I know I continue to be slow on the blog posts, but life just isn’t slowing down enough for me to get to them like I used to! But with the cooler weather, I’m at least making sure to spend time outdoors, making progress on the garden when I can. Luckily, lots of wildlife and the dogs have been happily keeping me company. But this post isn’t about them!
I’ve long wanted a pathway that winds around the back of the backyard. But a path 66 yards long — 200 feet — was a daunting endeavor. I worried about effort and cost and time, and as such kept putting it off, but as it turns out, the new pathway was a relative breeze.
To build the pathway, I used materials I had on hand. It was a perfect use of the remaining cubic yards of single-grind mulch I bought late last spring. I also took some cedar posts I’d intended for a different project and lined them up end-to-end to form the pathway borders.
To prep, the boys and I did a little weeding in the pathway area, taking the time to transplant precious natives we wanted to keep, including Meadow Sedges and an Alamo Vine that had sprung up on their own.
The boys created little sedge gardens in areas formerly empty, and some earned names such as Sedge City and Sedge Metropolis.
As an added barrier to weeds, we made use of old brown cardboard boxes, one of the most useful materials ever for a sustainable garden. The boxes will break down easily over time, but they block light for a nice long time, and 3-4 inches of mulch on top is plenty to help keep weeds at bay.
The nice thing about finally having the pathway laid out is that I’ll be able to build the understory plants on either side, finally getting the attractive woodland walk I’ve always wanted. The birds and I already like it, of course, but now it’s going to get to grow even better!
Side note: I seem to be in the minority on this most of the time, but I consider scorpions to be garden friends. They play such an important role in the ecosystem — both as a very beneficial predator (keeping insect populations naturally in control) and as a food source for birds, lizards, and amphibians. I go so far these days as to gently escort any house visitor out to the backyard, but house scorpions are pretty rare these days given that they have a nice environment in the wildlife garden outside. Every once in a while, I see a scorpion under a rock while I’m gardening, but I just cover it back up and let it be. They are nocturnal, so I don’t usually run across them unless I’m turning over a rock, which I always try to lift carefully.
However, my friend Kelly doesn’t share the same feelings about scorpions. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s become a bit of a running joke whenever the boys and I run across anything scorpion-related that we should get it for Kelly (but we don’t for fear that she never talks to us again). But yesterday Kelly delivered some spare boxes for me to use in the new pathway, and they came with a surprise. Our afternoon conversation went like this:
Meredith: This morning I was working with the boxes you dropped off. You were most likely unaware of it, but you delivered to us a big a–ed scorpion in those boxes.
Kelly: ok, that’s not funny
I’m going to assume it crawled in after I set them by the tree
Meredith: Well, you can think that…. All I can say is that it seemed happy to get out of the box and crawl off into the back woods.
Kelly: srsly – NOT FUNNY
Meredith: And it was definitely the largest scorpion I’ve seen in a long time. You grow them well, Kelly!
Kelly: now I have to go have Darin sterilize the van
nope nope nope nope nope
Meredith: On the plus side, your boxes helped me get to a great stopping spot on the back pathway. Just before the weeds got dense. Thanks again.
Kelly: http://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/4/25/beHLacCLJUGEdcoH1sW1ZQ2.gif
Meredith: hehe
If only I’d had my camera with me, I could have immortalized it for you!
Kelly: shudder
I’m never going into our garage again
Meredith: What’s funny is that as I went through them, I was thinking about how you have had Brown Recluses over there and wondered whether one would have been in the garage. So I was proceeding with caution as I opened the boxes, but when the scorpion came out, I was all “oh, hello, scorpion.”
Kelly: and I’d have been “oh hello brown recluse” and smash smash smash on the scorpion
ok, actually “RUN AWAY” on the scorpion…
Meredith: And yet the brown recluse is so much more dangerous! Your priorities, Kelly….
Kelly: my phobias have their own priorities
Somehow I think that is one lucky scorpion to have made it down to our garden…. Note: the above photo was taken earlier this year, at another location. Clearly I need to get a photo of one of our special backyard buddies!
Looking good Meredith!
Thanks, Cheryl! It’s so nice to have accomplished something. Almost. Just need to get a few more cedar posts.
LOVE it! Good choice.
I got caught on captcha the first time so just made a short response. Really, this is just fabulous! I’ve used the cardboard/newspaper trick myself to create our little woodsy path and the sunny “prairie.” The wildlife will love this as much as I do. And I really like that your boys are naming spots: makes the garden so connected to us. I also applaud you for creating a park-like trail right at home!
Linda, our backyard is so large that it helps me to define walkways and sections. Otherwise, it just feels chaotic. That back area has been left on its own for a long time — though some of the seeds I’ve distributed have been germinating! Pigeonberry and Tropical Sage, Frostweed as well — they are all growing nicely. Thanks for your comment, Linda!
Love the new path!
Katina, thanks! I hope you’ll be able to see it at the go-go in October.
Oh, how I wish I could have scorpions as backyard friends… I’m a scorpio myself, so I like most arachnids. ^w^;
Poor Kelly, that sounds exactly how I am with my sister about spiders. I’ll say things like “they hide behind your steering wheel” and she’ll threaten not to drive for awhile. Hee hee!
But beautiful post! I can’t wait to see the wild understory take shape!
No scorpions up your way, Donna? One of these days I’m going to do a blacklight experiment at night to go out and count scorpions in the backyard. Not sure I should do a post about that, though — I might not ever get anyone to visit again!
That is going to be a wonderful addition to your garden. Now you’ll have both the hard-scape organization and a very natural looking path. Looking forward after you have your plantings around it. Hope you create some blind spots with plantings to encourage exploration.
Bit by bit, I’ll have new plants in place. I don’t want to rush it, but just let it develop somewhat naturally, with a nudge from me as I get inspired.
I like the idea for your woodland path winding between the trees. The wood mulch makes a very natural looking surface to suit the site. It will be a lot of fun to plant the rest of the beds along the sides of the path, like a forest floor.
Thanks, Northern Shade! You know exactly what I’m going for!
I love scorpions! From a distance, of course, but they are so beautiful. I once spotted a scorpion that looked like it was wearing a fur coat, and the “fur” turned out to be hordes of infinitesimal babies hanging on to Mom’s back.
I have yet to see baby scorpions on the back of their momma, but one of these days I’m sure to run across it. Hopefully I’ll have a camera accessible!
Hi, do you have a good source for the cedar posts and single grind mulch? It looks great and I would love to do something similar. Thanks!
Hi, Kim. I bought the cedar from Myers in the Lampasas area. A bit of a drive, but we needed a lot. If you are closer to the south/west, you might consider the Johnson City area — I believe they have at least a couple of cedar yards. I haven’t found a good source in town that has reasonable prices, but I’m always on the lookout! The single-grind mulch I got from Organics by Gosh — we had it delivered. I hope that helps! Good luck, and I hope you’ll send me pictures! Soon I’ll post pics of the new arbor we made with cedar — it opens the path to the woodland area now. Meredith