Last year, in preparation for the brickwork across the back of our carport storage area, I spent a very long day removing a very full bed of very old euonymus. That mass of entangled vine stretched the width of this new bed and came out about four feet from where the brick is now. That particular portion of the new bed provided the easy digging today. The Wisconsin river rocks were repurposed from the ginkgo bed in the front yard. The Cherokee Princess dogwood will be planted where the sun-catcher is stuck (it looks like a stick here), at the halfway point in the width of the brick wall.
My husband, Craig, caught this shot when I thought I was nearing the end. Nope. The longer I dug, the more I kept imagining what else I could plant in the bed if only it were a little bit bigger . . . and then a little bit bigger. Fortunately, the photographer returned with another shovel to lend a hand at the end!
The other measurement I used to determine where the dogwood would be planted is from the point between the French doors in our 2019 bedroom addition (in the background above). The dogwood should provide a nice focal point in the view from the doors all year ’round.
Post-clean-up, post-shower, and post-G&Ts . . . here’s the bed ready for the Princess’s arrival from English Gardens via Singing Tree. After the tree is planted tomorrow–at some (safe) point–I’ll need to return to Haley Stone Patio and Landscape Supply for enough river rocks to complete this larger-than-planned semi-circular bed.

A great Memorial Day project for keeping busy all day at home!