Pond-redesign update: The little gravel garden goes away

Garden projects like re-doing the pond are never quick or easy. They also create related projects that need doing at the same time. That's the case with this secondary project that we finished last week. This shows the area as it looked in the early years as you came around the house to the back garden. The old is deck on the left and the pond on the right. 

In 2008 we decided to turn this discreet area into a raked gravel garden to relate it to the one out front. Mark removed the grass, made a sinuous rock wall and put down weed barrier. 

It got topped off with fine gravel, raked and looked perfect. 

Thirteen years later, it is less than perfect with construction debris — limestone pieces and an old wood bench — taking up space. Both shrubs had seriously deteriorated from bad winters and bad bunnies. Mark and I decided that this raked gravel garden made no sense if we were turning the big pond into one as well. This smaller one would detract from the pond re-do, so it had to go. To revert this area back to a planting zone, meant that everything that had gone into its creation now had to come out.

First Mark removed the best gravel off the top and added it to the front gravel garden. The rest went into the pond (below) as filler. 

Then he pulled up all those pieces of weed barrier to reach the soil level.

But before we could add more dirt, we had to pull out the stone wall. 

Despite being smallish stones, they were heavy and not easy to just grab and pull out. I know since I helped on this part of the project. 

As stones were being pulled out on one side of this slope below the Tea House, they were being used to create a new wall on the other side. Previously logs delineated the path. 

First load of soil goes down just before the mostly dead shrubs were removed. The one on the left is a Burning Bush so I was fine with seeing it go.

Glad I left the flags in place as I never would have been able to figure out where my spring ephemerals were planted once the rock wall was gone. 

A second load of dirt and the area is ready for me to plant. The rock piles on the back right are for a different project. 

I used two bags of our chopped leaf much to keep the dirt from blowing away. 

I more or less have a planting plan; I just need to get up and out early enough to have energy to do the work. 

Comments

[ceci]

Thanks for posting these project updates - we have had steady hard rain since yesterday evening (after 3 weeks of no rain at all) and its making me think of all kinds of garden simplifications since I can't get out into it. Good to be reminded that even simplifications aren't simple to achieve!

ceci

[Linda Brazill]

CECI — You are so right. When you look at the way it was and the way it is now, it looks like a quick, easy redo. Compared to the pond redo, it was easy. But it really got done now because the electric wheelbarrow Mark ordered got damaged in shipment and sent back. Waiting for a new one and he can't do any of the heavy lifting he needs to do to get going on the big project. 

[Barbara H.]

One thing leads to 10 more - right? Great job on transforming, once again, this "little" area.

[Kris P]

Somehow, almost every project seems to go that way, like an endless ripple in water when a stone is dropped. I'm sorry that heat is still an encumbrance. We're starting a long warming trend, just as the dozen plants I ordered 10 days ago arrived...

[Linda Brazill]

KRIS P. — It's a bit cloudy outside and I can hear thunder, but the storm on radar just looks like little blobs with lots of openings in between them. All the nurseries online are having sales and I am really conflicted about buying. If there appeared to be some real rain in the future it would make it easier to decide. Nothing more frustrating than getting a shipment of plants just as it heats up.

[Kristin]

Oh wow! What a lot of work. It looks fabulous though!

[danger garden]

I love the process shots, so nice to be there with you. Can't wait to see what you plant.

[Bittster]

This is a little intimidating. Every step of the process looks perfect and I can't help but think of what a mess my garden is every time I try a project!
I love how you keep reinventing your garden.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

This is getting exciting! A new planting area. Whooo Hooo....
Stones are a bear to pull once they have been in the soil for so long. They sink in and make themselves at home. I am so happy you got rid of the burning bush too. Not a good plant to have since they are invasive. At least in our area they are. They pop up everywhere you don't want them.