This summer I did a good deal of gardening. I came across a large inexpensive planter and was inspired to grow an elephant ear bulb for the first time. I was intrigued by the idea that I could make a small investment (I think I paid around $7.00) and get a long lasting “pet” of a plant. My elephant started as a softball sized root ball and I put it in the center and planted Caladium around it.
Here is the planter after one month.
The planter lived on this ugly cement slab in my backyard on the south east side of the house. It required daily watering and regular feeding to get the leaves to measure up to 20 inches long and shoulder height (I regret I did not get a photo of it when it was large) but it was a cheerful companion in the garden and did a nice job of adding some lushness and covering up an ugly recycling hopper.
I understood that after a hard frost I could bring in the root ball and plant it again next year. I watched a couple YouTube videos to get some instructions. This was the most useful.
Here are some photos of what I found on October 21st in Michigan so I went to dig up my Elephant.
After the first frost.
Root ball dug up.
Here you can see the original bulb.
I wanted to overwinter the Caladiums however many were missing and the ones I found were slimy. If you look closely you will be able to see the multiple off shoots that grew from the one bulb that gives me hope that I will have a lot of plant growth next year.
So my Elephant is going to hang out in this box in the basement for the winter. I am going to check on it frequently to make sure it is not too moist or too dry etc and then leave it alone. Fingers crossed.
So this summer heralded a lot of lifestyle changes for my family and, having more time than money I thought I would try to grow some vegetables. I was inspired by what I found in my shed: decades old EarthBox’s. An EarthBox is a planter that is designed to be filled with potting soil, fertilizer + lime, covered in plastic and watered through a tube. In addition to the three planters I already owned, I inherited three from my mother-in-law so I knew I could grow a lot of plants and have a generous bounty.
EarthBox’s being prepared for planting. I used trash bags and duct tape instead of ordering their specialized cover.EarthBox’s on day one and day 31.
As you can see I was pretty determined to avoid weeding, and mowing around planters (been there, done that, no thanks.) I put down weed barrier fabric and bark mulch; to keep everything in place I used a handy edging system. This year we also added two small dogs to our family and keeping them away from my veg was important (read: don’t pee on the veg.) By creating a permanent home for the container garden I hoped I could allow the planters to overwinter in place and get refreshed with new fertilizer and topped off with potting soil, covered and replanted in the spring. I put the planter’s on 2×4’s, in case they needed to be moved and to avoid the drain holes getting clogged by bark mulch.
If you are a skilled gardener you may notice my naive belief that the tripod I constructed would be adequate support for SIX cucumber vines. I have never met a cucumber vine, I just know we like cucumbers and I quickly had to build another 8 foot tall tripod as well as a trellis on the deck railing to support the vines. In the end I think the vines grew about 20 feet long and climbed over 10 feet high.
Six Burpless Cucumber Vines finding their way up a tripod and trellis.
I also learned something about the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomato plants. Because the entire project was born out of a desire to have vegetables and do very little work I did not take seriously the invitation to “pinch” tomato plants. This failure triggered the construction of more 8 foot tall tripods to respond to a 12 foot tall tomato plant. No, not even at this point did I think about pruning, I think I was so delighted to watch everything grow. Eventually my daughter and I cut off the tops of the tomato plants because we couldn’t build anything tall enough to support the heavy fruits.
June 27th- My in-determinant tomato plant has a mind of its own, cute at first but then just crazy.
Taking Stock: What I Would Do Differently.
I put one bush style Roma tomato and one slicing tomato in an Earthbox. I think I would avoid this configuration in the future. The slicing tomato got huge and took all of the water and nutrients and the Romas did poorly. While I will want four tomato plants again I need to rethink who bunks with whom.
I planted one EarthBox with six bush style green beans. This was a lot of fun and I was able to pick green beans everyday and by the end of the week we had a healthy collection of beans to eat on Saturday. The plants continued to provide beans all summer and we would still be in October if a bunny had not taken out a lot of the plants.
I put six pepper plants in one EarthBox; this was pretty successful and I would have gotten more bell peppers if I had staked them better. One plant was badly broken under the weight of the fruit. I talked about my pepper projects in a previous blog post: Hot, Hot, Hot! In the future I won’t need to grow hot peppers and if you have any suggestions for what to plant leave me a comment.
