Two Guys and a Beer Landscaping

My buddy and I received permission to terra-form the rock wall under the water tower on Tower Drive.  At first we were thinking  we could just take out ALL the rocks out and rearrange them in some semblance of order.  If you have ever tried to groom a rock wall you know it's a pretty hard thing to make pretty.  Usually because of the lack of dirt between the boulders.  The main problem was that each boulder weighted like  over a ton and the fear of the water tower collapsing and becoming known throughout the world as the two guys that toppled a water tower trying to plant phlox  . . . .we decided to use them in the current configuration.

Another problem both Elwood and I had was the fact that neither of us had ever tried repelling down a cliff, but after seeing the wall again it was not as daunting as our imaginations had led us to believe.  No repelling would be involved.

PHASE ONE

The step BEFORE the 1st step was to document what was there already (for insurance reason I suppose)   so this is what we were working with.

If you look closely you will see a lot of weeds which we both agreed was actually a good thing. Weeds mean dirt and most rock walls are lacking dirt.

We already have a quasi-plan in place on the types of ground cover.  We will need some drought resistant plants as there will be no watering available, even though it is under a water tower and tapping into the tower was discussed but . . .that might be construed as an act of terrorism or something and we were already on the lookout for the local gendarmes.     

After getting an overall view it was time to jump in and get to know the rocks. We climbed around looking at our canvas and discussing what cover would work best and where.  Some ground covers like to hang and some like to climb and some need shelves while others need holes and it looks like at some point in the past someone had tried to plant a few things which died. 

The trick in this type of no tend garden is to find the right plant for the right place as they will be on their own for the most part. 

One of the great things we discovered is that the wall is RIPE for this type of work. The wall is not straight vertical and there are all sorts of wonderful nooks and crevices which are wonderful.

One section near the top has a wonderful feature and with more dirt will be a center piece and as luck would have it . . it's in the center.

It was time to dig in and begin Phase One ripping out all the weeds.  So we went back to our place, opened a couple Scotch Ales (Robert the Bruce brewed by Three Floyds - we drink nothing but the best while on the job) and created a plan. 

The car was loaded with worker stuff and off we went to unweed the Tower Rocks.

We then spent the next couple hours ripping out weeds, collecting pop cans and garbage which had made it into the rockery and creating a mess.  Oddly - no bugs or vermin's were spotted.

Car's were slowing down and rubber necking trying to see what we were doing and every so often we would see a walker switch sides and walk on the other side of the street as weeds were flying right and left.

We ripped out three large black garbage bags of garbage, racked everything up and completed Phase One.

PHASE TWO, which will begin October 2nd is the beginning of the augmentation phase as we mix the clay with top soil and compost. We want to have a chance for dirt to sit and settle for the winter before we plant anything.

And I should add this is all volunteer work, the city and Water and Light who own the property are getting this for free . . . of course any donations of good dirt would be welcome . . just sayin. 

The actual plants will come from purchases next year along with plants we have grown in my rock wall.  We plan on only 3 or 4 varieties.  The last thing we want is a polka-dot wall with 10 different plants.  This will be covered with only a few perfect plants and will be amazingly beautiful down the road with cascading color matching the rocks and when not in flower will have a wonderful texture.

The below is the main rock wall (one of 4 at our house) and is sort of a testing area to see what plants actually do. This is a combination of 1 and 2 years old ground covers.

Stay tuned.
-----------------------------------------------
   
OK - I just saw this and I'll post it - HOWEVER -  . . .The title of the link says it all - and they are

THE ALL-TIME MOST HORRIFIC SPORTING INJURIES

-------------------------------------------------

Speaking of Sports - I find it amazing that a guy that was universally loved by 80% of the males in pro football (20% still hated him) has turned into one of the most despised football players in the NFL.  BRETT!! DUDE!!  Talk about ruining a legacy!  Having sex with a bunch of woman (or man) would have been better then what you are doing to yourself. 

The talking heads on TV having you in the "Old man not having fun" category! 

Packers - blah blah - they blew out Buffalo and it was not even a surprise.  Pack is 3 point favs in Chicago.
-------------------------------------------------
InSpire Magazine might have a full page advertisement which will feature (well . . not FEATURE  . . more like HAVE) a photo of mine for West James Gallery.  In the next few days I'll post some shots and you can vote which one would work the best.  I'm also goign to find out more about InSpire and who and where the readers are.

More in the next few days.
--------------------------------------------------

Watch the weather this week - lot's of activity - we could have the last OR the next to last 80 degree day this week. Maybe two in the 80s - either way - it's probably the last times for the next 6 months!! BOO HOO!!

Rod