Well, rather than just sit around and think about the next phase of the stroll garden, we have broken ground. It is amazing how much work can get accomplished when there are two people out there with shovels and motivation.
While Jesse was here, Jim took him out to the river where there was a flood borne stump awaiting transfer to the garden site. I think I mentioned it previously. I took this shot of it while it was still loaded on the truck right after they got it home.
Here it is this afternoon, in situ, complete with the cardboard underneath it and the outline of the garden beds dug in. This picture also shows the bare bones of the spot where the raised bed for the ornamental grasses will end. You can see two stepping stones laid in place. Just to the right and behind them will be the pile of blocky sandstone pieces that will form the retaining wall for the grass bed.
In front of and to the left of the stump will be the bed that will have canna lilies, dahlias and other things that have to be dug every fall. That will be framed by a group of crepe myrtles behind it. That particular part of the bed is not in the photo at all. There will be a small rise in that bed also. Behind the stump will be where the giant grass Sporabulus wrightii will go. It will make a great statement in the garden, and I am looking forward to how it will be when it gets big and hides the pathway next to it. Walking that path will give a very “wild” feel when that grass reaches its full stature.
We have also been having some great sunsets hereabouts. This one was a couple of days ago. I braved the single digit temperatures to capture this as it developed. Notice the nice column of light above the sun where the ice crystals are refracting it.
A few minutes later, the colors had muted and been enriched with purple.
Sometimes I wish that light post wasn’t there where it is. It serves no useful purpose in my mind, other than to make that corner of the night sky impossible to point a telescope at. The City thinks it is making us more secure, but history has proved that that corner is the favorite place for people buying drugs on the street behind to park. I guess all that light makes it easier for them to climb the fence at the back of the lot where their dealer lives.
