The Island In The Driveway

Ray and I have a very long driveway. It’s kind of curvy so when you get home, the mesquite trees close up in your rear-view mirror sealing off your frazzled memories of the the workday.

When you drive up closer to the house, the driveway gets very wide. It’s a big open space with no character. We decided that an island in the driveway would be a nice feature for the approach to the house as well as something to see from the inside. Ray called a few places for estimates and then quickly realized that we could do it ourselves — what a surprise!

The first thing to do was map out the shape and size of the island. We wanted something organic so we chose a kidney bean shape.

The overall idea is to have the main island and then a second smaller tier off to one side. We are going to run low voltage Malibu lighting to illuminate the mesquite tree we plan to put there.

Since its location is far away from the garden hose, we plan to plant drought resistant plants as well as a few succulents.

After creating the shape, Ray figured out how many rocks we would need. The outer wall will be created with one hundred pound boulders that are about 14 inches in diameter. Last weekend, we went to Cochise Stone and, well, went rock shopping. This morning, we had quite a delivery.

Taking measurements.

Delivery day!

5 tons of boulders.

This weekend, we have a bunch of other stuff to do but I have a feeling that we’ll be moving boulders around on Sunday. Hey, it’s a start!

I’m trying something new on my blog – categories! I have marked this entry under Home Improvement since Ray and I are always doing things around the house.

Check back later for updates to this project.

6 Responses to “ The Island In The Driveway ”

Zoe Glasscock says:

08/18/2009 at 4:09 PM

Hey, look at me. Been reading your blog all this time and finally figured out that I could be commenting… Love the kidney bean. What a great idea! You two really take the time to consider the things that make a difference in your life, small and large.

DougT says:

08/18/2009 at 5:57 PM

I’ve gone rock shopping before. The name of the nature preserve where I volunteer is chiseled into a 4 1/2 foot granite boulder that we had hauled onto the site. I think that a kidney shaped island with mesquite trees will look fab in your driveway.

Mike Monsalve says:

08/18/2009 at 9:41 PM

Hola,

I married Mirkka, the Finn, in a drive thru wedding while sitting in the back of a limousine.

Jim was the best man (of course) and it was done on a Star Trek Convention weekend (of course) and our rings are titanium – aircraft grade (of course).

A nerd doesn’t fall far from the nerd tree

Cobban says:

08/19/2009 at 7:35 AM

Thanks Zoe and Doug. We’re looking forward to seeing it finished.

Mike — Oh my GOD! Congratulations!! You two make the perfect couple. That’s great news. Honeymoon in another galaxy? Say hi to Mirkka for me.

Jim says:

08/19/2009 at 9:15 AM

Cobban and Ray, what a great idea. We can’t wait to see the finished results. It’ll be fantabulous!

And to Mike, even though we’ve never met…Congratulations! Live long and prosper. Are you spending your honeymoon on Risa? Geez, guess I’m not the only nerd. LOL

Trackbacks & Pingbacks:

The Island In The Driveway (pt. 2) » Lopaka Lounge says:

09/29/2009 at 1:13 PM

[...] Ray and I decided to have an island built in the center of our driveway. After careful consideration, Ray decided that we could just do it ourselves. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing but hey, why not give it a try? This post is a continuation from Part 1. [...]

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