Front Garden is done.

Before

After

Well, I'm pretty stoked about the front garden. I ordered a TON of stuff from Brecks Nursery. It is all buried in the above picture. I dug out most of the lava rock and buried lots of perennials and then I covered it all again with rock. I have to keep water on it because we went from 60s to upper 80s in a week. Whoever stated Kansas is the only place with crazy weather lied. This place changes from day to day too! 

I have learned with years it is much better to do a project correctly the first time than to cuss and redo it. Inevitably, you never come back and fix the half-assed way you did the project the first time, but you spend a LOT of time cussing about how you should have done it AND cussing about how it needs to be redone. Thanks to living with a perfectionist and working for three months with my Dad, I have learned the importance of doing it correctly the first time.

I actually went and bought paver sand. (Yeah, these projects of mine---when done correctly and not half-assed--get expensive and fast!) I bought pavers, more perennials, a pump for the fountain, LED lights for the fountain and LOTS of Diet Dew to keep me hydrated. 

Work, work and more work

I asked the person who measures for a living, oh my Prince Charming, how he thought I should try and level the land for the awesome new bench purchased at Kirklands. (Man, I love that store!) He was patient and kind with me. I could see the fear behind his eyes as he just knew the pavers would be uneven and we would trip on them due to my lack of perfection. (Pshhh, whatever....) I pulled back all lava rock, all weed barrier and tilled the ground. I then leveled it with my hoe, pounded it down with a makeshift 2x4 device, filled it in with paver sand, leveled it again with a long 2x4, got out a level, and FINALLY started laying down the pavers. OMG. It was also 84 degrees out side. Sheesh.

I'm so tickled about how it turned out. Unfortunately, there is TONS underneath the rocks to sprout soon. I even put ground cover in between all pavers. The fountain was fixed with cement glue and is working like a charm. It is nice to sit on my bench with my Dew and listen to the water trickling with the lights glowing! It is just plain beautiful. AND it is completely level. No stones are uneven. Check me out! Three years from now it will be maintenance free and beautiful. I gotta keep watering for now as it is hot for the next few days.