Backyard Regrade

Maybe you need a few of these? http://www.thestonechef.co.uk/boulder_chair.html
I just found these today via someone I follow on FB. I think they're wonderful. (Am totally in love with the bathtubs, too)

Absolutely stunning. I see a magazine layout in the future perhaps?

Susybell, what a fun website! Love the tubs - wonderful!

Bonehead, your project is amazing. I hope you have many years of fun times around that beautiful fire ring.

Beautiful fire ring. All I would need would be a cushion 'under me bum' so I could use the recliner chair more comfortably.

That is such a great project and looks beautiful. Well done.

Today's project was a bark path to the outer areas and filling in with black dirt. Dangerously close to plant buying time... I think the hardscape is done.

Opposite view of the path. Eventually I will carry this down the hill to my granddaughter's treehouse and zipline.

LOL Bonehead, talk about a small world!! I know Corey, he and my daughter dated many years ago and my son has worked for Corey's dad for several years.Honestly, I am very glad my daughter broke up with him! LOL He is a good kid, just needs some maturity very badly.

Treehouse and zip line?! Dang, can my kids move in with you?

Looking forward to the next chapter of pictures of the 'dangerous' plant buying. What a fabulous project.

Forget the kids - I'm moving in.

Kylaluaz, me too!

TDF, how funny. Corey has been a neighbor since he was in preschool, so I can fully understand your relief. Love him to pieces, but he IS a handful. He is married now with two young kids (3 and 4 I think). Fatherhood sits well with him.

I want to move into the treehouse. Great pics.

My rather loose planting plan. Now comes the fun part...

A couple maples to begin with.

And some shrubs and groundcover from the native nursery. Next stop is my local nursery (Orchards in Stanwood) and a visit to our organic friends (Rent's Due Ranch). I plan to greet my two sons with shovels on Sunday...my perfect MD gift will be for them to dig all this stuff in.

I foresee a toast on the patio in the very near future!

Looks like a great beginning for your planting.

Is my room ready?

Looking good! Ah, isn't it nice to get labor for Mother's Day? I have been doing that for a few years now.

Looking good. Will look even better when those boys get them in the ground. :)

Nice haul. Love those pieris and the maples and and and. Have fun

Just back from a very bad nursery experience. Orchard's Nursery is a small family run biz in Stanwood. I patronized them often. Went there today and was pleasantly surprised to find signs indicating all landscape plants were 20% off. Bingo for me. I filled up two carts and went to check out, only to be told that was 'last week's ad.' Huh? I politely said the signs are all still up by the plants, fully expecting them to honor their advertising even though it was in error. They did not. I walked out with no plants and no plan to give them any further business. What a waste of about 90 minutes...not to mention I squeezed this in between the rains. Sigh. Off I go to another nursery. In the pouring rain.

Sad, bonehead. Bad customer service.

Oh, BH, that is really a horrible experience! Two carts full of plants and they wouldn't honor the signs they hadn't gotten around to taking down. Good for you for walking out. The plants you've already bought are wonderful, though. Really nice selections.

BH,
How can a small nusery do that? I would have done the same thing. PR is always the best advertisement. How many hits on this thread? Sure could have work the other way around for them.

What a frustrating experience! I wonder if they have taken down the signs yet, or if they are practicing deceptive advertising. Shame shame shame on them. Certainly no way to run a business!

On to the planting. Here's the focal J. maple with Irish moss at its feet.

A triple trunk mountain hemlock with bunchberry at its feet and feather reed grass companions.

This area we refer to as the restoration zone. A bitty J. maple and a couple more feather reeds, backed by a series of true natives - western azalea, ribes, mock orange, and redtwigs. All are pretty spindly, will look better in a year or two. Behind this planting is a mature deciduous huckleberry growing on a cedar stump, with Indian plum and quaking aspens behind. In the alder to the left, you can vaguely see the treehouse (more of a platform with a railing, another evolving project). We also left a spot to tuck in a bench in this area.

The planting crew. Ben threw on a hard hat, grabbed a shovel, and just started digging holes for Sam to fill in. Great team work.

The last picture is great! Happy people in front of a wonderful J. Maple.

Happy people indeed! Team work is best.

It is looking fabulous! What a great team! Enjoy the results of your hard work. It's exciting to see your ideas come alive. Thank you for sharing the process with us!

Yikes, this project is like a runaway train...I'm now looking at chairs and a bench, tons more plants for the outcropping, and then there's lighting and maybe a bit of yard art...no end in sight! Good thing we were planning no big summer trips this year, I can see my hands will be full (and pockets empty). I won't even mention the neglect my other beds are suffering - although in fairness the weather has not been altogether cooperative for weeding.

Love the use of natives - and the triple Hemlock. Mountain Hemlock is one of my favorites for architectural interest.

Hmm, would a hint to the sister whose wedding you're hosting about chairs/bench/art be inappropriate? I agree with K59, I love that you're using so many natives.

This is a cute little native for moist-ish shade, if you're still looking for more of them: http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/nativeplants/Disporum_smithii.html

Good suggestion, Sue! I was also reintroduced last weekend to something I have not yet successfully grown in my yard, but I'm going to keep trying with renewed enthusiasm. Smilacina racemosa

After many nursery trips, and lots of digging, here's a side view of the (somewhat) finished product. Now is the waiting time, for the plants to bulk up and fill in.

The shovel on end is saving a spot for another mountain hemlock, and I haven't yet cut in the front edge yet or planted that out. The chairs are all new, hope they hold out OK. We just put teak oil on them. Some assembly required.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2011 3:19 PM

Looking good. The chairs look really good with your design.

Looks great!