I've recently attacked an annoying dip in the ground in front of our farmhouse: it had such a steep centre that it wasn't possible to mow cleanly across it. So I dug up the turves and saved them carefully, and started arranging some stones:
After that it was a matter of digging out some of the material that had come from the hangar floor when I had dug out the inspection pit last year. This turned out to be heavy work as I'd picked the hottest day of the year so far - 35 C though it felt like more. After that I put down a layer of old cattle manure, also from the hangar (dug out because I felt it was too soft a foundation for the concrete floor), and then replaced the turves.
I used a lime mortar around the stones to give a reasonably secure edge, and I plan to put a few small plants into the holes between the stones. Even now it looks quite natural, though when the grass starts regrowing properly it should be better, as the grass will make a better edge on top of the stones.
It is possible to see the joins, but I'm pleased with the result, and the grass is now much flatter on top. I can't quite mow it yet, and it'll need a few days before the mortar is properly cured. I plan to hammer down the grass to get a smooth surface, but I want to avoid knocking any of the new stones apart.
And as a taster, here's a bit of the hearth at the fort going out:
It looks as if it was once a proper piece of building stone, with edges that were meabt to be seen - perhaps the side of a chimney. Another small stone from the hearth was probably a small section of a window mullion. And yes, that stone really was very heavy....but not quite as big as it looks - the camera does sometimes lie.
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