Dirt Sculptor

This weekend I pulled what I like to call, "Letting out the crazy." Now I don't mean I went around throwing a hissy fit about some nonsense. I mean I jumped into the weekend meaning to do a few inside projects and ended up starting and finishing what I thought would be a large outside project. (In other words, the weekend was surprisingly productive.)

We've been wanting to do something to what was lovingly called "the dirt patch." (Pictured in the dark, far left area in this picture). The problem was, we just didn't know what to put there. The area gets very little light and the ground, like everywhere, is clay filler and tough to dig through.

A few weekends ago I started shoveling out pebbles, Airsoft pellets (previous owner), and leftover masonry nails from when the house was built. I figured if I spent some time in the area I would be inspired.

That idea sort of worked. Spending time in the area at least made me dig out the drain that runs through the sidewalk. 

(Side note: Yes, that is a bush in a blue plastic storage bin. I dug up the bush from the front yard when we had the patio and sidewalk poured last year. I wanted to relocate the bush, but wasn't sure where to put it, so I just stuck it in that bin. Amazingly, the bush has been doing rather well.)

After digging out the drain, it became apparent that the ground needed sculpting to help flow water.

After a brief discussion with Ced, we decided two types of bedding would be interesting in some sort of pattern. I pulled out a sketch pad and sat outside envisioning designs that would incorporate the drain path and keep interest. Lots of crazy patterning ensued and I ran some ideas past Ced to pick his brain some more. He steered the design in a simple direction and thus began an internal design struggle for me. Feeling like the designing bit was hindering productivity, I started digging more and etched out a simple pattern in the soil.

Pattern decided, we laid down Geotextile fabric. . .

and started laying out the design using bark mulch and pond stones.

We're pretty happy with the way it turned out.

I keep justifying the simple design (two dark hemispheres jutting into the lighter pebbles) by pointing out how the patio is a hemisphere and smooth arcs are calming.

Then I ask myself why I'm justifying it. (Perhaps a bit of that crazy.)

At any rate, I see myself obsessively straightening the arcs and sorting bark from pebbles. We'll eventually put some sort of center piece near the back (fountain?) and I've begun a search for shade-loving plants.