In our last post, we were optimistic for a quick turn-around on the landscaping endeavor.  Alas, stormy weather, Gio’s awesome wedding, and a suspicious rash of farm truck break-downs forced us to push the finishing touches on this project to the back burner.  UNTIL YESTERDAY.

When you last checked in, this is where we were:

 

 

 

Bare, and mercifully vine-less…but with a long row to hoe (insert thigh slap and pathetic laugh here)!

Next step: bring in the tiller!

 

Our muscle man, Paul, came in with the tiller to remove the massive root structures that were left behind after hacking out the leafy tops.  Voila:

 

(Looked more dramatic in person, I promise).  Although Paul is quite good with the farm equipment, we asked him not to go TOO close to the house with the ferociously spinning blades, so we came behind him and pulled any remaining roots and stalks out by hand.  It was at this point that Chad and I both learned some fun things.

1. Urushiol is an oil not exclusive to the leaves of poison ivy plants (which were long-gone at this point), but also exists (and thrives) in the plant’s woody stalks and roots (for up to 5 (!) years).
2. Gym shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off do not provide sufficient protection against urushiol.
3. According to the dermatologist, one of us is in the 15% of the population that is immune to the scourge of urushiol.
4. Chad is The 85%.

Within 24 hours of exposure, Chad was feeling very itchy and very desperate.  Sam and Gio’s wedding was in 6 days, and there may or may not have been facial swelling (let’s not even talk about the other portions of his body).  Luckily, Harrisonburg has one natural-remedies store, and although we were not interested in the seaweed cookies or homeopathic poison-ivy pills, the jewelweed soap was a god-send.  Combined with a gallon of calamine lotion and self-control against the itch worthy of a gold medal, Chad was looking good as ever for Sam and Gio’s pictures.

With the poison ivy saga and a happily married couple behind us, we felt ready to tackle the yard once more.

Taking inspiration from Longbranch Plantation in Upperville, we wanted to do a border of pea gravel along the edge of the house to prevent any future weeds and vines from climbing up the brick, fronted by a bed of the five boxwoods I gave Chad for our anniversary.  We started by raking the tilled ground as level as possible, and used landscape edging from Lowe’s to define our beds.

Measure it out, then score with the Saws-All where it needs to turn to keep it approximately 2 feet from the house.  Checking the distance at several places keeps it from looking like you were drinking cocktails while gardening.

Each piece of edging comes with 4 stakes to secure the piece at various places.

And, as always, Afton was nothing but helpful.

Next, time to class it up.  Remember those bricks in the dirt mound a few weeks ago?  Part of the process of salvaging the brick was segregating the perfect bricks from those that had chips, cracks, and missing parts.  Although we can’t use these broken bricks in any structures, we collected two full pallets that are PERFECT for landscaping:

We dug a little trench along the edging, nestled the bricks in, with the good edge up, and packed extra dirt around them to keep the line secure.

Finally, we used landscape fabric and accompanying pins (also from Lowe’s) –

– and laid it out across the bed to even further prevent weeds and vines.

After laying the fabric, we topped it off with the gravel.  Chad found an unexpected good deal on reclaimed stone from a flat-roofed building at Grass Roots Landscaping outside Harrisonburg.  It turned out to have a little dirt in it, but otherwise was exactly what we wanted.

(Please note: Chad’s brother, Daniel, is in the process of moving in with us!  He brought a bed, clothes, and…”road” tires for the ‘Stang.  Not entirely sure what that means, but they totally work with our decor).

FINALLY, we were going to plant these dang boxwoods.  Same process applied for this step as with the one before: level with a rake, plant the boxwoods, cover with landscaping fabric, top with mulch.

We measured to allow for the average maximum diameter of 3 to 5 feet – we’re hoping eventually the line of individual plants will merge into a stately hedge.

Bring in the mulch!

And (drumroll, please)…..

Fewer bugs, less poison ivy, and a little easier on the eyes.

Now, let the sun shine – we’ll provide the daily 25 gallons of water from the spigot across the yard!