HI Don,
I know that feeling, I also hired some help- a friend was telling me her son was looking for a job. I asked if he would like to pull weeds & learn about gardening. he just graduated from 8th grade & was too young to seek the usual employment.

To my surprise he said yes, and I told him I would pay him minimum wage and he is delighted. he follows me around and will do any task that I ask of him. He is enjoying the experience & learning tons in addition to being a big help to me. It is like having an intern at my disposal.

You may envy my rocks, but I envy you hiring a crew to do that kind of work. :O) Hope all goes as planned!

You know....that's cheatin'!

LOL

Yeppers Donn,
I hired a crew to remove too mature shrubs around the one sloping bed around the pool. I hired a 15 year old who his Dad has a big tractor so we could move stones around another bed, wow were done laying the rocks in the 50ft long bed in less than an hour! (Gotta love BIG tractors with attachments) Hired a lawn crew to cut 3 1/2 acres of the grass so my mowing is down to 1 hour a week. Plus I hired another 15 year old to help run the mulcher and cut/stack wood for winter, plus other chores.
Neighbor liked my test wildflower bank so much he sent over his grandkid to weedwack another bank and asked me to sow his bank, lol.
So, I am getting on track for my 5 year planned renovating all the landscaping

Hi y'all,
I also have a teen helper, Christopher. I taught him the love of gardening when he was nine years old by giving him a plot in my yard and helping him prepare and plant it. He did that for about three summers then got into sports and doesn't have the time any more. But he mows my grass for $10 and helps with heavy work for $6.50 an hour. He is the nicest 16 year old you would ever meet. He works out at his school gym and plays football so he is strong, digs every big hole I need. Our present project is digging in a 200' border of pavers. The pavers will be even with the grass so when he mows the wheel of the mower will be on the paver and he'll cut the yard so I won't have to string trim. Good idea, no? He loves my tuna salad and slaw so when he helps me I fix lunch and we eat under the gazebo together. He grandma died several years ago so he now looks at me in that role and I love it. My grandkids live out of town so Christopher is my "adopted grandson". We have fun in the garden together even when it is hot and humid (often in Kansas).
Tina

Donn, what about before/after pics? :-)

Good for you, Donn. I know what you mean, sometimes even when you're willing to do the work yourself, sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Some things are just worth spending a few bucks. Every time I even consider hiring someone to help me in the garden, I think "Oh! That's why I pay people to clean my house- so I can garden!

Karen

The project has been in the planning stages for a while, but I was waiting for an opening in the landscaper's schedule. It came yesterday morning with a phone call. 30 minutes later, they were at work. I had no chance for true before pics, so we'll have to settle for phase one pics.

Here's a long shot of the corner:

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And a little closer in:

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The boulders will be rolled out of the way, and the corner dug out to 6" deep. Landscape fabric will go down, followed by a bed of 3/4" gravel. Then the 3-4 largest stones will come back to rest on the gravel, and the balance of them will be scattered through the beds.

Here's the view from the corner up the side street:

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From the corner to the center of the area, with it's ~50 year old Flowering Ornamental Cherry:

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And the south side of the area, with a 2-keyhole bed:

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(Some may recognize one of my "Instant Beds" full of grasses, on the right.)

From the "Instant Beds" looking toward the corner:

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From the side street, looking toward the corner:

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The grass pathways vary from 2-3' wide, and none of the beds are wider than 5' so I'll be able to easily reach everything from the paths.

Today, a layer of compost will go down on all the beds. The beds in back, closer to the house and the "Instant Beds" will be deeper, and will gradually become more shallow as we get down to the streets and the corner.

Finally, a layer of mulch will go over all the beds. Then I'll install a full drip irrigation system for them all, and start planting by the end of the month.

All, I can say is..... WOW! Your neighbors are going to love you even MORE!! Please take pictures along the way and keep us posted.

We had men come in to grind about 30 stumps in the woods and here and there (after WE cut down trees), and that sure was a treat. Now, if we could only hire people to cut down the trees.....

