Episode #21... Hardscaping The Bus Stop
It takes Bits and Pieces to Build a Bus Stop!
March 25, 2006
[align:center]
[/align]
As usual, when I started this project, I had no idea of what I was doing or how the Bus Stop would look when finished. The shape was basically determined by the damage done to the lawn while moving the bus on the east side and the driveway on the west.
I built a winding path up through the center. I drilled and spiked 1" black poly pipe in place to define the edges of the path, and then spread 3,700 pounds of crushed terra cotta as the paving.
I dug a circular hole 2 feet deep and 4 1/2 feet diameter, then laid 5 courses of Roman Stack Stone around the rim. This reservoir was then lined with heavy rubber pond liner. The fountain urn is 24" in diameter and is 22" tall. It stands on a 12" x 12" stone pedestal. The water circulates via a 400gph submersible pump.
The fountain head adjusts to several patterns, but this is the flow I chose.
The fountain structure.I brought
a very large burl from another garden in and added
a new burl that I found in the woods.
In the very center of it all, I put together a
250 piece, 7' diameter jigsaw puzzle.
On one of my trips to the nursery, I spotted a "must have"
gazing ball and stand. It sits directly in front of the bus bench.
I added a large stone pot planted with Thread-branch Cypress
(Chamaecyparis pisifera), another "Glow in the Dark" gazing ball,
and a
smaller stone pot, planted with English Daisies (Bellis perennis).
The bus stop could be illuminated at night by this
reproduction of a French street lamp, but I opted for black light rather than white... for effect!
The fountain is
illuminated at night as well...
So that you won't get bored while you're sitting there, waiting for the bus, I added a 200 watt,
8 speaker, sattelite radio stereo sound system.
To be continued.....