Work on the french drain has started. After clearing the area, we took string and tried to lay out the route the drain would take. It will wind through this back bed, connecting with an existing drain, then come up toward the other side of the yard. It will be a long drain, but hopefully will solve our drainage problems. The next step was to start digging. Wouldn't you know, poor hubby immediately ran into problems.
Remember, we had 2 big trees in back. The trees are gone, but they left huge roots. Hubby and youngest son spent all afternoon last Sunday trying to axe out some of the roots. It was a tough job! Hubby worked every evening last week and was able to finally get the big root out.
Hubby then dug a trench to tie in to the existing drain. This was not an easy task. It took him just about all afternoon on Saturday.
Today we laid the first drain pipe. We put rocks on top of the drain, then will cover it with no float mulch. After this was done, hubby started digging more of the trench. And of course, he ran into more roots! This has been a back breaking job and is going to take quite a while to finish. I know we will be delighted to have our drainage problems solved, but it has been a pretty rough weekend for us (especially for my wonderful husband!)
As luck would have it, we encount-ered another problem last week--we found out we have termites! Yuk, eeeew, eek! We are getting our house treated on Thursday. They will need to dig about a 3 inch trench around the entire house..so, I spend part of this afternoon transplanting the flowers from this side flower bed. They were up against the house and would be removed when the trench was dug. This bed is full of rudbeckia and daisies, plus phlox and a hollyhock full of buds. Gosh I hope they are careful with my plants.
Rough weekend, but I found a couple of nice things to see in the garden. I think the spring wheel-
barrow is looking really pretty right now. The bunny that lives among all those flowers tells me he is pretty happy surrounded by all the beauty in the old wheelbarrow.
And I am so happy with the coleus in the old washtub! And the cosmos seeds are really growing too. I bet they will be blooming before too long.
Whew, it has sure been a tiring weekend. My hands hurt, my back hurts, and I have a very tired husband! It seems like there is always something to be done in the yard. Even in a small backyard like we have, there is one project after another. But, you know what? I love it. I love the feel of dirt on my hands and the excitement of things to come. I love that a gardener's job is never done!
"A gard'ner's work is never at an end; it begins with the year, and continues to the next."
John Evelyn
14 comments:
That sounds like a lot of hard work. Hopefully it will go easier from here on.
I have a peach & an apple tree that I need to set out but I have to wait till my back & leg calm down. Can't hardly walk. And to boot, it's my good leg. lol
Lola-I am so tired right now I can't even think about getting up and going to work! lol!
What is wrong with your back? I know you hurt your leg a while back, but didn't know about your back. I hope you get better soon! Take care of yourself!
Girl you are right, a gardeners job is never done! Sorry to hear you had to dig up plants. I know you found a new home for them.
Love the wheelbarrow and tub of flowers. They both look great!
I'm glad it's almost finished. Won't it be great to have your lawn and garden back to normal?
Love the wheelbarrow!
Marnie
I'm glad you finished with some positives. Your weekend sounds rough. The digging is one thing but termites are bad. We had a home in NC that was sold to me with termites. We won't go there but it was a mess. They are so destructive and very prevalent. The exterminators will do a good job and the plants will recover if they are harmed a bit, don't worry. Those containers are wonderful! My favorite is the wheelbarrow. Such a nice diorama and a great way to finish the post. Good luck with it all. The drain looks pretty good. Kudos to your husband.
Wow! That's an amazing amount of work packed into a weekend!! Glad you have your lovely bright and flowering spots to look at while you should be sitting occasionally and enjoying the fruits of your labors!!
Wow - root problems and termites in one weekend - not fair and certainly not fun!! But, as is usual, your plants are absolutely gorgeous and create great envy for your little sister. I am, however, trying to follow in your gardening stepping stones and create a little bit of paradise here in Spring. Remember the hand-painted pots I told you I was doing? Well, I planted Morning Glory seeds in one of the them, so they can replace the vines over our front arch that died during the freezes we had - I planted those seeds on Monday or Tuesday and I noticed on Saturday that they are coming up and I mean coming up - I swear we can watch them inch up!!! It is amazing and I can not wait to have blue and white morning glory blooms...keep us posted on the termite trenches and the french drain. I will send up a few prayers to Saint Francis that your plants will not be harmed by the termite trenching..
Your sister(Kim...teeheehee)
WOW!!! I can see I will be in for some work soon!!!
Hi Susie--yes, gardeners always have something to do..and I love it! Glad you like the barrow and washtub. I love um too!
Marnie-I can't wait to get everything back together and plant the re-done bed! But, I am afraid it is going to take a while. Wish we had a week to just do nothing but work on the drain! :)
Tina--thank for the encourgaing words. And I passed your kudos on to a tired hubby. We were going to start back digging tonight after work, but...it's raining again.
JJ-yeah, it was a good thing I had something pretty to take my mind off the yard and the termites! :)
MR--so you are doing the drain yourself? Good luck! You are in for quite a job, although if you don't have roots to contend with, it shouldn't be as hard as ours.
Hey sister Kim-yes, this was a little much this past week. Bert is usually pretty laid back on problems, but the termites have him upset. All we can do is treat. I don't think there is much damage which is the silver lining I guess.
When I come for a visit, I will take pictures of your yard for my blog! Little sister is doing a great job. Grandmother and Granddaddy (and our Daddy) would be proud! :)
wow you guys have been busy for sure. all your hard work will pay off in the long run. The wheelbarrel and washtub look beautiful!
Not sure if the washtub or the wheelbarrow is my favorite, they are both beautiful!
I didn't know french drains were that much trouble, we have 2 that were here when we moved in (both in the front), and I was seriously thinking of snaking one along the back, circling around and tying into the front ones. Now I'm thinking it's not a "do it yourself" project for us, glad I saw it in detail before attempting it.
Thanks Racquel. We sure hope it pays off. It's just tough finding the time to work on the drain. Hey, I will be in your area (kind of) this weekend. We are visiting our daughter who now lives in Alexandria. I'll wave to you. :)
Nola, french drains are a pain..most people probably hire it out, but it can get real expensive. We are definetly DIY people so we thought we would try it. Once it is done, it will be wonderful. It's just finding the time for the doing, and fighting the rain we are struggling with.
Hi Linda,
To answer your question, I have a form of Spinal bifida {sp} & a slipped disc in the same area. It's now causing some numbness in my legs. Besides it being my right leg that was broken now I have trouble with my left knee. It's a win win situation. lol
I hope you do get some rest. You don't need to get so tired.
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