Carrie

Is that part sun there Donn and what are you planning to plant? Are you planning to plant this season or next?

I hire the pros for the big stuff too. Last summer I hired a hort student from Ohio State to hand edge my beds. He was earning extra cash to buy his finance an engagement ring. How nice is that? He did a great job on the beds.

Don, those beds are eye candy as is. My imagination is running wild with all the possibilities.

Wow, Donn, that will be beautiful.

Karen

LOVE the shapes of the beds, all interconnected but different. Will you keep the paths in turf grass? Will have to be mowed but I think it looks so soft and beautiful!

Best of luck and have a ball! There is nothing as fun as planting completely clean and ready beds!

Nancy

Absolutely beautiful Donn - can't wait to see it in full bloom - I just love that free-form look you have going there. Please keep the pictures coming.....

Lynne

Today's progress:

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The corner is finished. The unruly pile of boulders has been moved, and 6" of soil & weeds removed. Landscape fabric was installed, and the 6 largest stones placed on it. Then 2 yards of 3/4-1" river rock was piled in around the stones.

More of the stones were spaced out along the side road bed, and 3-4" of rich black compost spread on all the beds.

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I'm not sure I like the line of stones yet, so there will be some tweaking, I'm sure. There's also a good-sized pile of smaller stones to scatter into the other beds.

Tomorrow morning, 3-4" of triple-shredded hardwood mulch goes on top of the compost.

I'm giving it all a good soak now, to get the worms to work as soon as possible.

After the mulch is applied, I'll install the backbone of the drip irrigation system, and start planning the planting.

The area ranges from full to part shade. I have lots of grasses and other foliage shade-lovers all ready to be installed, and I'm thinking about a couple of my new baby Japanese Maples in some of the sunnier spots.

Nancy, the paths will remain turfgrass. With such rich compost on each side of them, it should be lush grass in no time, and I'll probably get a small push-type reel mower to do it with.

Donn, I would love to know what type of irrigation system you decided to install and why? Are you installing something permanent and doing it yourself?

Watering our yard this year has been a lot of work. I have some soaker hoses in place, but I find when it gets really dry, they just don't deliver enough moisture, especially where I have shade and hydrangea shrubs. So I am back to using sprinklers for the most part. I need to either add more soaker hoses, which are getting expensive to put everywhere at $20 a piece. And figure out a way to connect them so they flow adequately or come up with some different system.

I'm going to use drip irrigation, P-Moon. I'll run header hose of 1/2" Toro Blue Stripe Poly hose through the middle of every bed. Where the header hose needs to run between beds, I simply take my spade and make a slice in the sod, and rock the spade back and forth lightly. This makes a round-bottomed slit in the sod, which the hose can be pushed down into. The slit heals almost immediately, and it's a permanent installation of the hose.

Then I'll run a variety of delivery devices off the header, on 1/4" Blue Stripe. It'll all be buried under the mulch, and will deliver water only to the plants, instead of watering every part of each bed. The device I use will depend on the plants. A Hydrangea, for example, will get a collar of 1/4" Blue Stripe Dripper hose, with 1/2 GPH emitters every 6". A length with 4-6 emitters encircling the shrub's trunk is plenty. A section of small matting plants will get a mini-sprinkler, and so on.

Would love to see how it is going Donn, as you install? Lots of pics! :-)

It's nice to see the progress, Donn. I can't imagine how many aches and pains and how long it would take for you to do all that yourself.
It's true...many hands DO make light work, and good results, too!
Please share more pics as they continue :-)
Linda

The mulch is down:

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The new beds are so pretty, it's almost a shame to plant them...almost. ;>)

How about suggestions?

I have lots of shade-loving grasses, Hosta, Heuchera, etc..

I can see your dilemna, it's pretty as is.
Just curious, did you free form the keyhole designs or did you plan it out?

Donn,

That is the *best* looking bed I have ever seen, planted or not! Absolutely wonderful.

