The Thing About Gardens

Is that they don't provide the instant gratification of, say, painting a door or hanging a piece of art.  I spent what felt like a ton of time on Saturday working to improve the front of our house on the one side that has a border.  It once looked like this:

And now looks like this (sorry that this photo makes it look like the house slumped to the right. it's really just the photographer!):

Don't notice much that's different except the arbor vitae that we had cut down (over on the far left)? That's because not much has really changed, but you're looking at hours of work in that left bed, I tell you. Here's a close-up:

Totally awe-inspiring, right? Nope, not really.  Except to me.  I also got rid of the dying tree in our big planter and am giving ivy a go.  Hopefully it'll climb up this trellis:

So you can see why I've not posted anything for nearly a week now.  We're just sittin' around, watching plants grow! And I'll just admit it, I AM excited about having a load of mulch delivered this week for the backyard.  There, I said it!