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Catherine's garden gets a wall.
#1
Smile 
Perhaps I am stretching it a bit to call the wall art, but it is a work of art the way they are building it.
The garden has a lot of trouble with erosion on the lower edge and we needed a retaining wall. They decided to do a wooden wall. What I have seen so far is beautiful.

I had to spend a couple of afternoons moving plants from the lower edge to protect them.

[Image: scKrfsBHG7eJnXVWPt3toGZyjKykSrOgdB8Tf3K6...=w592-h275]

[Image: iq6kqbEEReDQZ-T1_NSm1U17TEAxQ2JrihtIi_kB...=w209-h275]Then they used a bobcat to remove soil and level the area.

[Image: DuRDagd8XAGipvWjV_--NQl2fLBq1PNYfgRWQnPd...=w155-h275]The edge had to be leveled before logs could go in.


[Image: bAuRnrF1Ez-YoiVfxJsLuIGp4MreNl1NNS-1i0g8...=w489-h275]They used sand and a level and did a very careful job.


[Image: YxajRC0oKWE5kvD2jTkpo9m1mKalMWqf25oklMQU...=w489-h275]The first log is in and they are preparing to put in the second.


[Image: r9XPMp0BKdbib978mBxIZChqIuRszf7ZOQOHMLDv...=w489-h275]Here there are two rows of logs in place. 

I think it looks good already. I had to go home at this point so I haven't seen the finished product. I think it is going to be beautiful.  They have ordered in mulch as well so I will be able to cover the garden in mulch. It will keep the plants from drying out and keep the roots cool.
I will get pictures as soon as I can. I think I will be there on Wed afternoon. I am excited about this. I have worked on this garden for years and the wall solves a lot of problems. The bobcat took out a ton of weeds while clearing soil. It is not the best way to weed, but it was quick. Smiley4
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Catherine

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#2
The wall is done and it is beautiful!

[Image: K5VzPlnTvHk6RnVA-d3clHitBAendqaW9J9sSoV-...=w619-h275]
The garden looks so neat and clean with a wall to hold it in place.

[Image: 4NfDPwEfqD3NQJa9yAw7qYUuT5H9j3_QJiVohYZt...=w565-h275]
The even did the end of it so the sides are retained as well.

[Image: _EVPY34iYGnsk8OMJDQWnmpgs9AspAhlsk2wGk4t...=w489-h275]
The plants are still small, but they will grow. A few bags of mulch will help too.

[Image: 0WDTi6FYMMtoq9f_3fN9O-QMxAIdodILQBVD5u6Y...=w838-h275]
I love the summer colours.

[Image: mdAJm8qt9FNhaKKAofrEBZLD6uzaM-FQGZFlpjeh...=w339-h275]
I have some coreopsis plants(golden yellow) and some pincushion plants(purple) to put in tomorrow. I have a lot of empty spaces to fill. The wall made the garden bigger.

[Image: YNE-8lF6FNDiCGL3wHDJc5M7OZQAc_EH0j9z-YRx...=w160-h275]
You can see how much planting I still need to do.
The garden is actually 60 feet long and about 6ft wide.
When I say I have been working on the shelter garden you now know what it look like.

[Image: 8IRwXiKgnUdqfm6OEeZ_YJLIU8iKDkkxUgo78GXh...=w517-h275]
This is the shelter itself with its new mural. The garden is behind the building and much lower since it is built on a hill.
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Catherine

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#3
Thank you for those pictures! Now I know what the Shelter garden looks like. It looks very neat and good. The little wall does the trick of neatening everything up. It is a good presentation for the Shelter. I think it makes a great difference to have the entrance looking clean and beautiful. People passing by will see that someone cares.

The purple plants will look good as a contrast with the yellow ones. In the spectrum of colour, purple and yellow are "complementary colours" (i.e. exact opposites.) So in a sense of aesthetic harmony they work well together!


I really like the mural as well! What a nice looking display!
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#4
The wall is actually at the back where people park and it is visible from the bridge and all the new condos in the area. It is a very public place and a private place at the same time. Also the dog walkers(there is a whole team of dog walkers) come out the back and walk past the garden every day all day long. They feel better because it feels like an active part of the shelter(which it is) and not just the back.  The entrance to the new spay/neuter clinic is there too. 

The whole back was just the back of the building at one point. Now it is a very active and public area. It is important that it look good. 

I don't know if the pictures indicate size, but the garden is 60 ft long and 6 ft wide. It is a big garden. The little shrubs in the picture will get quite big in a couple of years. 

The pincushion plants attract bees. They were on the plants pollinating while I was still planting them. Even when I was actually putting a plant in the ground the bees stayed on the flowers. There are milk weed plants in the garden as well. They are the plane that Monarch butterflies need to lay their eggs. Mother birds keep their fledglings in the garden under the rose bushes. When I am done the garden will be a city oasis of food and shelter for insects and other animals. It will be an oasis of beauty in a concrete jungle of roads and parked cars and sidewalks.
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Catherine

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#5
What a lovely project Catherine. To create beauty and at the same time some help for the bees and insects. Heart 
It is hard work and takes some planning but well worth it.
It's kind of nice to stand back and think "I made that!" And it is nice to see it flourish over the years as plants mature. The Shelter is very lucky to have you creating something so beautiful for them.
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#6
Thank-you. It is my gift to the shelter.  I started 5 years ago when there was just dead grass in that stretch. I removed the grass and dug the soil. Then I started bringing shrubs and perennials and some pansies for colour. Some stuff made it and some things have had to be replaced. We lost all the butterfly bushes in the ice storm. We lost some stuff in the drought last year.  I just keep replanting and working the soil. Some things have survived from the original planting. The Rugosa Rose is still going strong. This year I will prune her and clean her up so she can look beautiful in the spring.

The wall changes everything. It stops erosion of the lower end and holds the moisture in the bed. It also gives me a bigger garden to plant. I am so excited because I can do so much more.

Right now I spend time every Monday working on the garden. I weed and tend my plants and I bring some new things to plant. It is a slow project, the work of many years. This year it feels like it is finally established as a complete garden. From now on it will just keep looking better. I want hostas all along the wall and all around the whole garden, even at the back. The green works well with the wood and hostas really pull the garden together. I want bright perennials that attract bees and butterflies. The little clumps I am putting in now will fill in and spread. Some of the things I planted will keep their leaves all winter so the garden will be a four season garden. It should still look interesting in the winter.

I planted a new butterfly bush with magenta coloured flowers. I saw a Monarch butterfly eyeing it. I also have milkweed growing so the Monarchs have somewhere to lay their eggs. We have had rain and it has cooled off so newly planted things should do well. 
I will post more pictures soon.

A little known fact is that most of the plants have been carried over to the shelter (on the other side of town from me) on public transit. I have climbed on a bus or a streetcar carrying  bags of shrubs and plants or arms full of flats of pansies.

I get to meet all the dogs in the shelter since they walk past the garden  on their walks. I love them all. Heart
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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