the summer's landscaping projects

My last post alluded to my monumental landscaping activities this past spring and summer. Tons of rock and gravel were shifted as Steve, my wonderful hired hand, and I became very physically fit. The rock garden below, our second project, was to have been next year's project, but we were on a roll. Too bad I don't have a 'before' picture to show how many wheelbarrow loads of clay type soil we moved out & dumped on the top of the riverbank with hopes of curtailing some of the erosion. The idea here was to create individual flower beds surrounded by rock and filling in the rest with rock such that you can step or climb anywhere going up or down. It's difficult to see but the size of some of these rocks is amazing, additionally amazing in that we were actually able to move them from the trailer at the front to the back and then place them. It's called leverage combined with Steve's upper body strength.

In this photo you can see the walkway leading down to the river. Each one of those stones was hauled from my favourite field and carefully placed with due consideration to the lawn tractor being able to ride over them.
Here's a closer look. The rocks don't look particularly large but I assure you individually they weigh big time.

Here's the first project of the summer. First we had to dig out the old stone rocks, remove the excess soil and then develop some sort of stepping arrangement. I found some mis-matched solid blocks for sale. Turns out they were just perfect for my purpose. The biggest problem was in anchoring the whole affair such that they didn't move. Pressure treated lumber and lag bolts did the trick. I like the look and think we succeeded admirably as the visual weight ties in nicely with the desking.