In another EarthBox I planted six different herbs, and other then the quickly wilting cilantro this was a brilliant success. I also planted some Chocolate Mint and Dill in flower pots and was able to harvest and dry a lot of herbs.
The planter full of cucumbers was amazing and was so much fun that I would definitely repeat this set up next year, especially since I have the trellis and tripod already constructed.
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The biggest disappointment and hiccup in the process was running out of nutrients and the development of blossom end rot. The indeterminate tomato took a lot of nutrients and water, as did the cucumbers and because I am a low work, high yield sort of a gardener I didn’t think to begin watering twice a day and providing supplemental fertilizer until the plants were already stressed. Next year I will be sure to add a richer fertilizer when prepping the boxes and begin using a water based fertilizer about 8 weeks in or at the first sign of stress. The EarthBox website makes the claim you can get your entire yield from the fertilizer put into the potting soil before planting. Maybe that can be accomplished with their proprietary blend but not with what I was using. Both the tomato and cucumbers got yellow leaves but eventually responded well to epsom salt and miracle grow added with weekly waterings.
For next year I still have some questions:
When do I stop providing plant food?
How do I know when a plant will stop giving fruit?
If one plant appears done for the season will it harm the others to cut it off at the soil level? Or should I just leave it until I pack up all the plants for the season?
Do I overwinter with the plastic covering on? or off?
How many years can I reuse the potting soil before I should just toss it all and start fresh again?
If my tomatoes did not get as large as stated on the label is it because of light or nutrients?….or both?
I think the project was a success and it gave my family of three enough produce to keep things interesting and to put some food aside for the winter months. If any of my readers have suggestions or feedback it is most welcome.
So here in Michigan a fall chill or even full-on winter weather has been known to come too early. Notably, we often have to send our kids out to trick or treat in their coats and one year it snowed on Halloween! I am not sure when it started, but somewhere along the way I made it a point of personal pride to avoid turning on the furnace until the last possible moment. September is totally unacceptable and if you’re such a cupcake that you turn on the heat this early, then yes, the rugged people of Michigan are judging you. Now that it is October we are getting into some marginal territory; where it is acceptable in *certain circumstances* however, not fretting about your gas bill when you open the door 50 times for trick or treaters is the real treat.
Here is a Weather Channel chart for when the first snow can be expected. If your area is not listed, follow the link below for other regions in North America. In 2006 we had record snowfall on October 12… these are the certain circumstances mentioned above.
Portage Michigan is about half-way between Chicago and Detroit so there are two techniques I use to maintain my ability to proudly say “I have not turned on my furnace yet” even when the temps get chilly:
Use the oven
knitting
Making a pumpkin pie or roasting some vegetables is a great way to get your kids to stop complaining about the cold. Here is what I prepared today …
Roasted brussels sprouts, potatoes and cauliflower rice drizzled with Siracha.
This was a good way to keep the oven on for at least 45 min shoveling trays in and out at 425 degrees. Just in case I am the only one who eats the brussels sprouts I baked an Apple Dapple Cake (sans frosting) to make sure everyone has a full tummy.
I could not bring myself to add the frosting after dumping two cups of sugar into the batter. The cake kept the oven on for one hour and we are all pretty happy about that with overnight temps in the 40’s.
The other approach is knitting. This is the time of year we start wearing hats in the house; including snuggly sweatshirts, socks and scarves. I have just finished knitting for my new grand niece and can begin everyone’s hat for this year any time. Here is a collection of hats made last year; most of them gifted.
This mini Mackintosh Jacket will need to wait for the little one to grow into it. However, having the yarn piled into your lap is a nice way to stay warm. Here’s to making it to Halloween before turning on the furnace, wish me luck!
I love growing hot peppers and the jewels in the crown of my garden this year are the Tabasco Pepper and The Gong Bao Pepper. The plants were beautiful however I suspect their location did not deliver enough sunshine as the Anaheim’s were short and less abundant. I grew four kinds of peppers that are prepared in very different ways.
Serrano- eaten fresh red or green in salsa
Anaheim- roasted and diced, added to anything you want to have a little kick
Gong Bao- dried and crushed to eat on pizza, pasta and soups
Tabasco- mashed and fermented into a hot sauce
I will share more about the hot pepper sauce we are planning to make with the Tabasco Pepper but today I thought I would share how I am preserving my Gong Bao Pepper.
