Want to see pictures of my mossy block garden on a foggy morning?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I live on a section of a former dairy farm. The 'old' barn/milk-house was destroyed long before we bought the property in 1994, but the poured concrete base remains. When I started cleaning up the old barn site all the concrete blocks and cinder blocks, along with a huge tree stump and a pile of dirt, had been pushed onto the poured concrete, and large pieces of concrete, which had been poured over large gravel, covered the pile of blocks and dirt.

I hauled most of the dirt and layers of leaf debris to my vegetable garden and broke up the large concrete pieces to use as rip-rap in my pond spillway. The blocks were stacked up like Lego pieces for stability, but I made no effort to make them level. Because brush and small trees (and poison ivy) had grown between the blocks, some were already covered in moss. I found other varieties of moss on my sister's property and in a friend's yard. Almost everywhere I went I asked for moss if I spied some, and everyone seemed happy to donate to the cause.

It kind of reminds me of an ancient ruin, but I couldn't resist adding a certain number of kitschy items and some solar lights. This is the concrete pad, cracked from seedlings pushing their roots into any available crevice, and sloped at the front for drainage. The stacked wood is from trees which were growing in cracks in the concrete.

mama goose_gw zn6OH
Original Author

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Shrouded in fog:

Volunteer trash tree--a box elder which reminds me of the apple-throwing trees in the Wizard of OZ:

The base of the tall 'mushroom' in the middle is a box elder stump. You can see the roots which had spread in search of water. The tiny concrete mushroom in the lower right was a gift from my late sister:

Grandson's portal to ... somewhere. Really an old wagon wheel missing its spokes, guarded by friendly gnomes. The box elder on the right and the wild cherry on the left came up between tumbled blocks so I left them for shade:

I left a small mound of dirt and a piece of the old stump:

The back side of the stump. I'd love to plant hostas here, but I know it would be an invitation to the deer--I'll have to settle for heuchera, Canadian ginger, and violets:

The bird houses belonged to my late mother. When her house was sold, I brought them to my block garden, where they look as if they are climbing the tulip tree.

Fire circle--under the firewood is the stump of a wild cherry tree.

Twigs I picked up this spring, awaiting a trip to the burn pile on the other side of the creek:

An old bird nest, with pebble eggs:

A cow bone rodents have been gnawing for calcium:

A row of stones which remind me of potatoes:

Concrete mushroom top--bottom of a piece of concrete which was poured over large gravel and rocks:

Photobombed by my cat, Gargoyle:

Yes, I am Queen of this domain:

More stumps with concrete mushroom tops:

Some of the blocks were still held together by mortar and were really heavy. When I find an interesting rock or other object I add it to the pile:

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Comments (9)

S Wang
3 years ago
very mysterious and beautiful!
mama goose_gw zn6OH thanked S Wang
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mama goose_gw zn6OH
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Thank you, S Wang. :)

A few more pics. A Hobbit house in an old stump. Actually, a ground hog has moved in and burrowed under one of the large roots:

I cut the top off a walnut sapling (it was too close to a larger walnut tree), and added a bird house. Tree swallows have taken up residence:

More stump mushrooms. The neighbor keeps cattle on the adjoining property, hence the barbed wire and electric fencing:

Grapevine swing:

Nearby creek. There is a remnant of a cracked concrete pad under the vegetation, surrounded by volunteer saplings. I don't know what it was used for:

View from the upper creek:

'New' barn with buttery on the North side, equipment lean-to on the West:
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
3 years ago
All very nice pix. Thanks.

tj
mama goose_gw zn6OH thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
3 years ago
It's more than making lemonade from lemons. It's much more than repurpose. Taking what you have and making the most of it rather than dumping it in a landfill. This is truly magical!

I love the moss. Easier to accumulate in OH than CO. I'm green with envy!
mama goose_gw zn6OH thanked popmama (Colorado, USDA z5)
mama goose_gw zn6OH
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you, tsugajunkie and popmama. My daughter took pictures before the clean-up started in Fall of 2020, so if she can find them in her files, I'll add them for context.

popmama, I used to live in Grand Junction. We moved (back) to Ohio when my older daughter was 5, and I remember when she woke up and looked around her in western KY she asked why there was grass everywhere!

One of my fondest memories of CO was visiting an old quarry in Marble. It was a rare cloudy, misty day in Spring, and the large marble blocks also reminded me of ancient ruins.
KW PNW Z8
3 years ago
@mama goose_gw zn6OH What a fantastic ethereal fairyland garden spot you’ve created. Thank you for sharing!
mama goose_gw zn6OH thanked KW PNW Z8
chamaegardener (Z5) Northeast Illinois
3 years ago
You really made some nice lemonade.
mama goose_gw zn6OH thanked chamaegardener (Z5) Northeast Illinois
mama goose_gw zn6OH
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you, KW and chamaegardener. We've been having some brutally hot and muggy days, so my shady block garden is a great place to take a break from yard and vegetable garden work.