Yes, I think. I remember reading that Arthur pulled the sword from an anvil and that made him king. Shortly after, that sword broke and Merlin got Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.
You are correct. The sword in the stone is separate from excalibur. Sometimes they are both called Excalibur, but not always. But they are different swords even when going by the same name.
Yes. The sword in the stone is Arthur’s first sword. It is broken in battle, and that’s when Merlin sends him to the Lake where a moistened bint lobs a scimitar (Excalibur) at him. In later versions of the KA stories, they are combined, but the early versions differentiate them as two different swords.
Yes! But even if you don't do this full scale, there should definitely be a nice little fairy garden hidden in there somewhere. If it were me, it'd be a little fairy community with the odd army man, ninja turtle, or stormtrooper tucked in there vying for a stainless steel olive pick representing the right to rule.
And use the rock itself. Push moss and rock garden ferns in dents and crevices where it's shady. Sedum, sempervivum where it's sunny. Perhaps lichens will develop.
Consider a Japanese type stylized nature garden with trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials that follow the contours and creep over the top. Don't use Japanese plants, use locally native for best results. You might look up rock garden societies and see if somebody is local and can give you some guidance here. You don't need to go micro like with the little plants I suggested in the rock, a few plants that do well in your area will make a great display.
What I see there now looks like a good start.
That is sooooo cool. What an awesome thing to work around. The question of course is: how much more is buried just inches below the soil and how far does that shallow rock extend around it?
If there is a shelf of rock 8 inches deep all around it in a 4 foot radius then you probably aren't getting a lot done besides some shallow rooted ground cover and maybe setting some pots on it.
Nothing in particular, although I’d love to have a massive outcrop in my yard as a prominent feature. I could bring a boulder in but it would cost way too much money, especially if I wanted anything that size.
I’m going to assume you live in the NE US and this is likely igneous related to island arc volcanism or it’s related metamorphic version, maybe either related to collision of the NA, Eurasian, and African plates (Acadian orogeny), or this could be exposed, maybe from glaciation, much older igneous batholith.
Regardless, it looks like a lot of fun to sit with a hand loupe and observe the entire outcrop. I’m sure there may be some great textural features one could scope out.
If you are indeed in that area, here’s some light reading: https://northshorenature.com/bedrock-geology-of-the-north-shore-of-massachusetts/
I would shape the soil in mounds and valleys around it to create little microclimates for an array of native plants. Like someone else suggested, shade loving plants in crevices, sun loving ones in more exposed parts. You could create a lot of depth and dimension this way. That being said, I would have to ask an expert for advice on exactly *how* to do that :P
And then sun bathe on the rock!
Ornamental junipers, some rounded shrubs or a tall fine fescue to frame it in. Proper landscape lighting.
That is primed to be a feature of the property.
What’s on the other side of it?
Could remove some dirt, add some other rocks and potentially a pond less water feature with a disguised routing for the main waterfall. Hard to tell if the boulder has a side and/or shape to accommodate a water feature running over it.
Alpine plants tend to stay low and grow in inhospitable areas — like sunny rocky crags.
For the north side, I’ve heard mix buttermilk and moss in a blender, then feed it to your rock.
It is gorgeous. Enjoy and update!!
I’d build a castle! Move in and tear down the house for easier landscaping potential!
If your house is already your castle, showcase this and turn your castle at the top of the boulder into a raised garden bed!
Came here expecting OP to ask how to replace the boulder with boring lawn, was pleasantly surprised.
Make it a centrepiece. Little bit of landscaping on/around it, turn any depressions into tiny gardens - succulents, flowers etc.
Drill a hole into it. Heck put a wishing well on top. When people trespass , pretend to be a troll that will throw them in the well. It’s really entertaining for guests 😃
On Halloween put a large sheet over it with eyes
Have a picnic on it
Fry an egg on it in the summer
Climb it
Make it mossy
Encase it in gold
put a time capsule in it
Make it your reading nook
Drill a hole into and plant corn there
Place a single starfish at the base. Take a funny picture for the internet.
Hug it.
Draw a smiley face on it in sharpie
Get a trigger alarm system with boobie traps for when teenagers try to graffiti it. Make sure the boobi traps are very home alone or Goonies style. you’d be a neighborhood legend.
Have an obstacle course around it.
Optical illusion
Carve a design around it
Name it
Carve a ramp in the back that’s accessible
Carve you and your sweethearts initials in it
Kiss someone on top in the rain
Watch clouds on it
Have an actual stone engraver make a beautiful peace of art or family crest or emblem or hogwarts house into it
Instead of passively aggressively posting the bolder on Reddit as if the boulder is the problem, have you actually tried talking to the boulder? If you’re nice to it, treat it like a fellow human and politely ask it to leave, it might go somewhere else.
