Two days in a row we have had rain in the area so close that a few drops fell on me, the air temperature cooled by about ten degrees, you could smell the rain, but the storms passed us by, and we remain dry.
It is during these really hot summer days that working in a shade garden is especially appealing. So with the help of my other half, Ron, doing most of the heavy lifting, I doubled the area of the Zen shade garden, built a higher retaining wall, and backed the bed with a bamboo curtain to hide the propane tank.
Zen Shade Garden in the Morning
To fill out the extra area in the shade bed, until it gets cool enough to plant again, we moved the potted ficus tree, and one of the bouganvillas into the newly created bed area. I was going to move the Japanese lantern more toward the center of the bed, but when I removed the top I discovered a large nest of wasps living inside, and they were none too happy that I had disturbed their nest. I thought about exterminating them, but that wouldn’t be the “Zen” thing to do, and could cast a negative vibe on the area, so I opted to leave the lantern where it was, wasps intact.
Zen Shade Garden in the Morning Sun
The shade garden is situated to the right of the north entrance to the back yard. Below is a photo of how it looks as you are entering the back yard.
North Entrance to the Back Yard
We installed a new bird feeder in the back yard last week. Here is a shot of a bird on the feeder taken as I was sitting on the back porch.
Bird on New Bird Feeder
Peace,
Carol