the sun is finally out

The sun is out after the rain of the past two days. The rain was welcome because I've spent the last week, with my neighbor Julie, planting a garden. A little one in front of my house and a slightly bigger one in the backyard. So the rain was welcome then and the sun is welcome now.
I don't know what's going to happen in my garden. In fact, I don't think that quite says it. I don't have a fucking clue what's going to happen in my garden. I tried to pay attention to the sun requirements of each plant I chose but other than that, it was all a complete frigging whim.
On one side in the back, there are herbs. A few of the usual suspects like mint, chosen partly because I remember that I once had mint in a garden and it seemed to spread easily. And a few herbs I've never heard of, chosen partly because there was a chance they'd flower.
I'm more worried about the plants in the front of the house and that's mostly because they're so near to my neighbor Elizabeth's huge tree. So they don't get much sun and they're dangerously close to a heavy duty root system.
Actually the weeds in the backyard were pretty wild too. We were pulling ten foot roots out of the ground, which would have been longer if they hadn't broken off. I know I'm not saying much but it's always interesting to me all the stuff that's happening under the ground even when you just have a bit of lawn and some weeds like I had up until a week or so ago.
I really hope most of the things I planted survive and flourish though I doubt all of them will and I'm also aware that if they all flourish, I might not like what everything that comes up.
But the truth is, the garden is already a success, even though nothing much has happened yet.
It's about the delineation of space as much as anything else. If I could draw you a picture here, it might be easier to explain. But for instance, in the front, on the strip where I planted the garden, there used to be grass. And as soon as I took out the grass, it already looked better. The dirt alone looked better than the grass had looked.
In the back, there was one strip of garden but it was overgrown with weeds. It was lined with two rows of sunken bricks but you couldn't really see them for all the weeds and lawn.
We dug up the bricks, got rid of the weeds and dug another garden row on the opposite side of the yard, then lined each side with one row of bricks above ground.
That alone made the whole yard look way better. If stuff grows and flowers, all the better... especially if I keep an eye on the weeds.
There's a lot more to do with the yard. It could be a real oasis back there. I could really use a new deck, possibly on two levels. And at the back, I have lots of plans including vines, a trellis, a bit more shade and maybe, if Julie has her way, a hammock someday. Certainly some good chairs are in order. And it still needs to be cleaned up a bit more. Maybe a better fence someday. I suspect one day I'll cut down one of the small trees and perhaps even add another small tree in another location.
I like being out there now, particularly when I have company. But more than that, I just like looking out there when I pass one of the two windows.
It has shape.
I can't believe how satisfying it is. Already.
I didn't think I was going to get it together this summer. I owe it all to my new friend and neighbor. Left to my own devices, I would have put it off.