All my gardening life Ii have wanted a curved front walk. It just seems friendlier, like starting a conversation off with a little small talk instead of jumping right into business.

I’m finally getting one – the first step to making the front yard ours.

It’s been a long time since we worked with metal edging, and we HATED! the stuff at Lowe’s and Home Depot, which has the spikes stamped/embedded in the ends of each piece so they have to be hammered out to be used. No doubt this saves somebody money somewhere along the production line.

We bought a few and took them back. Then we found a local landscaping company and begged them to please please please sell us a few “real” lengths of edging. People are nice here, thank goodness.

I grew nasturtiums here last winter, zinnias this summer — annuals — anticipating this day would come. Shortly after this photo was made, a guy named Kenneth came with a friend and a jackhammer.

Down and dirty.

Curves ahead!

A step up, in place.

Driveway about to be tested.

Three yards of black star granite, some of which is going around the sides of the house.

The foreman, who appeared in my last blog (much to his dismay) as “the Slicer,” still smiling at 6 p.m.