 Photo by Jessica Walliser The crew at Concrete by Bruno that worked on my patiowas fabulous—courteous, efficient and just plain nice—all a person can ask for. |
The new patio is now complete! We just need to add the sealant coat later this week. It’s soooo beautiful, and I’m relieved that we seem to have made the right material choice—the exposed aggregate is really lovely. Once the sealant is on and the patio is polished up a bit, I’ll post some close-ups of the surface.
Now the garden planning continues. The fire pit will be built in the empty circle when the grading work and retaining wall are completed. I am now left to wonder how to lay out and fill up all the planting beds that will eventually surround the patio.
Photo by Jessica Walliser The crew finishes up a job well done. Now, I need to figure out plants. |
I do know for sure that there eventually will be some evergreens going in, namely boxwoods, inkberry hollies, a Hinoki cypress and maybe a few dwarf conifers. I always think a winter-bare backyard looks so uninviting in the off-season. If I can get some evergreens and berried shrubs in there I’ll be a happy camper.
I’d also like to get a few of the new Invincible Spirit hydrangeas. They are a pink version of my favorite Annabelle hydrangeas, and a percentage of the nationwide sales go to breast cancer research. Now that’s gardening with a purpose!
Invincible Spirit hydrangeas are beautiful plants, and as far as hydrangeas go, there’s very little you can do wrong with them. They’re reliable bloomers for sure, unlike my big-leaved hydrangeas that seem to be pickier than a toddler at a luau. I’m lucky if they bloom every three or four years even when I do everything right.
I know it will be a long time until we can afford to plant everything we want, but we’ll get there eventually. It’s all part of the process of gardening, right? In the meantime, the forsythia is in full bloom here, the daffodils are smiling and spring has most definitely sprung.