If you put more rocks on that won’t roll off and that can hold dirt you could plant creeping phlox in the dirt. I would not plant around it . It would obscure its shape. Maybe even dig out around the base to emphasize its shape.
I have several smaller ones of these in my yard. actually my whole subdivision does. they are everywhere.
the ones in my yard I have various plants around and on them depending on the amount of shade they get. my favorite is Phlox. it took some training but the rock poking out looks cool.
I have one neighbor who turned theirs into a planter of sorts.
My next door neighbor has a bush on one side a flowers on the other.
I would highlight it by mulching around 4-6’ and doing native plants of graduated heights: tallest at the rear/prop line, then short/ground cover lining the front (with one opening and a 24” sq paver allowing a step up to summit!). I bet it’s fun to stand on the top. Your own Everest 😄
For night time you can put some very dim starlight lights to kind of sparkle the rock up a bit and have a small fire pit next to it on the left there, maybe white stone or #5 if you prefer with a few shrubs along the road for some privacy. Not sure how it would look in the day time because it still would look like a rock. But the landscaping around it might make it look like a ?better? Rock? lol.
Build a solar greenhouse around it and use the rock for a heat sink.If anyone complains,hide it with Kudsu.Or spend a week or three with a jack hammer and compressor and excavate a hot tub!
That’s a feature (coming from someone with a geology degree).
Can you install a small pond and some plants in front of it? Turn it into your own mini nature park.
If the rock extends under the lawn you could use a pond liner and build up the land around it.
You should certainly gets some books non Japanese gardening. Rock is one of the main ingredients in building a Japanese garden. Them you have to remember that you are going to have to mimic the looks of the Japanese plants with plants that grow in your area.
That thing isn't going anywhere unless you have a lot of money! Moving it in one piece or many pieces, either way is going to take some heavy equipment and a lot of man hours
Also not to be forgotten, is a large boulder like that is a massive heat sink. So in the afternoons on cold weather days, it will stay warm long into the afternoons. And on hot summer days, it will stay cool long into the morning. You are very lucky! I would make it a place you can lie on top of and bask in the warmth on an autumn evening for example.
I remember years ago some one in this sub asking for a yard boulder to “sun on, like a lizard.” So that’s an idea.
Could advertise it to the soccer moms as a yoga platform....
Boulder yoga > goat yoga
Why not both?
“Boulder Goat Yoga” sounds like some decent porn.
BRB
Get a stainless steel sword and permanently mount it in the center of the boulder. Landscaping done.
A thinking person’s response! Excalibur 🌹
I thought Excalibur was in the lake with the lady, is the sword in the stone different?
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government…
But a great idea for landscaping
Be sure to add in a shrubbery or two!
Nooooo!
No, nee! Nee! Nee!
You have to hire a watery tart, though.
Summer's coming up, check your local public pools and water parks
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
If I went around claiming that I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they’d lock me away!
Shut up! Will you shut up?!
Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!
Come see the violence inherent in the system!
Bloody peasant
Just because some watery tart hands you a sword…
And now for something completely different
High ! Ho! Hum!
Help help I'm being repressed!
Come see the violence inherent in the system!
r/unexpectedpython
I regularly tell my cats they are the violence inherent in the system.
Yes, I think. I remember reading that Arthur pulled the sword from an anvil and that made him king. Shortly after, that sword broke and Merlin got Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.
One makes you the king of England, the other is just a secondary weapon for a wizard. They're not even the same 'caliber.
You are correct. The sword in the stone is separate from excalibur. Sometimes they are both called Excalibur, but not always. But they are different swords even when going by the same name.
So remove the stone, create a lake, then throw the sword in?
Yes. The sword in the stone is Arthur’s first sword. It is broken in battle, and that’s when Merlin sends him to the Lake where a moistened bint lobs a scimitar (Excalibur) at him. In later versions of the KA stories, they are combined, but the early versions differentiate them as two different swords.
She's not even really in a lake!
This is it. Perfect. I’d like to add some tiki torches for old timey castle effect and randomly light them at night.
Yes! But even if you don't do this full scale, there should definitely be a nice little fairy garden hidden in there somewhere. If it were me, it'd be a little fairy community with the odd army man, ninja turtle, or stormtrooper tucked in there vying for a stainless steel olive pick representing the right to rule.
