Two Tons

We decided to replace the grass in our back garden with stepping stones, ground cover, and a new planting bed. The "we" in the decision making was mostly me. The "we" in the demo and construction included Gary. He told our shared hairdresser last time he was in for a cut that our marriage works because he lets me make the decisions and then does whatever I tell him to do. Seems like a good arrangement to me.

Back to the garden project. 

I've been fusing for months about whether or not I should remove the grass. The existing lawn, full of quack grass and other assorted undesirables, needed to be removed and replanted or replaced. As usual I scratched out plans on scraps of paper. All my ideas involved a large portion of back breaking work and a fair amount of money for materials. 

What to do? I polled family and friends to see if their thoughts would push me one way or another. One family member was opposed to removal of the grass, but most had no opinion. 

At long last I decided to have a landscaper remove the grass thinking a blank canvas might help the decision. Alas, the date for removal moved from the middle of June to sometime in July. Not known for my patience one morning last week on a whim, I began the removal myself. 

Every day for more than a week I was out by 7:00 with my pick and shovel. I dug up the sod and Gary hauled wheel barrel loads out to the curb. One day it rained so hard the whole area was flooded and my garden shoes were soled with 2 inches of slimy clay. 

After all that sod removal, it seemed silly to replant grass. Gary, the guy who muscles the push mower, voted for stepping stones. As much as I like the look and feel of grass, I had to agree.

Two tons of stepping stones, brick, gravel, sand, soil, two dozen creeping thyme plants, and a large pot have transformed our garden. 

On to the next project.