I sure wouldn't mind a visual tutorial on how to install a drip irrigation system, either. :) I have a problem cutting the invisible dog fence...about 20 cuts into the line a year. I am pretty sure the Toro Blue Stripe wouldn't be safe from my shovel. How do you remember it's there every time you dig into your garden? And exactly where it is, too.

Lime

niTX..a little of each. I had a rough sketch to work from, and the landscaper & I walked around with tape measures in our left hands and landscape paint in our right hands. We roughed out the layout with paint dots, and then connected them. Then we used the tread of our boots to scuff out (erase) errors, and fixed them. The basic stipulation was ~2' wide paths and beds no wider than 5', so I could reach all parts of each bed from a pathway.

Lime..too late for a pictorial, because I installed and buried the header yesterday. Here's a very rough sketch of what it looks like:

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There are 4 lengths of hose, 4 junctions (1 elbow and 3 T's) and four points where hose crosses pathway. At those 4 points, I buried the hose in the sod. Those are the only parts of the hose which are fixed in place. All the rest can be easily moved aside to accomodate a plant.

I'll finish it by plugging the open ends of hose at 4 points, and installing a quick-disconnect hose adaptor at the start point.

It's easy to remember where the hose is, because it's only 2" down into the mulch. When I plant something, I simply punch a hole in the header, and run a 1/4" feeder line to whatever sort of drip fixture I'm using, then brush the mulch back over all the hoses.

Donn,

The explanation above really helps those of us who are LONGING for a system like this - thanks! Here's my (probably stupid) question.... do you still have to drag a hose over from the house to the "quick connect" to begin the watering process? or do you have a hose running underground to the main connection, with some kind of timer so that the whole water process is automated?

I've been checking out a neighbors yard that has a drip system for a veggie bed. He seems to just have the drip tube running down the middle of the bed, no feeder tubes, and keeps the tubes at the surface, not under mulch. I imagine there is more evaporation this way, but since I don't have mulch yet, I may start with something like this and add the mulch after the sting of the start up costs of drip wears off.

Now that I (somewhat!)understand the tubing systems in the beds, the main hurdle from my point of veiw is the unimaginable amount of digging in hoses from the house I would have to do into order to get the water to the bed system. I have really spread out beds around both the edges and the center and in the back and front yards on .6 acre. Also... we are on a well, with not a great deal of pressure (can't run a sprinkler and take a shower) But my fantasy includes having this set up on a timed system that would all happen in the very early morning hours before the family starts wanting to take showers, wash clothes, etc.

Nancy

Donn, my question is, what about water pressure to reach the end of your setup? I used soaker hoses and connected them and would just have to quick connect one end, but the water didn't necessarily come out all the way at the end of the hoses.

Nancy..right now, it's drag the hose to the quick-connect. Eventually, it'll be tied into a semi-automated system. I'll never make it fully automatic, because I want to be able to dictate the amount of watering.

As far as burying the hose, see the thread entitled "Drip Irrigation Primer." It's got a link to Lee Valley's technique, which works very well. As long as I don't run into tree roots, I can bury a lot of hose very quickly, without digging at all.

P-moon..I have about 1200 feet of soakers in my veggie and nursery beds. I can run about 300' at a time and still have them operate efficiently. I give each 300' about 2 hours each time I water. They are buried in the soil, at various depths based on the plants in those beds. Onion beds have the hoses only 2" deep, while perennial nursery beds are up to 6" deep.

With the drip system, all the emitters will be pressure compensated, which means they'll deliver their rated GPH no matter where they are on the system. You have to plan this out, of course, because only so much water can be delivered, and that depends on the amount of flow you have at the source. The flow at source, divided by the GPH flow of the total number of emitters determines how long you leave the system running to deliver X gallons of water.

Wow Donn, that is a lot of hose! So, you can connect 300 feet of soaker hose to each other with a quick connect on one end and a cap on the other and connect that to a hose coming from the spigot and you get good water flow from beginning to end? See, I think I have only connected 4 50ft soaker hoses together and haven't gotten very good flow on the last hose, so that's not very far.

