Come Through the Gate and into the Garden
This is the pool garden in July two years after the pool was filled in, definitely weedy and wild but pretty. I just let it go this summer. It was a miserably hot, humid and perversely dry year. I was reeling from the loss of my sweet Bean dog and the fifteen months of stress and anguish her osteosarcoma had brought. I spent my time in the sun on the patio, drinking tea or wine, surrounded by flowers, bees, hummingbirds and dogs. It was balm for my damaged soul. Such is the power of a garden.
It had a certain charm but was expensive to maintain and only pleasant to use for about three months here in Maine. It needed extensive repairs that were estimated to cost about $20,000. So, we decided to fill it in.
First they used a jack hammer to break holes in the bottom of the pool. This keeps the water pressure from heaving the pool out of the ground.
The backhoe operator beat the concrete deck to bits and pushed it into the pool. It looked like an uncomfortable job! It was very loud! He was very good and didn’t hurt the plants at the edge of the concrete at all. Then he bashed in the top of the pool and pulled it into the hole.
They brought in trucks of sand to fill in the hole. Then they brought in soil to cover the sand. The soil is about four inches deep. If I had directed that they go forth and find the most crab grass seed filled soil on the face of this planet, I do not think they could have done a better job!
Here is my little garden project. I am planting roses and lavender.