1,600 pounds of top soil

This weekend was BEAUTIFUL in Nashvegas. Originally, I had big plans to spring clean inside all weekend as JTC was out of town playing with the Drifters, Coasters and the Marvelettes.

But, it was just too nice outside to be inside cleaning. (sorry house)

So, from about 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, I trimmed the Russian sage bushes, completely cleaned and gutted the flower beds in front of the house, weeded and mulched the threes / bushes, put down 800 pounds of topsoil to rebuild the flower beds (40 pounds at a time) and potted five flower pots with red impatients and orange, yellow and red gerber daisies for the front step and deck. I was able to salvage all the flowers in the beds out front, so I'm hoping in a few weeks we'll see some pretty purple salvia and some yummy yellow rudibekia.

It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Yesterday, after church and lunch with JTC, I went to work on the vegatable / herb garden spot (a raised circle bed about 10' in diameter).

Nothing was spared. It was time for an overhaul. That darn Bermuda grass completely took over my little raised bed last year, squeezing out all the good stuff. (When we planted it about four years ago, we didn't know about weed screen and Bermuda grass.)

While I tore out the grass / weeds/ plants, JTC made a trip to Home Depot to get more top soil, weed screen and boundary bricks. (He went to Lowe's first but they were sold out of everything and he had to re-route.) By the time he returned the green stuff was gone and I had begun diggin' out the Bermuda root infested bed. He pitched in and helped me. We probably hauled off 10 or 12 wheel barrows full of clay / dirt. In the end, we'd dug out / down about 12 inches.

Hello weed screen. An ample amount was placed over the hole and over the first layer of gray concrete boundary bricks around the bed. Then we added another layer of bricks and I'm thinking we may add a third later.

After the weed screen was laid, we proceeded to dump 20 bags (800 lbs) of top soil in the hole. I think we'll need another 800 to completely fill the bed. (Yikers.)

When the sun started to go down, we called it a day. JTC is going to get more dirt this afternoon and I'm hoping to find an hour or two to finish the job up this week.

So, 1,600 pounds of top soil later, we've still got some dirt to haul. But, by the time all is said and done, I think I'll have a solid two feet of soil for my veggies and herbs to thrive in.

WhooHOOhooHOOhooooo!

I'll post photos of our handy work once everything is done and planted.