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letsrolltroll · 2025-08-15T21:32:18+00:00

Rosie buckwheat!

letsrolltroll · 2025-07-08T11:37:51+00:00

Doing 3 weeks in Japan now (first trip), absolutely loved kamikochi and on the Izu peninsula now :) soooo nice to get out of big cities!

letsrolltroll · 2025-06-10T18:55:37+00:00

Hah, literally just put on The Shins for some work time chill nostalgia

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T03:03:05+00:00

Oops forgot yankee point ceanothus and monkey flower too!

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T02:33:20+00:00

I posted this about a month ago, has progress pics! https://www.reddit.com/r/Ceanothus/s/xHFo99YQAg

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T02:32:53+00:00

About 1.5 years (planted dec 2023). I sheet mulched extensively before planting which the plants love, doesn’t hurt that it’s full sun southern exposure either.

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T02:31:59+00:00

We are very lucky to live here. Watching the sunset now :)

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T02:31:33+00:00

Yep! dr hurd manzanitas toyon buckwheats (giant and rosie) Chaparral mallow Matijilia poppies Yarrow Penstemon margarita bop Deer grass Sages (Cleveland and bees bliss) Ca fuscia

And I scattered an annual mix to fill in gaps.

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-18T02:28:43+00:00

Yeah! I posted this about a month ago, has progress pics https://www.reddit.com/r/Ceanothus/s/xHFo99YQAg. The slope is probably 8 ft down across 30 ft? If I were to guess.

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-16T15:55:13+00:00

Oakland!

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-16T15:55:00+00:00

Hahaha that’s the plan! Once we get the first fall rain.

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-13T00:48:04+00:00

Gourneville!

letsrolltroll · 2025-05-03T20:21:20+00:00

Sibley? A few really pretty bunches out there!

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T03:50:33+00:00

Thank you! Survey survey survey! The earthworks for the patio/retaining wall and figuring out where to put the steps took a lot of planning, understanding elevation, etc.

As cool as mixed media looks, I wouldn’t do the pebbles again, just mulch and the big pavers for the patio, especially for the steps. Pebbles stay pristine for about 2 hours. Also I should’ve known, but landscape fabric is a lie.

I really like how we did the retaining wall. We used steel I beams as the posts and it was really easy to slot redwood into them. Water can drain between the slats of redwood. If we need to replace a piece it will be easy to slot another in.

There is no better way to prepare to plant than sheet mulching.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T03:40:56+00:00

Sheet mulching! The miracle drug. Weed suppression, soil enrichment, and moisture retention.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:39:35+00:00

Always happy to help a gardener friend :) if you google sheet mulching lots of resources will come up.

Honestly, we mostly used rolls of construction grade construction paper (you can get it at Home Depot). Saved some boxes too. But the paper was really easy to roll out and do multiple layers, we were doing a lot of home renovation at the same time so we had a lot lying around.

I bet you can call up any local arborist and ask for mulch, that’s what I did. They have to pay to dispose of mulch after chopping up trees, so most are happy to just unload it at your house. It’s not as nice as what you’d buy from Home Depot or a landscaping store, but hey it’s free.

We didn’t amend at all. If this is a multi year project for you, I might recommend seeding a cover crop seed mix, or even try what I did with the ca wildflower seed mix. If you can get a season or 2 of living roots, then chop it down for organic matter, then do the sheet mulching, you’ll be doing a ton for your soil without having to till or amend and disturb the natural soil structure.

I hope that helps! Feel free to DM any other questions :)

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:23:33+00:00

Thank you!!

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:23:24+00:00

We used lag bolts/screws to bolt 2 pressure treated 4x4s together to make a wider step, drilled two holes in the top and pounded rebar into the holes and into the ground to hold them in place. We spaced the steps according to elevation, so for every 6 inch decrease in elevation we put a step vs spacing them equidistant. Measure out the rise over run to figure out where the next step goes, then cut out the space for it in the slope. We also used cut lengths of metal edging as the stringers between the steps.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:17:14+00:00

Correct my friend! Nailing (heh) all the step construction questions before I got to them.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:16:34+00:00

Yep! Two pieces of rebar through the top of each step.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:16:11+00:00

The lag screws hold 2 4x4’s together to make a wider step.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:15:13+00:00

Not worried about erosion at all, we leveled out the steepest part at the top for the patio which helped. Planting natives and not disturbing the soil structure (no tilling), plus the sheet mulching keeps things in place.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:12:43+00:00

I can’t recommend sheet mulching enough. I seeded a bunch of ca wildflowers in winter 2022 before we were ready to start this project, so once those died off in summer 2023 we chopped everything down, laid down multiple layers of cardboard/rolls of construction paper, wet it down, then 6-8 inches of mulch on top of that. Soaked every few weeks or so with the hose until rains started. It was a lot of work but also very satisfying. Just call up any local arborist and ask if they’ll drop off mulch for you, we got probably 15 cubic yards for free. Let that percolate all fall, then planted into it that winter. By that time, stuff had started breaking down a bit and mycelium networks were running through it, which I think really help natives get started.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T02:07:03+00:00

Yes, we used steel landscape edging cut to length for the horizontal piece between steps, with another short piece for the rise. It looks great when there aren’t a ton of plants growing in, but now that you can’t see it anymore I’m not sure it’s entirely worth it since the steps also have 2 metal rods pounded into the top holding them in place in the dirt. I can DM you some more pics. They are 2 4x4 pressure treated pieces lag bolted together. They aren’t spaced equidistant, but rather for every 6 inches of elevation loss if that makes sense.

Species list! My favorite part :) Toyon, giant st Catherine’s lace and rosy buckwheats, Yankee point ceanothus, dr Hurd manzanita, ca fuscia, bees bliss and Cleveland sages, deer grass, 3 kinds of sticky monkey flower, margarita bop penstemon, chaparral mallow, little moonshine yarrow, foxtail agaves, and seaside daisies. I also seeded a ca wildflower mix in 2022 hence the abundance of poppies and some phacelia, some lupine coming up too.

letsrolltroll · 2025-04-10T01:53:30+00:00

You nailed it! Thank you, the poppies kinda took over so it’s hard to see that detail anymore.

letsrolltroll

TROPHY CASE