Raised Flower Bed

How great is it when you actually finish a project on time? With a little help from my dad (and a gas-powered auger), we were able to finish the raised flower bed this past weekend.

Angie and I had previously cleared the sod where the flower bed was to be placed. The bed itself is 48'L x 2'D -- so it was a good bit of work on every level.

We got the structure itself completed on Saturday. We used 2x4 Trex Brasilia Cayenne (special order from local lumber yard) and 4"x4" cedar posts. I went with the Trex because of its duribility to the elements (without the chemicals of pressure treated lumber). It's a good bit heavier (and flexible) than wood; but it cuts and is fastened pretty much the same. Here's a nice close-up shot of the product.

On Sunday we prepared the bed for planting. After replacing the sod, upside down, we added a layer of compost (shown below) and topsoil. We'll allow that mixture to settle for about a week before planting.

More pics and details on the process over at Kingswood Redux's Flickr

Props: Inspiration for the project from redneckmodern
and Drummond-Revere Home "Restovation"

Sowed

The results of about 3 weekends of work -- the garden is planted. Not much more needs to be said -- unless of course you drop me questions in the comments. We changed things around since last year. One of the major changes is in the weed control department. If you don't have hands on experience, just trust me when I say that your major battle in any garden is weeds.

Our "boy" Ed Smith recommended a layer of newspaper on top of a freshly weeded bed covered by grass clippings (free) or straw (not free). We went with a mixture. Grass clippings covering the majority and we used straw on the main walkways for greater durability.

I guess the other major change is that this year we went with landscaping fabric around the plants instead of the black plastic. Although the plastic does a great job on the weeds, it doesn't allow water to pass through -- so that will help with watering and such. And the newspaper/grass clippings/hay will also help hold mositure in the soil.

The next project will be to finish the raised flower bed. The materials are being delivered this week and I hope to have a good portion of it completed by next weekend. I'm excited to try out the Trex -- its a composite product made of a unique combination of wood and plastic fibers. Super durable and a bit easier on the earth than pressure treated wood.

Garden Fence

[Insert lame excuse for not posting more frequently]

Despite a "recent" post about the half-bath and kitchen being next, we've temporarily moved outside in order to prepare the garden for planting. We have this pretty cool stainless-steel fence that the previous owner of our home left us. It was less than sturdy, so we needed to replace the wooden border around the garden that helped hold the fence in place -- railroad ties were originally used, but had pretty much rotted and allowed the rebar holding the fence to sag. We opted for fence post instead of the RR ties.


Fence post (repurposed) is leveled and holes have been drilled where the rebar will sit.


Finished project. Fencing is connected to the rebar with rebar ties. We'll eventually replace the other 3 sides, but I think that will happen gradually over the next 3 years.


BTW: The reason you see the ground all torn up there in front of the fence is because we're putting in a raised flower bed. When the flowers are fully grown, they will help to create a natural cover to the otherwise unsightly fence. As you can imagine, more info on that project to follow.