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While the Serrano and Anaheim peppers are meant to be eaten green the Gong Bao are intended to be a brilliant red pepper with thin walls, good flavor and moderately intense heat. This plant was so beautiful and delivered red peppers in July and continues to produce into October. So that I don’t get overwhelmed I created some ristras.
Creating a ristra with needle, sturdy thread and gloves to protect my fingers from the hot juice.
This is a simple process of stringing the chilis together and hanging them in a dry airy place. In past years I have strung chilis by piercing them at their stem however when they dry the stems want to fall off and this can make the ristra more fragile. Here I simply pierced them in the middle of each pod and keep the needle attached so that I can add more as they ripen and are harvested. When full I tie it to some cardboard and start another. Don’t forget to wear gloves for this project the fresh chilis will emit juice when pierced with a needle.
Gong Pao Thai Chili ristras hanging in my family room alongside some rosemary and sage.
Eventually these will be dry enough to process into red chili flakes. The green stems are removed and the pods placed into a blender. Depending on the level of heat you enjoy you can remove some of the seeds for a milder effect. My husband likes to grind them with a spice/coffee mill and put it in a shaker so hot pepper can be added to everything.
Halloween Wreath made from grapevine, toy snakes and spray paint.
Halloween wreath.
So Pinterest is a wealth of inspiration and with a trip to your Dollar Store and some spray paint you can make this basic snake wreath in a couple hours. For a couple more dollars you can give it some flair with a skeleton and roses. Keep reading to learn how.
Getting Started
If you have access to some vines (grapevines or Virginia creeper for example) you have a free resource. See my blog post on working with grapevines to get this basic wreath shape https://piratepieman.home.blog/2018/09/25/grapevine-time. Or, you can purchase a grapevine wreath from your local craft store. Joanne’s Fabrics and Michaels are always running a promotion or offer a coupon so depending on the size you want this could cost about $5-$10.
Grapevine Wreath
Supplies You Need
vine wreath
cool temp mini glue gun
wire
wire cutters
pliers
spray paint- metallic bronze
dollar store: skull, snakes, bugs, flowers, skeleton hand tongs, ribbon, mini hat
Supplies needed
Dollar Store embelishments
Assembly
I used a combination of wire and hot glue to affix the snakes and bugs to the wreath. I also wove the snakes in among the vines; do what works to keep them secure.
Add dollar store snakes
When everything is attached begin spray painting. It is easy to miss spots because of all of the twisty vines and snakes so take time to walk around the project and turn it around so that you get an even application. This process may take a couple coats. I did mine outside so clean up was simple and the area was well ventilated.
Halloween Wreath made from grapevine, toy snakes and spray paint.
This is where going back to Pinterest is a lot of fun. People are super creative and I was inspired by wreaths using skeletons. I found a simple skeleton head, some arms and black roses with eyeballs at the Dollar Store. As you can see I thought I would use the black spooky fabric in my design but instead used some gold mesh ribbon; do what appeals to you. I poked holes in the back of the skull and threaded wire through to secure it to the wreath.
I got my Halloween Box up from the basement and repurposed a costume headband. I found the key to this project was the even application of the snakes all around the wreath and then using a pop of color to add some luxury and visual interest.
Halloween wreath.
In past years I have hung the basic snake wreath with just a bow and I liked how the snakes are camouflaged and hidden in the simple design. However this year I decided to change things and added embellishments. About every other year I find I get a little tired of my designs and I take items off or just add new elements so that I am excited to see it on display.
In 2011 my husband James innocently brought home a Niagara Grape Vine and asked me “where should we plant it?” I thought our stark chainlink fence separating the front and back yards would be a nice structure to support the vine and, into the ground it went. On September 8th, 2013 we got our first (and best) harvest of grapes.
Niagara Grapes, West Michigan 2013
Niagara Grape Harvest
Niagara Grape Jelly 2013
Single Niagara Grape vine growing on fence in 2018.
