The first terrace — done! Or at least done-ish.

It turns out all I needed was some “Black Rage.” The rest came easy. It looks great, right? See “Rage’s” little brother in front of it? That’s a little three-dollar job I picked up at the farmer’s market weeks ago — some of you may remember it as the sentry that, until recently, stood back in the Hellhole. I’m not sure if it is also a flax plant, or, if so, it shares the name of its older sibling. Perhaps, being smaller, it is merely a “Blue Funk.” What do I know?

Notice the rosemary (it will drape, or droop, or whatever the technical term is, when it’s bigger) in the right foreground? Behold how it balances, without mirroring exactly, the lilac in the left front. Sublime! I planted another pan of purple ice plants, too, in the back center. And moved the stick plant to a little behind the rosemary. No, it is not called a stick plant. But I have searched Google images in vain to find its name. So stick plant it is, until Google gets its shit together. Or I do.

On the right, Stickiplantus Erectus

The only blot on my horizon — is that a mixed metaphor? — is that one of my little groundcover plants has already started failing:

Looks like week-old parsley

Jiminy Crickets! That didn’t take long. (My husband and I are trying to modify our exclamatory statements to make them more G-rated, as Myra-Jean has entered the mimicry stage. Ergo Jiminy Crickets. We’re also experimenting with “Lands!” and “My stars!”) Anyway, the thing looks like crap. This is familiar territory for me, as most plants whose care I undertake are, well, ready for the undertaker in about two weeks. So it’s not that I’m surprised. I’m just disappointed. I thought things would be different this time. Familiar story.

But let us focus on the positive! Everything else looks hale and hearty. For now…

Tomorrow we head off to NY for a week. When we return, it’s on to the next level. Lands!