Up the garden path!

Leading on from my last post, work has continued on creating a grander entrance for Bird Cottage. We had already put in the front gate and side pickets but I should go back a step to show you how we created the path.

Since we've moved to Bird Cottage we tend to use the back door as we have a side drive to a carport in the back garden. When friends visit we want them to use the front entrance so it was important to create a proper path to welcome our friends.

Behind a shed in the back garden was a large pile of brick-shaped pavers that were covered in dirt and moss. At first I thought I'd have to pay to dispose of the pavers, not really having any use for them. Then when we started to plan the front garden I thought I might be able to use them to edge the front path. So one sunny afternoon I started throwing the brick out onto the back lawn and got to work with the 'Gurni' high-pressure water blaster. To my surprise the pavers came up looking like new and a lovely reddish-pink when dry.

Now I don't profess to be a brick-layer but as an urban gardener I'll give anything a try! If I muck it up I'll get someone in to fix it but I'd prefer not to pay if I can do something myself. And given that I had the pavers it was just some sand and cement that was needed to finish the job. First job was the excavate the path area and remove some soil. We needed to do this so the path would not be too high; we did't want it sticking up to high above the lawn and it had to be in proportion to the timber steps. After removing about 5cm of soil and levelling the area it was time to bring in some road-base.  

                                                  

  Using a 'whacking' machine I hired from Bunnings the road-base was pounded into an almost a solid, compacted mass.

The road base gives a good sold base to lay the pavers on. Running string lines to get my edges right and also the levels I mixed up my sand and cement to make a mortar base. I did this by hand in a wheel barrow; 1 part cement to 2 parts sand mix, using a white sand as I wanted a white tinted mortar, not a yellow colour. 

I have to say, it was quite therapeutic laying the 'mud' and using a rubber mallet to knock the pavers into place [ I also knocked the hell out of my thumb with the rubber mallet and it's now a lovely shade of black and likely to stay that way for about 8 months till it grows out....OUCH doesn't even come close to the pain.......but I digress...]

As I went along I payed great attention to keep the pavers in a straight line and also using a level to make sure everything stayed square and even. Once I had the pavers bedded into place they needed to be 'pointed' which is filling in between with mortar. I think a professional would have done this as they laid the pavers but I found it easier to do it after they were set in place, using an old sponge to wipe away the excess mortar.  At the same time I went along both the inside and outside edge with extra mortar which helps to stop the pavers moving and keeping everything nice and solid; this is known as 'haunching' which you can see in the picture below.

After 'pointing' and 'haunching' [ it almost sounds painful!!!!] the mortar was left to dry. When your laying pavers in a mortar it's impossible not to get some of the mortar over the pavers no matter how careful you are wiping off the excess. What is needed to clean them up is a wash down with hydrochloric acid. This is mixed one part to ten parts water. I used and old dust-pan brush to wash the acid mix over the pavers. Make sure you use protective coverings such as heavy rubber or chemical specific gloves, long sleeves and face/eye protection to protect against splashes. The acid just bubbles a little then you just rinse it all off with a hose and the pavers come up all clean; almost good as new!  (To work what I needed to clean the pavers and how to do it I just looked online....Google and Youtube are amazing tools...how did we ever cope before them???)

Either side of our path I am planting English Box or Buxus sempervirens. Maybe it's a bit kitsch but I love the formality of a small box hedge. I have planted tube-stock that I bought on Ebay (now how did we ever survive without Ebay???). 42 tubes for $50...bargain!!!! And they arrived well packaged and in very good condition. You might never have though about buying plants on Ebay but it's a great and cost effective way of buying smaller plants. I'm also a member of 'The Diggers Club' [www.diggers.com.au] https://diggers.com.au and they mail out live plants all the time! 

I used timber that I had salvaged from the old garden beds to create an edge then removed the grass, added extra compost to the soil and a bit of chicken manure for good measure and I was ready for planting. The tubes arrived about 2 weeks ago so I was really pleased to start getting them into the ground. 

You can see back towards the gate I have added a second row of 5 bricks. I needed a gap in the hedge to give access for the gas man to bring his trolley through to replace the gas tanks which are on this side of the house [one of the few times I have thought ahead and solved a problem that would have been a real headache in 8 months time when we needed a new gas bottle]. I still have to finish the hedge beyond those 5 bricks.

And this morning the pink decomposed granite has arrived; the finishing touch for the path. This granite is sometimes known as 'deco-granite' and it an excellent choice for paths and other areas where you would like a hard surface but don't want solid paving (or heaven forbid...concrete!!!!). There are generally 3 colours available; a yellow, reddish-brown, and pink. The pink is the most common and I think the softest colour and will really complement the tones in the paver edge. Decomposed granite particles can be from the size of a pea to the size of a grain of sand and all sizes in between. This is great as the particles will settle and compact and form a really solid base. Unlike gravel or pebbles, when the decomposed granite has 'set' it's very easy to use a plastic garden rake to clean up any leaves or twigs rather than having to use one of the power garden vacuum machines. We have already used this material in the side garden (pictured below) and have been really happy with the result.

One important thing to remember though is that decomposed granite is a stone; it's crushed so it has sharp and jagged edges that will soften very slowly over time. So it can be a bit uncomfortable to walk on in bare feet....but more importantly if you have lovely, shiny polished wooden floorboards.....TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF OUT SIDE......or you will have lots of lovely scratches on your shiny wood floors where the granite has imbedded itself into the tread of your shoes!

Dah Dahhhhhh!!!!!  It's complete; well....except for the rest of the hedge which is this afternoons job to install. And I have a very satisfying feeling that in a few years time with some clipping, shaping and nurturing the gardens of Bird Cottage will be looking something like this!!!!

So as the weather starts to cool don't forget there are many jobs to do in the garden to prepare for next year. A last-minute fertilise to get established plants through the winter and in many areas it's still warm enough to do your last minute planting and get the roots of new plants established. 

The wood-burning fire went on last night for the first time this year....a couple of week earlier than our neighbours had suggested with ANZAC Day being the turning point in the Highlands. But there was smoke coming from a few other chimneys in the street so we were no alone in feeling the cold. 

Time to rug up and finish planting that Buxus and before another storm descends on us!