A Walk in the Park

It is very humbling when folks you have known only a year gift you with a joy for a lifetime. With all my thanks to Jack and Jane, Deb, and a whole lot of good people who are kind friends, the Extreme Garden Make Over Project is finished. Well, almost, I still have bullet lights to wire under the boxwood shrubs, and a little more rock to place here and there, but the "project" is done. We started about two weeks after Memorial Day, and there final stage, seeding grass on both terraces was finished this week.
There are so many details our House Warming photographer captured, like the horse heads at the base of the straight steps to the entrance. And the wistful little fairy poised reading among the petunias (my sister had given me the statue for my first garden. There are the solar powered blue scones and church bird house (also a gift from Sis) that hang gracefully from gracefully from shepherd hooks by the pond. And the staid concrete bench with adorned with grapes stands in counterpoint to the cleome's wild flailing branches. A lion majestically overlooks its pride just to the South of the waterfall . And a rich pink hardy hibiscus reigns in the East. The waterfall giggles with a rush over the rock, and everything has its moments of reflection in the mirror of water
depending upon the time of day.
The pond is teeming with life. Koi of all sizes cruise under water hybiscus, and flashing in a feeding frenzy at chow time From the road, you can't even tell there is a pond at the back of the house. Today my outdoor work consisted of transplanting one "nearly wild" rose bush and planting two more in the "North Dakota Corner" by the Russian Olives (wish someone had told me there was a variety without THORNS) and lilac bushes . It was crafted by the husband of one of the Sunday School teachers at church. Jack offered to paint it flat black when he installed the railing early this week. But I wasn't keen on black. Even in the few days that we had no rain, the bare metal railings began to show rust. They had to be completely wiped down and cleaned with a solution, primered, and then color coated: a "hammered" bronze color that really about matches the rail road ties in the steps.Last Sunday the ladies that come for Bible Study had to struggle with a flash light to get down the steps in the dark. So the following day I planted solar lights to chase away the shadows. The project was a huge success!