Monthly Archives: May 2009

Step 2 – Garden Excavation Starts the Project

The Garden Artist Posted on by

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 2 of Rear Garden Design Project.

On March 25, 2000 we began the excavation of the rear garden in order to add the back door entrance to the guest room addition to our home. When you first see a bobcat drive into your garden that you’ve been carefully planting and weeding over the course of 10 years it is really startling.

It was strange to see such a big bobcat driving into my precious garden
Frank Falino our Architect overseeing the bobcat excavation

The bobcat continued for hours digging down and removing the soil surrounding the rear foundation of our home. The soil in the top foot or two was good quality planting material but as they dug deeper, the quality of soil deteriorated to contractors fill which was disappointing since I was using it to build up other parts of my garden.

Dennis George watching as the project evolves
Dennis George watching as the project evolves

There is something about power equipment that mesmerizes people. As time passed, the groups standing watch at this loud and violent-like event grew. The whirring and burring of the machinery echoed disconcertedly through the woods

The mesmerizing sound of power tools
The mesmerizing sound of power tools

The saws used to cut through the concrete squealed with high ear splitting intensity while spewing clouds of dust both in and out of our home.

Within days we had a brand new back entrance to our home
Within days we had a brand new back entrance to our home

We had our back door and new full size windows looking out on our garden brightening the rooms planned for our new guest quarters. Both the inside and outside spaces were forever changed and our home felt so much larger.

So where did the excavated soil disappear to? Whenever you are moving soil on landscape design projects you need to consider where the soil is coming from and also where is it going.

The red arrow marks some of the berm we had built as a buffer to the street
The red arrow marks some of the berm we built as a buffer to the street

Part of my plan was to use the soil to create berms on the outside perimeter of the property close to the somewhat busy street running along the back of our home. The natural slope of the land scooped towards the street but the berms created an upswing and a visual and sound buffer useful for planting.

Unfortunately the better soil was at the bottom of the piles with the filler soil on top, reversing how it was excavated. I’ve been enhancing that soil for years now.

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Go to Step 3 – After Destruction Comes Construction

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Step 1 – Sometimes Garden Projects Take a Long Time

The Garden Artist Posted on by

Step 1 of Rear Garden Design Project.

In 1989 I bought my home in Northport Long Island NY. A cute little two-bedroom cape but I really bought it for the garden. It had a good skeletal structure. The property is triangular, set on a corner at a point of two (actually three) converging streets. That the perimeter is not rectangular adds to the illusion that the area is greater then its actual half-acre on the tax code.

The original rear garden in February 1989
The original rear garden in February 1989

The original garden behind the house was merely a worn path skirting a slight mound of earth leading to the rear foundation. The foundation planting consisted of two Euonymus alatus shrubs perched on each outside corner.

In 2000 after looking around for a new home in the area which my new husband Dave and I could share together,  we decided to stay on this little piece of earth and build a home specific to our evolving needs. One of the main reasons for staying was my love of the garden I’d worked on for a decade and the vision I’d been working towards.

Small basement windows in the rear of house in 2000
Small basement windows in the rear of house in 2000

In March of 2000 we began to break ground on what was to be a momentous change in our lives. We were gutting the entire house and rebuilding the interior into three floors. The rear of our home was to become the guest room entrance for the finished lower level which we were adding to the existing structure. The tiny basement windows would be replaced and the entire rear mound would be excavated to create a grand entrance.

View of rear garden looking north in 2000
View of rear garden looking north in 2000

The modest little bluestone path was to be replaced by a walkway leading to a Japanese inspired bridge, dry stream bed and planting terraces.

My drawing of the project as I envisioned it in 2000
My drawing of the project as I envisioned it in 2000

As part of my degree in Landscape Design at Farmingdale I designed and drew the plans for this project. It entailed moving water lines, electrical work and ensuring proper drainage management. Pretty complex and really creative.

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Go to Step 2 – Garden Excavation Starts the Project

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