ROCKY WEATHER

I was determined to get this bed done this winter so it could "settle" before spring.Even with some 30mph winds and spits of rain, I donned my Polar Fleece and ear muffs and made a couple of forays into the tempest to lay "Eden Rock." This rock, at 9 cents a pound, is a cheap way to add some personality and texture to a very bland backyard. This bed took 600 lbs. I'll need about 400 lbs more to finish the back side.

I did a base course of the larger rocks to hold in the dirt and added the slimmer rock for the top. It only took me a couple of hours to do the rock...it took longer to did out the sod.

I filled the bed up with 9 cu ft of clay soil improver and 6 cu ft of "Harvest Supreme" with chicken manure, plus about 3 cu ft of the dirt I screened from the sod removal. I will also add in some leaf mulch before I plant. I'll have to wait until early spring to add the plants. It will get part shade, part sun once the maple leafs out in May. I'll try for a mix of candytuft, daylillies, blue creeping speedwell and some iris and some garden whimsey, of course. That will be the fun part.