Continuing work on the lawn. Now that The Tree is planted, Grahame’s burrow is in place and the stone walkway is in, I can start landscaping.
The pavers attached with a mix of spackling and glue held tight! Hooray! In fact, if I had to remove them, I think they might take the foam base with them. :D
I added paint washes to stain the grout and to darken the stones, which also brought out the cracks. Moss will be added later to the walkway pavers so the coloration looks a little off on them at the moment.
I then dirtied up the lower portion of the brick foundation, the pillars and stairs with a brown and black paint wash.
Instead of having the grass go all the way to the house, I decided to have dirt showing along the foundation. After spreading a layer of glue with a brush, I added the Ballast Fine Dark Brown by Woodland Scenics. I worked in small sections so the glue wouldn’t dry out before the ballast could be added. (Note from 2024: I would now use Scenic Cement for projects such as these but didn’t know about it in 2012.)
I used a glue syringe to fill part of the lines between the stone pavers.
I used the syringe to fill the areas around the roots.
I glued the cellar doors onto the base board but didn’t add the ballast dirt on the main wall behind them. I’ll have to complete this portion of the landscaping after the chimney is installed, which can’t be done until all of the wiring in the house is complete.
I let it set for quite awhile before brushing the excess back into the container, then vacuuming the remainder. I have a good amount of ballast dirt around The Tree and the house, but I can always add more when I get to the grass portion of the lawn.
I added a dark wash of brown and black to the dirt, though this may lighten in color as it dries.
I think the front walkway looks fabulous so far. :D
I left Grahame’s burrow the original lighter color inside so it would remain visible. Besides, that dirt has been dug out and is fresher. :]
I’ll need to let this dry completely before moving on to the lawn.