Wishing for Decomposed Granite

I thought I might get some decomposed granite for my backyard this weekend, but the weekend is shaping up to be too busy already -- and if I were honest with myself I'd admit that shoveling granite probably wouldn't be the best thing I could do with my (healing) sprained ankle.  But I really want the granite project underway.  Really.


Here's the general look that I'm going for:

My main purpose is to cover up dirt soil* until I can landscape everywhere. I remain thrilled to have all the grass gone out of my backyard, but am less thrilled when the soil becomes mud when it rains. I am not over the moon happy with the few paths I put in (cedar mulch over weed stop fabric) so I'll pull those up and redistribute the mulch into beds. I think the granite will provide a more cohesive look, and for the most part negate the need for paths.



I did make a couple of phone calls to suppliers about price and how far a cubic yard would go -- and did some rough calculations of how much space I have to cover. I think I need about 2 cubic yards, maybe a little more. I'm told one cubic yard of decomposed granite will cover 300 sq. ft. 1 inch deep (or 600 sq. ft. 1/2 inch deep -- look at me, doing math) I think something between 1/2 inch and 1 inch deep will serve my purpose.

Which brings me to a c-c-c-catch 22. The minimum delivery is 4 yards. The amount you can put in a back of a regular pick up truck is about half a yard, because it's so heavy. So, I can get 4 yards delivered and have nearly twice as much as I need (obviously foolish -- won't be doing that) or I can make 4-5 trips in a pick up truck. Ugh. But, as Red pointed out, the good news about that method is that by hauling 1/2 a yard at a time, I won't end up with more than I need. It's a lot of trips though. Maybe I can re-frame the driving time as labor breaks?  I am also going to check into truck rental at Home Depot -- maybe they have a larger payload than a personal pick up truck.

* Soil or dirt?  "Dirt" has sort of a negative connotation, doesn't it?  And "soil" seems more respectful and attended to.  Because I plant plants in it, and I want to nurture those plants, its better to project that I'm planting them into soil, not just sticking them in the dirt. 

Well, here they come

That's the end of my alley.  I dog walked down there via the street, and here's what's behind that equipment:

They have already made one pass through the alley -- there goes my weed stop fabric...

I am trying to be grown up about it, and to remember that it is an asset to my house to have new sewer pipes and drainage pipes, even though I have no idea what they are draining...  but it's challenging.  I was out doing yoga in the back this morning and my solitude was abruptly interrupted with that loud beeping noise that trucks make when they back up, and that was accompanied by a lot of men's voices.  Ah.  Time to pack it up and go inside.

Last evening I dug up about a dozen little yellow wildflower plants out of the alley and transplanted them into a flower bed near the fence.  It looked like I got all of the main tap roots without damage, but I'm not sure they will make it.  But gosh if they came up from last year in mostly crummy soil with almost no water, they surely ought to thrive in their new location!

I had a big piece of flagstone outside my gate in the alley, and I moved that to inside the gate as well.  Sort of like pulling in your welcome mat... 

In the spirit of optimism, I am day dreaming about what to do/plant in the alley this Fall when they are done.  I may or may not put weed stop fabric down again.  Scattering seed would be the most economical, but what type of seed?  (Just had a horrid thought -- certainly they won't PAVE the alley when they are done, will they?!)  I would love a big field of mint, but it would get expensive pretty fast.  I wonder if mint grows from seed....?  Hmmmm...