It sounds great Linnea, I have some cement work I want to get at and will keep your technique in mind. I hope you come back with more comments and photos.
GH-

Sounds terrific. I agree with GH...lets see some pix.

Yes please..some pictures.

Hi folks,
I got about 15' done today. A few things: I got stingier with the mix
toward the end (90 and full sun, wheelbarrow:), so I used more rubble
in the bottom. I know there are some air pockets in there, those may
compromise the strength when it freezes, so I'll be more careful with that
for the rest of it (and, drag out the old mixer and see what it needs this year!)

The other thing I kept wishing I'd done, is keep a small tub of dry
portland/sand ONLY, at hand for brushing in over the top at the end.
Other than that, and no rain, it seems to work fine. I'll check the curing tomorrow.

Here's a pic of the first couple of feet. The trowel proved unneccessry.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Here's one of as far as I got today.
I like the finished but not manicured look,
reminds me of some old European villages,
before they got "chic".

Here is a link that might be useful:

I have been making garden borders with my concrete "stones"... the look is quaint. I really love the look of your borders. It pains me that we have no rocks here, but now you have got me thinkin....I am going to have to go back and reread how you did it. I definately am going to try that on one of my borderless beds. Thanks for sharing...Adele

Adele, with all the construction going on in NC (you can barely get through
Greensboro on 85!) there must be a place where they're excavating and you could
go pick up some stone?
(Maybe you're far from all that?)
If not, concrete IS stone, manmade limestone.
Using what you've got is such satisfaction, not to mention cheap!

Great idea! And in my opinion it looks fantastic.

Monday..
didn't get to do any more. Seems good and firm though.

The mixer needs a new motor, heigh-ho. Hope it's cheaper than a new mixer.
Then I'm putting this stuff everywhere!
I have a lot of stones set in stone dust. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
You can't see them for weeds!
Never setting stone in anything but concrete from now on!

Linnea, I used your method to "mosaic" large stones around my mailbox post to prevent the mower from banging into the post and to give a neater appearance. It works great--no weeds between the stones and no plants to die from the salt in winter.

I also did a mower strip along a daylily bed, without digging as far down as you did (I am inherently lazy), just dug flat rocks so they lay flush with the soil, lifted them, poured a base of cement and twisted them back into position. Result? No weeds between the stones.

Here's my more artistic rendition of a cement mower strip:
{{gwi:71214}}
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linnea, that looks great! thanks for sharing - weeds beware!

Hi Dianne!
The pictures are not from your Daylily bed, right?
They are your accumulated leftover concrete patties I've admired before?
Do you have a picture of the twisted into place ones? I'd like to see those.

As for the digging, I dug the edges last year and wanted a year to be sure
just where I wanted them. That decided, my daughter's Beau dug them deeper,
nothing like a bit of brawn to dig around here!

Crazy week at the factory.
Tomorrow I get to really do it, mixer fixed!

Kimmiesophie and Myloki, thanks for the compliments!

I have thought of this idea you have for several years but never saw it done anywhere. now I am giving it serious thought and want to seem more on this topic.
Keep us posted.
Thanks Aline

linnea2, what a very beautiful job you did with the rocks and concrete. Very nice work!
In the 'First Day' picture, there is something in the background that resembles an umbrella apparatus. It looks really cool, did you make that? Would you share how if you did?
Thanks,
Marci

linnea, Your gardens are WONDERFUL and the edging does indeed make them look fabulously elegant and European! Perfect in fact with the house!
I am curious about the structure in the garden that looks like it is made from rattan. Am I misjudging the size or is it a gazebo for the leprechauns (or menehune as they are known in Hawaii)?
Dian, you handiwork is lovely, too
spiderwoman

Marci and Spiderwoman, the "mushrooms" are old Papasan chairs,
seats turned upside down and resting on wood-slat triangles held together
with cable ties. They sit on half barrels and those sit on manhole covers
accessing septic tanks. If it weren't for the manholes, I'd cover them with
wire lath and concrete before they bust. One did.
Sometimes I wish I didn't hate working with fiberglass!

I've got 40 feet of edging now and hope to finish that bed tomorrow
and take some pics. The mixer helps my achy shoulder, but doesn't really
speed it up. More stuff to put away, cover up, etc.

Aline, after a day doing this, typing's about all I'm good for. So I'll keep posting
if you can stand it. Hope to have a "depth test" report tomorrow.

