Bark-a-thon

July 27th

Summer gardening often means putting bark on the garden - either new or "refreshing" an existing covering. The bark is somewhat succesful at controlling weeds, and much more effective to retain moisture in the soil, thus reducing summer watering needs.

Pile of red bark on driveway

The bark arrives - another 10 cubic yards (9 cubic metres or so). Not all for me, I should add. My neighbours Denny Deal and Jim White also took some!

Passage between house and fence with bare ground

For one reason or another, the west side of my home was never barked. It always seemed to slip through the cracks somewhere. But finally it made it on the plan of action. This is the scene before, but AFTER the grass and weeds had been demolished/removed. The green things in the ground are the enclosures for the control valves for the irrigation/sprinkler system.

Passage between house and fence with bark

The finished product, which looks much nicer. I have since planted a pair of Russian Laurel trees, adjacent to the windows, to provide a little privacy between my neighbours and me.