My Garden

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Instructions

This project came together over a few years. I had already built and planted the garden boxes and I wanted to make it prettier. My youngest son wanted to help so he got to drive the bobcat that moved most of the heavy rocks in the front of the house. Then he helped me set them in place. The following summer I built the retaining walls and the pond, my husband helped with the retaining wall that enters the garden. It was a lot of work for a first project. My husband used my design to build the entry way and the fencing around my garden that same summer. I took all of these pictures in the spring of 2006 when I knew that I was going to be away from home for a long time. My youngest son was ill and we weren't sure how long until we got to come back home. Now it serves as a place for me to go to remember what a wonderful time we had building a memory. Connors way is the pathway that my youngest son used every day when he came home from school. This project came together over a few years. I had already built and planted the garden boxes and I wanted to make it prettier. My youngest son wanted to help so he got to drive the bobcat that moved most of the heavy rocks in the front of the house. Then he helped me set them in place. The following summer I built the retaining walls and the pond, my husband helped with the retaining wall that ...
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Difficulty:

Category: Home & Garden

Type of item: Plant or Flower

For: Garden

Style: Romantic

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Materials

Stones gathered from the mountains, old bridge decking for the entry and fence. 2x6 boards for the raised beds. Allan block for the walls and pea gravel for the walk ways.

What was your inspiration?

My inspiration was just wanting to have a nice garden. I've always enjoyed browsing the garden magazines to get ideas but some how this idea just came together with little to no planning. We had rented a bobcat to dig an area in our front yard to build a patio. My son wanted to take a turn driving the bobcat so we had him move big rocks from one place to another...and so a pathway began.

What are you most proud of?

I'm proud of the entire garden but Connor's way is the most important part of the project for me. My son helped build it and was so proud of himself. We lost him a few years later to a childhood cancer and now the pathway and garden itself is a constant reminder of the importance of family and working together to build beautiful memories.

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

We have found that mowing around the pea gravel is a bit difficult as we used lawn edging. I plan on replacing it with bricks this year. Also, pea gravel is great but you have to make sure that you put lots of weed barrier down...luckily we did. As for the pond. It was a great project and I learned along the way. For a first project it might be best to get professional help or at least the help of someone who's built at least one pond before. Due to the fact that I''m in the process of re-landscaping the back yard now, I've removed the pond and filled the hole with Hostas because I plan on using the pond liner in a different spot in the yard. The best advice that I have is to just enjoy the time it takes to build any project.