Tonight, after I planted the juniper, the piles of extra rocks sitting around the yard were suddenly so annoying in their messiness that I spent an hour or so starting to pile them into a dry-laid wall, as maundered about below. For a snap decision this is working out gloriously: it's gotten rid of about half the rock piles so far, and it looks fantastic. There are all kinds of nooks and crannies in it, which I may try to stuff with plants, but which will no doubt also shelter snakes and toads and all kinds of good garden critters. Also, I hear that you can paint rocks with some sort of yogurt solution to encourage moss - will have to double check that Fine Gardening article again.

How solidly this wall is constructed is anyone's guess, especially since I remember hearing that a dry-laid wall actually takes considerable skill to build, and I have none such (as the blog title notes, just enthusiasm). Well, if it falls over on the hydrangeas, no loss there, right?

As mentioned, I would looooooove to have a gorgeous copper fountain in front of this wall, where it would make a stunning centerpiece for the whole yard. The trick there is that the fountains I have my eye on require a power source, which would involve burying a line in conduit all the way across the yard from the house - a.k.a. total, abject pain in the ass. I'll have to ask if there's some way to substitute a solar or battery powered pump.

One last note before I go to bed: I badly want a creation by this lady, whose work I first saw at Art in the Park. Something to sit nestled in the middle back, maybe, in front of the maybe-a-spirea and hydrangeas, with other stuff growing up around it. I don't know if I should invest in such a thing at this point, though, or if I should wait until the garden halfway looks worthy of it. She's supposed to be at Art in the Park again this year, so maybe I'll track down her tent and ask some questions.