Ok, tried the depth test.
I couldn't get very deep and after a while I felt ridiculous:
This is rock hard all the way down, no way it couldn't be.
Winter will be the real test!

I did finish, here's a close-up. There's a pic of the whole thing
in the gallery.

Now, god help me, I have what seems like a great idea for paths,
but I may be too out of topic here. I should post on "Accoutrements"?

Here is a link that might be useful:

Very, very nice Linnea! I am completely impressed.

I'm doing something similar, but my dry "edging" initially is meant to keep my dog from digging under the fence with tie wire "anchors" looped over sections of the fence bottom then embedded in the dry pour every 6 inches or so. Eventually the barrier will form the foundation for a concrete rabbit frustrator. I'll be threading chicken wire under the existing fence line, bringing it up about a foot high on either side. I'll be bolting temporary 1"x12" forms through the fence, using the chicken wire as additional underpinning of the cement "frustrator." As the cement hardens to the point that the forms can be removed, but still soft enough to enhance, I'll be using a hose to create an eroded look to the cement so it doesn't look so obviously form poured.

We'll see if foot high barriers are enough to discourage the bunnies from entering the yard. I figure that if they are determined enough to burrow under the barrier then the dogs will get an extra bit of exercise and protein. If they still find a way over the barrier, then I can add more chickenwire and cement to add more vertical discouragement.

I don't figure to have this completed anytime soon, but I do hope to have the chicken wire part of the project done by the end of winter.

Did I mention that my yard is an acre in size? That's 200ft per side. Whew. Am I overly ambitious or what?

Jo

Yes Jo, 800 feet of concrete rabbit frustrator sounds like more than I could handle.
I'd be happy to let the dogs eat these rabbits from hell!
MY rabbits laugh at my dog = :o)
What is your fence made of?

linnea wrote:
Yes Jo, 800 feet of concrete rabbit frustrator sounds like more than I could handle.
I'd be happy to let the dogs eat these rabbits from hell!
MY rabbits laugh at my dog = :o)
What is your fence made of?

It's just regular horse fencing 4' high with 4 inch openings. It's pretty beat up and stretched out, especially after some of the cattle walked over (!) the fence in search of some hay I once was foolish enough to put in the yard.

My friend and I had considered refencing the whole yard, with 5' high fencing that has 2 1/2" openings, (burying 12 inches for the dog and keeping out the bigger bunnies) but it looks like the frustrator will help to keep out most all of the bunnies and keep the dog in for considerably less money, if considerably more effort. I'm going to wrap the fenceposts with something to keep them from being embedded in the concrete. That way, if we win the lottery and decide to (pay someone to) do tradional fencing with 12" buried at a later date, the fence posts will still be useable. Sigh.

Damn concrete is heavy.

I may be crazy, but at least I'm a productive lunatic.

Tah!

linnea2, nice edging, I will try your method, I really like it.
bonnie

Okay - I may NOW try something that involves concrete! I lurk every now and then (I hang out in garden junk mostly) thinking that maybe, just MAYBE one day I'll try something. This looks like it could be right up my alley - EASY!

Let me make sure that I understand though - none of this is MIXED wet before placed? It's all poured dry and THEN watered down? Tell me it can't be that easy.....

Bonnie and Fgirl,
I'd say try something small first, to get the hang of it, maybe one step somewhere?
Maybe even do it in a plastic tub, you'll get an aggregate block when cured.
You'd just have to be careful about not using too much water.
A frame or ring (bottomless tub?) on the ground or on sand might work even better.

Fgirl, everything except the big pieces is thoroughly mixed dry, then used to set
the bigger things on, and for filling in spaces between them.
Don't water it (gently, a bit at a time, with a wand) until everything is
right where you want it and swept with a soft brush until you can see
the things you want exposed.

If you're a junker, you might consider bottle bottoms, tin cans or lids,
old flatirons, canning jar lids, or other durable things you can get a lot of,
cheap or free.
I'm saving bottle caps for some smaller project.
Have FUN!

Linnea

Thanks for the clarification, tips and warning! I have rocks, rocks, rocks and more rocks in my yard! We have made 2 paths with rocks and I have a pile of MORE rocks just waiting for inspiration.

I may try an edging in my daughter's play area. I already have the trench and it's filled with rocks I let her paint. I can't keep the grass out of it so this would be a good place for an experiment. If it goes wrong - it's only a small bed and only in her play area!

