RE: [gardeners] Opinions please

Terry King (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sun, 26 Aug 2001 09:13:55 -0700 

Well, I can't honestly claim lack of geometric sense but I can claim lack of
geometric skill. After looking at it again I think I can tweak it in a
couple of places to round it out a bit more without too much work.  I
wouldn't be too concerned except I did do a small round one only about 20'
away that I did manage to get fairly circular.

Terry

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-gardeners@globalgarden.com
> [mailto:owner-gardeners@globalgarden.com]On Behalf Of George Shirley
> Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 8:27 AM
> To: gardeners@globalgarden.com
> Subject: Re: [gardeners] Opinions please
>
>
> 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.
>