• The Country Wren's Nest
  • Wandering Wren
  • DIY
  • Fashion
  • Wren Picks
  • About
  • Contact
The Country Wren's Nest
Busy Hands, Happy Heart

Building a Rock Garden

9/12/2016

0 Comments

 
This post will be part instructional and part me gushing over how much I have come to love rocks. We found yet another amazing treasure on The Farm: a collection of over 5,000 individually cataloged and wrapped rocks. Each one more unique and beautiful than the one before. It has been a labor of love unwrapping every rock, reading the notes contained inside the packaging, and placing them into the rock garden. 
Picture
The rocks are from all over the world, every shape, every size. Many have notes that list the year found, location found, and rock type.
Picture
The collector made trades with other collectors. I found a letter about one of his many trades.
After finding these rocks, I couldn't bare to leave them wrapped up in a dark, abandoned building. Someone (the brother of the person who previously owned our home) spent his life on this collection. I wanted to showcase it. Most of the rocks are too beautiful for landscaping, they should all be put into glass boxes on display, but that's unfortunately not realistic for us to do! Using them to spruce up the exterior of the house was the next best thing I could think of.

The first step I took in creating my rock garden (after finding and being inspired by the rocks) was to clear out the space I wanted to start with. That included taking out a small retaining wall, digging out several unwanted plants, and spraying weed killer to map out the area.
Picture
I didn't lay out a weed barrier. I am not a believer in weed barriers. I'm a believer in weed killer. When weeds peek through, I spray them until they die. I'll let you make your own decision on whether you put down a barrier first or not. 

Once the area was clear, I started laying in the rocks. Big rocks to the front, filling in with the smaller rocks.
Picture
I stopped part way up the slight hill because I knew I wanted to plant a bush among the rocks. I chose a Hydrangea bush and planted that in the middle of the rock garden. Now is a good time to purchase bushes and trees because it is the end of the season. I was able to purchase the bush for a little over $20.
Picture
For additional visual appeal in the area, I also added two small solar lights and a chair with a bucket of flowers on it. I was able to find the chair and the bucket in our "rusty gold" stash that came with the house. The plants were under $10 combined.

After I had all of these elements in place, I filled in the rest of the rocks! It took me several days and nights to complete this project due to the unwrapping process, but I absolutely loved how it turned out - and hope you do, too!
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015

    Categories

    All
    Chickens
    Christmas
    Date Night
    DIY
    Dogs
    Dollar Tree
    Gardening
    Gift
    Hobby Lobby
    Home Decor
    Home Depot
    Interior Design
    Landscaping
    Light Fixture
    Menards
    Modern
    Paint
    Renovation
    Rustic
    Target
    Travel
    Woodworking

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • The Country Wren's Nest
  • Wandering Wren
  • DIY
  • Fashion
  • Wren Picks
  • About
  • Contact