Fun with paving and garden edging

I haven't been doing much in the way of gardening in my job in Parkville lately. That is because I've been installing garden edging and replacing a section of cracked paving. My role in the job is basically assisting and it has been interesting as I've never done any paving myself. For the edging we dug down to the bottom of the edging paver then put down a concrete footing on which the edging sits. We then added more concrete up the sides of the edging to support it. For the paving we put down a base of crushed rock and cement then hit it with a whacker to compact the base. We then laid pavers on top of a layer of mortar. I've decided to do some paving and stonework training at TAFE after I've finished my horticulture training.

Below is some of the lovely edging we installed. It really defined the garden bed that it surrounds.

Below is some of the almost finished section of paving that we replaced. We also widened the path from 2 pavers to 3 and also added the brick line that you can see towards the right hand side. This particular section is a slight decline which is why the aspect of the picture may seem strange. Note the difference in colour between the new and the old pavers. Such subtleties are noticeable and are the reason that there is a trade in reclaimed building supplies.

The person I've been assisting with this is stonemason Jock Langslow www.stonecarver.com.au . He is a local and lives near my home in Macedon. Hopefully I'll be doing some work with him in the future building some stone retaining walls in Kyneton. The experience I gain from working on such projects combined with formal trade training should ensure a good grounding in this sort of work. It's something I want to break into after finishing my horticulture training and it will help me in the future with garden design.