The Enchanted Woodland at Pugshire

Mops of Middle-Earth Front Yard Renovation . . . .
Where fairies, tomtes, and the Mops of Middle-earth weave together mischief, magic, and a hint of mayhem.

Goal = Not just building a yard… but turning a hill into a story.  The "nice" photos in this video are the goals ... AI images. The dirt photos are, well, the current reality ha. (You know, after you remove everything that is toxic to dogs, with thorns, or pointy leaves, you're left with dirt, right? ha). 

My grandmother always said Bloom where you are planted", so that is exactly what we’re going to do—only, in our case, we’ll be blooming into a bit of Hobbit-land… for pugs.

The Mops of Middle-earth, as you may know, are firm believers in second breakfast—and third, if circumstances allow. In fact, the entire rhythm of pug life revolves around meals: breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. It only seems fitting that the garden should follow suit.

The fairy garden and Tomte Trail are already in place, quietly tucked into their corners. Now the vision expands: a Shire-inspired landscape with a hobbit house, creeping thyme “roof,” soft ground coverings, winding paths, and a small bridge to cross from one bit of magic to another.

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At the moment, the yard is… well… a hill of mud. (We removed anything that wasn’t dog-safe—progress! 😄)

But from that blank slate comes possibility. And if we’re designing for pugs, why not design for their priorities? I’m imagining little destinations throughout the garden:

• The Second Breakfast Bench
• Elevenses Under the Magnolia
• Afternoon Tea by the Bridge
• The Supper Table at Pugshire

All connected by winding, storybook paths, hidden doors, and soft, resilient groundcover that can withstand enthusiastic pug paws.

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Some scenes along the way ... I'll be updating this post over time.

• painted the cheap plastic planter boxes black with a dusting of bronze - ultimately they will have lavender, oregano, creeping thyme, a few flowers, and now have creeping jenny in a few pots which will cascade over the bricks. (Incidentally, I used a tube of Loctite PL Premium Construction Adhesive instead of mortar. Worked like a dream -- easy, set fast, and super strong.) The idea is that the plants will be a buffer (instead of the ugly xpen that used to be there) so the pugs won't jump off the planter. Of course Miss Dior and Parker had to be the first to checkout the new planters.

Riga has been tremendously helpful "compressing" the dirt for the creeping Jenny plants 😄 . . . .

The bedrock chapter (making the land usable) is the most challenging as we stabilize the slope, create 3 platforms (mini patios so to speak), pour cement foundations , add stepping stones and such. The hardest part was definitely shoveling out a "shelf" for the patio. Then rocks, crushed gravel, and then cement. This is where the hobbit house will be built. You can see the spot where the house will go in the middle of the yard.

To determine the natural paths of the yard we let nature and the pugs design the map. We let a hose run for a while to see where the water ran. Of course all the pugs enjoyed the resulting mud puddles! There will be some paths for the pugs (the ones they already use for the pug patrol ;), and a path for a dry creek rock bed where the bridge will go over, and of course some paths for the humans for the daily "poop cleanup" ;) Spray paint then marked these paths so we can start "terracing" and placing the stones, mulch, and pebbles over time. I found it quite fascinating that, indeed, the water chose to curve and meander down the hill, never in a straight line. So, the paths will be curvy as well. The stepping stones we're making with cement really look nice! Like actual slices of wood! 

UPdate on the stones: They aren't strong enough for weight bearing. Sigh. So, I am going to only use the cement plus sand (not the type of cement with the rocks) plus fill the mold even fuller. ALSO, I am going to place some chicken wire into the middle of the mold for strength. if THAT doesn't work, then I'll just use the stones for "decoration" and pug paths only....not the human paths.  It's a learning process lol!

After hauling cement and dirt for day … apparently word got out I’m now offering transportation services.