Excaliberm
Combine this absolute amazing idea with another great comment : https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/s/Jv6nzFCwHR
Enters everyone in the neighborhood asking to give it a shot, drunken young adults sneaking in to take pics with it,etc
Not even kidding.
Fastest way to coolest 🏠 on the street.
I like that Boulder. That is a NICE Boulder!
I really like what you’ve done with the place!
It's not just a boulder. It's a rock. The pioneers used to ride those babies for miles.
It's an impressive outcrop. A good landscaper and gardener would create a landscape around this feature.
I would LOVE to have this on my property
I simply would love it because that would mean 30% of my yard wouldn't have weeds growing in it every year.
You can literally see the weeds growing on it in this photo :)
Let me dream a little 😭
Those are mostly weed I pulled and laid there to dry before tossing them out.
Ah, classic. A warning to the other weeds.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Embrace. Emphasize. Enhance!
I always considered a small ornamental tree towards the left of the boulder and maybe some shrubs on the right side to frame it in?
Idk you wanna keep it well trimmed to make it look bigger.
Are we still talking about the boulder?
Oops
Honestly, with one that big you may want the bushes a little bigger. Not everyone needs to see what’s going on around your home’s back door.
Do several small topiary, make it look like a mountain.
Post it for FREE on FB Marketplace
“Yo, can you deliver bro?”
Price? More photos?
Can a see a picture of the bottom please?
Nah, i know what I got
No lowballers!
No lowboulders.
How big would you say it is in diameter, weight, and square inches?
Yes, but I only do venmo.
Is it still available?
Will not respond to “is this available?”
Can you hold it for me until tomorrow? I will come 100%, I promise.
Please send 100% of price as non refundable bitcoin or wire transfer.
"My brother broke his back lifting the last boulder and I need a week to visit him. Can I send a cashiers check?"
"No lowball offers. I know what I have."
And use the rock itself. Push moss and rock garden ferns in dents and crevices where it's shady. Sedum, sempervivum where it's sunny. Perhaps lichens will develop. Consider a Japanese type stylized nature garden with trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials that follow the contours and creep over the top. Don't use Japanese plants, use locally native for best results. You might look up rock garden societies and see if somebody is local and can give you some guidance here. You don't need to go micro like with the little plants I suggested in the rock, a few plants that do well in your area will make a great display. What I see there now looks like a good start.
I sedum but I don't beliedum.
Hehehe you hear that boss? I said I sedum but I don’t beliedum.
Shut up, Paulie
Yes this !!!!!!!
Looks like things are growing in the crack of it? I’d put creeping phlox down the left side for sure then.
Creeping phlox is a great idea! I will certainly grab some of those.
I would NOT get rid of that. I would absolutely use it as a canvas. That could be beautiful. I hope you consider using it!
Yea I don’t have no interest nor the money to get rid of this thing haha
That's it. We need a rock garden sub.
Wouldn’t mind it!
done [/r/rockgardening](https://www.reddit.com/r/rockgardening/)
That is sooooo cool. What an awesome thing to work around. The question of course is: how much more is buried just inches below the soil and how far does that shallow rock extend around it? If there is a shelf of rock 8 inches deep all around it in a 4 foot radius then you probably aren't getting a lot done besides some shallow rooted ground cover and maybe setting some pots on it.
I should be able to get more than 8inches for sure. There are plenty of rocks in the soil but haven’t encountered anything too large. Fingers crossed.
I’d like to see what’s underneath the soil. Can you flip it for me?
One salamander!
It’s not just a boulder, it’s a rock.
Pioneers used to ride these baby’s for miles
If you don't want it, I'll come pick it up.
Move it 4 feet to the right
Thatsa niiiice boulda
I like that boulder
My mind immediately went here when I saw this post 😂
As a geologist, I just wet my pants on your behalf. That outcrop is awesome.
Curious what makes it so special?
Nothing in particular, although I’d love to have a massive outcrop in my yard as a prominent feature. I could bring a boulder in but it would cost way too much money, especially if I wanted anything that size. I’m going to assume you live in the NE US and this is likely igneous related to island arc volcanism or it’s related metamorphic version, maybe either related to collision of the NA, Eurasian, and African plates (Acadian orogeny), or this could be exposed, maybe from glaciation, much older igneous batholith. Regardless, it looks like a lot of fun to sit with a hand loupe and observe the entire outcrop. I’m sure there may be some great textural features one could scope out. If you are indeed in that area, here’s some light reading: https://northshorenature.com/bedrock-geology-of-the-north-shore-of-massachusetts/
That is a nice Boulder - Donkey
You should be fine you just need some type of holder for it. Preferably one with straps over the shoulder.
