"Echoes of Eden" Dayle King Searle

    We have a concrete slab in our backyard that we call "the basketball court." It is where our children learned to ride bikes and where countless games of Horse have been played. For the wedding, it will serve as the dance floor.           When I looked at this utilitarian, but ugly, concrete and imagined the chiffon lined tent complete with chandeliers that will cover it for the wedding, the designer in me said, "No, no, no, this will not do at all!" The floor under the tent needed to be something more attractive.  But concrete is what we had, and we weren't getting rid of it. So what was I to do?

     My husband built this swing set over fifteen years ago. It is still sturdy and, as you can see from this picture taken at our annual Easter Egg Hunt, it gets a lot of use.      But despite still being functional, it wasn't looking very good. Since the swing set is right by the main area for the reception, we decided it needed a little sprucing up.

     Last evening my niece hosted a bridal shower for my daughter. It was held in my yard. We cleaned up all the construction debris that has been littering the yard for the past few weeks, and low and behold, things didn't look too bad. There are still places where the lawn needs more recovery time, the beds need to be weeded, and I do have a few more projects I want to get done. But overall, I was encouraged that in four weeks, this place will be ready for a wedding reception.  Me with my beautiful daughters         The weather was perfect--no wind, no rain not too hot, and not too cool. So what I want to know now is where can I place an order for any evening just like that for four weeks from now!

        Right up next to our house on the west end is a woodpile. My husband has joked that the rest of the yard is mine, but that spot is his. The problem is that it is the first view of our house anyone coming from the west gets. And even more of a problem, that is the side of the house people will be entering from for the wedding reception. As you can see, it isn't very attractive--not exactly the first impression I want to have wedding guests have of our yard.      I have thought of moving the woodpile, but this location is the most convenient, and there really isn't anyplace else I'd rather have it. So if I can't move the eyesore, the least I can do is hide it instead.

          When my daughter told us she wanted to have her wedding reception in our yard in September, I knew there wouldn't be many of my perennial plants and bushes in bloom at that time of year. So whenever anyone asked if they could do anything to help me with the wedding, I replied, "Plant pink and coral flowers in your pots." I did the same. These pots will add much needed color to the yard for the wedding.          As you can see from this picture taken last week, the pots are looking gorgeous, which would be great if the wedding were today. But there is still a month until the wedding. By then the flowerpots could be looking straggly and spent. I decided it was time to take action to make sure that didn't happen.