Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,977
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Post by Tommy on Dec 12, 2018 14:12:40 GMT -5
A few years ago we found a beautiful landscape boulder on one of our trips to Nevada but Eva and I together could not lift it into the truck - and we were completely unprepared with no straps or other lifting devices. We took coordinates of the exact location and a few months later we went back with assistance and got it. From then on it has proudly adorned the corner position of our back yard. Now that we are moving in January we knew we had to bring our treasured garden rock - but we've struggled with exactly what to do with it. The house we're moving into has a tiny front yard on a short steep decline and we've discussed numerous methods of leveling out the top with a landscape wall - everything from concrete blocks to railroad ties etc. A couple of weeks ago we went back to our spot in Nevada and borrowed more of the same boulders to complete the front of our rock wall. It was quite a workout on us AND my truck but we got it done and the wall is built. In a few weeks I'm going to install decomposed granite in the front area and path to the back yard and we will finish it off with several drought resistant grass plants and maybe... just maybe... a small tree in the middle of the upper section. Ps. the rock that Roxie is standing on is the original beautiful boulder that started all this. I'm guessing it weighs around 250 lbs.    I will add more photos as we go. |
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368 
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Post by goatgrinder on Dec 12, 2018 18:27:59 GMT -5
Who's a good doggie! Did you share a beer with her after the job?
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Post by fernwood on Dec 14, 2018 6:46:30 GMT -5
Fun. Dedication to get more matching boulders.
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Post by greig on Dec 14, 2018 9:19:36 GMT -5
Your dog looks very intelligent. I have made garden beds with found rocks too. I discovered (by accident) that I like the look better if they are placed into a shallow trench, deep enough so the bottom of the rock is no longer exposed. I found this out when the heavy ones sunk a little bit into the dirt after a good rain. ie. it looks a bit more natural to my eye.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,977
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Post by Tommy on Dec 16, 2018 11:41:15 GMT -5
Your dog looks very intelligent. I have made garden beds with found rocks too. I discovered (by accident) that I like the look better if they are placed into a shallow trench, deep enough so the bottom of the rock is no longer exposed. I found this out when the heavy ones sunk a little bit into the dirt after a good rain. ie. it looks a bit more natural to my eye. Thanks! This is a work in progress and it doesn't look like it but the boulders are actually sunk about 4 inches into the ground on the steep incline and the bottom area will be filled in with a couple of inches of compacted decomposed granite to keep the neighborhood cats from crapping in it  That will go far to hide the bottom edge of the boulders and we also plan to plant some low profile drought tolerant grass plants as well to complement them. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 16, 2018 12:30:44 GMT -5
If you are trying to advertise your hobby, you succeeded. LOL! Looks great so far! The boulders are not your typical landscape rocks and look nice. You'll have a story and bragging rights, too. |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller 
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,050
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Post by gemfeller on Dec 16, 2018 15:26:26 GMT -5
Oh how I wish my back was young enough to do that kind of lifting and digging! The new yard looks great. I'm trying to come up with a xeriscape plan for our front yard to save water and hassle, but I'm afraid I'll have to hire folks with younger and healthier spines to get the job done.
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Post by Rockoonz on Dec 16, 2018 17:29:25 GMT -5
gemfeller I'm with you there. Went to a dealers going out of business sale yesterday and saw these wild horse pic jasper huge boulders for $.10 cents a lb. A few years ago I would have went home to get my trailer. Actually I'm still trying to talk myself out of it... 
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,050
Member is Online
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Post by gemfeller on Dec 16, 2018 17:47:21 GMT -5
Wow Rockoonz, those boulders make the shovel look like a toothpick. Even at ten cents a pound it looks like the pile could be a little spendy. Tell us what you decide to do. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 16, 2018 23:01:31 GMT -5
I love landscaping with stone. Your project is coming along nicely. My best stone project was a fire pit I built with a stone patio. I gathered alll the rocks myself in my Jeep. The flagstone was from a quarry though. Here’s a link to some pictures. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 24, 2018 9:20:48 GMT -5
I love landscaping with stone. Your project is coming along nicely. My best stone project was a fire pit I built with a stone patio. I gathered alll the rocks myself in my Jeep. The flagstone was from a quarry though. Here’s a link to some pictures.That came out very nice! Looks like a lot of backaches, too. How long did it take you? |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 24, 2018 11:40:14 GMT -5
I love landscaping with stone. Your project is coming along nicely. My best stone project was a fire pit I built with a stone patio. I gathered alll the rocks myself in my Jeep. The flagstone was from a quarry though. Here’s a link to some pictures.That came out very nice! Looks like a lot of backaches, too. How long did it take you? It took me about a summer and a half. I wasn't working full days, just here and there for as long as I felt like working. I've built other rock walls and stone paths around my yard too. I didn't do any cutting on the wall rocks, so it was just trial and error fitting them together. Each rock was moved several times until I found the right spot for it. Many of those rocks were too large to lift, so they got rolled into place. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Dec 24, 2018 11:47:03 GMT -5
That came out very nice! Looks like a lot of backaches, too. How long did it take you? It took me about a summer and a half. I wasn't working full days, just here and there for as long as I felt like working. I've built other rock walls and stone paths around my yard too. I didn't do any cutting on the wall rocks, so it was just trial and error fitting them together. Each rock was moved several times until I found the right spot for it. Many of those rocks were too large to lift, so they got rolled into place. You, sir, did an exceptional job on your yard. Someone could have paid big bucks and it wouldn't have been so nice. Very professional and natural looking. I love the path and steps- couldn't be better. My Dad used to work for a woman who owned a Frank Lloyd Wright home. He was her property maintenance man. She had a large beautiful property done similar to your yours in a naturalistic way. It was about 100 years old. It had naturalized beautifully. Yours looks just as nice. |
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Post by Rockoonz on Dec 27, 2018 13:49:24 GMT -5
Wow Rockoonz, those boulders make the shovel look like a toothpick. Even at ten cents a pound it looks like the pile could be a little spendy. Tell us what you decide to do. I went back last Saturday and the pile was sold to someone I know, I think he got them even cheaper, but I doubt he'll ever tell me. I bought a 3/4 full drum of Noreena jasper plus a couple hundred dollars more of a variety of stuff. None of it will be landscaping though. |
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That will go far to hide the bottom edge of the boulders and we also plan to plant some low profile drought tolerant grass plants as well to complement them.
