I love the rocks & rills

When we bought our home we were charmed to find that there was a stream flowing along the back edge of the property. We have been working for nearly 3 years to get the stream bank in good condition. It is a work in progress.

The first year after we planted grass it looked like this:



The second year we planted wild flowers along the berm:



Our Quaking Aspen and River Birch trees are getting a good start:






Just when things were looking pretty good, our new neighbors came along and made us "dissatisfied" with our lovely little riverbank. They terraced their side of the bank with huge granite boulders:



The neighbors' stream bank looked so nice, we decided to try something similar from our side (let's not mention the fact that the landscaper had to tear up our lawn in order to do the work), but we think the results are well worth losing a little grass. Picture in your mind how all this will look once we've re-planted the grass, and put lots of colorful flowering plants in-between the rocks:





In the beginning there was only one channel for the stream to follow. We now have a channel on our side, which creates a lovely little island in the stream (hey that's a book title, as well as a song title - such a lovely ring to it). The landscaper created several cascading falls and swirling eddies, as well as some deeper pools and shallow spots, which I know the kids will love to wade in. It is all very pastoral and serene back by our stream. I can envision sitting on a rock, listening to the rippling waterfalls, on a hot summer day, feeling cool and relaxed by our stream.