My front yard was graced (if you want to call it that) by a crumbling brick retaining wall. The wall had no seep holes, which meant that it was gradually being weakened by moisture.
Time to tear down the wall.
I wanted replace the old wall with something more attractive. Since I’m a member of the Watershed Management Group’s Water Harvesting Co-op, I had a great opportunity to enlist others in working and learning project.
WMG’s Matthew Bertrand and I formulated a plan: We’d replace the wall with a rock garden full of low water use plants. (The new plants would fill in the outermost zone of my xeriscape, which is the arid zone. The other two zones are oais, which is closest to the house, and transitional, between the oasis and the arid zone.)
Here’s Matthew, hard at work during our pre-workshop meeting. He’s removing one of three barrel cactii that will be re-planted in the rock garden…
Then it was wall demolition time. Here’s Li’l John Excavating on the job. And let me tell you, the demolition was so well done that it was like watching a ballet dance with a backhoe…
Workshop day, Sunday, October 25, dawned bright and sunny. Soon, my front yard was filled with eager WMG Co-op members.
The first order of business was moving rocks and rubble out of the way so that the crew could get to work. Then they set about removing the few bricks that the backhoe couldn’t get at…
On the other side of the yard, Judy cuts down a mesquite tree that’s never done very well. The tree has since been reused as mulch and firewood…
Time to start building the rock terrace for the garden. WMG’s workshop leader, Matthew Bertrand (kneeling, left), provides some instruction…
Having been properly instructed, the WMG Co-opers set rocks into place and begin the planting…
All done! Time for a victory photo…
