Peppering you with the good things in life!
I recently noticed that I had aphids in my basil planter and scale bugs on the bottoms of my bay laurel. Since these herbs are things we consume, I didn’t want to use anything with harmful chemicals. I remember seeing a report that talked about …
I have to admit something to all of you. I have been having a love affair for many years now. Oh, not the traditional kind. MY love affair is with Cardamom Tea. Cardamom is a wonderful spice that helps boost your immune system. Cardamom is …
So if you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know that I opened my big mouth this past spring and “volunteered” to terrace a large hill in our backyard. We have gotten many bids over the last 18 years that we have lived in this house and the $$ keep going higher, and higher. So, since I am oh so very tired of not having a backyard, I got the bright idea that my daughter (who is in college and didn’t have a summer job) and I could do it. It would be a bonding experience. We would have fun! Do you know the fastest way to have a college kid get a summer job? Tell them they are going to perform hard manual labor in the hot, hot Colorado sun for no pay and by golly they were going to enjoy it! Yeah, right. You guessed it, she got a job before the first week of digging was done! So instead of this project taking 4 weeks to complete, it has taken 10 weeks. But, it is done, well almost. Just a few fine tuning things to handle. Like two sets of steps that we need to redo, and paver block walk ways between the walls (another of those bright ideas I added to the project), and moving all the extra block to the backyard. Then the planning can start on the rest of the project but at least I get a break for the Colorado winter. Farmers Almanac is predicting “bitter cold”. I can only hope because if it isn’t, I will probably be out there working.
Check out the photos. I would like your input on what to do with the terraced areas. Do I do planting and if so what? I don’t like weedy, over grown gardens so keep that in mind. If you have photos, send them to Marcia@pepperedhearth.com Thanks!!
This is what I started with way back in June.
This is the “paver landing” at the top.
All four walls. You can see some of the extra block that needs to be moved. If you would like to volunteer to do this, just let me know.
Stairs. If you look closely, you can see the few that need to be re-set.
Bottom of the terraced area. This is where we hope to install another paver patio next year. And you can also see the proof that my husband CAN “tear up a brand new anvil” or at least a concrete downspout trough.