After turning to a complete sissy yesterday over the frozen, hard-to-handle bags of topsoil, I came home and ordered 1.5 yards of topsoil from the garden center near my house. The truck was here within the hour! Now that's what I call service!
It took about an hour to get the topsoil spread on top of the wet newspaper + mulched leaves where the new beds will be next year. Mr. W came home while right in the middle of this escapade and took pity on me. With his help I was able to finish in 1/2 the time!
As you can see, I should have ordered WAY more. I thought I calculated this correctly but ran out before I was able to complete the good neighbor garden bed where the Azaleas are planted. In this picture the topsoil looks nice and clean but I found it to be very rocky with clumps of grass in it. I sure hope that stuff doesn't grow in my new beds. Since I've only bought bagged topsoil I was expecting rock and weed free dirt. This stuff looks like they picked it up from the site they are excavating down the street from my house!
It took about an hour to get the topsoil spread on top of the wet newspaper + mulched leaves where the new beds will be next year. Mr. W came home while right in the middle of this escapade and took pity on me. With his help I was able to finish in 1/2 the time!
This new look, coupled with the new book I purchased last night Front Yard Gardens has really brought out my hatred for the poodle shrubs. They must go!
We knew eventually you'd want to get rid of the "Poodle Shrubs"!
ReplyDeleteOn the top soil, it does seem to take more than you think it will. You might ask the garden center where they are getting their top soil and if they have any that is better quality. Some of the grass clumps may sprout in the spring.
When I had my house built, I had them bring in top soil instead of fill dirt... best thing I ever did!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
That's shore purty, skinny garden girl ! I'm with you on " the poodle shrubs having to go! Good for you. Sometimes it just takes a book and soil.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever order soil again measure the area's width and length andd then tell the garden center how high you want it to be ( usually 8 -12 inches ) and they'll calculate how much you need.
I would call the garden center and tell them that you're not happy with the quality of the topsoil. It should never contain rocks or grass.
I didn't keep my copy of Front Yard Gardens, Gina, but it IS a great book--Liz Primeau is the founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine (back when it was an excellent publication) and a font of wisdom. Glad to hear the poodles will be moving on.
ReplyDeletecarol, carolyn and jodi - do any of you have a bobcat i can borrow?? Lord knows what they'll charge me to remove those things! I suppose I'd better start thinking of what to plant on the foundation after the poodles are gone. UGH!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - I will definately call the company who delivered the topsoil. thanks for the advice.
jodi - I LOVE THAT BOOK! I actually stumbled on Front Gardens when I went to pick up a book they'd ordered for me and I ended up liking the FG one WAY more! I love her writing style.
I have a couple of poodles in my back yard. They are a challenge.
ReplyDelete