My wife requests that I add a sitting area at the crook in the stream that is my favorite spot in the garden (below). She offers many suggestions, most that are diregarded with no consideration. This, however, has merit, I grudgingly admit, but where, and how? And, what would have to come out to accommodate even the smallest seat?

On the far side of the stone path (below), the place a small seating area would have to go, are a plump Francis Williams hosta, my second favorite hosta (the similar ‘Great Expectations’ must be first) and particularly choice in this spot, a Korean waxbell (Kirengshoma koreana) that is ideally situated in this exposure, and the uncommon Impatiens omeiana that has never bloomed, but finally seems to be catching on after several years when it disappeared at the first scare of summer heat. Beneath all this is a yellow leafed mutation of perwinkle (Vinca minor) that is marvelous in leaf and flower, and how could I possibly consider grubbing this out to add a seat?

In fact, I won’t, and the probability is that my wife will never mention this again (unless she reads this, and then I’m in trouble). In fact, there are already too many seating areas in the garden, and I rarely sit (except to snooze beside the koi pond), so why bother?

She also suggests that plants be thinned along the edges of the koi pond (above), and here our differences dictate that this is out of the question. I would prefer that the pond be edged by Japanese irises, as it once was rather than yellow flag irises that have mostly taken over. But, it’s a nearly impossible task to put a stop to the yellow flags, and I probably don’t have the energy or interest to take this on. Mostly though, I like the look of the barely controlled plantings surrounding the pond, which is just a step away from being completely wild, as I intend it to be.