Dunbar Memorial Garden

Over the course of late Summer and Fall of 2007 we estimated that we had well over 100 people work with us at the Dunbar Memorial Garden. There were MANY students as well as parents, teachers, friends and of course, Jesse's dads' fabulous co-workers! Were it not for the input and physical labor of the guys from Phase IV Contracting (Penny, the dog included) we are certain the beautiful stone work we got done would have never happened. At their side, they taught many young people the art of doing a good job and doing it right - and how to work with your hands and brains. Our debt to Phase IV is a big one. REALLY.

But even before the onset of our paver walkways we were incredibly lucky to have the assistance of arborists and horticulturalists who helped us evaluate the best way to prepare the soil for planting. During the month of July 2007 we tilled three 25' by 25' beds, added compost and tilled again. We then placed a layer of cardboard across each of the beds and topped them off with a thick layer of wood chips. The Summer of 2007 in Kentucky was an awful drought year with non-native landscapes and trees suffering horribly and while we did water our newly sown grass seed, we did nothing much at all in the way of our planting beds.

A little side note about our paver pathways: they are RECYCLED material! We were advised that a large sidewalk outside of the Dunbar cafeteria was being replaced with concrete and were asked if we might like the pavers. Of course we said "yes!" The contractors hauled them to an area down hill of the garden so we physically moved several thousand via a variety of means (see 8/18/07 post). Many, many by hand. Most of us touched a paver or three hundred at some course during our time working on the pathways.

There was a moment during our second Saturday at the Garden when I almost had a nervous breakdown. We had all the beds tilled and were ready to lay the cardboard and mulch. But in the course of the concrete being poured on the sidewalks some heavy trucks had literally plowed through two of our bed leaving the soil heavily compacted and "rutted." Everyone, including all the students, tried to convince me we could "fix" it before the loads of wood chips arrived. I doubted it and to prove so banged my rake into some of the rock hard soil that the week before had been so perfect and light. Fortuitously, the general contractor arrived to check on his own work and before anyone could stop me I approached him, told him about Jesse and the purpose of this garden and through streaming tears and shaking hands advised him of the damage he had done to our hard work. In retrospect, I wonder if it was right to allow the young people to overhear that conversation and see my distress but he apologized in front of them all. And then he left and came back with a rototiller and worked the soil his trucks had compacted back to a state close to what it had been before. What he did was the "right thing" - something I think our young folks and even old people like me just don't see often enough. If that guy ever reads this blog I hope he knows what a positive turn he gave to a negative situation.

On that note, a good one, we'll leave additional backpedaling for next time.
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