I had an extra day off work and the weather was just absolutely gorgeous. So I planned on being outdoors all day. My first task was to put a border around the bed where I planted the Irises I got from Toni. We used to run a brick company, so there are misc. bricks piled up. I got them all sorted and moved to the garden area. I just placed the bricks, didn't dig down or anything. But then the back looked "naked", so I just placed down another fence post. Not only did it "complete" the look, it will help protect any plants when weed-eating/trimming. I also put in some more mulch. Irises from Toni ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) There was plenty of daylight left, so I cleared another bed the same size as the Irises. Also edged with a different color brick. Why stop there, I thought? But it was getting late. So I went through the remainder of the bricks and planned where the other three beds would go. Since I didn't have enough of one type/color brick, I planned on these just being a hodge-podge. On the next nice day, I'll clear out the beds.. and hopefully by then, I will have decided what to do with that last section. Hurry up Springtime! :-D new beds started ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Looking good Cheryl. I love using old bricks as edging. We took up a couple of brick paths in our backyard, they went to old sheds that had to go too, so I used them all on the beds out back. That is going to be really pretty next spring and summer.
Thanks Toni! When we were moving, Hubby kept asking why I wanted to take all those old bricks with us. Little did he know, I already had plans for them! I've used all of our "stash", but I bet if I looked around the property I could scrounge up some more. I can hardly wait for Spring!
Every once in a while I am tempted to post a Wanted on my rEcycle list asking for unwanted bricks...or to respond to an Offer of unwanted bricks because I used up all I could find in the yard. But in creating the front garden I decided to go with mulch everywhere and narrow unplanted areas or paths thru them instead.
I think I may just finish off that last section with a brick border and for any other beds use something else... or like you said, just use mulch. I don't like too much of the same thing. I think that "mixing it up" makes for a more informal feel.
Your new border looks good, Cheryl. I envy you, you can play in the dirt. Mine's frozen solid. I'll join in on the Hurry Up Spring-chorus.
Oh now you've made me really jealous. I want to play in the dirt again but still have so much snow I can't even see my garden. Thanks for sharing your photographs with us as it's good to see what others are achieving at this time of year. Those bricks certainly set off the beds very nicely.
Cheryl--your project is just looking better and better. Well done! Yopu must be well-chuffed at how it all's turning out.
Thanks Eileen, Droopy and Sjoerd! I sure enjoyed my nice and sunny day off work. I'm hoping that I'll get at least one nice day this weekend to clear out the other beds. Then, I'll just have to find something else to do outdoors when weather permits.
