Backyard rock wall and planting bed.

I am about 90% done with the back rockwall and raised bed.  I need to add 1/2" river rock to the crevases between the boulders to give the wall a smooth finished look, but the structure it self is done.  I estimate that I used close to 20 yards of scrapings from gardenville to fill it in.  You can also see that my grass is all but gone.  I plan on re-sodding in spring, once I have all hardscape completed.  

From the aerial view you can see the two trees in the center of the frame.  I did not want to bury these trees so I created a little "cut-out" of the bed.  I did the same for the group of trees on the far left (almost out of view.)  Once I stood back and examined it I realizied that I could "connect" the two cut-outs, by contuining the rock on the oposite side of the fence.  This gives the apearance of the straight fence cutting through the flowing bed and really breaks up the straight lines.

You will also see that I am going to create a stepping stone path through this bed.  This will actually connect to my gravel paths thus creating a full loop for stroling the garden.

The big wide open space on the far lef side of the bed (in front of the privacy fence) is where we are going to create a play ground for the kids.

Night Time in the Garden

There is a full moon out tonight and it is perfectly framed within the arbor.  I only wish I had a better camera to capture the sight.  The lighting in the garden gives off a romantic glow, which fits perfectly on this autumn night.  I could sit out here for hours, watching the wildlife.  The garden is a different ecosystem at night.  The birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and squirrels that roam during the day have been replaced with bats, owls, deer, skunks, opossums, and raccoons.  The waterfalls seem much louder and the whole area seems alive.     

Backyard Raised Bed...Before and After

Here are the before and after pics of the raised planting bed and retaining wall.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.

As you can see, the wall is aprox 1.5 feet tall and filled in with 1 cubic yard of "scrappings" soil from gardenville.  I will eventually fill in this bed with plant material including, trailing rosemary, lantana, Bi-colored iris, society garlic and Indian Hawthorne.