Sculpting the Garden II

In my previous entry, I posted pictures from the first two days of the Easter Garden Sculpting Extravaganza (as it is now officially titled, headline style and all).  I'm a bit overwhelmed by the lack of greenery in the new garden beds, but the layout is pretty much finished (5 minutes before the parental units were due to be driven to the airport).

Here are the pictures of the last day and a half in chronological order:

My dad smoothing out the sand that the pavers will sit on for the seating area

One of the dogs (Sage this time, I think) walked through the finally level sand

Just as most of the pavers were laid, Pip walked through the very small unpaved area. Again.

Pip looking constructive

The finished beds

purdy shapes

'steps' up to the contemplative spot. I will be sticking my refurbished tipshop bench up there under a magnolia tree

view to the domain/eastern shore (and ugly garden shed) from the contemplative spot

"there's a wolf in my garden!"

And for my next task:

my poor rhubarb plants waiting to be split replanted in their new home

Sculpting the Garden: Easter Project

I've got the family down for a good holiday digathon. At Christmas I lured my family down to Tassie with offerings of turkey and homegrown vegies for a similar reason: cheap labour.

The task for Easter is to sculpt the side area of my backyard. It's been vegie garden beds with an uber functional aesthetic since I moved in (although it was originally all weeds apart from the rhubarb square in the corner). I don't want my garden just to be functional, as in purely for fruit and vegetable production. I also want a place to sit in, study, eat, enjoy. So I drew up a plan which has nooks for seating areas: one near the house for table and chairs, and one up the back where the rhubarb (and the best view to the north east) was for solitary contemplation.

Here are some photos from yesterday's construction efforts. I stupidly forgot to take a 'before' photo, but imagine a couple of large beds with overgrown leeks, silverbeet, weeds, strawberries, raspberry etc etc.

The head digger:


My uprooted raspberry cane, sitting in a bucket of water and liquid fertiliser:


The rhubarb patch. It needs to be totally uprooted


....and a view from the other direction:

bed removal:


And some photos from today:


Bunny, my sister's Jack Russell, is helping:


Will post updates tomorrow. This afternoon we laid out tiered beds and I dug up the rhubarb, placing them in buckets of water and liquid fertiliser before we plant them out as 'decorative functional' border plants along the new scalloped beds. I just forgot to take photos at the end of the day. I hope hope hope the rhubarb plants survive, because they've been spectacularly productive the last 18 months. I also hope my attempts to split the bigger ones go well. If anyone has any rhubarb hints, let me know.