WiseAcre Gardens

7 Responses

1. Mark Says:
   February 10th, 2008 at 10:50 am

   Hi Wiseacre,
   I’m glad you cleared uo what the sex stone was, I thought for a moment we were heading in a different direction…
   I must say though you have one beautiful garden and the stone really makes it.

   Rock on…

   Just to clear up thing a little I have to admit those are not my gardens. I have a hobby/business and will take on a garden project when people ask me to do my thing. We do consider these gardens mine though and I’m always returning to add something even if it’s just a new plant. The best thing is all my “customers” become friends and the garden is a great excuse to stop by and chew the fat.

2. Aiyana Says:
   February 10th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

   Whoever’s garden that is, it is gorgeous! I like your truck and license plates. Quite unique, I would say.
   I too like flagsone and had a lot of it at my previous residence. With this property, I did settle on pavers because of the expense of doing large areas of patio and walkways. As it was, the pavers and the labor for setting them cost 5 figures. I do have flagstone topping a seating wall, fire pit and grill. It’s chocolate flagstone, full of prehistoric ferns, and a wonderful purplish hue. It comes from the Grand Canyon and since they can only take it out a short time each year, it is even more expensive.
   Happy GTS,
   Aiyana

   Aiyana,
   Actually each photo is from a different place. You should have seen the last truck - I had big yellow flower stickers plastered all over it. Talk about flashbacks to the 60s!

   OH OH Now I really want to head back to Arizona. I just have to get some of that Chocolate flagstone. The fern fossils in it sound too tempting to resist.

3. Bamapat Says:
   February 11th, 2008 at 7:50 am

   OMG I love the rock/stone layouts. I am thinking of using rocks in my front yard but I ain’t hauling them 400 miles. Surely we have something closer to Norwood….any suggestions?

   Good job — love the truck –where’s the ice chest?

   Bamapat,
   The 400 miles was to Long Island. A friend/customer needed a new front walk and I wasn’t going to let him put in pavers or buy slate slabs ($$$$ x 10) on the Island.
   All the stone is “north country rock” Most of it comes from the Hammond area. It’s hard to get thought since there is no real quarry and the stone is dug up a little at a time by private land owners. The slabs are not cheap - these guys want close to $200/ton and a ton of 5 inch thick slabs is next to nothing. Boulders and field stone are much easier to get - thanks to my stone “walls” along the hay fields. But my personal supply is running out after years of “mining” the rows of rock. One of the biggest shames of the area now is that “Potsdam Sandstone” is only quarried for crusher use. The days of it being a prime building stone are long gone.
   I really don’t know where you can get “garden rock” besides myself. You can call an excavator but they have no sense of what is a ‘good’ rock’ and by the time you pay for the heavy machinery use, delivery and setting it’s going to be too expensive. Then there’’s the matter of them trampling your yard with the machines. Only an idiot like me will do it by ‘hand’. Even I am not cheap. The rock is free but the time it takes to load, unload and set the stone adds up fast. A boulder the size of the one pictured in the photo usually takes 4 - 5 hours to collect and then set. You can expect to pay anywhere between $100 - $150 if I do it. (a bit more if I have to pay for the stone) Call an excavator and you start right away with a couple hundred dollar charge just for them to pull out the machines. (I’m not looking for more work but if you sweet talk me I might give you a deal)
   The ice chest of course is in the cab of the truck but the beer is left home in the fridge.

   Sorry for plugging myself here but you don’t have an Email address listed. Most likey I’ve crushed your thoughts of getting stoned

4. Bamapat Says:
   February 11th, 2008 at 10:59 am

   Naw, you haven’t crushed my idea of stone but hubby is more inclined to those stepping stones things..ugh.

   Well, glad to hear you keep the beer in the fridge and not driving with it — like I would think you would do that — NOT!

   Hey thanks for the comments, I do appreciate them. As the weather gets nicer, I may be back for help with garderning stuff too.

5. Pam/Digging Says:
   February 11th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

   You rock! That is amazing stonework. Did you do the piecing in that top photo? It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe you bring in stone of that size in that little pickup truck, slab by slab. Impressive or crazy? I’m not sure, but I’d hire you.

   Pam,
   I hand pick all stone and since it’s “fresh” out of the ground it’s easy to cut with a hammer and chisel. Fitting the stone is easier than it looks. It just takes time. Well maybe a good eye helps too.

   I tell people that only an idiot would do what I do.
   Besides I get a kick out of people staring at me as I drive through the village.

   Don’t ask to hire me. I’m afraid for both our sakes I’d say yes.

6. Kylee Says:
   February 12th, 2008 at 11:38 pm

   You are incredibly talented! I absolutely love your use of stone. I like pavers depending on how they’re used, but I love flagstone much more. Beautiful, just beautiful!

   Kylee,
   It’s not me - it’s the stone. All I do is set it down. It may sound funny but I don’t do pavers because it’s too much work. Besides I can do stone cheaper than pavers - believe it or not.

7. Terry Nova Says:
   February 16th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

   LOVE your blog, thanks for entertaining me
   Hope there will be more posts soon
   regards, terry
   ps - sorry im not that good in writing in english because I came from europe - but i understand a lot

   Terry Nova,
   OOPS, your comment got caught in the spam filter. I didn’t know the “spam” was saved. Learn something new each day.

   Glad you found something to like. Hey I have enough trouble with English so never worry about other’s better use than mine

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