A New Home Means a New Garden

Since we closed in late October it was really too late to do anything or even really think about the yard.  We focused on moving in and then it snowed.  And the snow stayed all winter and covered up the unfinished landscape.

Now that it is warming up we've been talking and planning for what we want to do in our yard.  

We created a wish list and I worked up a basic overview for the property.  

Then I got stuck.  I was just completely and totally overwhelmed.  

Rob keeps saying I can pull this together because I had all that practice in Illinois, but I'm not even sure where to begin.  

What goes in first?  

We can't afford to do it all at once so how do we set priorities for our budget and time?

We saw that a local garden center offered design services so we set up an appointment. I met with the designer this afternoon and we walked the yard together and then reviewed a packet of ideas and inspiration pictures that I had gathered.  We had a lovely chat and she seems to have a good grasp on what we are looking for in a landscape.  She took some measurements and pictures and will get back with us in a couple of weeks with our design.  

Guess what I learned from her?  

This project is still going to be overwhelming and very challenging.  

The soil here is…

BAD!

It’s full of rocks and very alkaline.  

I thought we could amend a hole at a time.  You know, figure out where we were going to plant a tree or a shrub and work the soil really well there.  That was the recommended practice in Illinois.  Make a $100 hole for a $10 plant and it worked well.  My plants there thrived.

The designer I met with suggested that really the best (better?) alternative is to just dump a bunch of topsoil.

EVERYWHERE!

4 inches where we want grass.

6 to 8 inches everywhere else.

That’s a lot of topsoil.  

And a lot of money to pay for someone else’s dirt (yes I know, It's Soil, Not Dirt).  

Money I don’t want to spend on dirt (okay, okay, Soil).  

Money I’d rather spend on installing a patio or a sprinkler system or planting trees or grass.  

And if we get top soil delivered and don’t start planting in it and covering it with mulch it’s going to just wash away or blow away or weeds are going to grow in it or a combination of all of those.

Did you catch that "blow away" comment?  Guess what?  It's WINDY up here!  That’s apparently one of the biggest reasons I see so much gravel mulch around this subdivision.  The wind blows away the fine bark mulch so if we want to use bark mulch we are only supposed to only use the big fat nuggets. 

And all those rocks that seem to be growing in our yard.  They have to be picked up and moved.  Especially where we want lawn or turf or grass or whatever the appropriate term is.  Luckily we are going to incorporate a dry creek bed so I'll have somewhere to use all those rocks.  The designer said we will probably still have to buy more rocks to get it to look just right.  (Is that ironic or what?)

So, I guess I know what my new job is going to be.  

Rock gathering.  

Guess I'd better go buy a garden cart or wagon because the wheelbarrow is just too high and too tippy.

In the meantime I need to start getting quotes for extending our patio because the hardscape is the first item that needs to be finished.  At least I know where to begin.