It was a big project but I made some mediocre grape jelly which was tasty but runny. Most years we allow the birds (often Cardinals) to have the grapes (and raisins); the primary harvest for myself has been the VINE! Since I started using grapevines for projects in 2014 I have learned a few things about crafting with vines, here is what you need to know:
Supplies:
Gloves
Pruning shears
Measuring tape (so you know how big your wreath will be)
There is a sweet spot for working with grapevines. Too soon and you might as well be working with asparagus, too late and you are working with toothpicks. I have made both of these errors. This photo shows the magic balance between green vines and drier areas that are darker in appearance. If the canes are too dry they can be soaked in water to make them less brittle and if they are too green you can let them dry out a day, maybe two. Even if the canes break or splinter you can continue to make loops and wrap them up. When the globes or wreaths are dry you can adjust the vines to improve the overall appearance.
Grapevine Wreath
I usually start from the ends of the individual vines and remove leaves with my hands and then with sheers trim the tendrils away from the fencing and other vines to produce a pile of canes. I sort the largest canes for bigger wreaths and begin arranging them in circles using the longest most flexible vines to wrap around the bulk to secure the wreath.
Vines stripped of their leaves.
Wreaths set out to dry.
This year (2018) I got started a little too early and the vines were easily broken (like asparagus) but I had a lot of them so I pushed ahead anyway. As you can see one grapevine in a sunny location in West Michigan can give you a lot of material to work with.
Because in past years I have made a lot of wreathes, I was interested in trying some 3-D globes I saw on Pinterest. Off to the Dollar Tree I went for some beach balls. They worked well to hold up the vines while I wrapped them. In addition to these globes I made a smaller one freestyle without an armature; and some larger wreath shapes (since I already have some small and medium wreaths from last year.) It takes a couple days in the sun for the vines to dry and turn reddish brown. I fed my failed attempt to fashion a basket to Donald https://piratepieman.home.blog/2018/09/11/feeding-donald-our-hot-compost. It was so bad it couldn’t even be photographed well.
Grapevine wrapped beachball to create a globe.
Overlapping first few vines to secure the base shape.
I tried to keep the vine’s tendrils for visual interest.2018 grape vine projects.
And once your shapes have dried you are ready to start doing some crafting. I have not fully sorted out what I am going to do with my new globes so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments below.
Examples of how to decorate your grapevine wreaths.
Autumn wreath embellished with pinecones and artificial flowers.
I gave a wreath to my friend DeLight and she created this glorious monogrammed beauty.
Winter wreathHalloween wreath.
Look for my tutorial on making the Halloween Wreath here:
Yes, even though I am in my late 40’s I LOVE YouTube. It has everything. It has taught me the Kitchener Stitch (a knitting technique), dog grooming, cosmetology and after watching hours of VetRanch I could probably neuter a dog (not really.)
So, YouTube talked me into replacing my 60 year old basement windows…myself (with my husband James.) In the 1980’s our mid-century ranch underwent a major expansion that added a lot of living space and created a finished living area in the basement that included replacing half of the basement windows with glass block. When we purchased the house in 2006 I always imagined I would have the rest of the windows treated similarly. Today, having more time than money I started to do a little research. I watched a collection of videos that approached the project in pretty much the same way and convinced me simple vinyl replacement windows were easier, and cheaper than glass block. Here is one that captures the essence of the work (watch out he will make you want a drywall hammer.)
Here is what I learned: I needed a window, expanding foam (low) and caulk. I had to buy a small level, because I could not find mine, otherwise I was good to go for very little coin. We did not use a chisel but instead used a very large heavy file to smooth the cement ridge we encountered.
The Old Windows
At some point previous owners covered the windows with window clings to resemble stained glass; maybe to distract from the cracks or because they had things in their basement more valuable then cat turds.
Old windows held together with window clings. Notice significant *spooky* spider activity.
The detail that I glossed over was his use of a Sawzall and if you have very keen observation skills you will notice that my window frames are steel and married to the house with cement (not the easy going modern wood frame structures other more fortunate people might encounter.) The first window went pretty smoothly so we ran to the store and bought two more. Installing three windows took the entire day. The most harrowing moments were encountered trying to demolish the old window frames. The steel casings didn’t want to budge and we used a hack saw in order to weaken them enough to pull them out. Twice we thought “Oh shit we have destroyed this window (and have made a big hole in our house) and we will need a professional (we can’t afford) to finish the project.”
