{"id":5436,"date":"2015-05-29T15:31:35","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T22:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogadmin.plantlust.com\/blog\/?p=5436"},"modified":"2024-01-24T07:08:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T15:08:35","slug":"puzzle-working-a-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantlust.com\/blog\/gardens\/puzzle-working-a-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"puzzle working a garden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My brain likes puzzles, and the longer I live in my own flip flops, the more I appreciate this as a\u00a0bona fide creative strategy. Puzzle working is in my bones. My parents claimed I could work a wooden\u00a0US puzzle when I was just three&#8211;and lickety split.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5542\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5542\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5542\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153921\/PLC-009_Me-on-Porch.jpg\" alt=\"Me at three. Champion US Puzzle worker.\" width=\"676\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153921\/PLC-009_Me-on-Porch.jpg 676w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153921\/PLC-009_Me-on-Porch-198x300.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5542\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Me at three. Champion US Puzzle worker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now it&#8217;s my approach to everything, and especially fun\u00a0in the gardening. Often it can be\u00a0serendipitous, but that doesn&#8217;t mean there&#8217;s not a puzzle to be worked. <a title=\"Loree of Danger Garden\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thedangergarden.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Danger Garden<\/a> recently gave me a sweet little\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/plantlust.com\/plants\/26909\/olea-europaea-frantoio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hardy OliveTree<\/a>. Does that mean I can call my style Plant-Driven? That sounds a little better than ADD, which is what I usually own up to.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5486\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5486\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5486\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0311.jpg\" alt=\"An Olive Tree, just the ticket to kick off a Mediterranean Garden.\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0311.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0311-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5486\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">An Olive Tree, just the ticket to kick off a Mediterranean Garden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I moved it around in the pot trying to decided where to put it, and finally settled on an area I hadn&#8217;t given much thought. It&#8217;s a strip of yard\u00a0beside the driveway,\u00a0opposite the Sea of Juniper. This area has its own\u00a0smaller Body\u00a0of Juniper, but there was plenty of room to plant the tree, and it&#8217;s a perfect location. (That Juniper\u00a0should be quivering in its roots.) And now,\u00a0I have a start for a\u00a0Mediterranean Garden.\u00a0I&#8217;m so excited to have a\u00a0new area to contemplate.<\/p>\n<p>Tell me I have kindred spirits out there, please.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->When we first move to Flamingo Park, I entertained the idea of working with a designer before I did anything. And I still hope to one day, bank balance permitting. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have inspiring gardeners aplenty,\u00a0fabulous nurseries, and \u00a0a plethora of accomplished designers. Designers know things, lots of things,\u00a0<a title=\"Vanessa Nagel Gardner Design\" href=\"https:\/\/seasonsgardendesign.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vanessa Gardner\u00a0Nagel<\/a>, <a title=\"Lauren and Lily Villa Gardens\" href=\"http:\/\/www.lilyvillagardens.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lauren Hall-Brehrens<\/a>, <a title=\"Bob Hyland Garden Design\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hylandgardendesign.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bob Hyland<\/a>, and <a title=\"Darcy Daniels Bloomtown Design\" href=\"http:\/\/darcydaniels.smugmug.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"broken_link\">Darcy Daniels<\/a>&#8211;to mention a few.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5444\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5444\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5444\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153940\/IMG_0033_Danger-Garden.jpg\" alt=\"Danger Garden front yard. I'm close enough to stalk, I mean walk by regularly.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153940\/IMG_0033_Danger-Garden.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153940\/IMG_0033_Danger-Garden-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5444\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Gardeners aplenty, including <a title=\"Danger Garden Blog\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thedangergarden.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Danger Garden<\/a>. I&#8217;m close enough to stalk, I mean walk past\u00a0regularly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5445\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5445\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5445\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153939\/IMG_0032_Genista.jpg\" alt=\"Look at this fabulous Genista groundcover. How could I not borrow that idea?\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153939\/IMG_0032_Genista.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153939\/IMG_0032_Genista-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5445\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Look at this fabulous Genista groundcover. How could I not borrow that idea? Bet Danger would identify if asked nicely.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And I can always take a short ride to <a title=\"Heather's Garden\" href=\"http:\/\/www.justagirlwithahammer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Heather&#8217;s<\/a> house and check out her garden for inspiration. She said I could, anytime, I swear.