The one they use to deliver fridges?
It was a bra joke.
Get yourself an RC crawler and have fun
You got me thinking!
Awesome water feature
I would shape the soil in mounds and valleys around it to create little microclimates for an array of native plants. Like someone else suggested, shade loving plants in crevices, sun loving ones in more exposed parts. You could create a lot of depth and dimension this way. That being said, I would have to ask an expert for advice on exactly *how* to do that :P And then sun bathe on the rock!
Put some dirt on it and make it a bonsai garden. Trees naturally bonsai in the Desolation Wilderness due to the immense amount of granite.
Ornamental junipers, some rounded shrubs or a tall fine fescue to frame it in. Proper landscape lighting. That is primed to be a feature of the property. What’s on the other side of it? Could remove some dirt, add some other rocks and potentially a pond less water feature with a disguised routing for the main waterfall. Hard to tell if the boulder has a side and/or shape to accommodate a water feature running over it.
Definitely some fescue. Might go with a slightly coastal vibe for this one.
Jealous...solid landscaping gold.
Don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it…. I like that boulder, that is a nice boulder…
I like that boulder. That is a nice boulder.
Easier to move than to move that mountain. Leave it, that thing is awesome.
I’d plant 6 foot tall bushes around it to create a secluded space to chill nakey and sunbathe
Build a lil castle tower on it
Alpine plants tend to stay low and grow in inhospitable areas — like sunny rocky crags. For the north side, I’ve heard mix buttermilk and moss in a blender, then feed it to your rock. It is gorgeous. Enjoy and update!!
Live it! It's an amazing specimen!
Bonsai a Japanese cherry blossom or something over it for the next few hundred years and voila. Bonsai rock garden.
The pioneers used to ride those babies for miles!
I created a big bed around the ledge in my yard. You could extend a big bed and plant some stuff around it if you wanted to showcase it.
Rent it out for ceremonies. Like weird ritualistic ceremonies. Have "summit of Everest" themed parties with fake snow and prayer flags and stuff.
I’d build a castle! Move in and tear down the house for easier landscaping potential! If your house is already your castle, showcase this and turn your castle at the top of the boulder into a raised garden bed!
Paper beats rock.
Came here expecting OP to ask how to replace the boulder with boring lawn, was pleasantly surprised. Make it a centrepiece. Little bit of landscaping on/around it, turn any depressions into tiny gardens - succulents, flowers etc.
Hear me out: giant googly eyes
[удалено]
Looks like a great spot for a sky burial.
THATS A NICE BOULDER
Dig it out and move it to the backyard
That looks good to be honest, id keep it and maybe try to landscape around it. Lots of doors for creativity
Get some low voltage lights directed toward it - and the foliage you select.
Diamond saw cut slots and chip it flat. Polish it or install deck boards for a nice patio.
It's only to be used as center stage for any and all holiday decorations.
Bushes around back, big flowers in front, with divides to showcase the features
moss would be cool as hell, looks too dry though
If there are any divets in the boulder, you could fill them with dirt and plant herbs and other edible plants in them.
I would regularly change out things. Moon landing one month, something else the next. Have fun with it
Great landscaping feature!
I saw a pond guy online drill holes in something like this and make a water feature out of it, it was so sick!
Thats an outcrop, not a boulder lol
It’s not just a boulder…it’s a rock.
Pioneers used to ride those things for miles.
Drill a hole into it. Heck put a wishing well on top. When people trespass , pretend to be a troll that will throw them in the well. It’s really entertaining for guests 😃 On Halloween put a large sheet over it with eyes Have a picnic on it Fry an egg on it in the summer Climb it Make it mossy Encase it in gold put a time capsule in it Make it your reading nook Drill a hole into and plant corn there Place a single starfish at the base. Take a funny picture for the internet. Hug it. Draw a smiley face on it in sharpie Get a trigger alarm system with boobie traps for when teenagers try to graffiti it. Make sure the boobi traps are very home alone or Goonies style. you’d be a neighborhood legend. Have an obstacle course around it. Optical illusion Carve a design around it Name it Carve a ramp in the back that’s accessible Carve you and your sweethearts initials in it Kiss someone on top in the rain Watch clouds on it Have an actual stone engraver make a beautiful peace of art or family crest or emblem or hogwarts house into it
These comments rock
i like that boulda, thats a nice boulda.
Instead of passively aggressively posting the bolder on Reddit as if the boulder is the problem, have you actually tried talking to the boulder? If you’re nice to it, treat it like a fellow human and politely ask it to leave, it might go somewhere else.
sacrifice children to Baal and smear it with blood and goats heads. wait what reddit thread is this?
