08/12/2008 - Perspiration

In 2008, I finally found a landscaping contractor who was willing to work with all my crazy ideas.  He'd done a beautiful job at a friend's house, and actually seemed to like the idea of recycling concrete chunks for raised-bed walls and a satellite dish for a gazebo.

He took down the old scaffolding and provided temporary support for the porcelain berry vine.

Next we decided where we wanted the support posts.  If possible, I wanted the front area more open than the back, to provide a better view of the garden.  Since the dish itself is fairly light, we had some flexibility in the placement of the "legs".  He set 3-foot galvanized pipes in concrete, leaving about 18 inches exposed. For the legs that attached to the dish, he used slightly larger-diameter galvanized pipe that would fit over the posts.  This allowed us to raise or lower the entire dish until we got the height just right.  You will see later that this capability came in handy!