Last Breath of Garden Arch

The cottonwood flower bed east of the house continues to be the bain of my summertime existence. Over the past seven years, I've tried to whip it into shape and garner some sort of order within the randomness of the vintage and new plants - not to mention the rotting retaining timbers and the oddity of things found buried in the dirt. <sigh> I'm tired, just typing about it!

One remnant of the garden's life with noTTafarm's previous owners is the arch created from plumbing pipe and chicken wire, placed in the center of a partial-brick pathway that circumvents the bed. With its wood supports crumbling, I was able to convince Scott that the time had come to take it down on August 13.

With a tow rope in hand and the Ranger at his side, anything is possible - including the quick and easy removal of the old structure.

Pretty simple, actually. Just loop the rope around . . .  

. . . secure the ends to the Ranger's tow hook then . . . 

 . . . pull!  And it's going, 

 going, 

 gone!

The stucture came down in a tangled mess. 

In true Norgard fashion, the legs of the arch were set in a thick concrete slab which Scott set free with the use of his cordless reciprocating saw.

The pipes were salvaged and placed in the barn; you never know when they will come in handy! 

 With the removal process complete, I turned my attention to raking out two years' worth of cottonwood leaves.

Ta Da!

The clean - although not very secure - pathway. 

The next problem is these timbers...they're about 75% gone and not necessarily safe to walk on. Perhaps I can convince Scott that it's time to tear them out, add a truckload of soil, and expand the flower bed. But that would create even more space for weeds to grow. I need to rethink that idea . . .

Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!