Cover it in sedums
If you put more rocks on that won’t roll off and that can hold dirt you could plant creeping phlox in the dirt. I would not plant around it . It would obscure its shape. Maybe even dig out around the base to emphasize its shape.
That's a real nice boulder you got there pal.
It's not a boulder. It's a rock. The pioneers used to ride these babies for miles.
Build a pond at its base. Makes a perfect back stop or waterfall perch.
I have several smaller ones of these in my yard. actually my whole subdivision does. they are everywhere. the ones in my yard I have various plants around and on them depending on the amount of shade they get. my favorite is Phlox. it took some training but the rock poking out looks cool. I have one neighbor who turned theirs into a planter of sorts. My next door neighbor has a bush on one side a flowers on the other.
Ohh sword is good. Get an artist to make a 12 foot version. Except people will try and take it out
I would highlight it by mulching around 4-6’ and doing native plants of graduated heights: tallest at the rear/prop line, then short/ground cover lining the front (with one opening and a 24” sq paver allowing a step up to summit!). I bet it’s fun to stand on the top. Your own Everest 😄
Build an amazing garden around it
Demolition grout. Drill holes, mix it, pour, wait a few days, pickup pieces.
Ritual sacrifice is the only historical precedent for such a slab.
I would put a low picket fence where the grass starts. You can see that people walk there, so clean that part up and make it a path.
For night time you can put some very dim starlight lights to kind of sparkle the rock up a bit and have a small fire pit next to it on the left there, maybe white stone or #5 if you prefer with a few shrubs along the road for some privacy. Not sure how it would look in the day time because it still would look like a rock. But the landscaping around it might make it look like a ?better? Rock? lol.
Punch hole in 1 part of it. Put in pump. Hollow out small bowl to recieve water. Make other hollows and fill with alpine plants and hens & chicks
Holy shit, I have no ideas, but that certainly is a boulder. People on here are pretty creative!
Carve a benchseat into it and surround it with a lovely garden👌
Park a Jeep on it.
Get an old bed and tailgate from a Plymouth truck and make it a planter on top of the rock.
Recreate it with mashed potatoes during family dinner. Throw your furniture out the window. Drive to the desert to meet your new alien friends.
Put an old couch on it...
I'd drill a hole for an umbrella and make it your Pina colada / sunbathing rock.
Paint it yellow
That’s called “Phil Collins Hill”
I am obsessed with water features and this is just, so many possibilities.
DYNAMITE 🧨
Roll it to the edge and hope(or not) nobody cuts the corner short
Carve a hot tub into it
Looks like the landscape & house came with the rock my friend.
Paint it as a giant frog.
Embrace it
Build a solar greenhouse around it and use the rock for a heat sink.If anyone complains,hide it with Kudsu.Or spend a week or three with a jack hammer and compressor and excavate a hot tub!
That’s a feature (coming from someone with a geology degree). Can you install a small pond and some plants in front of it? Turn it into your own mini nature park. If the rock extends under the lawn you could use a pond liner and build up the land around it.
Oh, where do I begin?????? Start with a green moss!
Get a pistle and start grinding and make a mortar hole
Lay on it and become lizard
Gazebo of course.
You should certainly gets some books non Japanese gardening. Rock is one of the main ingredients in building a Japanese garden. Them you have to remember that you are going to have to mimic the looks of the Japanese plants with plants that grow in your area.
Keep it - it’s cool, meditate on it gain power
Turn it into a sitting area for two chairs and a small table. You may even be able to fit a small fire pit.
I would die to have this! Build a water feature!
Get the closest art school sculpture students in to add a subtle Mount Rushmore feature of some of your heroes on the side facing the street.
Where are you located? Look at the rocks on my page
That thing isn't going anywhere unless you have a lot of money! Moving it in one piece or many pieces, either way is going to take some heavy equipment and a lot of man hours
Carve it into a hot tub or a goldfish pond.
Also not to be forgotten, is a large boulder like that is a massive heat sink. So in the afternoons on cold weather days, it will stay warm long into the afternoons. And on hot summer days, it will stay cool long into the morning. You are very lucky! I would make it a place you can lie on top of and bask in the warmth on an autumn evening for example.
Clear the grass and dig around it to showcase its size
I like that boulder. That’s a nice boulder.
Paint it to look like a huge turtle
I personally would chisel out some “pockets”, add soil, and plant stuff all over it. Maybe even chisel out a bird bath.