I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions, but I find dealing with a watering system tedious I guess and maybe I would be more motivated to do something about it if I had a clearer idea of what I can do.

If you have 1200 feet of soakers, and evidently connect 300 feet together, then you have to connect those to the spigot. That makes 4 different connects. So you can only water one 300 ft section at a time, right?

If you already had all that soaker hose, why did you change to a drip system in the front? Oh, and where do you buy your soaker hose? I usually pick mine up at Sears and look for a sale, but I rarely hit them. Do you buy locally or buy from a catalog?

How do you determine what the flow is at the source?

You misread me, Nancy. I can run 300' of soaker hose at the same time, but they aren't connected to each other and strung out as one hose. The longest single length is about 100'. Each individual segment of hose has it's own feed from a 4-hose manifold with quick disconnect fixtures. I unplug one and plug in another.

I used to buy the soaker hose at Costco, because their prices are so good, but now I have an account with a wholesale nursery supply, and they sell a 250' length, without fixtures, for $44.

I only use soaker hoses for for densely planted beds, like veggie beds and nursery beds. I use drip irrigation for display beds and potted plants. It's much more efficient than soakers for these applications.

You determine your flow by putting a large bucket under a hose bib, and turning the water on fully. Measure the amount of water you get into the bucket in 30 seconds. Let's say it's 2.5 gallons. Multiply that by 120, and you have 300 gallons per hour of unrestricted flow. That theoretically gives you enough flow to supply 150 2GPH emitters. This calculation, of course, is rough, because it assumes sufficient water pressure to move all that water through the hoses, and it doesn't take into account the resistance provided by the hose, fittings and terrain. But it gives you a place to start. I test my emitters on potted plants, so it's easy to tell what sort of emitter I need to use, and for how long, to thoroughly soak the pot.

Okay so now I think I am getting the picture. So my experience doesn't sound like it is out of line. So since I have the 50ft size, then putting two together was the most I should expect to use without a problem.

Thanks for a way to determine my flow rate. Sounds easy enough. Also your price for that much soaker hose is very good in comparison to I think I paid $15. for 50ft.

Thanks Donn for the education. :-) I will have to look into it some more. Your front yard is looking great and look forward to hearing how it all is working out once you have it all up and running.

Oh, btw, Nancy is nan 616. :-)

pm2

How beautiful, Donn. It will be fun to fill all the beds. How far are you from NYC? I am in Manhattan right now. Can I come by to check out if the work is prefect as it looks? lol

Those are beautiful beds. I particularly like your mulch. And thank you for the info on your watering system. I'd like to do something like that in our yard. I always learn so much from your posts.

Wow, Donn! That is awesome!! I love, love, love the keyhole design. I'll be interested to see if you keep the grass path or decide to replace it with mulch or gravel after a while. It looks like a lot of upkeep to me ;-) I can't wait to see pictures of it when you have filled it with plants from the "ghetto".

I like your watering system, too. How far from the house would it be possible to run such a system? My house is sort of on the higher part of a gently sloping hill and at some point in time, I'd love to put in a sprinkler system a la yours in a couple of beds that are at least 100 feet away from the house. Would that be feasible do you think?

BTW, do you ever have problems with your watering systems leaking at the different connection points? I seem to have those all the time just with my regular set-ups.

My hat's off to you, once again, for another fabulous project. I wish I could get some help with some of my many pipe dreams (no pun intended!).

Marianne

Any updates? photos would be a bonus!

Marianne..most of the experts say a 1/2" header hose is all you need for a run of 100' and then you need to go up to 5/8". I used 1/2" in the new beds, and it tested out just fine. I take a regular garden hose to a quick-connect fitting at one end of it, and off it goes.

I seldom have problems with leaks, but the nice thing about these systems is they are low pressure, so there is very little strain on components. The most common problem with leaking junctions with regular garden hoses is the washers. I have yet to find a hose washer which can survive more than a year in service. Every garden or soaker hose junction in my systems gets a new one every spring. I go throug at least 50 of them a year.

