Re: [gardeners] Opinions please
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 26 Aug 2001 10:27:23 -0500
Over the years we've had oval, round, square, rectangular, triangular, heart-shaped, kidney-shaped
and even one that looked like a head with ears sticking out. Some folks thought they were weird,
others liked them, we liked them or wouldn't have built them. Nowadays all of our beds are square or
rectangular except for the half round one at the base of the white oak in the front yard, the other
half would have been in the neighbors yard is the only reason it isn't round.
What I'm getting at is that you're the one to please with the shape of your bed. Slightly irregular
round can be put down to a lack of geometrical sense. <VBG>
George
Terry King wrote:
>
> When building a new bed do you prefer symmetrical geometric shapes or
> freestyle or do you do a mix of both?
>
> I ask because earlier this year I tried a new technique to build a bed. Its
> called Lasagna gardening (yes a Rodale Press book which I am regretting to a
> certain extent every time I go to the mail box). Basically it is building a
> bed by sheet composting and planting immediately. So far it seems to be
> working fairly well with a few caveats. One being that the book advised
> laying thick layers of newspaper or cardboard on top of unbroken sod. This
> does work well unless you have quackgrass, thistles, dandelions or any other
> impossible to deter perennial weeds growing where you want the new bed.
>
> Anyway, I built a bed around the base of a Larch tree that grows in my lawn.
> The dogs were always digging dust hovels there and the grass didn't grow
> well because the trees sucks up so much moisture. I slapped the bed
> together in spare moments when I wasn't going to school. I'm afraid I
> wasn't as careful to shape as I should have been and the circle around the
> tree isn't a completely round circle. Its approximately 50' in
> circumference and more of a rounded heart shape, without the extreme dip the
> top of a heart shape has, than circular. I am currently putting in a mow
> strip of 8x16 red patio blocks and white sand to match the mow strips on my
> other beds. My other beds are more regular geometric shapes, mostly
> straight sides and rounded corners.
>
> Since the bed is raised, I will finish it off by laying our native rock (a
> mix if river rock and field stones) up the sloped edges of the bed inside
> the mow strip.
>
> I can't decide if should leave the new bed the irregular shape or to do the
> work to round it out? I don't think it looks too bad the way it is but I'm
> wondering what other people's perceptions are about an irregular bed in a
> garden when the other beds are more regular geometrically? My yard is not
> formal by any means, it's more rustic with enough geometry to look organized
> and tidy, or at least I hope so. :-D
>
> Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
> Terry
> E. WA.