The soil is all in place for the new planting area.

Even the way this area is now, with bare earth, it’s nicer than the lawn that used to be there. Not having to mow around and underneath the elder is a relief. This won’t last, of course, weeds are sure to invade any moment, so I’ll have to get on with the planting soon.

I’ve postponed all of that until after our Estonia trip, because you never know with July weather. I don’t want a sudden heat wave to kill everything. Once I’m back and can water regularly, there will be bushes!

There’s an unexpectedly large amount of soil left over – maybe a third of the bag. I expected there to be a little bit, but I didn’t take into account all the soil I would reclaim from the old planting boxes. I guess I’ll use the rest to fill up some uneven, bumpy parts of the lawn.