A little over a year ago, I started a little project. There is an area behind my house, a rather large area at that, and for many years it was a big, cluttered, brush filled gully. Tree limbs down, debris from a hurricane the year before still stuck under the leaves and vines. There was a big, mushy, wet place from a tree uprooting several years ago, and the only thing it really had going for it was the small raspberry patch that was quickly being choked out by the vines and the weeds.
There was a set of stone steps and a stone flower bed to one side, though they were in disrepair and grown over with vines.
With some determination and a lot of work, I finally got the steps put back together and the stone flower bed put back together. I doubt it's nearly as good as my grandfather's original work, but I think he'd be proud of my attempt. :) That wall made out of tires was a root cellar he built probably twenty years ago. Apparently the rubber was supposed to help keep excess moisture out of the cellar and allow the seeds he saved in there to keep longer. I don't know much about it, but then again, he knew way more about planting, growing and building than most people will ever hope to know!
I even figured out how to build a second flower bed to match! Then I transferred some of the lily bulbs from the first one to the second one so they would have matching flowers.
From there, I kept cleaning out brush, building flower beds out of stone, and cleaned the marshy spot up. That marshy spot is now a frog pond, and the gully turned valley is now a play area for my little girl. It's still a work in progress. I have plans for more flower beds, I plan to put some more raspberries into the already existing patch that has made quite a comeback, and I'm planning a stone path to the creek at the valley's lower end (which is where I'm getting my rocks for all this stuff!). Here's how it looks these days:
That last picture is an area I cleared just today. Those vines are still quite an opponent, and I plan to make a small divider out of stone, stacked maybe three stones high, that will act as a barrier between the area where the vines will stay and the rest of the valley. I'll post pics as I make progress.
That marshy place may no longer be a mess, but I didn't clean it completely out. Below is a picture of some of it's current residents. Meet my little family of tadpoles! That marshy spot is now a frog pond, and leaving some leaves in the water ensures these little guys have food, shelter, and the adult frogs have a breeding ground, and it was all set up by nature....all I did was clean it up a little and get the real mess out of it!
A few more little friends who find a place to hang out and enjoy the sunshine:
This flower is called a trillium, named for it's three leaves and three petals. It grows about five to eight inches high on average, and the scent is strong and is like a cross between the scent of a strawberry and a rose. They are an endangered species, a fact that I didn't know until this year. This is the crimson purple variety. There is also a white variety that is even more scarce than the crimson. I'm lucky enough to have wonderful amounts of both. One more creature that this little valley offers a safe haven to.
The view from the creek. There will soon be a stone pathway here.
I have no idea exactly what this is, but as it grows it puts out tiny, beautiful indigo colored flowers.
So here it is! My valley! A year into it and I love working on it. I still have a lot to do, and I'll keep everyone posted!
Ari
