Ron's theory on life: "A Happy Wife makes A Happy Life".

So when I started hinting I wanted a potting shed last fall, Ron moved his storage shed up the hill into the shade just for me.

This spring he tore into it, keeping in character of the house, & built on the porch.

He ended up reroofing the whole thing after putting in 3 skylights that really open & close. They have screens too.

I'm a lucky girl!

And Ron is the best!

One year at Christmas time, Ron & I built planters for all the special girls on our gift list. Ron taught me how to use the staple gun & he let me touch his drills & helped use the drill press.

My daughter Annie, put hers on an old stand & made it so cool. The rest of us all wanted to copy hers. Annie has a natural talent for decorating & adding unique touches to things. She is so lucky. She gets to work at De Bloemen Hof nursery here in Pella in early spring.

The arbor that Ron built.

Our big project 2003 was the arbor & flagstone pathway. I dreamed it & Ron made it come true. He of course, added those famous little "Ron touches".

The arbor connects our east border beds #12 ABC & #11. The pathway melded beds #5,6,& 7. I was tickled pink with the way it all came together. I added hanging solar lanterns along the path. It's so cool!

I can hardly wait for the fall clematis & the Grandpa Ott morning glories that are growing on it to burst into bloom.

So you're driving down the street. It's "clean-up days" in town. You see a broken chair thrown on the curb. What do you do? Right! Grab it & bring it home for Ron to fix. And turn it into a fun planter.

No garden is complete without spots to sit & absorb the tranquility of nature's gifts to us.

I would have more 'sitting spots' but Ron thinks I 'over-do' it.

A friend gave me this old porch swing the other day. I dragged it home knowing my potting shed porch was awaiting a new swing. However it was white with stenciled, green vines adorning it. I sort of liked it but it needed to fit-in around here. Ron went right to work, fixing it up for me & painting it our 'Hunter Green' color.

We hung it the next day & even took time out to sit & hold hands. Fun!

One thing for certain - the gardens are ever-changing.

Garden Bed #8 began with preformed plastic molded, shallow pond & a lot of river rock. The pond shell was disappointing. A 20 gallon tub pond liner replaced it after a couple years. That was fun with a few gold fish & a few floating plants. But then I wanted a little bubbling fountain-thing.

Ron helped me create a new little water feature. He cut a 'hog panel' (heavy wire) to cover the tub top, then screen to lay over it. We pulled the fountain head up thru a center hole then I tried to create a bubbling rock thing. (Picture #1) It just wasn't quite right. So Ron butted-in & redid it. Now it's perfect!

Mildred Ann thinks it's a drinking fountain (up her nose)

I watched a robin really enjoy a bath in it the other day. Our cats think it's a drinking fountain. I enjoy the tranquil bubbling sounds. It makes me smile!

I had (have) this plan to get thymus, sedums, & scotch moss growing between all the stones in my pathway. It's making progress especially in the sunny portion. However, the heavy shaded section has things struggling to hang on.

Near the end of the season (2007) I stuck some miniature ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' in between stone under the walnut tree. Then the fun part was volunteer marigolds & pansies & periscaria coming up between the larger stones. We walked over or around them on the pathway. And I've discovered that fall clematis have self-seed themselves in bare spots in the path. I plan to dig them out in the spring. I may or may not get it accomplished! Any way, I'm loving the thymus, especially the lemon thyme as when it is touched or bumped he excretes those wonderfully scented aromas. Girls just want to have Fun!

Any suggestion for the shady part of the path?

New Arbor Project 2007

Again it must be said; One sure thing in the garden is, things are ever-changing, for better and for worse. Yes, it is like a sacred oath, a commitment to loving & caring for our gardens. Our garden relies on us to unconditionally love it, and protect it, and nurture it. We are stewards of the land. There is a book with that title that is a classic tool in many horticultural education programs. It brings to us the richness and the history of our lands and our responsibility as its caretaker. When we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. And in this age of ever-expanding urban sprawl, it seems we may be edging ever closer to a world barren of green living plants. The plight of wild animals is even more devastating. Man is ever infringing on the home of the free. Greed is an evil danger threatening extermination of our green world, clean water, and the very air we breathe.

Gee Whiz! Wally! Where did that all come from? I just wanted to share a picture of the new arbor Ron built for me this spring. The original log arbor rotted off below the ground and was no longer safe. Eventually it would all fall down. The new structure is very nice but Ron & I both miss the ambience of the original arbor. We were both emotionally attached to that inanimate object. Ron built it from logs he cleared from a nearby timber several years ago just for me.