Hops

Just got in from watering the garden and pulling out a million hop shoots.  I think I have to remove one of my hop plants - they are really starting to take over the yard; growing under the patio, smothering other plants, etc.  I think I know what one of my many Father's Day projects will be.  Pictures at 11:00.

Hoppy times in the back yard

It's been a while since I posted anything about the yard.  The reason is that not much is happening there since I have been preoccupied with the basement and all.  One nice thing that is going on is the hops that have grown over the pergola.  I hope they have no problem coming back next year because I like the look and am still holding out hope that one day I can make a batch of brew with them.   

Also, I don't think I mentioned but I added another line of slats to the pergola.  It seemed a bit too open and I  like the new look of it.  I still hope to tackle de-uglying the garage this year and then doing a better blog entry on the pergola construction.  

Working Late

I really wanted to get the patio in before the weekend so that all I had was trellis work on my days off.  I barely made it but was able to lay all the pavers before the sun was completely down.  I have a couple that are still a little uneven but I will fix them over the weekend.  I am really liking the new patio location but can't wait to get the project wrapped up this weekend so we can actually dine out there.  I wonder how long before the ugliness of the garage gets the better of me and I re-do the siding there...  

Rule of thumb: 1/2" of space should be allowed for every 12' of patio length if you are placing your patio between two static objects.  Then again, you may want to make that 3/4" as this sucker barely fits.  

I also want to give a shout out to Jay over at Humphrey House.  He gave me this awesome hops plant for the garden.  Hopefully it will be taking over the pergola in no time.