New look grow beds and benches

[alpineart]

This has been a test of my sanity , unfortunately its too late to turn back now .

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While they are only basically laid and no where near completion , another 35 meters required to link the stairs to the lower retaining wall . Pointing up will have to wait as there is countless metres to go around the front as well depending on my state of mind body and soul over the coming months .

The stair and retainer wall tops will make good rustic grow/display benches for the potted tree's . Well over to 6 tonnes of rock and 10 tonnes of concrete has been laid to date with another 35-50 tonnes to go . This will increase the grow bed area 2 fold and save the potted tree's from the radiant heat from the front of the house .

The new terraces should give the larger plants plenty of room to spread their roots over the coming seasons as they are competing with each other in the original beds .

Cheers . Alpineart

[Isitangus]

Very nice, are you doing the all of work yourself?

[klaery]

You are mad but it looks great Nice work.

[raewynk]

Big fan of stone work.
Awesome, I can visualise all the bonsai's down the wall potted up. All the stock planted in the beds.
And the fav's sitting on the walls of the beds.

Very nice going.
Can't wait to see it all planted up.

Regards
Rae

[Boics]

Looks great Alpine!
Do you ever stop!?

[matty-j]

Very sharp alpine!

As a stonemason my self, I appreciate the time and effort that has gone into making these walls!
the batter and curve on the stairs work so well, very impressed!

Cheers
Matt

[Josh]

Very nice mate. Looks awesome. There's some work in there.

Josh.

[Andrew Legg]

Very cool mate!

[Guy]

good work--- that's how to turn a useless slope into something really nice---as a brickie -stonemason as well--(matty-j) very impressed---my knees and back ache just looking at the amount of work there.

[alpineart]

Hi Fellas , this has been on the cards for quite a few years , well since i broke my leg . The original 5 steps were thrown in when i first purchased the place and were damn rough , basically the hand made slabs dug into the bank . Found it difficult to get up and down so i add a few extra steps and a solid wall to hang onto .

Its hard to find good help up here , my 11 yo son was a labourer for a week over the holidays , one of those "Eddie the Experts" at laying stone , labouring , mixing concrete type of young fellas , never done it in his life though . He was very helpful and earned some very good dollars for his efforts and willing to learn the hard way , got a better bank balance out of it than me , mine went down his went up .

With 3 years of taking it easy while healing , there's no time to sit idle and watch the world go by . May not be a stone mason but i'm willing to give anything a go , thanks for the positive feedback .A block wall rendered would have done the job but the character wouldn't have been there , been a lot less labour intensive .

I desperately need of some good soil to fill the new beds with , so I'm resting up before getting back to having rocks in my head , digging the beds and lifting the stock out for a play .

Cheers Guys . Alpine

[Raymond]

[Meagi]

Hi Alpine
Always a work of art at alpineart.Great staircase love it.

[alpineart]

Hi Raymond i like it too mate .

Hi Meagi , Karen is stoked after climbing the old steps for so many years and expecting a liger snake to grab her on the foot , no where for the buggers to hide in this set . Its now stacked full of bonsai so i can get on with the next section of retaining wall .

Cheers Guys . Alpine

[rodm]

Absolately awesome
Cheers Rod

[Bougy Fan]

Very impressive Ian - I am amazed at how much work you get done around your place. Does the amount of work you have done reflect in the quality of trees ? You must have some rippers