It’s well past time to fix the mess the sewer replacement people left behind, so to that end I called Meadows Farms to see what they could do. Well, not only could they regrade the spot by the front steps, but they could also (unrelated to the sewer business) redo the terrace with polymeric sand. This mysterious substance binds the stones together in some magic way, and ten+ years (maybe 15?) after the original installation, it was time to do it again. Oh, and they could also deliver some stones to replace the ones that disappeared during the sewer mess.
Although I didn’t take any before pictures, here’s one that gives a hint of how untidy the edges were.
My plan to leave the leaves on the garden beds so that little bugs can have a nice life resulted in edges even more untidy than usual. And you may be able to see how the cracks between the stones have become a habitat for weeds.
And look at it now!
So clean, so tidy, so satisfactory!!
The stones they delivered are not quite as organically shaped as the original ones, but they will do. If I can manage to lift them into place, that is.
Looks pretty bad right now, but I’m hoping that placing a few every day will make this a manageable project.
And the grading that prompted this whole thing looks very nice. The sewer people had uprooted the yews that grew against this wall, and I didn’t replant them. The rhododendron that I planted last year up and expired, though I have high hopes that a new one will have a better chance to staying alive.
Again, no before pictures but imagine this sloping down towards the foundation wall, scraggly as can be. Now it’s nice and level!
You need to imagine this space with some greenery that makes the downspout fade into the background… More planting to come this fall.
Caroline's Garden and Travel Record 