Demolition and the “will it fit?” moment…
The New Windows
His advice for measuring both inside and outside was important. While each window looked similar each had different measurements by 1/4 inch but we settled on one window size for all. We removed the screen and glass so that we could install the frame and then just re install the window after we were done, this step (not mentioned in this video) was helpful and I recommend doing it. The window was a good pick and the plastic trim along the edges of the frame was easy to cut off to adjust the fit. The slide-show below highlights the window we purchased, the foaming in and the trimming of foam.
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Expanding foam really expands and as you can see I went way overboard. I read elsewhere that trimming it like we did lowers the ‘R value’ (according to https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize/insulation thermal resistance or R-value — the higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness) and it is better just to push the bubbles back into the frame so I did that were I could. My foam application technique improved with each window but it was pretty fun to work with and hard to refrain from using the ‘more is more’ philosophy. Trust me with expanding foam ‘less is more.’
Finishing With Caulk
My husband and I, and the friendly guy at Lowes, went around and around about whether to use cement caulk or regular caulk and then we went with Silicone. Working with 100% Silicone Calk was not fun. I have done my fair share of work with painters caulk and don’t be fooled they are NOT THE SAME. The reason for using 100% silicone was how well it adheres to a variety of materials. In this case we had wood, vinyl and cement and we needed it to perform well indoors and out. 100% silicone is much softer initially and does not lay down a tidy bead like was highlighted by my Canadian muse Jeff Thorman (what a great name, no wonder he sold me on the drywall hammer.) It wanted to drip and puddle so I learned to apply a little and allow it to set up and then smooth it into place with a plastic putty knife. Not pictured was the masking tape used to keep foam or caulk from sticking to the pretty new window but Mr Thorman recommended it and he was right. I was unsure about selecting grey caulk instead if white but hoped it would soften the transition to the cement (which I think it does) however it is still shiny even when dry which I didn’t anticipate. I used the same product inside even though this type of caulk can not be painted; because the walls surrounding the window are unfinished (unlike in the YouTube video) and if they are eventually finished it will be covered up by drywall and not painted.
Finished install with silicone caulk.
The Highlights
Over all, the project took about 8 hours the first day (to demolish old windows and install new) and two hours the second (to trim/poke the foam and apply caulk.) I spent a lot of time outside on my stomach or knees while James was inside on the ladder in the basement with his head in a spider webs (it sounds dirty and it was.) Here is a list of everything we used:
Ladder
Hammer
Pry-bar
Heavy metal file
Hacksaw
Gloves
Goggles
Blanket (so I was not sitting in the mud)
Pencil
Measuring tape
Level
Masking tape
Windows
Caulk
Expanding Foam *for Windows and Doors*
Putty knife
Utility knife
Paper towels
Task brush/broom
Teenager to make Mac N Cheese while you shower because you can’t use your arms anymore.
The pain of refinishing twin 80 year old Simmons pressed metal dressers. I mentioned in a previous post that this summer my mother in law moved into assisted living and the home she built and lived in for 60 years was sold. There was a lot of sorting and deciding what artifacts we wanted to become a part of our hoard and what was going to have to find its own new path. My husband and I have never invested much in furniture and my now 14 year old daughter was still using the dresser we got at Target to house her baby clothes; so we brought home two Simmons pressed metal dressers. These dressers had been living in her basement holding her linens and gift wrap for fifty years.
1930’s catalog insert for Simmons furniture collection.
The dressers had been painted multiple times so I naively set out to strip them and paint at least one for my daughter. During my research I stumbled across what hipsters are doing with these dressers and found this:
Similar pressed metal dresser advertised on Urbanremainschicago.com
So with too much time on my hands I got started.
IT WAS HELL. It took MONTHS to strip all the paint meanwhile I was parking in the driveway (while the dressers lived it up in the garage), I sustained chemical burns (yes I did try CitriStrip and it was too cute to get the job done) and ruined quiet a few outfits and one pair of shoes. I started in March before it got too hot but that discouraged the CitriStrip from working; and when it got hot my rubber chemical resistant gloves filled with sweat that would pour out every time I lifted my hands. Hell I say!
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As you can see both dressers were stripped, one is finished and has become part of the family however the other one continues to sit in the garage rusting. Here is why: I read Michelle Hinckley’s blog (of course only after I was deep into the project) and I was not sure if it was providing me an inspiration or warning?
