Moving out of the shadow of Forest Park sixteen years ago, I found a rare, sunny, tree-less lot in Irvington. The first year, the scraggly grass and puny rhodies had a close encounter of the bulldozer kind. David Mason (formerly Hedgerows Nursery) helped me make a plan for the terraced front garden, to include a rock garden, a dry creek and a small bridge. After I planted lots of rocks and boulders, the sun-loving plants soon followed. Later, the parking strip became a garden and the backyard became a woodland garden under the borrowed shade of neighboring birch trees. This summer a climate friendly gravel area will be added to reduce watering. I am also revising the container garden in the driveway (who says you need to put a car there.) The pergola at the back end of the driveway makes a great patio, particularly now that the climbing hydrangea has had about 10 years to scramble over the top. I look forward to sharing the garden again this summer.