(Day 322) A horticultural transformation

I like making before and after series of shots, something which I'd been doing before I became 'serious' (whatever that means) about photography. Typically that involves projects in which something is either built e.g. a cabin, or something is significantly modified e.g. the interior of my son's home. I find it interesting at a later date to look back at the 'before', and the steps undertaken to create or transform something.

In that vein, I followed the progress of creating a small garden to replace a section of (boring) lawn at our place in Florida. I can take no credit for the work - oh, I did help move a few bags of mulch (!) - I simply recorded progress along the way.

(note: all photos were made using an 18-55mm lens at f8 with shutter speeds and ISO settings varied according to the light available)


the 'virgin' piece of lawn

outlining the target area

fascinating how a curb is created

resting, hardening, awaiting the next steps the following day

the 'grass' is removed - I put 'grass' in quotes because the lawn seems to be made up of 'grassy' vines, all intertwined to make a mat

arrival of the 'Bismark' - the tree, not the ship. The contractor's heavy duty bobcat had broken down earlier and the smaller one could not lift the tree - with some ingenuity, the tree was eventually coaxed from the truck and into the waiting hole

 the Bismark is ready to be launched from the back of the truck which was positioned over the hole

next, the first of 2 foxtails is moved into position - it was within the bobcat's capabilities

releasing the protective covering from around the Bismark

with the palms in place, small bushes, which will add colour, are quickly planted

transformation complete. You might note the changes in light over the last 6 photos - the job was originally estimated to take about 2 hours, but equipment breakdown (heavy duty bobcat) resulted in delays and more manual work. We are very pleased with the results, however.