can ya dig it?

i've decided that this summer will be the summer i finally finish the gardens in the back.  it's been going on for about 3 years running where i've been out there putzing around and cutting back sod and postponing putting brick or some kind of landscape tile between the grass and garden.  i've just decided to bite the bullet and do it this year.

i tried starting out spraying the grass last weekend and using a garden hose as a template to design my garden shape. all i'm really looking for is curves to the edges, rather than straight lines.  i think curves are my subtle way of saying FU to the inlaws who are squares and rigid.

so i was out there sunday trying to spray lines and didnt get it right.  the hose wasnt cooperating and i got more pink paint on it than the grass.  i was totally frustrated at the end of it and freehanded the east side.

i started digging sunday as well and that was slow going, mostly because i didnt wet the grass prior to digging.  it sure makes a huge difference in lifting up sod if the grass is wet.  i did a bit of the west side and figured i'd do the rest later.  weather prevented me from actually going to town on it and i didnt get digging until today.

i finished off both sides.  it was a bitch tho.  i did the west side around 4pm which was really dumb.  i was already tired from the gym and hot and sweaty and to undertake that digging was utter bullshit.  i waited a few hours and went out about 1hr ago and finished the east side off....it's all done, save the aesthetics.  it's not perfect, but a little work here and there will make it much better.

once it's dug out to my liking, i'll be searching for blocks or cement or stones to finish it off.  from there i'll hold off on the garden...i just might add a couple more shrubs for the newer areas and will definitely add tulip bulbs and more springy bulbs in the fall this year.  i really enjoyed my tulips this year, so i cant wait to bring more into the garden next season.  i'm still not sure if i'll mulch it or put bark in there to finish it off.  bark etc is unsightly at times and i'll need a shitload of it in order to make it all work.  i'm mostly concerned about the weeds in there, so if i do put down bark i'm going to go the environmental route and line newspapers all throughout my garden, wet them, and then cover them with the bark/mulch so that it will hopefully clog out all the weeds.

so that is it...for now tho i'm very tired and worn out...and grateful to be out of the sandflies who were just horrid tonight...today was the first day i've been really affected by them and the first day i've seen them out in 2010, reminding me how much summer here can be a royal pain in the ass.