Trading shale for cement

Those of you who know our place, either by personal visit or through one of our online pieces, may remember that we have a four-sided inner courtyard/garden area that is surrounded by administrative offices, a long hall and the entranceway to the monastery. The courtyard itself has a curved shale surfaced sidewalk going through it which adds to a very picturesque scene with the many flowers, bushes and couple trees. 

Yours truly does a lot of the gardening work in it and it dawned on me that I haven't shared any pictures of it this summer. So here are a couple from this afternoon--with commentary.

This is a new flower to the garden this year. I'm not sure of its name, 

but it has the most interesting stems. They look like little pearls in-waiting.

A reader comes through: Lucifer Crocosmia.

This must be a lily family member. Very large flowers and very pretty.

I believe this is a calla lily. We have a number of them and they are simply gorgeous.

And here is our statue of Mary. The small hydrangea bush has turned into a monster.

The flowers were beautiful this year, but have taken a beating the last couple of weeks

 as we've had rain, rain and more rain. Many of them are hanging quite low now, 

but they are a hardy bunch!

Behind her is a pretty climbing plant, light purple or mauve. 

It is just beginning. In a while it will be full of the blooms.

And, finally, what drew me to this idea today, we are in the middle of taking out the heavy shale and replacing it with a cement walkway. This will enable all of our sisters, whether they walk or are being pushed, to visit this private garden area. Guests, too, can use it, sit and read or just relax. 

If the rain ever stops long enough and lets the ground dry out, we'll get the cement added!