soil. The soil we used we manufactured using dirt from piles around the place, the ground and mulched branches from the ice storm damage, compost from the compost bins, and purchased sand.
After the terraces were shaped, rubbled and back filled, we bought a yard of multicolored river gravel from a landscape company in the area, and wheelbarrowed it around the house to use as a gravel mulch for the scree slope. I allowed the gravel to flow down in between the flagstones as well. This is how it looked after that operation.
I spent the winter dreaming, and planning, and ordering from High Country Gardens. I ordered quite a variety of plants for the rock garden, and I was blessed by the generosity of several garden friends as well when I planted the Rock/Scree slope garden. I decided to plant thyme in between my flagstones, as a nice filler/ground cover. I used Thymus ‘Pink Chintz’ and Thymus lanuginusus (Wooly Thyme) from them, and then I fell prey to impulse purchasing and bought a gallon pot with a Thymus microphylla from my local garden center. This is the flagstone path a couple of weeks after I planted the babies.
To provide variety of texture and some color contrast, I planted Creeping jenny in the flagstones that make the “dam” of the Rain Garden.
I’m actually starting to think that this was probably not such a good idea. If I had major traffic on this path, it might keep the creeping jenny in check, as it is I have to go out there almost weekly and beat it back just so I can see some of my beautiful rocks. Additionally, it believes that it should colonize the entire Hosta Dell and also the Rain Garden, and I have to be vigilant about pulling it out of places I don’t want it. It may be a little too good at being a ground cover.
Now, I have to say that the thymes also are perhaps a little too good at being ground cover as well. But they are little easier to keep in check than the creeping jenny as they don’t grow so fast. However, I would say that someone who wished to create a large area of low maintenance ground cover could not really go wrong using creeping thymes. They perform well and stand up to traffic nicely.
This is the Rock Garden in August, 10 months after I laid the first flagstone.
Turning around and looking the other way at the section of path to the west of the Rain Garden (and the Rain Garden itself).
At this point, I was rejoicing at how well the creeping jenny was filling in. This was before it showed its true colors as a thug plant.
This is the same area photographed yesterday.
And just because I’m so proud of the new garden, a pulled back view.
It is hard to believe that this garden was a barren slope of dead weeds and grass only 18 months ago, isn’t it? A testimony to what sweat equity, patience, and a passion for accumulating rocks can provide.
WOW. Just, WOW. What a transformation. And in just 18 months. Amazing what nature can achieve, with a little helping hand from a few beings with opposable thumbs and imagination… 🙂
You are right to be proud of turning that area into a place of beauty and a real nature haven, too.
Hah. This comment reminds me of a joke, the punchline of which goes “Well, Reverend, you should have seen this place when the Good Lord was the only one taking care of it.”
What nature would achieve here would be a brushy mass including but not limited to blackberries, poke, violets, black walnut and oak sprouts, which the birds would love.
Congratulations on your lovely stones and gravel and little plants – this is very much the same idea as I am trying to do here in Italy so I am following all your notes and photos closely. I think the very small thymes are good but I have had difficulties with the ‘normal’ height ones becasue they get leggy and then cutting them back in summer leaves just a mess etc etc. I have just planted a woolly thyme and so have great hopes for it. I have had some success with various verbenas and veronicas too.
Happy gardening!
Y
The wooly thyme has performed wonderfully for me, as did the other thymes I bought from High Country Gardens. I actually do have to keep them trimmed back from the flagstones, but unlike the creeping jenny I only have to do this about once in the summer because they grow so slowly.
Good luck with your rock garden, I’ll be interested in seeing photos of it when it is done.
I’m going to Europe this year but am thinking about the states for 2011. If I do make it back there I HAVE to visit your garden – it’s so inspiring. I love your photos HMH
It would be wonderful to have you visit! I’ll bet we could arrange a photo shoot somewhere in the gardens too. A sort of convenient airport to arrive at is St. Louis, Springfield Branson Regional Airport is even closer but usually costs more. . .
a LITTLE helping hand !!!!!!!!
Yeah, just a little one. And a foot as well.
Fascinating to see the progress as you worked on this project.
Thanks for visiting. I have the biceps to prove I moved all those rocks, too.
Very inspiring, thank you for sharing this with us. It is always a great help to see things in progress, and before and after shots. I have been thinking about a path like this to come to my front door, this might inspire me to actually act on it.
I highly recommend this sort of path. It really wasn’t that hard to do, the hardest part was acquiring the rocks. And the thyme makes a wonderful between paver planting, did not take as long to fill in as I was afraid.
Oh my goodness – what a great series of photos. I know you’ve talked about this area before, but it was amazing to see the step-by-step transformation and read about the thought process behind it. Thanks so much for sharing this for the Design Workshop this month. I’m sure many readers are going to find lots of inspiration for covering their own ground!
Hi Nan. It wasn’t until at least a week after I finished that post, published it and put the link up on the Design Workshop that I even remembered the old post. I almost considered telling you to forget about this post, then I thought, “No, that old post was more about the structure of the rock work, not the actual covering of the ground and we hadn’t even gotten the gravel mulch yet. This post can stand on its own merits.” I claim advancing age and hundreds of posts as my alibi. . .
I’m going to put a link in to that workshop and the older posts.
[…] Covering Ground (healingmagichands at The Havens): If you have a large yard or a challenging site, figuring out how to fill it can be a daunting task – especially if you’re going to do the work yourself. Healingmagichands shows us how she transformed a weedy slope into a flagstone path bisecting a beautiful scree/rock garden. She also shows a great way to transform lawn into garden in Creating a Garden Using the “Lasagna” Method and discusses the challenge of spacing plants in Covering Ground: A Cautionary Tale. […]
I love what you have done here, so inspiring! I live in the tropics, so a lot of the plants you have used wouldnt work for me. You have done a beautiful job, and all your plants look very happy!
The before and after shots are reallly inspirational. I just love your rock garden. The path with all the thyme is amazing. Worth every drop of sweat.