After 3 years we have plants!!!!!

3 years ago we decided to create a landscaped area in our backyard, so one weekend when I was at my parents my husband cut out the sod to create our new landscaped area. We had not a clue at the time what we were going to do with this area, so it became a weed lot. Last summer we worked to keep the weeds at bay and he laid brick to form a border....still not a clue what we were going to do with the area. Finally over the winter I found a landscape layout that I liked in a book we have had for a few years. I started to look at the plant list and made a list of plants that work with the zone we live in, and a list that we are to far north to grow. FWIW we are on the southern edge of zone 4, but all the catalogs think we are zone 5, um NOPE! One day I even took out the tape measure and the landscape area we created was similar in size to the one in the book. Could it really be done? How much would it cost? BIG questions!!!

Earlier this spring we visited a local greenhouse...and took a list of plants. I was excited that many of the plants on the list were for sale in our community. Then I started to get sticker shock. 1 pot of the grass listed was $21.00 - take that times 5, plus 15 more plants...um not in the budget this summer. So I started looking for the plants in a gardening catalog, and had a 50% spring sale going on...so I put together an order $150 for the entire planting area and shipping. Ok I know we are taking a chance here, but for that price I was willing to take a chance. Mid week last week, in the middle of the rain, we got a box of plants...so I put them in the garage for safe keeping. I had hopped to plant on Saturday, but with the chance of frost on Saturday night I decided to wait till today.

So today after church we cleared off the planting area, laid out all the plants, used XL depressors as plant markers because Lowes was out of the write on kind of markers, and I planted them. I was concerned about how small everything looked, but I know it will grow. I was also amazed how much better everything looked after it had been watered. So now I need to keep up with regular watering of the bed till it gets going. I"m so excited to finally make progress on this!

I also got a bag of day lilies that I planted, hopefully they will give some color and excitement to the west side of the house during the summer. Now to figure out the east side of the house...I'm thinking hostas (the desired cost: free) and coral bells, or something like that from my Mom's...a plant that has been in the family a few generations!