Deb and I have "discussed" her landscape design or lack thereof for years. She has a tendency to plant things with little if any thought as to how big they will get. We live in south Florida and some plants grow extremely rapidly.

I am reminded of her landscaping technique every time I mow the grass, having to navigate her obstacle course of plants and gardens with the mower.

This year, several weeks before her birthday she said all she wanted was another garden. She wanted to be able to look out the kitchen window and look directly into a "new" garden.

The thought of yet another garden in our already crowded backyard filled me with fear and trepidation. I figured the only way to make us both happy would be to design and plant the garden myself.

Our next door neighbor works at a lumber yard. He had a large pile of brand new lumber sitting in his carport. He told me a customer ordered it cut to size, then after it was cut he canceled the order. My neighbor saved the wood from the dumpster by bringing it home. He asked me if I wanted it and after looking at it and counting the pieces I accepted his offer.

I started making scale drawings with AutoCad and in a short time had a design for Deb's garden. I started building a wooden deck that would be the foundation for her new garden. I had it built in one day and I was happy with it. I think she had some trouble visualizing the garden with nothing more than a wooden deck in the yard.

The following weekend I arranged to meet our landscape architect (Pamela Stanton) at Nu-Turf, the local plant nursery. I told Pam I was planning a Japanese style garden and wanted her help in selecting plants that would grow slowly and require a minimum amount of maintenance. She picked a Juniper, a Powder Puff, some Mondo Grass and cypress mulch and white marble chips. We ordered everything we needed for the project and paid to have it delivered to the house.

The 3 of us went back to the house and started laying out the shape of the garden with a water hose (a trick Uncle Jay taught me years ago). We all agreed on the shape and we started removing sod. We installed rubber edging to define the shape and make trimming the grass around the garden much easier.

Not long after we had the edging done, the materials arrived and we started planting. We got everything planted and then installed the mulch and marble chips. I replaced the concrete stepping stones that led from the back porch to the pool, and put edging around them, filling the spaces between them with the marble chips.

By the end of a very long and hot day, we had a garden that Deb was very happy with. Although she liked the new garden, by the following weekend I convinced her we needed some boulders and some Tiki lights to finish things off. We made a run to the Home Depot and bought several "feather rocks", 6 Tiki lights and a couple of real nice outdoor lounge chairs.

We've had a couple of parties since we finished the garden and so far everyone is very impressed with it and they all enjoy sitting around it. I have to admit it is a little more work when it comes to mowing the lawn back there, but it is worth the extra work. Deb and I both enjoy sitting out there in the evening and then taking a dip in the pool before bed.