The focal point of the yard will be the Hobbit House.  Everything will orbit this. We will start with a dog house that I got years ago for Lexi, our golden retriever/chow/dachshund interstate rescue. She lives inside, and even sleeps with me at night, but I thought she might like a cozy little retreat when she and Jerry lounge on the back porch on pleasant days. But, she had other ideas. The house? Never used.

I don't want to sell it—because I couldn’t bear the thought of it becoming a place where a dog might be made to live outside. So instead, it gets a second life. A far better one.

It will become a Hobbit House! And somehow, that feels exactly right for Pickwick Pug Haven. This is how I "imagine" it might transform gradually . . .

Instead of a door (which would be beautiful, but) I will probably build the stones up around a bucket and just have an open round hole. Incidentally, I will be making all of the stones out of concrete. Whew. And this is how I "imagine" it might transform gradually . . .

Yesterday I dug out the shelf where the house plus tiny patio will sit -- the yard is a steep hill, so anything "flat" has to be created. With a shovel and lots of breaks ha. 2 bags of crushed gravel and pebbles were added before we pour the cement and, with Jeff's help we moved the little house to the front yard -- its new home in what will become our Shire at Pugshire. Ofcourse the pugs had to inspect everything.

Today I sealed all the panel seams so it's properly weatherproof (no more dirt sneaking through the cracks). I also mixed the cement and sand and coloring and poured the slab where the house will sit. I might need to do another layer tomorrow. Of course, we fenced the area off with xpens .... don't want cement pugs lolz while it dries. The pugs are so funny ... inspecting every new piece of dirt or rock. 

Now that spring is upon us, it finally feels safe to go ahead and start some planting. This will happen gradually because of cost, but we've already planted a lemon tree, some creeping jenny, a few flowers, and some mondo grass. Ultimately, the goal will be to lay plantings in winding pathways, creating a dry creek bed beneath the little bridge, and tucking in generous drifts of creeping thyme, creeping jenny, and all sorts of delightful dog-friendly plants.It's starting to move from idea ... to place.

Here are some of the plants we will be using: Lysimachia 'Aurea' - Golden Creeping Jenny, Chrysogonum virginianum, of course mondo grass, Sweet Pea Jewels of Albion Mix (Lathyrus odoratus) (my father called me Sweet Pea ... so, of course I have to include these. I also love them), Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' (golden creeping Jenny), Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' (Walker's Low Catmint), Stachys byzantina 'Big Ears', Italian Oregano, Thymus serpyllum 'Albus (creeping thyme, which will be on the top of the dog house/hobbit house and other areas of yard) .....

Today I have become Mistress of the Forge of Pickwick Haven -- lolz. A medieval blacksmith meets landscale architect meets pug queen...."She who shapes the tunnel that guards the Shire...druid engineer. ha"

Obviously I am NOT an engineer (I did not inherit those genes of my father) but it just doesn't make sense that those stones will remain in place once I remove the bucket of the hobbit door. So, I have decided to cut the bucket -- then sand so no rough edges -- so it remains as a frame of sorts. Nowadays, just because you watched a YouTube DIY video and it succeeded for them, does NOT mean you'll have similar results in real life because, honestly, it could be AI! So, I am erring on the side of caution. I have never heated a knife before and I know melting plastic can be carcinogenic, but it is outdoors and I will not inhale during the critical burn moments. Perhaps I should wear a mask, too.

The plan: Heat → cut → reheat → repeat
(same rhythm as forging metal, just less dramatic anvil sounds)
A quick finishing pass with warm blade to smooth everything. Meanwhile the pugs are thinking "Why is she making a glowing cave?" 

Update: The hot knife did the work! I had to reheat it frequently. So, my instinct was right and all the upper blocks came tumbling down. I replaced the hole/doorway entrance with the cutoff pot and I am also going to adjust the subsequent layers. I will add some spray foam mortar along the back and, for the next layers along the side of the house, I will let each stone dry and go ahead and remove trash bags once dried, then add some strips of Loctite PL 500 Landscape Block Adhesive.