The Dry Garden

Planting

The Gardener digs the garden over, working compost into the soil and breaking up the large lumps, some as much as half-head size.  He also re-contours the two mounds.  The mounds were formed from the soil dug out make the dry wash (creek bed) and pond.  

 The Gardener transplants a Bush Germander and replants Berberis Darwinii (moved and heeled in before the contractor dug the dry wash and pond), and  plants a Hypericum he moves from the back yard.

He sites a self-seeded Pyracantha by the pond

 
The Self-seeded Pyracantha by the Pond

Pyracantha thrive in Sonoma County.  A fine example grows under the oak tree in our side yard:

 
The Pyracantha under the California Live Oak 

The live oak grew here long before the house was built.

 

Lining the Dry Wash

The Gardener lines the dry wash and the pond with trinity cobbles and scatters gravel over them for a natural look.

 
  The Dry Wash Partly Lined with Trinity Cobbles

Fallen leaves drift into the wash and pond:

 

The Dry Wash where the Path Crosses It

Help Needed

The Gardener asks Mr Garcia, who tends many of our neighbors' yards, if he can supply some people to move boulders and he arranges for two men to come and help.

  
 Help with Moving Boulders

They help move 20 boulders, each weighing more then 200 lb, in less then three hours.

Waterfalls

The gardener uses ledgestone to make waterfalls in the creek bed 

Waterfalls in the Creek Bed 

He also uses ledgestone to stabilize the banks of both the creek and of the pond that the creek feeds into.

  
  The Sides of the Pond Stabilized with Ledgestone 

The Gardener intends to plant behind the ledgestone in some places.

A Defense Against Gophers

The Gardener visits The Urban Tree Farm and buys an Arbutus Marina, a beautiful red-barked tree that flowers in the fall.

 The Arbutus Marina with the Compost Heap in the Background  

With the help of Daughter and Son-in-Law, he plants it in a basket, made from half-inch galvanized mesh, to protect the roots from gophers.

  

The Arbutus Marina is Planted in a Wire Basket

The Gardener Makes Membrillo

We harvested many pounds of fragrant, gold-green quinces this year.  The Gardener decides to turn some of them into membrillo.

 
 A Quince

Membrillo

Ingredients

Quinces

Sugar

Wash and quarter the quinces, and then steam until soft.  Put through a food mill and weigh the resulting pulp.  Add the same weight of sugar. Cook over a medium flame with much stirring ( an energetic process) until the mixture starts to come away from the sides of the pan.  Turn out onto cookie sheets and dry for several hours in an oven at 170 F.  

Cut into squares and serve as a candy or with cheese.  

Making the Path

The gardener has dug a trench 4'' inches deep and 18" wide for the path, and now he's ready to take the next  step. 

 

Partly Made Path

The Gardener fills the trench with recycled crushed concrete to a depth of 2".  He spreads concrete sand over the top to bring the bed up to a depth of 3".  Next, he lays the Sunrise Flagstones.

 
The Completed Path 

The Gardener spreads gravel around the flagstones, and the path is complete.

 
 

Tomato Sauce

It's well into fall and the tomato plants are dying. 

End-of-Season Tomato Plants

I decide it's time to pick the last of the ripe tomatoes and cook with them.

Tomato Sauce for Pasta

1/2 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed ( I intend to freeze my tomato sauce so I shall omit the garlic)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, skinned and chopped.

Saute the onion ( and garlic if used)  with a pinch of salt until soft (about 15 minutes).  

Add the Italian seasoning and bay leaf and cook for a minute.  

Next, add the sugar, tomato paste, and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove the bay leaf.

Cook 1 1/2 lbs pasta and toss with the sauce.

If we feel like a heartier meal, we buy sausages from the sausage maker at Willowside Meats in Santa Rosa.  We barbecue them and slice them into the sauce.  One of the joys of living in Sonoma County is the amount of really good food we have available.

 

A Lot of Digging

The Gardener digs a trench 4 inches deep and 18 inches wide.  It runs diagonally across the front yard, crossing the wash, and is about 70 feet long. 

   

The Trench

Lots of Rocks

We drive to Wheeler Zamaroni, where they have lots of rocks and helpful, knowledgeable staff.

 
The Rocks Have Arrived

We order: 

1/2 ton Sunrise Flagstone

1 cubic yard ABII recycled rock

1 cubic yard 3/8 Yuma Trinity Crush

1 cubic yard concrete sand

(All the above for the path)

14 large (200- 450 lb)  Sonoma fieldstone boulders, hand-picked and marked with red tape

12 smaller boulders (80-120lbs)

2 cubic yards Yuma Trinity cobbles (for the wash)

1 ton Bouquet Canyon ledgestone (1 3/4 ton is delivered. Wheeler-Zamaroni agree to take back any we don't use)

8 cubic yards of organic compost.

  

 

  The Boulders in Place

The driver who delivers the large boulders places them using a forklift truck.  The smaller boulders(80-120lbs) are delivered by pickup truck.  The driver stands on the truck bed and casually lobs them to their approximate positions.