Rhubarb and Concrete
This morning was a clean up the concrete stepping stones that a friend and I constructed yesterday. The first happening yesterday morning, of course was my getting out of bed slightly earlier than usual, followed by harvesting the rhubarb from my garden. The stalks are great in pie and cobblers, but mine were frozen for use this winter. The leaves, which are harmful if eaten, do make great patterns for stepping stones to be used in the garden. We used 3 bags of concrete that is mixed with sand for the finished products, this made 17 stones of differing sizes. The leaves are placed on plastic for easy removal when the concrete is dry. Each leave is placed with the bottom side or the side with the most ribs showing, facing upward to make the best pattern in the concrete. Mix concrete as the bag directs- one bag at a time. With your hand in rubber gloves place concrete on the leaves and shape like the leaf. Make the concrete one and one half to two inches thick- using your hand as a blocker for the sides to keep the concrete from spreading out by itself. Allow to dry for 24 hours before trying to turn them over, at this time remove as much leaf as possible, but allow to dry for another 24 hours and continue to remove the left over leaf particles. Within the next few days place them on pea gravel or sand and wiggle into place. If the stones are not supported from the bottom with sand, dirt, or other substances they will crack over time.
Super craft, great exercise, and a delight to see in the garden!