2010 Comes To An End

When I think about the harsh land and the amount of work that went into this Mountain Garden Project I am proud. The garden will flourish in this country. It will never be easy and there will be many things that need to be overcome, but views like this one are the biggest reward.

Sun Rise over the Brazos.
As seen from the East Deck at our home.

Soon, winter will again set into the sleepy little town of Los Ojos, New Mexico. And, all gardening will have to come to a stop until Spring.

In October of 2010 the garden area was cleaned up. All tools were brought in. Seeds that needed to be planted, to rest over the winter, was done. And, a prayer of Good Night was said. I look forward to Spring.

PROGRESS with My Families Help

My Son was one of the biggest helpers I could have ever had. He's a hard working, good looking man and he moved more wheelbarrow loads of rocks than I could have done in a year. Thanks to his hard work two paths really took shape.

This is the path that goes around the workshop foundation.
It is now all marked ready for sand.


This is the path to Bonsai Oak Overlook.

My Granddaughter was in charge of sand sifting
and wheelbarrow riding (both very important jobs).

See the nasty mess on the right? Those barrels were for a water
storage system (that never exactly happened). One of my
Brothers helped me clean the area up. AND, below the mess
is REALLY good dirt! I think this will be an herb area.

My other Brother helped me get a perfect circle of rock around
Bonsai Oak Overlook. Notice how the rock slowly increases
in size? This is to account for the grade of the land.

My Mother bought a bag of wildflower seed - specifically for
this altitude and this climate. Those seeds were planted on
Oct. 20, 2010

Many hands make - lighter - work. I am deeply thankful for the help.

Bump In The Road

Happily moving along with path building I came to spot that gave me fits!

See that rock in the upper center of the picture - inside the path boundaries? I couldn't leave it as it was sticking up too high, sand would not cover it well and surely someone would twist an ankle when stepping on it. Logically my first thought was to just remove it - so I started digging. That little rock is connected to a HUGE rock that rests just under the path and beyond. Possibly that little rock is connected to the whole darn mountain! Needless to say, I couldn't dig it up.

Next option - Go Over It!

It may not look like a lot here - but that's 2 full wheelbarrow loads of clay (I had to do it in 4 as clay is really heavy stuff).

This would be covered with sand after my Son and Granddaughter arrived (in a few days). For now the Mountain Garden Project has to take a back seat to cleaning the house.

Wildflower Garden Area #1

It became quickly apparent that I couldn't finish the 'creation' of the garden area in this first year. This is a project that will continue - most likely - the rest of my life. As much as I love doing this, that thought is perfectly okay. I scaled down my wild fantasies and decided to focus on one small area, and spread the seeds in Fall. My Mama needs something beautiful and growing - so this shows the work that went into creating Wildflower Garden Area #1.

In my last post (Inspecting The Area) I showed the very first flat spot that my Father created on the land (in about 1980). It was made as a level place to put a grill. I decided that the flat spot would be perfect for a bird bath and possibly a potted plant (something for Butterflies). In front of this area is where I'm building Wildflower Garden #1. It's just a little area but it really needs some color. I started by placing rocks around the area to mark it.

The next step was moving local clay into the first layer of rocks to fill in holes. This would help to keep good dirt in stopping some of the water wash that happens with our torrential rains (when it does rain, it rains hard). This clay will pack in with the next rain.

After the clay had packed in a bit the LONG process of sifting had to start. This took several days of sitting in the dirt and playing with the sifter. Why did I feel I needed to do this? First I wanted to dig down about 1 - 2 feet removing the huge rocks. The area was also full of pine needles, pine cones, and many little rocks. I also found a barrette I lost 30 years ago, ha ha.

Keeping a healthy amount of little rocks is important up here to keep the soil aerated. I also gave many, many worms a good home. Mom loves fishing and she had some worms in a container that she wasn't going to use. Instead of just dumping them out, they went into this area (and I did feed them). After this ground was sifted I mulched in local grasses, plants, and coffee grounds. From there several buckets of dirt were added and on Oct. 20 the wildflower seeds would be planted with a few prayers for Spring germination.

This boo boo was the end result of all that work.

From beginning to end of this little part of the project was July 15 - August 09, 2010.

