Took out a large hydrangea to make room for a bench overlooking the front yard, trees, and darting birds. The bench has iron sides with slats cut and installed by the owner. Found it on Craigslist for $35 in Bellevue, Wa. I tightened each bolt on each slat and cleaned the wood with Murphys Oil Soap especially made for wood. Then went over each slat front and back with mineral oil.

The hydrangea now fills an empty area on the south side of the house where two dogwoods were removed. The hydrangea is huge and came out in two pieces. The only part of the plant left is a branch I buried at the center as way to propagate. This works by burying the center of the branch in the dirt with the end of the branch sticking up. In time the buried part will root and new hydrangea will emerge. An apartment building owner showed me this trick using rhododendrons which can be very hard to propagate.

The bench is heavy and would sink into the thick mulch in the garden bed. I buried for square bricks that support the four bench legs. The bench is solid and so is its placement.