Nothing new, new_in_texas. I'm forcing myself to wait until next month to start planting these beds. If I plant them earlier, we'll get a heat wave, sure as shooting. I'm making plans, though. Lots of WS Hosta, Heuchera and shade loving grasses. I have some small shrubs in pots, and a variety of other things to toss in. I also plan lots of spring flowering bulbs, like miniature Daffodils and such for them.

Very nice Donn. As we have come to expect from you, it is inspirational. It's most gracious of you to take the time to educate us on irrigation.

What kind of turf do you have? I could never do that with my Bermuda.

"What kind of turf do you have?"

Heinz 57!

I'm actually toying with the idea of cutting all the old sod out of the paths, and replacing it with good grass. I'll wait and see how it behaves (or doesn't) before I resort to that.

I think when I install the rest of the front yard beds, I'll strip all the sod, and start the grass for the paths from scratch.

Donn,

How did you decide what landscape company to hire? I want to get someone with a crew to lay out some new beds and paths and have no idea how to go about it other than picking the biggest ad in the yellow pages. They are also going to have to clear out some overgrown areas.

So many landscaping companies only seem to understand cutting grass.

Alison

Who needs grass, anyway?

Alison..I hired a guy I've known for 10 years. When I first moved here, he ran a lawn maintenance crew which was already taking care of this property. He subsequently sold that business to a new guy (who I fired) and went into landscape design and more creative work. I've watched his work over the years, and the choice was easy.

Your best bet is to spend time cruising your neighborhood, and watching the various landscapers (not lawn maintenance guys) at work. When you find one who does work you like, hire him.

Donn,

Thanks for the quick advice. I'll keep my eyes open. I seldom see any landscaping guys doing anything other than lawn maintenance, unfortunately. I'll figure something out.

By the way, I love your keyhole design for those beds. They're going to look wonderful planted up.

Also considering having some work done. I have found some business cards posted to a local nursery. I also came across a list of landscapers who use organic methods. I am working through that list now.

The costs are pretty steep. How do you know if you are paying the right amount of money? People I have talked to are charging anywhere from $25. an hr to $45. an hr from a master gardener with experience. The $45. hr person works with a second person and charges $45. for the second person too. 4 hr minimum and he charges you $45. to come out and talk to you, that is refundable if you hire him. I have no idea what his work looks like. He talks a good game which always makes me a little leary. So that is $360. for 4 hrs of work?!! That is like a week's work for some people. Does that seem unreasonable to anyone else?

I also put a call in to a local tech high school and asked if they could post my job info. They actually told me that those in the horticultural program there, have their own businesses and they would pass my info along!! I was quite surprised by that.

pm2

The non-material costs of my job were a little over $110/hr for 3 men, plus their equipment, including a dump truck, a power excavator, a large wagon for the excavator (hauled by another truck) and misc. hand tools, wheelbarrows, etc.. I also paid for rental on the sod cutter, and a dump fee for the material which was hauled away. The charges for materials were what I would have paid, had I bought and trucked them myself.

I'm getting a somewhat discounted rate, because I allow the landscaper to work on his schedule, when he has time between other jobs.

If you have Angie's list in your area, I would recommend it. It's by invitation only for the contractors and I have never been disappointed.

Donn, I am truly enjoying this post and the story of the birth of something great. (go bucks by the way).

Bakemom, I was going to post and ask "What's Angie's List", but then I remembered my good friend Google. It looks good, is it worth the membership fee?

Alison

Bakemom..wow..I didn't know something like that existed! We could really use that! Thanks for that information.

Donn..it sounds like the prices there are about what I am finding here too. I wonder, how do you estimate how much time it is going to take to do something? Or do you just keep your fingers crossed it will be in range? [g] Maybe the person you are hiring does the estimating? Someone I spoke with yesterday said he always makes a quote and tells people it could go 20% either way. I bet it rarely goes 20% less!!

Thanks for the reminder for the cost of equipment and carting things away.