My back hurts just looking at those photos!

That's a lot of hard work but will be a beautiful garden bed. Will be interesting to see what all you are planting in there.
Cher

a man after my own heart. Pallette expansion!

You've got room for a lot of new miniature conifers now. That's very convenient because we've got some very rare and interesting things lined up for the plant auctions in Olympia next week and there are not as many of the professional growers with deep pockets as in some years.

Good luck,
~Dave

Wow - amazing work! Good job!

What fun! Good job! More photos, please.

Success!!!! No missing limbs either. We tugged it out with the other vehicle, webbing pictured in photo 4.

I've since added an additional 2 yards of dirt and have formed mounds. Next.... plant list.... I haven't forgotten this is the conifer forum. Stay tuned.

I like the shape of the bed.
Nice work with the rocks. I would pair up another rock with that big boulder. Put it up against it so that it 'fits'. I am jealous of the flat stepping stones.They are expensive in this part of the country.
Are you composting the sod you removed? When I was landscaping, I brought the sod home we removed. Then I figured out it was easier to just kill it and then cover with topsoil. The only lawn I had to dig out was on the edges, and that sod was placed in the middle of the bed and buried too.
Looks like you have been bitten real hard, thanks to the enablers on this forum with no conscience whatsoever. There should be a warning and disclaimer posted in the forum heading.
Keep up the good work and keep on posting as your illness progresses.
What city are you near here in the Pacific Northwest?
Mike

Nice expansion! Score one for you and one down for the lawn. I guess you made it up to the lawn with the irrigation line.

I look forward to seeing the pictures of your bed planted.
Are there specific plants that will go here? I find that I can never fit as many plants as I expected into my bed expansions. These give rise to container hold-overs and next years expansions or new beds. In fact, I just brought in 15 yds of soil over Labor Day weekend...

The concrete borders are really a nice idea. I know you said they're rearranged from the pre-existing bed, but do you know where they came from or were they made custom? Seems like that's got to cut out a lot of maintenance work.

Alex

@ Mike: I plan on adding many, many more rocks as the plants go in - but good suggestion. Below and above this new bed is an extensive rock garden (not fully pictured) clustered with some rare and unique conifers.The stepping stones are called "Trout Creek Flagstone" and can be found at any landscaping center (at least in the PDX area). I have found the price is very reasonalbe at $379 a ton compared to other flagstone at $500+ a ton. We are lucky to be close to a Recology Oregon Material Recovery Center, so the sod is going "back into the earth". I prefer to remove the sod for ideal drainage. I'm located in West Linn OR.

@Alex: Yikes, 15 yards! That is some serious dirt. I think I have at least another 1 or 2 yards to add; everything is going to settle in. I have a general idea of what is going where based on the plants I have on order, and the numerous containers littering the property... although my style of planning is more holistic - materials (plants/stones etc.) fit where they feel like they should fit and until they do... lets just say I am notorious for moving things. I believe the concrete borders are custom.

I've done several projects like these, but never have documented the progress- thanks so much for all the kind words from all. It's not easy 'sharing' the process.

I promise to update with a plant list - ok, just a few...

Abies procera 'Rick's Foxtail'

Bad picture, but a Tsuga mertensiana specimen from Conifer Kingdom:

Acer shirasawanum 'Munn 001' Moonrise⢠- Moonrise⢠from Whitman Farms:

Looking forward to your follow-up photos, Anton!

pic just above.. i see the irrigation lines..

but is that a 5 gallon pot circle around the trunk???

i know its a maple.. but that is some large specimen for such a pot ...

i might go with the smaller next to it due to such ...

ken

That is a Root Control Bag my friend. Wave of the future. Massive amount of roots, and no circling. They transplants easily as well.

This is a little more info on those Root Control/ Grow Bags

Here is a link that might be useful: Growth is in the Bag Article

Wow...large great job. What is the cultivar of very green irregular growing pine in third pic down?

I took a few quick pictures moments ago... been a busy few weeks. In total I think I added 13 yards of dirt and 4k to 5lk lbs. of rocks/boulders. Too many plants to list right now (especially all the dwarfs).... a few to mention:

Acer sieboldianum 'Sode no uchi' won the spot in the middle... still not sure if I might put the Moonrise in it's place....
Picea abies 'Gold Drift' - from Conifer Kingdom
Tsuga mertensiana specimen - again courtesy of CK, very blue, had to have it, thanks Brent!
Pinus contorta âÂÂChief JosephâÂÂ
Abies koreana `Kohouts Icebreaker' on a Standard

You're on your way, Anton!

Your landscaping style reminds me of my own work. I just started hammering out a couple new areas and a retro-fit of another. Same thing -- lots of dirt rocks and dwarf conifers.

Hard work, but rewarding work. I look forward to strolling your grounds in the near future.

~Dave

You're on your way, Anton!

Your landscaping style reminds me of my own work. I just started hammering out a couple new areas and a retro-fit of another. Same thing -- lots of dirt rocks and dwarf conifers.

Hard work, but rewarding work. I look forward to strolling your grounds in the near future.

~Dave

very nice! Care to name the others that you planted?

Thanks Dave - I picked up a few design ideas at Glacier's End! Extremely rewarding getting the hard-scape in. Now the fun part is placement based off of color, form, texture, size, etc... that's where the real hard work comes in :>).

OK, here are some newly acquired plants off the top of my head.... putting this list together.... now realizing what a great year it had been.

Picea pungens 'Ruby Teardrops'
Picea abies 'Gold Finch'
Picea abies 'Dandylion'
Picea abies 'Hasin'
Picea abies"Lemon Flare'
Picea abies 'Wichtel'
Pinus uncinata 'Xenie #24 WB'
Pinus leucodermis (heldreichii) 'Clumpleaf'
Pinus sylvestris 'Jeremy'
Pinus mugo 'Milky way'
Abies koreana 'Silberkugel'
Abies fraseri 'Kline's Nest'
Abies procera 'Rick's Foxtail'
Abies koreana 'Blauer Eskimo'
Abies veitchii 'Heine'
Abies x borisii-regis 'J.K. Greece'
Sciadopitys verticillata 'gruene kugel'
Picea orientlais 'Sunrise'
Picea omorika 'Wodan'
Pinus nigra 'Moseri'
Acer palmatum 'Shaina'
Acer circinatum 'Bort's Broom'

Wow, shocking amount of work, design and artistic flair on display here. You've got IT man, this is just great stuff. I'll be showing this to many friends and co-workers I have who are interested in landscaping more with conifers and maples. This is just inspiring.

-Will

Going through some older photos. These next 5 are the kickers.... they were taken November 2010 when we moved into the house / Feb 2011.

Looks wonderful. Hope you enjoy all your hard work. I particularly like your specimen of Picea abies 'Gold Drift'.
Richard

Dude, Youve tackled a big project and have done a really really fine job ! Looks great ! Good job with the photos also.

Al

Spectecular! Thanks for sharing the pics.

I wish I had access to what you spoiled folks have in the PNW. Now I know who is cherry picking at Whitman, lol.

Really lovely!! Thanks for sharing!

Robyn

I keep looking through this thread and just have to say again how great it looks. You will have to keep updating every year. Reminds me a little bit of some old pics of dansgrdn's yard. Both of you seem to have done some great work on relatively smaller lots.