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5452\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5452\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5452\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153937\/IMG_0119_Heathers-Garden.jpg\" alt=\"Heather's Garden, a short drive from Flamingo, and packed with great scenarios.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153937\/IMG_0119_Heathers-Garden.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153937\/IMG_0119_Heathers-Garden-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Heather&#8217;s Garden, a short drive from Flamingo Park, and packed with\u00a0ideas worth borrowing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5453\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5453\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5453\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_0120_Heathers-Garden.jpg\" alt=\"Heather's Garden. How's this for sheer beauty.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_0120_Heathers-Garden.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_0120_Heathers-Garden-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5453\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Heather&#8217;s Garden. How&#8217;s this for genius and beauty?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More\u00a0ideas worth borrowing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5460\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5460\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5460\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153934\/IMG_0128_Heathers-Garden.jpg\" alt=\"Melianthus and Canna, of course, now that I see it at Heather's.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153934\/IMG_0128_Heathers-Garden.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153934\/IMG_0128_Heathers-Garden-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Melianthus and Canna brilliant together, of course, now that I see it at Heather&#8217;s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5464\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5464\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5464\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153933\/IMG_0118.jpg\" alt=\"Also from Heather's garden, how's this for a perfectly anchored corner? Maybe she'll tell us which grass it is.\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153933\/IMG_0118.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153933\/IMG_0118-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5464\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Also from Heather&#8217;s garden, how&#8217;s this for a perfectly anchored corner? Maybe she&#8217;ll tell us which grass it is.\u00a0<em>Update: <a title=\"Stipa barbata, a good one.\" href=\"https:\/\/plantlust.com\/plants\/12063\/stipa-barbata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stipa barbata<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, back to storyline. The problem at the start of big tasks, like the new\u00a0garden, is that I&#8217;m fairly certain I can&#8217;t pull it off. I have no evidence to support this notion, but\u00a0doubt persists. And that isn&#8217;t even exactly right. I never actually admit I&#8217;m embarking on a particular project. I begin\u00a0every endeavor\u00a0by backing in via dabbling. I might paint a test color on the wall, which leads to several colors&#8211;and then I have to do something&#8211;even if that means painting the adjoining room instead. Because I have to work the puzzle of how the color flows from room to room. Or I might straighten the edge on a beautiful piece of fabric, and then decide to sew\u00a0up a pillow, or maybe a dozen. Or I&#8217;ll dig a hole to see\u00a0what the soil is like, and boom!\u00a0off to the nursery with a lightbulb moment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5465\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5465\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5465\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153932\/IMG_4506_Xera-in-Rain.jpg\" alt=\"Xera Nursery in the Rain-- last season. We could use some days like this now.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153932\/IMG_4506_Xera-in-Rain.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153932\/IMG_4506_Xera-in-Rain-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5465\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\"><a title=\"Xera Plants in PDX\" href=\"https:\/\/xeraplants.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Xera Nursery<\/a> in the Rain&#8211;last season. We could use some days like this now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After we moved to our new house, my plant lust\u00a0cohorts, Megan and Loree, would hear nothing of my claim that I didn&#8217;t know where to begin. With their encouragement and admonitions, I just\u00a0started. And the crazy thing is, I&#8217;ve said this a million times to other people. Go outside. You&#8217;ll discover\u00a0so much to do, you&#8217;ll have to give up eating and sleeping. I know for certain, my discoveries come in the process. Ideas follow action. And while thinking and strategizing is fine and necessary, on the whole, &#8220;brick and baseball bats are better with Nazis.&#8221; But I digress.<\/p>\n<p>Years ago, I worked with a smart mathy woman who had\u00a0a\u00a0linear nose-to-grindstone style. I admired her, and then one day she said something devastating: &#8220;You&#8217;re not very disciplined, are you?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m still shocked when\u00a0people say mean things, out of the blue: unkind, untrue, un-called for. And while I suspect I drive people completely crazy\u00a0who are\u00a0discipline-driven, I know now that her OCD just ran a different direction\u00a0than mine. Besides,\u00a0those of us with wily poetic\u00a0brains know:&#8221;I&#8217;m good enough. I&#8217;m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, I do admit to getting a tad\u00a0bored once I know how to solve the problem. And that&#8217;s one of the many reasons my\u00a0partner is so good. When I reach the wandering-off stage, Bill is great at coming outside, gently redirecting me, and seeing the project through, especially when there&#8217;s heavy lifting involved.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5457\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5457\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5457\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_8554.jpg\" alt=\"Bill following thru on Sea of Juniper removal.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_8554.