Her blog post was hilarious, and I felt so much better after seeing what she went through but I had no idea how to achieve that finish! It was heavenly and magical and I want it. My husband did a test area with steel wool and it became a mirror finish. OH-HELL-NO. So what do I do?
Perhaps I should take my childbirth analogy to heart; polish the dresser, accept it’s flaws, and seal it with furniture wax and bring it into the guest bedroom for the winter. When the pain of labor from this past summer fades I can continue to try to get that smooth even finish Michelle Hinckley wisely paid someone else to deliver.
Five years ago a majestic Maple tree in my front yard was torn apart by wind and had to be removed leaving a tragic scar. I have never done any serious landscape work and found myself pretty overwhelmed. I wanted to hire people, my husband did not. He wanted to level it and plant grass and I wanted a garden with flowers. So, it sat untouched for years; which allowed the tree roots to decompose. Last year my husband and I (mostly my husband) moved the Vinca and turned the soil to kill the crabgrass and outlined the bed. Finally, this summer I threw myself into planting my garden. Lots of credit should go to the Better Homes and Gardens “Garden Plan Finder” https://www.bhg.com/gardening/garden-plan-finder/?psrc=MN_R804BRM1455GF I used the “Property Line Garden” https://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/special-spots/property-line-garden/ as my primary inspiration however selection of the individual plants was inspired by plants that worked for my neighbors or my neighbors gave me, one’s I loved, and nuisance plants I could dig up for free.
Things went pretty well and while it was hot, sweaty, dirty work I started to enjoy myself. When I had other stuff to do I would ignore it and spend time in the garden. I lovingly watered and fertilized and the plants thrived. What I didn’t see coming was the heartbreak.
First Year planting of Property Line Garden West Michigan.
It started with the Deer; whatever the internet or plant care tags say, Deer will eat whatever they decide to eat. Bee’s, there are a lot of bees and much to my dismay cute little bumble bees sting (they are not flying pandas); and so do yellow jackets. Cicada killers are just scary, but didn’t sting me. Sadly, I fall into the category of people who have “moderately severe allergic reaction to bee stings.” And, spider bites, so throw in spiders too. And plants die, or threaten to die and because you love them you will buy potions and do research, trying to keep them alive but you may not know until spring if you succeed.
I am not sure I would begin calling myself a gardener anytime soon, however my garden continues to try to charm me with its finer points including the frogs and toads and caterpillars and squirrels munching mushrooms (which is seriously too cute) and even the spooky stuff is kinda cool (check out the stinkhorn mushrooms and benevolent garden orb weaver.)
Golden Wooly Bear
Stinkhorn Fungus
Black and Yellow Garden Spider
Cope’s Grey Tree Frog
2018 Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar
I’ll let you know if we break up in the spring, but like with most love affairs, I am accepting the good with the bad. The garden is beginning to get compliments (through the four feet of bird netting I had to put up to keep the deer out.)
2018 Property Line Garden
Pink Lemonade Sedum
Zagreb Coreopsis (front) and Perennial Salvia
Plants the deer ate: Day Lily, Red Twig Dogwood, Pink Lemonade Sedum, Purple Cone Flower, Phlox, Artemisia.
Plants the deer have not (yet) eaten: Sprinter Boxwood, Russian Sage, Zagreb Coreopsis, Artemisia, Korean Spice Viburnum (not pictured).
This summer, I found myself with some time on my hands and decided to work on our garden. So off to the internet I went for inspiration! I came across How to build an easy hot compost and I thought I would take our compost “pile” and make it look a little more respectable. It has been pretty amazing. We take our kitchen scraps out to the compost (Donald) every other day. As recommended, I added lawn clippings periodically throughout the summer and now…when I sink in my shovel, it steams! The project cost under $40.00. Next year, the ferns I planted will conceal the bins and the compost will be ready to share with the garden. This is a project I recommend.
I gave a wreath to my friend DeLight and she created this glorious monogrammed beauty.
I wanted to hire people, my husband did not. He wanted to level it and plant grass and I wanted a garden with flowers. So, it sat untouched for years; which allowed the tree roots to decompose. Last year my husband and I (mostly my husband) moved the Vinca and turned the soil to kill the crabgrass and outlined the bed. Finally, this summer I threw myself into planting my garden. Lots of credit should go to the Better Homes and Gardens “Garden Plan Finder” 
The Pirate Pieman 