THE day after Brendan finished paving the outside of the laundry area, we were eager to get the planter box in the garden going. Our garden has gone through various plans, all not necessarily to scale but with some idea of what and where we wanted in it.

This was our hilarious Plan A, circa December 2010:

As you can see in the top left of the sketch, I had faith that Brendan could build a curved planter box (and we would be rolling in money!) but he threw in the white towel as soon as he was reminded of what I had wanted. So I caved, and drew up about a gazillion possibilities, only this time with flat walls and only 90 degree joins. And at last, I came up with a Plan B. Pardon my drawing skills but you get the idea:

We planned it out in the middle of the night, and I entrusted the boys to build me the planter of my dreams (well, almost):

But I came home to this, a planter that I’d seen in every gardening TV show and every backyard magazine imaginable. The antithesis of original thought:

A heated telling off ensued but with the mortar already set fast, I decided to work with what I was presented with. In fact, I was told my original idea was “ugly” and “too hard”. Hmm, thanks! But I gave in for a second time and completed the planter with him. Thankfully, I have come up with a new idea of how we can make it slightly different (thank you Vogue Living back issues).

Cleaning the mortar off the slabs:

The finished limestone base:

You’ll have to wait to see the final planter in all its glory but here’s a preview of Plan C, i.e. making an otherwise ordinary planter box look a little extraordinary:

Cant wait! But I leave you with the laughable plan for the front yard from back in November 2010: