This is ridiculous!!

Note: Due to the brutal weather, I'm off to Burma (Myanmar, if you like), so I won't be having another post for three weeks or so.

     On Halloween, I got quite a trick--9 inches (about 23 cm.) of snow.  After melting, I got another 6 inches.  Then it got nice and cold--three above zero for two mornings (minus 15 Celsius, to make it sound worse).  So, for the first time in 50 years of gardening here, it looks as though I will not get to remove any leaves, perennial--or even my annuals--until next spring (if there will be one).
     So, what happened to global warming?  Maybe I'll find it in Burma.

I won't use it--but it looks nice.

     I have benches, tables, and seats all over my gardens.  But I can't seem to sit on any of them--at least for more than a minute.  Too much stuff to do and see, I guess.  Anyhow, I recently built another seat out of hundred-year-plus antique street pavers, topped with a "sandwiched" bench of three different layers of wood.  It is not fixed to the bricks, and it is heavy enough to remain in place.  It is also cantilevered, allowing it to hang over the low wall of fieldstones below the new bed of Vinca minor.  The bricks rest on a concrete foundation and concrete blocks to protect it from frost damage.
     I temporarily placed containers of Dragon Wing Begonias to see if I liked the effect.  I will likely do something similar next year, as I like how the bench is "nestled in" by the flowers, softening the whole structure.
     The first photo, taken from my patio at the bottom of the hill, shows how it fits in the whole back yard redevelopment.  It is at the center right of the photo. 
     To finish off the project, I added some mosses at the front base of the bricks.  Nice touch, I think.