Getting some things done!

[Janet]

Gayle your rockways are beautiful!!! I really love the look! The rock bed looks great too. I don't think I've ever seen a rock bed before, I like the items you added to it. You have excellent taste.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Janet

The rock bed looks great too. I don't think I've ever seen a rock bed before, I like the items you added to it. You have excellent taste.

Rock beds are pretty common here - even moreso in New Mexico. In fact, in many towns in New Mexico the entire front yard is a rock bed - it would take too much water to keep grass alive because they only get a few inches of rain per year. I think they are beautiful and I would love to have the whole front yard in rock - but it's pretty expensive. The rock for that bed you see in the pix was about $100 and it is only about 2 inches deep (maybe even less in places). So, I'll have to wait for my "whole yard" rock bed.

I just hate wasting water on keeping my thirsty St. Augustine lawn green - but you know what, my daughter's neighbor took out her grass and put her whole front yard in rock and the neighborhood association made her take it out and put the grass back. Such a waste of water!!! So, since I probably won't ever have a whole yard rock bed, I'll just keep chipping away by adding things that don't need to be watered like the rock bed and flagstone walkway.

My hubby and I had such a good time shopping for all those "critters" in the rock bed. We drove all over looking at metal art, finding just the right pieces for the bed. I don't think you can see it, but there is a large metal horned frog (horny toad, for those of you in the south) and then a small clay horny toad sitting on a rock. Horny toads are almost extinct and they used to be everywhere. I think it may be the pesticides and the fire ants that have killed them off.

[Tink]

That project turned out very nice!
Well done!

[Shada]

That looks fantastic!!

I wish you could bottle up and send me some of your motivation!!
Great job!!

[gja1000]

No motivation - LOL! Just a little extra money so we could hire someone to do it for us! I feel very fortunate to be able to do it.

[Tiramisu]

Thanks for the ideas. We tore out most of our flower beds a couple months ago. The timbers were rotten. The shrubs were outgrown and scraggly. When I can walk again, I think I'll make rock beds. I have a collection of little kid statues that I need to put back out. So, my rock beds will be like little playgrounds.

I have been looking for some chairs like the one your hubby is sitting in. I remember my g-mother having the glider/swing and a couple of those. Every summer she'd get us to come over and paint them.

[DianaB]

Gayle, everything turned out so nice!! I'm sure that you're thrilled to have it all done! I love the items that you put in your rock bed too! Very nice!!!

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Thanks for the ideas. We tore out most of our flower beds a couple months ago. The timbers were rotten. The shrubs were outgrown and scraggly. When I can walk again, I think I'll make rock beds. I have a collection of little kid statues that I need to put back out. So, my rock beds will be like little playgrounds.

I have been looking for some chairs like the one your hubby is sitting in. I remember my g-mother having the glider/swing and a couple of those. Every summer she'd get us to come over and paint them.

The rock beds would be great for your collection of little kid statues! Just think how much water you will save not having to water shrubs and flowers!!! If you have trees around, you might want to get a leaf blower (if you don't already have one) to blow out the leaves that get into the rock beds in the fall. Of course, you can just rake them out too, and then rearrange the rocks!

Those are my husband's GRANDMOTHER'S CHAIRS in the picture!!! You have a great eye!!! His aunt gave them to us. He is sitting in the chair, the rocker is just barely visible to his left, and then you can see part of a double glider right behind him. We are going to have them sand blasted and repainted, they are rusty. We have a couple other chairs like that that we bought at the huge antique show in Warrenton/Round Top - which actually starts this Thursday (Sept 25) and goes through October 5.

[Tiramisu]

Originally Posted by gja1000

The rock beds would be great for your collection of little kid statues! Just think how much water you will save not having to water shrubs and flowers!!! If you have trees around, you might want to get a leaf blower (if you don't already have one) to blow out the leaves that get into the rock beds in the fall. Of course, you can just rake them out too, and then rearrange the rocks!

Those are my husband's GRANDMOTHER'S CHAIRS in the picture!!! You have a great eye!!! His aunt gave them to us. He is sitting in the chair, the rocker is just barely visible to his left, and then you can see part of a double glider right behind him. We are going to have them sand blasted and repainted, they are rusty. We have a couple other chairs like that that we bought at the huge antique show in Warrenton/Round Top - which actually starts this Thursday (Sept 25) and goes through October 5.

Another Hurricane Ike silver lining - we have four less trees to rake leaves from!

Gayle, that's why we're not replacing what we tore out - to save on water, work, and the money to replace and maintain it. I'm on the crutches until December, so it'll be after the first of the year before I can "plant the rocks", but I'm already drawing upsome plans.

Hubby wants to use the thin metal edging instead of timbers. Do you think that'll look OK?

[gja1000]

I think metal edging will be fabulous!!! I would really like that a lot. We just kept the timbers we had put in years ago for our plant bed. We had to do some reinforcing, but that was all. I would really love to have metal siding though, instead of the timbers.

You know there's no timetable in putting in a rock bed - don't have to beat the cold or heat as you do with shrubs, so when you are able to do it, is the perfect time. We took our shrubs out the spring of 07 and put down black plastic to cook/kill all the roots and left it down for a year (yeah, we kinda looked like the Clampets! HA). We didn't put in the rock bed till the spring of 08.

So, I guess you could say that I'm of the opinion that it can wait till the time is right!!!

Sorry about losing 4 trees - I love trees - but you are right, it is fewer leaves to rake!!! Have to look for those silver linings!

[Janet]

Those are my husband's GRANDMOTHER'S CHAIRS in the picture!!! You have a great eye!!! His aunt gave them to us. He is sitting in the chair, the rocker is just barely visible to his left, and then you can see part of a double glider right behind him. We are going to have them sand blasted and repainted, they are rusty.

I love those chairs also. My hubby and son got me some about 4 years ago...at where else...Wal Mart. They aren't antique of course, but are so comfortable to sit in. They also got me a matching side table. Wish I had the glider. The chairs and glider remind me of the little old lady that lived next door when I was growing up...Mrs. Miller. She also gave me piano lessons.

[Tiramisu]

I'll check WM online for the chairs!