What are you using the bottle caps for? I have access to gobs of bottle caps.
bonnie

Fgirl,
sounds like home, hehe, I have one garden we call the Hard Rock Cafe,
worst holes on the property. It is, however, a garden now,
with a tiny patio, concrete/iron table and chairs.
The Salvias love it, and daylilies, Belamcanda, Spurges and Daisies, etc.etc.
There's even a Birch and a Hawthorn and several dwarf evergreens.
It was a driveway. Some of it still is.

Play area path sounds great! With colored stones, cool!
Another word of warning, swinging the wand about at the end with joyful abandon,
I've several times just missed the too-near wheelbarrow with more dry mix in it!
Keep an eye on the kid.

I have no idea Bonnie. Just tiling a table with them seems too dull.
A bowling ball maybe?

I keep coming back to this posting. I love the look of your mower path but wonder if it made it through your winter okay. I'm about ready to start some paths, and if yours came through your winter without cracking, I'm going to try it.

Lmieke, the picture in the link shows a tunnel under the strip.
We walked on this little "bridge" repeatedly. No displacement or cracks
anywhere after the winter. I'm doing several hundred feet currently.
One stone (right) was knocked off by an excavator, levelling the path.
That, levelling, should have been done first, of course:o)

Here is a link that might be useful:

linnea2:

What did you do when you needed to stop for the day? I mean, how do you make a stopping point? Does your mow strip show where you stopped and started? Is there something special you did to not show a "crack" line?

Hmmm...am I explaining myself correctly?

Thanks.
Lorna

Lorna, this picture shows where I stopped that day.
I just "plug" the trench with one of the bigger stones,
sometimes propping it from the empty side.
There was no erosion when I watered, it doesn't even
have to be a tight fit.
Layers overlapping shouldn't matter either, I can't see
where I stopped when it's finished.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you, so much, for following up. This has got to be the ideal way to make mower strips and paths and I'm ready to get started! Your pics helped a great deal. I hope mine will look half as good.
Linda

You're welcome Linda.
Here's that area almost finished. We're doing a lot of other stuff
while it rains (three days out of four) so progress is slow.
We were actually interrupted by a sudden rain storm in the middle
of the left strip in the link. All dry mix hastily conveyed indoors,
wheelbarrow and all
and I covered the watered, but not yet set strip with cardboard boxes.
No problem, just a bit hectic, which is exatly what this method never is,
normally.
This area is called the Magenta ghetto.

Here is a link that might be useful:

If that picture isn't enough to inspire someone, I don't know what would! Absolutely gorgeous!
Linda

I am glad I found this! Thanks! DH hates mowing around my stuff, it usually ends up in weeds.

linnea2, are your paths still holding up? Have you tackled other projects with this dry mix method? I planned to do paths that summer of 2006, but ended up going back to our home in TX for two years. I'm back in TN now and want to try the dry mix paths, but would like to hear an update from you.
Thanks, Linda, back in TN

I too would love an update. Especially about winter wear.
kathy

Hi Linda and Kathy, just finished uploading my entire dry-mix saga on Photobucket.

Hope the link works.
Try the slide show option if it does.
I'm still using this technique all over my gardens.
I drive tractors over the edging, no sign of breaking after four winters
except an occasional edge stone coming loose, not having enough mix under it,
it's an easy fix (if you want to bother).

I've made a total of about 400 feet of edging, a path-steps going up a hillside,
many details, like the plinths for the tire pots I store hoses in,
bases for various sculptures, a lot of stuff! All dry-mix.
And I still have a big stone pile! Never ends.

STAY UPWIND! Your lungs will not be happy breathing this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dry mix saga

I absolutely love the way this looks!!! Thanks so much for sharing and the pictures say it all!!! Would love updates of those who have done this.

Linnea,
I've read your saga (and run your photobucket by a few times) with great interest.

My question is regarding the water. You said, "Until it won't absorb any more." I want to believe that's all there is to it. Does groundwater take care of the rest? Like when you set posts into the ground?

I love this look of your mower runners or whatever they are! :) And your gardens are beautiful. I have 3.5 acres I've mistakenly landscaped and must now maintain it. Edging, other than killing everything on the edges with Round-up, would be a blessing. one time and DONE!

Thanks for all your hard, clear work.