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153936\/IMG_8554-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5457\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Follow through on Sea of Juniper removal. Meanwhile, I wandered off and trimmed\u00a0Bamboo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bill is likewise good at encouraging our Happy Hour break. But then, of course, he has to twist my arm.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5458\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5458\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5458\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153935\/IMG_0235.jpg\" alt=\"No job is so important, and no service so vital, we can't take the time for Happy Hour.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153935\/IMG_0235.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153935\/IMG_0235-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5458\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">No job is so important, and no service so vital, we can&#8217;t take the time for Happy Hour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So about my style. I hadn&#8217;t thought too much about the hellstrip in front, because that too seemed too\u00a0daunting. And then my cute 86 year-old neighbor, Rosa, drove by and rolled down her window. &#8220;I see your grass is putting up seeds for next year.&#8221; Holy smokes, she&#8217;s out working in her yard almost every day, and I thought I&#8217;d better do something about it, PDQ. And then I started noodling, seeing if I could pull the grass out of the sedums, which was insane. Eventually I started pulling the sedums out of the grass. And then some went right to recycling bin.<\/p>\n<p>Upshot, under all the grass and sedum, I found pavers, in fact two sets of four. Not bad, no? I had one bag of crushed rock on hand, so cleared enough around one just\u00a0to see how it\u00a0would look.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5467\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5467\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5467\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153931\/IMG_0200.jpg\" alt=\"Flamingo Park Hellstrip b4. Doesn't look so terrible from this angle.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153931\/IMG_0200.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153931\/IMG_0200-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5467\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Flamingo Park Hellstrip b4. Doesn&#8217;t look so terrible from this angle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But close up tells another story.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5468\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5468\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5468\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153930\/IMG_0201.jpg\" alt=\"Sedum hellstrip with grass overtaking the plants. And not the good kind of grass that I paid for.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153930\/IMG_0201.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153930\/IMG_0201-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5468\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Sedum hellstrip with grass overtaking the plants. And not the good kind of grass that I paid for.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5469\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5469\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5469\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153929\/IMG_0212.jpg\" alt=\"Pulling sedum out of the grass became the easier task.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153929\/IMG_0212.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153929\/IMG_0212-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5469\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">Pulling sedum out of the grass became the easier task.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And then Bill came out. It goes so much faster when he&#8217;s not try to save every scrap of sedum that will grow back impossibly dense anyway.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5470\" aria-describedby=\"figcaption_attachment_5470\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"contentURL\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5470\" src=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0213.jpg\" alt=\"More 50# bags of crushed rock now in stock. I could get the handtruck and finish myself. But I'm good now that I know the solution. Oh, Bill...\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0213.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/d17vsf20mehj1i.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/01153928\/IMG_0213-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_5470\" class=\"wp-caption-text\" itemprop=\"description\">We found two areas with stepping stones on the hellstrip&#8211;which is where I&#8217;m sure cars will now park. And\u00a0I know where I can safely plant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I do have more\u00a050# bags of crushed rock in stock now. And I could get the handtruck and finish it myself. The thing is,\u00a0I&#8217;m good with knowing a solution is in the offing.<\/p>\n<p>Cheers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My brain likes puzzles, and the longer I live in my own flip flops, the more I appreciate this as a\u00a0bona fide creative strategy. Puzzle working is in my bones. My parents claimed I could work a wooden\u00a0US puzzle when I was just three&#8211;and lickety split. Now it&#8217;s my approach to everything, and especially fun\u00a0in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[494,1210,1321,888,887,108,1446,808],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>puzzle working a garden - Plant Lust<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My brain likes puzzles, and the longer I live in my own flip flops, the more I appreciate this as a\u00a0bona fide creative strategy. Puzzle working is in my\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/plantlust.com\/blog\/gardens\/puzzle-working-a-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"puzzle working a garden - Plant Lust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My brain likes puzzles, and the longer I live in my own flip flops, the more I appreciate this as a\u00a0bona fide creative strategy. 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