Problem:
A flower bed with a natural slope and tendency to shed to the left with heavy rains and watering, thus creating ponding over the walkway.
Solution:
A low stepped retaining garden wall made of concrete shells with an enclosure to trap, manage and celebrate the water that otherwise would be a nuisance.
Groundcover will control erosion and keep the concrete shells cleaner from dirt.
The garden wall as it formed and things fell into place, suggested a whimsical composition titled Bay of Pirates. It was a procedure of patience and lots of tinkering.
Eventually it became suddenly obvious when the overall composition was complete the way it was.
Done!
The fable goes like this:
Water sheds to the left reaching the Bay of Pirates where it is contained. 
When the dirt is hosed wet just right during dry weather, a steel rake can provide a texture resembling water, sort of like Japanese dry gardening.
When the Bay overflows it does so into the Golden Pond which has been made with a 24” concrete saucer. The saucer has a drain hole and a solar light.
Erosion is the sole contributor to naming it Golden Pond. 
Above it all sitting on a large 24” concrete saucer is The Power Point Observatory and Light House.
Across the walkway eventually there might be Frog Mountain, a 3 foot concrete volcano with a toad sitting on a carpet of baby tears in the caldera.
The volcano and Golden Pond will anchor the entry to a small area dominated by a lemon tree. This is Lemon Land.
Refer to the ‘concrete for the home’ category for tips on concrete, tools and molds.
Concrete at the price of $2.69 x 60lb bag would make the price of a concrete shell about $.34 if not less. All the shells together cost about $34.00. The total composition not counting tiles and marbles, the solar lamp post and the bird nest would be about $37.00.
