Now Comes the Real Fun

Boy the hardscape came out beautifully and I can't wait for the chance to have people enjoy our new low maintenance back yard. Even the Brown Bullet likes it! The fountain which was Dwight's "must have" idea is very pretty. I am not a big fountain person but it gives the big blank wall a little character. Inside-Out Design did a great job on the hardscape. It looks fantastic.

The plan is to put a trellis where the sidewalk meets the larger circle but I haven't found one that we can afford. The fun part will be arranging our furniture and pots with flowers in them as well as getting to the actual gardening part (in theory). My dear friend Beth, I will have plenty of gardening to do as soon as the "landscapers" leave and move on to their next gig (which happens to be my brother Richard's house). We will have a gigantic mud pit to fill in with plants. I have been trying to hold back when I go to Lowes and see the half price plants because I don't want to over buy right now and then not get them planted in a timely manner. That has happened to us a time or two. My friend Chuck described how plants cower in fear whenever he and Ron approach them in the garden center as if the plants know what fate awaits them if they are unlucky enough to be purchased to be placed around Chuck's pool. Chuck I feel your pain. It is kind of a ritual at our house to buy plants that are a great deal and then systematically fail to plant or maintain them. As a matter of fact I think there are two Leyland Cypress trees in pots that I bought in the fall because they were a great price and then we just never got around to planting them before the winter. I also came across a few bags of bulbs in the garage which are probably all dried out. I guess it wouldn't hurt to stick them in the ground and see what happens since they are summer bulbs like Caladium and Gladiolus. The bunnies and squirrels will be happy at least.

That is the part that the Hesitant Gardener fears most about gardening - failure. Part of the failure is lack of knowledge, part is poor planning, and most is poor execution. Lack of knowledge means that I can't tell whether the little green things sprouting up are from the seeds I planted or if they are weeds. I don't know whether the plants I have purchased are going to survive in our shady, clay soil. Poor planning encompasses all of the above as well as the purchase of plants at inopportune times when they can't be planted in time. And failure to execute speaks for itself. Well, with the anniversary party coming up we are going to have no choice but to Get Er Done! And in 25 days no less!!!