Inspecting The Area

Inspecting the area and finding out what you have (and what you have to work around) is important - especially when you live in the wild. Face it, most gardeners at least start out with some dirt and a reasonably flat space to work in. Not up here. However, Mother Nature has given me some real blessings for the garden area.

This little Scruff Oak Grove is on the far East end of the garden
area. Even without any work it looks like a welcoming place.
I'm thinking a little table and a few chairs for morning coffee.


To the normal eye this is a tree stump. However, it's just the
right height for a stool. Then my whimsical nature took hold
and I saw a little mushroom stool. I can make a cushioned top
for it. I think, long after the stump is gone, this should still
be a mushroom stool spot.


Then I looked up from the Mushroom Stump and saw
Bonsai Oak! I have no idea what made this Scruff Oak grow
like a Bonsai tree, but the area is going to be honored.


THE BEST FIND OF ALL!
Buried under a bunch rocks was this flat spot. What's so
important about a flat spot of concrete? This was the first
thing my Father created on this land in about 1980. It was a flat
spot to put a grill. This spot WILL be honored.

The Wheelbarrow Must Get Through

Have you ever tried to push a loaded wheelbarrow over rocks? Trust me - it isn't easy!

Therefore the first thing that HAD to be done was to build paths.

I love winding paths and they make going up and down a grade in the land easier too. I love keeping what the land has given to me. This is the area I first envisioned a path (see the second post). I cleared as much loose rock as I could and the whitish color is sand I'm laying it in to further even out the path. I figure sand will fill in all the little spaces between the rocks. There is a little space between groups of Scruff Oak here and I decided to allow the path to go between. Scruff Oak only grows to around 12 - 20 feet high at this altitude. When these Scruff Oak grow up they will give nice shade for the path and create a little arch. They grow slow so I might not see it - but at least my children and grandchildren can enjoy it.

A better view of the path area.

As I said, some things need to stay where they are. This rock is
about 2 feet wide and almost as tall as my knees.
It's staying where it is!

And after A LOT of work the path TO the garden is done. As
you can see, the wheelbarrow travels nicely on the new path.

A Very Harsh Area

The Rocky Mountains got their name, well, because they're built out of rock. That's the mountain range I live in.

The problems I face are:
1. The land is mostly rock with very little dirt. Dirt will have to be brought in and heavy duty mulching and composting will need to be done.
2. The growing season (because of altitude) is shorter. Things that take a long time to germinate will have to be started indoors.
3. Water is not easily come by. This area is called the High Mountain Desert. Yes, we live by a lake but that doesn't mean the area is moist or lush. The lake is formed by a dam to hold water for lower areas. The lake's water primarily comes from snow melt from higher up in the mountains. We do have a well so 'home' water isn't a problem, but there are water problems I'll talk about in a later post.
4. The local animals (mostly the deer) will eat EVERYTHING eatable in sight. Food's not plentiful so I don't blame them.

Here's what I'm working with:

I would guess that I'm working with about a quarter acre or less
of the total 2.5 acres of land. Nothings been done with this
area. As you can see it's rough and there's debris laying around.
I see a path right here.


On the North side of the area there's a pretty substantial cliff.


Here's the actual garden area (looking North). Yes, I'm holding my
camera straight. That's the grade of the land (and this is a flat spot).
So I'm going to have to work with this situation too.

Now realize I'm not hoping for a 'botanical garden' sort of affair, but my Mama would like some garden tomatoes. Yes, there will be more than tomatoes, but honestly - if I get anything to grow I'm going to feel good. I know, full well, that this year all I'll be doing is working.

Going To Garden in New Mexico

Around the beginning of July, 2010 I decided I wanted to build a garden. I knew full well it was beyond planting season, but I also knew that my work was going to be cut out for me and there was no better time than the present to get started.

The beauty of this area is breathtaking, but the land is harsh. This land was first purchased by my Mother and Father around 1980. It's high (7,800 feet above sea level) in the Northern New Mexico Mountains, almost into Colorado.

My Mother and Father - literally - built this home,
and it's where we now live.


This is the view off that front deck you see in the above picture.

So this is the story of the Mountain Garden Project, the work as it's being done, problems and solutions, and some day I hope to share harvests as well.