The first two are to show how bare the place was. Nicci used the hoses to mark out where she wanted to make the garden borders.
Here's a view of the current garden from approximately the same location as the above.
A longer view.
A view from the bottom of the yard. The cute little fenced area is Nicci's first attempt at growing some veggies. There are carrots (yum!), tomatoes (yuck!), cucumbers, herbs and some other things. I'm sure she'll do fine. She seems to be able to grow anything.
The new arbor. She wanted it simple and rustic. On the sides are clematis and in the back is a grape vine. One it's all grown the whole thing will be covered in flowers and grapes. When we start getting lots of grapes, I'll be making my own wine. See the little tiny Japanese red maple tree on the right? We got that because I love those. They are great.
The path. (Don't tell Nicci she was in the pic.) I wanted all flagstone but we can't afford that right now. There is thyme planted between the stones. Once it grows there won't be any mulch showing. Then it will be nice to walk on in bare feet, right Meritt? (I said that for you.) BTW, the bird bath is solar powered. It has a little fountain in the center.
The front of the house. That is a weeping cherry tree. Aren't the pansies cool? They will eventually cover all the ground there. I put that neat copper mailbox there so the mailman would stop tracking dirt and mud onto the porch. We painted the porch and keep it nice so we can walk out there any time without getting crap on our feet. (Socks in my case.)
Side view of the garden and path leading to the firepit. That block patio thing in front of the pit was a pain in the butt to get right! The tree on the left is a weeping willow.
Side view toward the arbor. No it's not an illusion, that one side twisted on me. The posts were perfectly straight when they went in. The one on the left front is twisted and now bent out. It makes it look funny. I started to go for a replacement but Nicci refused. She wants it to look rustic. I guess it will when the wood gets gray and old looking. The little tree in the far corner (hard to see) is an apple tree. Red delicious. Yum!
I just added this for fun. These are a couple of my regular friends that show up. This is a pic. taken out of my kitchen window. The birds come at very regular times during the day. There are many different colors too. I added two more feeders onto the arbor. My birdie friends appreciated it. :)
So there is the garden. Still a work in progress but much progress has been made. Mostly with me complaing and crying the whole time but I have done my part.
Just think, this is only half the yard! Suddenly I am tired.
** For those who don't already know this, click on the pics and they get bigger. Then pause your mouse cursor at the bottom right of the pic for a second and click the orange and blue box to make them even bigger.
