Repurposing the Patio Stones

Back yard....part two

The guys who dug up the patio from the previous post, neatly stacked the usable stones on the side of the garage.  The pile was daunting...but I knew I could use some of them...if I could lift them.  They are much bigger than they appear in this photo.

One of the young guys was Jackson, the brother of Adam who made the stars found here.  Jackson has helped me with several yard projects including regrading the back yard to slope away from the house.

A few months earlier we had to have a large diseased maple tree in the corner of the yard cut down....and we were left with a big stump and a sad corner. Because of the vast roots it was impossible to plant anything. But, because there was a slope I thought I might be able to use the stones to build a little wall to create a raised bed and back fill it with soil.

Some were skeptical....

...but I finished the modest little wall in the fall and waited until spring to plant.  I also wanted to see how the wall held up over the winter...it did fine.

I ended up planting coleus that liked both sun and shade...and some zinnias I started from seed. But what was a very sunny spot in the fall....was quite shady in the early summer so the zinnias didn't do well.  The coleus thrived.  I think I am going to turn it into a hosta garden and mix in a few annuals every year.  Hostas will do fine in the raised bed....I think.

I want to do some sort of sculpture on the stump...but I have limited skills.  For now some rebar and blue bottles will do.  It will be fun to reinvent this little garden this coming spring. Unfortunately the neighbors in the back corner don't take care of their yard...I will have to figure out something that will screen it a bit.  There is always something to think about in the winter months.

You can see here we have a nice view of the corner from the deck.

The rest of the rocks sat by the garage most of last summer.  It was down to the wire before the painter was going to come to patch up the paint on the house.  At 10:30 one night I put a picture of the rocks on Craig's list "free if you can take them away" and they were gone by 9:00 the next morning.  I had replies within 10 minutes. Gotta love the internet.