'Gnome Sweet Gnome' or . . . 'Gnomehenge'?!

The name is up for grabs, but Mom and I made a "gnome garden" today. We turned the area right out the back door from a weedy mess into a cute spot. This is an area of the yard that we've never really done anything to since we moved here over twelve years ago. Finally, Mom hit on this idea. I really wanted this big, metal garden gnome that was on clearance at JoAnn's, so this is his new home.We worked out there for about four hours with satisfying results!

I've been collecting rocks for a couple years to make a fancy garden, but we hadn't had a chance to use any of them, so this was perfect. I got Pop to help me haul them in from different areas of the yard (some of them were quite buried!), and we set to work. These pictures show the results. All of the bushes were in place. We bought the hostas last month and the astilbe just this evening.



Standing opposite the end of the garden (down by the little "gnome sweet gnome" sign) is a locust tree, so I'm going to clear out all of the grass from around the base and we'll continue the gnome look there. Pictures to follow, of course.

We haven't been up to much besides that. Mom and the two of us picked up a cold last weekend, so we've been fighting that off. These super bugs are pretty miserable. Hoping to feel better in time for our birthday next week. Dad's been getting this Winter's firewood stacked. It's beautiful! I can't believe that in four months we'll be using it. Wow . . . time flies.