Rock-n-Zen Gardens: Landscaping Part 1

After sorting through numerous landscaping ideas for two years, we decided against a traditional grass lawn and opted for Square Foot Gardening techniques, utilizing round rock and crusher dust. We want an easy-going look while incorporating food plants with flowers. 

We already had the ROCK wall, so I was inspired by the Japanese LOOK of simplicity and use of nature with rocks. I still plan to have a veggie flower garden, to create our mini-oasis that will not cost more than a boring lawn.

We had Davie, our backhoe driver, build us a sloping hillside to the back of our property and clear out all the concrete leftovers from the building while smoothing out the back area so we can start fresh with our future Rock-n-Zen garden.

We have spent about $1,600.00 approx. So far, including Davie and his backhoe, to clear up the back and all the crusher dust, pea gravel, commercial erosion carpet, and building the garden boxes, filling them with perfect, easy-to-use growing dirt, and the trellises.

Found flat-ish rocks over the year & a plastic bowl pond.

We watched lots of gardening videos to be inspired, and this started my guy, Jim, in his search for the perfect flat rocks to make the patio focal point, where my pond will eventually be featured.

I bought this plastic-textured pond for $200.00 several years ago in Vancouver, BC, to place inside our loft, where it would serve as a fountain and a pond filled with goldfish. Now, it will be an outside feature for our Zen garden, allowing the water to be shared with the little birds who enjoy splashing and drinking. 

Here in Nova Scotia, I want to feature the pond in our backyard so that every angle can be seen, and someday we can add some fish and aquatic plants. For now, it's what is freely available.

FREE bricks and employing mother Lue's help to clean them off!

Jim was on a mission for free bricks, as he wanted to do some creative work with them. He eventually found his free bricks on Kijiji, and with some sweat, mother, and clean-up, taking the old mortar off of them, they were set into the ground for a nice border edge. We didn't have enough bricks to go around the front, but I like how it ends.

The brick edging ends mid garden area, and this is where I bring the eye to something interesting. A clay pot with heritage onions, a goat skull found on one of my Ziggy walks, and some old twigs bent like a nest.

A pathway is created with crusher dust and includes free brick edging.

We received a truckload of crusher dust to give the pathways a finer, more rigid surface, yet it allows for excellent drainage and, in the winter, provides the perfect non-slip surface. We bought a large roll of commercial erosion fabric, which covered the back area, then we wheelbarreled & raked it over the fabric.

BIG load of crusher dust, let the work begin!

Crusher dust over erosion fabric for weed control & drainage.

Building our backyard from a gravel pit to a garden was the best decision for the dollar. I said to my guy, 'Why spend money on a lawn that you will have to mow every week, for what? More green?' We have green and blue everywhere, so let's create a rock garden that grows organic vegetables. I grow some pretty large houseplants, and I am itching to try my green thumb at growing food!

Researching everything related to gardens, from reading books to watching videos and talking to locals, I was challenged & overwhelmed to access my creative side in planning and still apply some practical methods for growing vegetables. We had a budget of $1,300 that included all the landscaping, dirt, and seeds.

Ziggy is Rock-n-Zen Security, always watching!

We have the gorgeous giant Armor rocks to set the tone for the garden design. I love Japanese simplicity and the use of stone, sand, wind, water, etc., to have a peaceful mini oasis. I wanted to be practical and grow some food too, but not in a large, boring plot, but in shapes throughout the back area.

I discovered through chatting up the local librarian, a book called Square Foot Gardening... I read it through and thought how practical and efficient this system of gardening would be for us, and went with it!

We bought all the materials to build our 4 feet x 4 feet x 6-inch cheap wood pine 2x6's, reinforced the corners with metal L brackets, and stapled the erosion fabric to the bottom boxes to ensure as much weed control as possible and to keep the Four in One mix with compost and topsoil in the box. We had some leftover deck stain and decided, 'Why not?' and painted the 11 boxes.

 It's now approaching winter 2013, and we had to wrap it up as the worst ICE winter was going to trap us in our houses for months, but we would survive it through to 2014 to start the growing season in our NEW garden plots!

4 feet x 4 feet growing boxes with erosion fabric bottoms.

Eleven growing boxes are placed around the back & side of the house. The Armor rocks will keep out deer & reflect heat for increasing.

4 feet x 4 feet & 6-inch deep plots with erosion fabric stapled to the bottom.
Notice the outline of smaller flat rocks to edge off the pea gravel area next to the large Armour rocks.

The view around the corner of the house & pathways is defined by different stones.

That is it for 2013 landscaping, and with the preparation for the 2014 growing season, it will be my first veggie garden. I will be starting off in April with some seeds, growing in my living window...check out the following blog write-up for Rock-n-Zen Gardens and making trellises, Part 2.

Gathering gardening information can be a daunting task. When I first planted my square-foot garden, there was not much information available online about this method. Check out this website that streamlines its methods for square foot gardening and also offers lots of tips on everything from decor to tools and methods for growing.
www.loyalgardener.com/square-foot-gardening-the-ultimate-how-to-guide/

Until then, let's rock 'n' roll! Minaz