Special Areas Waiting For Spring

All we need is a good rain and a few warm days for Spring to really start popping up here. Maybe the rain will come on Wednesday - I sure hope so. In the mean time there are a lot of areas just waiting for it.

Memorial Flat Spot
The first flat area that my Dad built in around 1980. If it wasn't for the little tufts of green coming up in Wild Flower Garden #1, in front of it, the area looks more like Fall or Winter. I do have to get in there and rake up those leaves. The compost bins need that carbon.

Mushroom Rest
Mushroom Rest is still nothing more than a tree stump. This year it needs to be transformed into the whimsical area.

Scruff Oak Grove
Honestly, this looks like a bunch of dead little trees. I know it will come back, but it sure doesn't look very inviting right now. The good part is that I need to rake up those leaves, for compost, too.

Bonsai Oak
This sit spot also needs a lot of work. I love the fact that this Scruff Oak grew to look kind of like a Bonsai Tree - you can actually see the curve in the truck in this picture. The area overlooks the cliff and beautiful nature below. It will be a wonderful place to just sit and talk with friends.

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.

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.