we're going to the chapel...

It's Saturday. We're off to a wedding. It's for friends of ours, Josh and Stephanie. They are a part of the young adult group at our church. They also joined the leadership team for the Sr. High work camp a few years ago. They have been busy finished college and getting jobs. We are very excited for them and are happy to be able to drive across America's high five (that's where they grew up) to enjoy the celebration.

Honestly, we vacillated as to whether or not to go. We haven't seen them in awhile, and it's across the state. It's a Saturday in the summer. There are a lot of other things we could be doing. But, in the end, I came to the conclusion that going to a wedding is showing support for all the weddings we've missed. It's also showing our support for those who can't make it. Next time you can't go to a wedding don't feel guilty; think of it that way. Someone else is going to support the couple. Or the next time you can go to a wedding, remember that you're showing support for those who can't.

The rest of the landscaping

I told you that I finished Lynne's yard on Friday. This is the section that I worked on Thursday and Friday, and at the very bottom of the post is the finished front bed with the cocoa mulch.

This smaller flower bed is to the left of her front door, under the living room window. I wanted to fill it with brighter flowers that she can enjoy from inside.

It had been tilled by her son, but you can see the grass was still invading the space. 

Katrina, her daughter, came out and dug it out for me.

I didn't do a great job with photos during the process. This flower bed required a paver wall be put back in place (Max had removed it when he tilled). 

 Here it is, ready for the pavers to be put back in place. Bill came and helped that day. He added in garden soil and peat. 

 And this is the finished product. This photo has an aster, a coral bell, a sun drop, zinnias and forget-me-nots.

Here is another coral bell, russian sage, and sedum.

All the little black spots are peat surrounding the zinnias and forget-me-nots that Katrina grew from seed. There is also another aster, sun drop, coral bell, russian sage and sedum.

Here's the front bed with the mulch.

The mulch really highlights those stones I dug out and placed into the semi-random patterns.

 Bonus, the cocoa mulch will help keep the slugs away!

My gardening skills

I finished the front flower bed today. So I'll post pictures of it from the beginning.

First, you'll recall I had to remove the grass that had overgrown it. You'll see the bed itself is outlined with a stone edge (on all sides).

 Yup, I removed all that grass. To give you an idea of how long it is, two SUV's park in front of the rock wall. Based on the length of the Flex, it's at least thirty feet.

 In the midst of digging on Monday.

 Most of the bed is four to five feet wide. Here, along the driveway, it curves around another five feet or so.

 The cars were to help with the length...

 I bought flowers and set them all out. They sure do look purdy!

 I did it, I dug it all out.

 See, all of it!

 Then there were these smallish rocks. So I got creative and made a few designs.

 Heather taught me how to make a little moat around each plant. This helps keep the dirt from washing away when they get watered.

 You can see some of the rocks along the edge of the wall. 

 Here you can see the rocks, "puddling" over an old tree stump.

 I'm trying to show the little rocks and the pattern I made.

 Oops, I didn't rotate the photo. 

And this is the far end, happy little plants!

What did I plant? Verbena, geraniums, petunias, bee balm, hosts, pincushions, daisies of some type, penstemen, and poppies. I'll have to go back next month and take another picture. Hopefully everything will be filled out by then.

Tomorrow (and maybe next week) I'll be back to work on the flower bed up by the house. I'm taking pictures of that too. 

Oh, and we'll also try to mulch this bed tomorrow.

I am thankful that I got it done!