Spiritual and Temporal Creation

I have a big blue book. It has drawings in it from when we lived in Springville. But most of it is full of plans for our garden here at the Provo house. You start by imagining options (above--the back yard). What shape is the grass? Where will we put the trees? What about a vegetable garden? Roses? Strawberries? The plan firms up, and will change a lot before you're done,


but you've got a pretty good master plan:

Start with the front porch. A railing, a glider, a tea table,

a green front door, just like Bilbo Baggin's (not round, unfortunately). Wait, you planted a vine on the railing, and it's taking over:

but there's the glider, and the tea table with a pot of flowers on it:


You finally decide on the shape of the lawn--a half-circle, hedged with roses:

and there it is, too big to get in one photo from the deck:


The swing and rose arbor in the southeast corner:

a little different in reality than on the page, but recognizably the arbor and swing you had in mind:

The strawberry path (behind the roses) from the swing to the grape arbor:

The grape arbor should look like this:

and it does!
Close-up with Mr. Twinkles:

The veggie plan is more complex. But John agreed to make it:

and so it is realized:

Grandma Gene needed a carport (we could put a deck on top),

and we needed a garden shed. How about a combined grape/rose arbor in front of the shed, in front of the carport?

It's done!


We thought of lattice for the deck to help with the afternoon sun,

but didn't actually put it up until we moved our cats to the garden this spring and Hero would climb between the railings and jump to the driveway below. The lattice is enough to keep her in the back yard.
Especially with the beautiful rock garden (which get's its own post tomorrow), I have felt the incredible pleasure and sense of power that comes from having an idea, making a drawing, and (eventually) voila! there it is in three dimensional space, usually a lot more green and lush than I imagined. It really is god-like.

Of course it mostly comes from having willing family members who do the hard labor.