And the Work Goes On

By 7:30 this morning, we were outside gathering the materials we would need to continue to outline the house with flower gardens.  The north side of the house is all concrete and pavers, so that is safe from errant weed-whackers.  Half of the east side of the house has a patio on it, so that, too, is safe.

We had put a garden in front of the Florida Room a couple of years ago, so that part of the east side of the house also was protected, and today we continued that garden around the corner the Florida Room  and to the end of the house so the whole side is now enclosed.

Rick works his way down the garden on the southeast side of the house.

We found that part of the ground we dug into was really rocky, the remnants of a long-forgotten garden that disappeared years before we bought this house.  Roots from long-dead shrubbery also were present in the soil.  At one point, I am sure that Gladys had a beautiful back yard.

The garden curves around the contours of the house.

The work today went well, although it was physically draining. The elevations from one end to the other of the garden edgers was about was a couple of inches, so we did not have to put in a double row of edger bricks.

The humidity was extremely high this morning, but at least the area was in the shade.  We worked until almost 11:30.  By that time, the sun had come around the side of the house, so working conditions became almost unbearable.

The east side of the house is now safe.

The result is a defined garden that still needs a lot of attention.  I need to dig out and to turn over all of the soil in the garden, removing some so we have room for plants, landscape fabric, and a layer of red cedar bark stones.  That will have to come later.

For now, we are making progress as we continue to work to protect Gladys while we are adding beauty and color to our home.