I've been away from the forum for quite a while, as an email from George just reminded me! I thought I'd start sharing some details of a project I currently have underway.
In the last couple of years we had the pleasure of visiting some of the great gardens in the UK and while at Hidcote, the Red Border there really make a big impression. I've decided to create my own variation on that theme in a sunny spot we have in our garden on Bainbridge Island, Washington State.
Right now I'm in the 'tear everything up and prepare' phase. I'm taking an area where we have a border and dramatically widening and extending it. Here are a few pictures from the past months on the development.
Late Winter and this is a central area of the new border that is going to get cleared:
A wider view of the same area:
Let the games begin!:
The new tractor is proving to be a wonderful back-saver:
Late summer now, the grass has been cleared, the ground rototilled and a load of compost and manure dumped in - ready to be forked into the glacial tilth (basically sand and rounded rocks):
A further section of the border:
The central part of the border:
A lot of work with the fork, extracted 5 wheelbarrow loads of stones and I'm about a 1/3 of the way done!
As you can see, it's extremely dry here in the Pacific NorthWest -- a little unusual for late September/early October - we've really only had one rainy day since early July.
As things progress, I'll post some more.