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Not sure whther this should go here or in DIY but here goes.....
The History
When I designed my garden 7 years ago I put in a quarter circle patio area to extend the small area put in by the builders with a path extending down one edge to the back gate, weed suppresent membrane under slate chippings. This was edged with log roll which could be curved around to fit the shape, and provided a 6in depth to the border which enabled me to fill a slightly raised bed. This has worked quite well, we are on clay, and although the path has often been flooded, water has never collected on the flower beds and the plants have survived. I have sourced some more purple slate to top up the path from Freecycle, once I have cleaned it up a bit (sifted out dirt etc).
However it was becoming apparent last year that the log roll was beginning to rot on the lower edge, and since having the chickens this year, they have scratched and dislodged enough to make it look very tatty.
So What Next?
Now do I just replace the log roll and hope it lasts another 7 years, or do I go for something more permanent? I have put a wanted post on freecycle for broken/used bricks, there is no way I could afford new, but anyone got other ideas of what I could use? It needs to be something that can be fixed to withstand scratching chickens so the soil doesn't spill onto the path. I have been wracking my brains on recycling other materials, and did wonder about the glass bottoms from bottles, but
a) I'd need to cut them off, smooth so there were no cutting edges,
and
b) come up with a way to make a fixed structure from them. I also think I'd need to make it 2 bottle bottoms tall to give enough height. In my minds eye it would be a wall of varying shades of glass, fixed to make a sort of shiny fence
That's a lot of bottles, and a lot of work on something that might not provide a solution.
Even typing this out makes me think log roll again, but hopefully someone will be able to think outside the box and come up with some innovative ideas. Remember though folks, a curve is involved
The History
When I designed my garden 7 years ago I put in a quarter circle patio area to extend the small area put in by the builders with a path extending down one edge to the back gate, weed suppresent membrane under slate chippings. This was edged with log roll which could be curved around to fit the shape, and provided a 6in depth to the border which enabled me to fill a slightly raised bed. This has worked quite well, we are on clay, and although the path has often been flooded, water has never collected on the flower beds and the plants have survived. I have sourced some more purple slate to top up the path from Freecycle, once I have cleaned it up a bit (sifted out dirt etc).
However it was becoming apparent last year that the log roll was beginning to rot on the lower edge, and since having the chickens this year, they have scratched and dislodged enough to make it look very tatty.
So What Next?
Now do I just replace the log roll and hope it lasts another 7 years, or do I go for something more permanent? I have put a wanted post on freecycle for broken/used bricks, there is no way I could afford new, but anyone got other ideas of what I could use? It needs to be something that can be fixed to withstand scratching chickens so the soil doesn't spill onto the path. I have been wracking my brains on recycling other materials, and did wonder about the glass bottoms from bottles, but
a) I'd need to cut them off, smooth so there were no cutting edges,
and
b) come up with a way to make a fixed structure from them. I also think I'd need to make it 2 bottle bottoms tall to give enough height. In my minds eye it would be a wall of varying shades of glass, fixed to make a sort of shiny fence
That's a lot of bottles, and a lot of work on something that might not provide a solution. Even typing this out makes me think log roll again, but hopefully someone will be able to think outside the box and come up with some innovative ideas. Remember though folks, a curve is involved
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