Chris has been reading about plants to accompany the fruit trees in our apple guild. Meanwhile, I have been brainstorming ways to make it look a bit more presentable. I have been wanting to edge the guild with large rocks, but figured it would be an expensive project. A couple weeks ago, someone informed us that landscaping with rocks is actually quite affordable – if you’re willing to put in the muscle power to lay the rocks yourself.
Acting on impulse (as I most often do), I decided this was a must-do project.
I made a couple of phone calls, and found some boulders not too far away – Hassan Sand & Gravel in Rogers, Minnesota is about a 20 minute drive. Their delivery rates are also very reasonable – but they told me that boulder sizes vary quite a bit, and if we wanted consistency it would be best if we hand-picked the rocks and transported them ourselves.
So, of course, we did. It only took 4 trips with my little Honda Fit (which can haul 500 pounds – or about 25 rocks!) and my brother’s pickup truck. We could have probably done it in 3 trips, but since I was borrowing a truck I didn’t want to push it. We finished the whole thing in a day. Project total: just over 2 tons of rocks (4,000 pounds). Cost: $100 + a tank of gas + about 4 hours labor by 2 people.
I have my brother’s truck for the week now, so I think we’re going to pick up another load to outline our raspberry patch, and we’ll probably head up to Gordon’s Greenhouse to pick up a truck full of wood chips to fill in the shade garden under our deck this week too.
Before & After:
