Saturday, and the Open flag is fluttering in the breeze. The sun is shining, it is a beautiful day.
I don't know how old this apple tree is, but apparently the wind lately was just too much for it, because a big chunk of it broke off and is laying on the ground behind the tree.
I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed with this mess. Everything is out of the right side of the barn, most of it stacked up outside. The tools and lawn equipment are in the shed with the pellets. About 6" of dirt from the barn floor is piled on that tarp on the lawn.
And here is the plan.........metal fencing on the floor, and up the walls part way. then the dirt will get put back on top of the wire. Then some crushed stone on top of that..........and then the wood chucks will have to move out of my barn for good!!!!!!!
Here is a little path to the secret garden.
Today I worked on placemats for an order, all white. I wanted to go outside and do some gardening, but I resisted the temptation. I have 20 placemats to do, plus some runners.
I did walk the labyrinth, and strolled through the meadow walk that I have manged to keep mowed.
I haven't decided yet what to do about the labyrinth.......I don't like the brown grass around the rocks, where I sprayed Roundup, trying to kill the weeds that grew up. I want the labyrinth to be pretty maintenance free, especially as I can't see my self getting any younger here. So I am thinking of putting landscape fabric down, and some small stones to cover it. I am open to ideas, and would love to hear any suggestions.
Then after dinner, I took my new "bicula", my granddaughter Ava's name for a bicycle, for a ride. My friend, Alice, and I took a long ride down by the river, and it was a blast. I have finally gotten over my fear of falling and screwing up my titanium knee. The only thing the bike needs is a new seat, a "comfortable" seat. OUCH OUCH OUCH.
And now, good friends and all, I am off to the hot tub, and to bed. It's been a good day, but a long one.
native ground cover would be lovely! I'm really enjoying getting to see the progression of the labyrinth - it's such a cool project!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a problem...I have an old rock garden that over time has become overgrown with weeds..So i need to take it apart and start again. My Parents swear by the landscape cloth, but i've never used it. I'm looking forward to reading about what you decided to do....
ReplyDeleteThe two local labyrinths that I've walked have different solutions.
ReplyDeleteOne of them is a stone dust base (probably with landscape fabric under it) and then rocks marking the path. So it looks the same year round pretty much.
The other labyrinth is a summer labyrinth that is mowed into a tall field of grass. So the paths are marked by the tall uncut grass - and you walk on the cut part. (Does that make sense?)
I think you could embrace the grassiness of your area by leaving an unmowed section around the labyrinth and just mowing the paths - and in winter you'd see the rocks. Or you could plant wildflowers along the rocks so you'd have some blooms along with the grass and rocks.
Or you could go the stone dust route - but that seems pretty labor intensive. (The stone dust labyrinth that I know of is maintained by a church - so a group of people raised the money and did the work.)
Good luck!
Sue
I agree with the comfortable seat! Why not get a pair of biker shorts until then? Then have a nice padding and it helps somewhat.
ReplyDeleteAs you were saying landscape fabric and little stones, I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing. What a chore, though. But which is worse? If you want the rocks to stand out, I'd say mulch but that only lasts year to year. And I really don't think it looks bad as is!
Oh, and I hope you win the war! Have fun storming the castle.
ReplyDeleteWhen I did my garden I just laid a layer of news paper over the grass and then put down pea gravel for my garden path. It worked just as well as landscape cloth to kill the grass and was cheaper and easier. Some grass, a little comes up the sides but its much easier to pull now, or shoot with a little round up. I love the idea of the look of the bigger stones lining a pea gravel path. The other great thing about news paper is that it eventually biodegrades, where as some of my other paths where I used landscape cloth, the cloth has work it's edges up in places and what a pain it is to pull off the gravel and work it back down to the bottom! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteJaimie
Oh, I wanted to add that I use a "gel pad" on my seat and it's great! You can find them online or at bike stores.
ReplyDeleteJaimie