The Bungalow Pit

I’ve always wanted a Fuji Apple tree. We found one at Nick’s Nursery and planted it in the front yard today where it should get a fair amount of sun. The label says “no pollinator required”—hope that’s true. We dug an extra big hole, added gypsum, compost and a little fertilizer then gave it a good water. Hoping it does well. This is the only deciduous planting we’ve done so far, should be nice having the seasonal change in the yard (not to mention some apples.)

The soil in our yard has become a minor obsession (and growing.) Rachel and I love to garden—always have. With all the construction and restoration, we need a place where we can work out our stress and feel connected to our place, and nothing does that quite like working in the garden. We go to nurseries at least once a week and always manage to buy something new—no matter what promises we make that we’re “just going for inspiration.”

However, nothing will grow well if you don’t have good soil, and our soil is clay. I’ve been reading several books on gardening (even some great websites) and we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got. We’ve already removed truck loads of soil—not easy and not cheap—and have been replacing it with organic material. I’ve also been spreading gypsum on the clay and working it in. If anyone has any words of wisdom, I’m all ears.

Yesterday Rachel and I went out to the Masonry Club to see what kind of stones and rocks they had for the walkways in our front yard. They had a great selection and were really helpful. We picked a pallet of their Sydney Peak stones for the walkways:

And a pallet of their medium sized River Rocks for borders and raised beds:

The semi truck and fork lift showed up 7 AM this morning:

Our driveway is now full of tonnes of rocks, stones and sand, just waiting for us to get the pathways dug and the soil evened out.

For the curious, the rocks and stones are sold by weight. The pallet of River Rocks was $300 and the Sydney Peak stones came to $485; not as bad as we’d feared.

Masonry Club • 8563 San Fernando Rd Sun Valley CA 91352 • (818) 768-3176