Terracing: it's not for wimps

Emily and Dee

I once saw a sign at a garden in a rocky and mountainous area that said "Flat land farming is for wimps" and today I thought of that sign often as we worked on the newly terraced area in the far back of the garden. Yes, it was hard work, but luckily we were working mostly in shade today.

Emily, Jim, John, Dee, Carlin Matt and I worked for 4 hours (!) and as is usual with our dedicated PG volunteers we got a LOT of work done, and done well.

Carlin weed-detailing

We weeded the entire area, stubborn fennel included, removed the bamboo that has been struggling due to lack of water and set to work fixing up the hardscape. We need to get this area completed and photos of the work done sent in to our granting bodies to show them that we spent their money wisely, so the pressure has been on to get this job done, and done right.

John's steps

John worked on the brick steps, setting the bricks in sand and swapping out broken for whole bricks. The result is so professional! Now we just need a nice low-growing and very xeric plant to grow along to sides to stabilize the edges - what shall we pick?

Jim and Matt and The Rock

Matt and Jim worked on the terrace pathways, smoothing them out, adding gravel (we need a few more yards of gravel to be delivered and added) and removing one HUGE piece of dumped concrete that was ruining the line of the top pathway. I honestly didn't think that lump of urbanite was coming out, but Jim was determined and who am I to stand in the way of a man with a digging bar and a mission?

Matt on a new path

Carlin, Emily and I chipped, raked and brushed the paths and steps to smooth them out and prep them for gravel. They look 100% better now - walking on the gravel will be a real treat.

Yes, we still have lots to do, but the area is now ready for planting and at long last will be usable by the public. I hope to get the planting all done in the next two weeks - I have a load of plants waiting at my house for the chance to spread their roots in the (rocky, shaley, kind of unpleasant) dirt at PG. Can't wait to see how they like it!