For the longest time I’ve dreamed of having a curving garden in front of my beautiful pine tree. However I came across a tiny problem called digging. Pine trees have shallow roots and there is no room to dig. I was barely able to rip off the top grass.
To bypass this little problem I made a raised bed that slightly curves around the perimeter of the pine tree.
I decided to use old flooring boards that were heading to the dump. For a garden the floor boards are still in very good condition, but everyone says it is not good enough to be used in a house because the wood expands when left to the elements. So why not make a raised bed? It is a great way to use the wood.
When choosing the fencing, there was plastic and metal. I looked at the plastic and it looked like plastic and I wanted something tougher. This metal fencing that I bought at the Dollar plus store has a nice simple design.
I added several layers of newspaper on the bottom and up the sides to block out the weeds. We receive the weekly flyers and there are always 2 free newspapers included so no need to buy weed barrier and the paper will breakdown over time. it really helps to cut down on the recycling bin filling up. It takes maybe a little over 2 years for the newspaper to completely decompose. It also helps to nourish the worms that come up from underneath.
To fill up each square, it took 3 bags (22 litres) of topsoil plus I added a few handfuls of sheep manure. The metal fencing did not go down to deep in the ground, so I used some leftover knitting wool to tie the fencing together and making the floor boards sturdier. From far the string doesn’t show and up close you can see it, but I know that as the plants grow up and out the foilage will hide the string. At least black blends with nature, if I had used my red wool, that would have been different LOLOL
So lets take a small tour and I’ll show you from left to right what has been planted
In the first square to the left is one Wildhorse daylily. I planted only one daylily in the square because that thing grows big and mulitplies. I originally had it together with the Oriental lilies in a round spot and when it came time to dig them out, oh boy I nearly pulled out my back trying to get the daylilies out.
Those plants put down roots that are unbelievable. In 2010 I ordered 3 Wildhorses daylilyes and when I finished digging them out in 2014 I needed to divide them and I ended up with 9 plants out of the original 3 that I planted. Next to the daylilies is 3 Japanese irises. (p.s note to me…need to verify when flowering if all 3 are really Japanese irises.)
The middle square had a red peony and behind that is 7 Oriental Casablanca lilies. Casablanca lilies grow VERY tall and are so fragrant. They actually give me a headache when I get to close to them, but I just can’t get rid of all of them. When I dug them out I found lots and lots of baby Oriental bulbs. I kept 7 of them and all the others have new homes.
Then continuing towards the right, is another Wild horses daylily
Then 3 more Japanese irises. Again I need to verify the flowers because I bought so many different lilies and didn’t label the garden very well, that now I am doubting my memories. I will be updating this blog in a few weeks
Here is a shot further back to see the layout. I can’t wait until it all starts to fill in.
Here is a shot from the road. This part of my yard is towards the north and it receives sun from early in the morning until about 3pm. I’m pretty sure I’ve hit a winning combination with these plants. Thanks for stopping by to see what’s new in my garden and I hope you’ll stop by later on when these plants start growing more. Have a wonderful day.