How I Converted an Old Rock Garden to a Garden Storage Area
Thirty-eight years ago, the original homeowners designed this area of our back yard as a rock garden. To me, it’s always been unusable space.
It collects leaves. And undesired plants and weeds took up root. The area is in the back and on the opposite side of the house from the gate. I decided that I wanted to use this space for garden
storage and a compost bin.
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| Original Rock Garden |
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| Rock Garden Removal in Process |
Step 1 List the rocks
for free on Craigslist.
Last year I listed the rocks on Nextdoor.
One couple responded. They came over and took 3 or 4 SUV loads of rock. Then
the area sat untouched until this spring when I ran the ad on Craigslist.
Success! Several people responded and within 2 weeks most of the rocks were
gone. I still had to dig out and move a few and relocated them to another part
of the yard.
Step 2 Fill in the
holes.
Removing the rocks left an uneven
surface. The front area was dirt, or mostly dirt. I know there is black plastic
down in the soil somewhere but I don’t intend to plant here, so I left it. I
filled a rather big hole near the tree trunk with used potting soil.
I then collected several 5 gallon buckets
of spruce pine needles from the front yard and spread it thinly over the clay
and watered it down. Next I put on a layer of cardboard, allowing a 2 foot
square around the tree. The gutter drains into this area. I sprayed water on
the cardboard.
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| Spray Down the Cardboard Mulch |
Step 3 Cover the cardboard
with wood chip mulch.
My son helped me mulch the area
with wood chips. This gave a nice clean appearance that can easily be
back filled as it breaks down. I got the wood chips from a local tree trimming
company. No charge, just tip the driver.
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| Layer Wood Chips Over the Cardboard |
Now I have a lovely outdoor garden storage area and a place
to make compost and weed tea that isn’t visible from the windows or the patio.
I’m very pleased.
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