Nova bonsai garden

[ChefB]

Same with me when I moved away from New Orleans 27 years ago, where we were living wasn't a safe area at all and we didn't have much, but part of me will always miss New Orleans, its in my blood.

So you know what it means…

 

[irvinlamar]

So the deal is done and I’m relocating from Houston to Virginia. It’s a beautiful piece of property about halfway between Front Royal and Warrenton. Best of all - I’ve claimed a pasture for my garden! It’s going to be a journey - I’ve got a well to drill, a greenhouse and a cold frame to put up, a barn to build and a bunch of trees to relocate. So I’m making a little thread to document my journey. It’s exciting for me and I thought that perhaps there is interest in following the construction of a garden from a pasture. So I’ll record all my trials and tribulations here.

Here’s a picture of the pasture when I flew my drone over it back in the summer. The elevation is about 660’. There’s a small stream that runs through the woods bordering the property to the NW. The pasture consists of rolling hills - it’s been in hay and cattle primarily for many years.

View attachment 413698

Noice!!! Gongrats!

 

[Wood]

Did you do anything particular to try and keep the footers level with each other?

 

[Hartinez]

Did you do anything particular to try and keep the footers level with each other?

I’m willing to bet, either @markyscott or the concrete contractor used a laser leveling device. Similar to what land surveyors use.

 

[markyscott]

Did you do anything particular to try and keep the footers level with each other?

I’m willing to bet, either @markyscott or the concrete contractor used a laser leveling device. Similar to what land surveyors use.

That’s exactly it. I dug 30” footers with an auger on the tractor and placed 16” square forms made out of 2x6’s on the top of the holes. Referencing of the highest form, I leveled all of the remaining forms with a laser level. Getting everything square and level took quite a bit of time for a novice like me. A friend helped me pour the concrete with a mixer attached to the front of his skid steer. It took a pallet and a half of concrete bags to fill all the holes. Once the forms were all leveled, the concrete pour went pretty quickly. Although it made a pretty big mess of my clothes. Lol

 

[Hartinez]

That’s exactly it. I dug 30” footers with an auger on the tractor and placed 16” square forms made out of 2x6’s on the top of the holes. Referencing of the highest form, I leveled all of the remaining forms with a laser level. Getting everything square and level took quite a bit of time for a novice like me. A friend helped me pour the concrete with a mixer attached to the front of his skid steer. It took a pallet and a half of concrete bags to fill all the holes. Once the forms were all leveled, the concrete pour went pretty quickly. Although it made a pretty big mess of my clothes. Lol

You did a great job with it! The entire garden really. It’s been a pleasure to watch the process.

Back when I still worked construction, the contractor I worked for built a lot of houses with ICF (insulated concrete forms). Basically life size Lego blocks of rigid foam that are stacked and filled with pumped concrete. I have never left a job site messier than when we had a full day of pouring concrete. Total mess.

 

[markyscott]

Hay cutting today.

 

[markyscott]

Stone retaining wall is done - it’s beautiful. Those guys are artists.

 

[markyscott]

Shade structure is going up.

 

[HENDO]

Stone retaining wall is done - it’s beautiful. Those guys are artists.

That's an amazing stone bonsai bench you've built there Scott!

 

[markyscott]

Also - some Eastern Phoebe’s have set up house under the eave. They’re about to fledge. Pretty cool.

 

[markyscott]

Thanks to some help from my daughter and John Deere, the shade structure is up.

 

[rustygarden]

Thanks to some help from my daughter and John Deere, the shade structure is up.

View attachment 499487View attachment 499489View attachment 499488

You really need to up your beer game lol . Looks great.

 

[pandacular]

You really need to up your beer game lol

Clearly he's spending his money on what really matters.

 

[Carol 83]

You really need to up your beer game lol . Looks great.

Nothing at all wrong with his beer game! @markyscott, looking good.

 

[markyscott]

Shade cloth is up! I moved all the Japanese maples under the pergola

 

[PerryB]

Those Simpson post connectors are a game changer when building a structure like that!

 

[markyscott]

End of a bad storm on the farm. Most everything was tied down, but a couple that I didn’t secure well got blown off the bench. No damage. Power out for almost 24 hours. Couple of major limbs down on an old Siberian elm at the cottage.

 

[Carol 83]

End of a bad storm on the farm. Most everything was tied down, but a couple that I didn’t secure well got blown off the bench. No damage. Power out for almost 24 hours. Couple of major limbs down on an old Siberian elm at the cottage.View attachment 502159

Glad you didn't have any damage. Now you just have to go look for that pot of gold....

 

[markyscott]

Clear night at the garden.