SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION in the labyrinth

You may recall that I had begun revamping the northeast corner of the labyrinth last month. Here’s a quick reminder of where I ended:

There I left it, since I was having the landscaping timbers replaced and there was no point in finishing anything in that corner until that disruption was over.

All the old timbers removed.

Now, with the timbers replaced and a new sound system installed (thanks, Hometown Services in Senoia!), it’s time to wrestle the area into some kind of shape.

One good thing about major landscaping is that it does disrupt what you have and allows you to step back and rethink the space. This is what happened when I had the new fence put in the last time I was on the tour of homes: the fence guys ripped out all the ivy, and I carved out the southwest nook from the resulting mess:

So with a clear field, so to speak, in the northeast corner, I stepped back, GESTALTed all over the place, and got to work.

First, I extended the circle of brick into what used to be a tangle of vines and ferns:

I bought ferns to plant along the landscaping timbers; as they fill in, they will provide a nice barrier between the bench and the upper part of the patio. I also transplanted some lily-of-the-valley from where it had spread into the lawn space up to the border. That will make for a good textural contrast with the ferns.

A pause for reflection…

It is not apparent at all that there were already bricks in the picture here. Because I want whatever I do to the back yard to be easily reversible by future generations — and because I’m too lazy — I don’t pour a concrete base for my brick borders. They therefore sink into the ground and have to be excavated on a regular basis.

So I pulled those up and reset them:

Then, because the ring on the left goes all the way around, what if I extended the one on the right past the main circle?

Turn, turn, kick, turn — yes, it will work!

Now I have to set the bricks into the ground and finish the planting there. And then…

New steps. The new landscaping timbers are taller than the old ones, so the timbered steps are awkward. I have plans.