Stanley's Garden

I wanted to do something special to remember Stanley, and decided that planting something would be the best way to go. Originally I thought about a tree, but we already planted a tree this year. I decided to take the spot where I had my herb garden and make a new garden. I wanted mostly perennials so that it would seem more permanent. I had been planning and arranging and changing my mind for a couple of weeks. When I finally found some Turk's Cap at Lowe's I knew I had my design started. I also decided after wandering around several nurseries that a trellis would be pretty in the spot, so I bought some Sweet Autumn Clematis. My Mom and Dad, wanting to help out to preserve their grand-dog's memory, contributed for the trellis. We already had our St. Francis statue, and I knew I wanted to use it in the spot somehow. What greater symbol than the Patron Saint of animals for Stanley's Garden?

Two Saturdays ago I got down to work. I wanted to dig down a foot and mix the existing soil with some organic compost. I also had some great earthworm-filled dirt from my big bucket of oregano that had been growing for a couple of years that I mixed in also. This was much harder work than I have done in a LONG time, and I realized I've let myself get pretty out of shape since I had Gabriel. But it felt so good to be outside, sweating, and working really hard, especially for a good reason. I worked for four and a half hours (thanks to Jav for watching Gabriel all morning!), and I'm just so proud of the way it turned out. This was my first attempt to design a garden, and I think it went pretty well.