Late last summer and last fall bought a bunch of perennials (Home Depot and sale at local nursery) but somehow lost steam to get them planted. Most of them seemed to have overwintered ok (the asters didnt make it sadly).

So after the major spring cleanup and then much positioning and moving and removing to figure out the best places, finally yesterday (a fairly warm day for April – hi 70's) decided to get on with it.

1. Fig Tree
Huge hole dug in bed 7 and potbound fig wrenched removed from its huge plastic pot. Set in hole and backfilled etc watered thoroughly.

Of course first had to remove all the bulbs planted in the center of this bed (last spring) to make room for this – will order more to underplant here. Moved bulbs and many little babies to the containers near the bench.

2. The corner bed (Bed 5)
This is one of the reasons I have waited to deal with the pots. In my ongoing war (who knows the score?) with the neighborhood groundhogs (UGH) this was a major battlefield last year. One of them decided to dig a hole in the very back corner UNDER the fences that met there (from three fences) and in the process spewed all the sandy dense dirt onto this bed – killing most of the plants there – all of the yarrows and half of the echinops. I was so furious that I couldn't deal with it.

But I bought a bunch of euonymus and astilbes and had them clustered back there. There are also two camellias and three bleeding hearts. After much rearranging etc, finally decided on a plan.

Moved one bleeding heart. Put two of the euonymus in front of the arborvitae and two astilbe between them. Two more of the astilbe went along the fence behind the camellias and the third astible will be in front of them (a neighbor came by before that was done).

Today will plant that last astilbe and a hydraganea that was a present from my housemate's mother for giving her a birthday party (the housemate) . Not sure if the H is still alive but just noticed a shoot near the base – it overwintered in the shadiest corner of the yard so that may be why it hasn't taken off – but the stems are greening up so I am going to give it a shot.

Probably will put another Hydraganea in this bed to finish off the plantings – that would allow me room for spring bulbs which I have held off before now.

Need to more the one poor remaining yarrow to another bed – probably in bed 4 which is just below it . I need something for the back along the stone edging and near the buddejia. This will definitely be ordered from Graceful Gardens (GG).

Moved the echinops from this bed 5 to the rose bed which has delphiniums and foxgloves – although need more foxgloves as only three have come back ..so far but I don't think the rest will come up given this is the bed with all the squirrel damage – and since I am not putting out bird seed until much later this summer -if at all – I should be able to get new ones to grow and survive. Another on the GG list.

Anyway moved the three surviving echinops to the back of the bed near the third euonymus and in front of the barberry bush and some bulbs. The euonymus is in front of one of the climbing roses (New Dawn) and will provide shade and fill in that spot in front of the rose.

So that was it for the day after much watering – especially of the rhododendrons which were just ready to bloom – one bush has bloomed today.

[check back for photos for now I need to go do today's work]

Today –
-plant the hydraganea
-plant the last astilbe
-plant seeds
container sweet peas
hanging basket (figure out)
third planter behind bench (vines?)

and tonight is knitting group so as its mid afternoon I best be moving!