While last Saturday was raining, and spent in the studio. Sunday dawned relatively mild and sunny. I knew I had to get out and get some yard work done. Since Dave had finished the new fence, I really had to get moving on the landscaping to make it a usable space.

You will recall it looked like this:

I don’t have the time and resources to do the whole space at once, so I decided to focus on the area along the fence line, connecting it up to the existing border garden. First, I had to clean out at least 3 years of dead leaves and sticks. Happily, all those leaves meant there was nothing but bare ground underneath them, so I didn’t have to do much to prepare for planting.

I fillled the area with the hostas and heuchera I’d bought earlier – keeping them in the shadiest positions. The bugbane and astilbe got planted closer to the drip line, as did a new dark pink tickseed, and a purple pincushion plant I managed to get on clearance last week.

I also got Dave to install hook so I could hang the basket of impatiens I got.

After that, it was just a matter of moving in my bench, and table and chairs, providing a couple places to relax and enjoy the shade,

Much more will come next year, but for now, it provides a nice shady spot to enjoy a view of the yard, all the way down to Willow Grove at the very back.