Patio Palooza: Hosta la vista

Pssst. Wanna see something heinous? It might make you cry/vomit - yes, at the same time.

Oh, the humanity! I've never seen anything so hideous (and I've been around, man. I've seen some things.).

OK, OK, I'll stop. Because I'm a nice lady at heart and I know you are hurting and because I only had these two before shots of this corner.

In order to get this section in working order, I had to sacrifice a motley crew of plants. It was a merciless slaughter of several hibiscus, some huge weeds and a pitiful rose bush that had been mostly done off by a tribe of ants or something (cause I know you can't tell from my stellar early morning photography). This corner was just plain ugly and I had to be ruthless. The only plant spared were the gladiolas, which brought me much joy the first summer in this little home. Yes, they are flopping and a little stressed having been the sole survivor of a flora massacre, but I like 'em.

After getting caked in mud from tip to toe digging up the ugliness, it was time to repopulate the side garden.

Deep breath. Ahh, isn't this nice?

I'll be honest here. I'm giddy over the transformation. I hope you are, too, sweet readers.

• The centerpiece of this fine section is the sergeant crab apple we scooped up at TimberPine. Word is, it will stay compact, even while the branches get dense. Perfect for this little corner.
• We anchored the edge with some green mountain boxwoods, which will grow about six feet tall and will stay in that nice Christmas tree shape without much upkeep. Can I get a whoop whoop for laziness?
• Next were the hostas. We had split and and saved a gaggle of hostas before we ripped up the old deck so we could use them when we needed some fillers in our new layout. We have a ton. So, here's our first pocket of hostas! Expect more.

Can't wait to show off the final results, hopefully something we'll achieve this weekend (between downpours)!