Front Garden: Embryonic Stage

Some very small things are beginning to take shape in the front garden. Here's the basic strategy: We're putting down about a 4 to 5 inch base layer of decomposed granite. This is a really common material in Central Texas, and is good for making patios and walkways, as well as mixing it in to soil to make it better. I'm hoping its a good, solid base for the stones.

We're then using this really creaky old press that we borrowed from a neighbor to pack down the granite. It's filled with water and is quite heavy.

Then, 4' x 6' limestone blocks are being used to line the walkways.

Once these are all in place, we'll back fill with garden soil on the garden side and fill up with decomposed granite on the path side. Then, we'll pack it down some more before adding a small layer of pea gravel on top. We've chosen pea gravel as the topper because it'll match the back. I actually love raw decomposed granite for paths, but I think the pea gravel will soften it up a bit and give it that Texas-Japanese-Modern-Cottage look that I'm going for.

As with all things these days, we'll see...