A little over a month ago, with the first flowerbed complete, I decided to tackle the next two beds on my “to do” list. It was the weekend of April 4th, a golden opportunity. The next wave of rain was predicted to hit later in the week.

The design for my backyard, showed three medium-sized flowerbeds with one large bed meandering across a good portion of the yard, for a total of four. I deviated from the plan slightly, nothing major, as you can see below. The goal is an organic space.

The new flowerbeds against the house were pretty basic. I had already outlined the shape in February when I constructed the flagstone path to the facet. The ground had dried just enough to be easily manipulated. It’s difficult to work with compacted mud, but if you time it just right, after a good rain (say 7 to 10 days) the ground is primed for easy digging.

For the two beds, I wanted to concentrate on getting the chop rock borders set. Tilling and mulching the beds will come later, once the soil has dried a bit more.

The plan of attack was as follows:
1. Remove the existing border and stepping stones
2. Use the garden hose to figure the shape of the beds.
3. Spray paint along the edge of the hose, creating a dig line.
4. Dig the new edge just wide enough to accommodate the chop rock
5. Place the leftover decomposed granite (sand works too) into the newly cut edge.
6. Insert the chop rock.

Building the two beds took the weekend, about 5 hours each day. I didn’t leave the chop rock above the ground very high. Creating a structure that holds water against the house is never recommended. The flowerbeds are more like edging, allowing the water to escape as needed. The flowerbed along the dry creek bed is higher than the beds flanking the house, this was intentional.

The images below, were taken this morning, a little over a month after the beds were installed.  The Dallas area had another massive storm roll through in the wee hours of the morning.

The yard is a lake, but the new sod has started to spread and the contrast in color against the chop rock makes me happy. I’m still waiting to till, mulch and plant new flowers in the two beds. The rain is a constant this May. I might get a dry day, once a week, but that’s not helpful. At this rate, the beds will be prepped and ready by July/August. The hottest months during a Texas Summer. Joy!