I recently had to move all of the stuff away from my house so it could get a fresh coat of paint, so I used that chance to completely redesign (and really for the first time, create) a bonsai garden for my trees. Ryan has talked about in past streams how everything from the pot to the stand should elevate your tree, and I see now that applies to the rest of your garden, too. A similar idea is also found in Japanese gardening, the idea of “borrowed scenery.” In short, what this means is that the garden itself is enhanced by the environment that’s around it (and usually in the background).
Over the last two weeks, I’ve put in right at 60 hours of work (in addition to my day job), and I would like to share the results with everyone in the forum. I dug up a large section of my yard (the old fashioned way), laid down weed cloth, shoveled and wheelbarrowed (is that even a word, lol) nine trailer loads of limestone gravel, placed patio stones that I reused from my previous patio, built another bench (my favorite design thus far and probably what I’ll use in the future), and still found some time to do some repotting.
I described all the work because, as I sat with my trees last night worn out after the final day of graveling, I felt like my trees had never looked better (and they’re basic bonsai by most standards). It felt good to sit with my trees in their new home, and I felt a new sense of calm in my back yard that I had never felt before. I hope my trees can feel it, too
There’s still some things that I want to do in the next few days, but for the most part, the foundation for my garden has been laid. It was well worth the effort, and I suggest that, if you have the space, you should give it a try, as well. Let me know what you think about your garden elevating your trees.
Enjoy the pictures!
Before…
After!
From the other side.
UPDATE:
I also just added a bamboo screen as a nice backdrop for my trees and garden. It also kinda hides that ugly electric meter. Additionally, I checked with my power company, and they said I could paint the pipe and box a color that matches the brick on my house, just so long as I don’t paint the meter itself (so they can read the numbers). That’s definitely going to happen this weekend.
All in all, I’ve learned to be more creative and ask a bunch of questions throughout this whole process!