Finally building something: new bamboo box

I had big plans for building things in the garden this year: a shed, a new deck, rebuild the stream -- but so far I haven't done a single one. One reason is it's been so hot this year, but I think it's mainly that I haven't been motivated. This past weekend I finally got "the bug" and built a new bamboo planter box.

I've built raised beds in my garden before, but have only built a bamboo planter once before, at my friend's house. That one turned out pretty nice, but it was a little fancier than what I wanted for myself. Here's how I built it.

Read more »

Read more...

Veggie garden makeover, part 2

Yesterday was spent pulling down the vines, removing weeds and all other old vegetation from my vegetable garden, and taking down the trellises. Although it was a lot of work, seeing the veggie garden cleared and ready for whatever comes next was quite rewarding.

Today we see what comes next, and it's raised beds! I'm eager to get started on the first building project of the year, so let's get started!

Read more »

Read more...

Finishing up 2006

Today I finish up 2006 (in the history of my garden) with three projects and lots of photos. I've already talked about clearing the space by having trees removed, then building the patio. The first project I'll talk about today is the main staircase to the patio.

This one was tough to design, since I had never really designed a stairway before, and it's important that it's easy to use without feeling awkward. The last thing I wanted was to make the trip down to my nice new patio scary or dangerous. So I did a lot of planning.

Read more »

Read more...

The patio takes shape: 2006

If you've been following along the last few days as I chronicle the changes in my yard over the past few years, you'll know that we've just had (in 2006) all of the remaining locust trees removed from our yard, leaving a pretty uninteresting space with no vertical elements. You saw how I laid out my garden hose to designate an area that would be turned into "something", but I wasn't sure what yet. That was in March 2006. For the next few weeks I thought about it and planned, and also bought several large plants and small trees. This was the first time I had ever purchased trees, and it was exciting!

After much research and several visits to local nurseries, some of which I had never been to before, I bought three different Japanese maples, a couple of clumping bamboos (my first bamboos) and other small trees.

Read more »

Read more...

Putting up the greenhouse

As I was deciding which chores to do around the yard or house this weekend (clean garage, clean basement, pull vines, paint bookcase were all strong contenders) I took a look at the weather for the week. Good thing I did, because later this week it's going to get cold: 21ºF or so a couple of nights in a row.

That fact immediately moved a lower-ranked task to the top of the list: put up my temporary greenhouse. The greenhouse is where most of my smaller potted bamboos will spend the winter -- maybe I'll put a few other plants in there too if there is room.

Read more »

Read more...

Stones!

One of my favorite garden-related things to do is pick out new rocks. Plant-shopping is fun, but rock shopping is just as enjoyable, if not more so. I love rocks! Flagstones, field stones, boulders -- I'm a big fan of them all. (Gravel I'm not such a fan of, but it has its purposes.) Although I'd love to be bringing home some huge, eye-catching boulders to add to the garden, today I'm picking up something on a smaller scale.

I've picked up two kinds of stones: some weathered field stones which I'll talk about another day, and some flagstone "steppers" of the same material as my patio. I'll be using those today to enhance a small walkway.

Read more »

Read more...

Planter box build: day 2

Yesterday I wrote about the planter box I helped a friend build for his bamboo. We didn't quite finish, so today we'll finish the box and plant the bamboo.

We started the day with a trip to the community compost pile, where we loaded up the truck with free compost. I wish the park where this compost pile is located was closer to my house, but it's too long of a drive to make it practical for me. Maybe that's a good thing, otherwise I'd be picking up compost every weekend.

Read more »

Read more...

Planter box build: day 1

This past weekend I helped my friend Eric build a planter box for the bamboo I gave him earlier this summer. Although this is a pretty large plant, it kept blowing over, and it really needs more room than its pot can provide.

The nice thing about letting them have the potted bamboo for a month or so before permanently planting it is that they could move it around and figure out the best place for it. They already knew they wanted it positioned to provide late afternoon shade for their deck, but exactly where wasn't certain. As it turns out, the first place we put the pot was decided to be the best place for it, so that's where we'll build.

Read more »

Read more...

A new bamboo planting

I cleared this small raised bed out last fall, and until today had not decided what to plant in it. I've been debating whether or not I should plant a bamboo in it, and finally decided that it would be a good idea.

I've also decided which bamboo to plant there: Indocalamus tessellatus. This bamboo is shorter (maybe 5-6 feet tall in this confined area) but has the largest leaves of any temperate (cold-hardy) bamboo. It should be impressive.

Read more »

Read more...

Building a new box

After I did my weeding yesterday and had some breakfast, I had to choose a project for the day. I was thinking of cleaning the deck, or maybe staining the pergola, but I instead decided to work on this:

It's a temporary retaining wall that I made out of chunks of concrete. I put it there two summers ago when I planted one of my bamboos on the slope on the edge of my yard.

Read more »

Read more...