out with the hydrangeas, in with a shady spot

This is my sad clump of hydrangeas.  Every year, they bloom their heads off, and the weak, brittle stems bend and break.  I try to stake them up, but they always get out of hand.
So this year, I have made a painful decision:  out with them!

Weak branches break under the weight of flowers as big as your head!

Of course, this job became more work than I imagined.  Cutting off the stems is easy:  just pile in a big mound, and toss.

But getting out the roots is another thing.  I know if I skip this step, they will be back next year.  So I need to do a lot of digging and pulling.  The plants are joined by underground runners, and the roots hang on tight, which makes it quite a job.

Stay tuned for the finished product:  a six-foot deck, which will be a perfect shady spot to rest when the sun beats down on my east-facing deck in the morning.

OK - well - so after doing some research on the internet, we discovered that putting in a deck involves digging 4-foot holes for footings and a whole lot of precise measuring and cutting.  That dream just will never become reality.  So instead, I took away some of the good soil to spread around the garden. raked the surface level, piled on lots of eelgrass seaweed, and plunked down a comfortable chair supported by 4 patio stones.  Voila!  In no time, I had a comfy shady place to survey my kingdom.