My Gloves are Dirty Now

Yesterday Kevin dug out this new planting bed on the north-facing side of our house. I got to wheel the sod that we removed to the vacant lot down at the end of the cul-de-sac. We've got to get all of this kind of work done before they finish building around here--don't know where we'd put this stuff without the empty lots!

Today, we took a trip to the nursery and bought 3 new knock-out rose bushes, 3 rhododendrons, 6 new hostas, and 12 day lillies. We then transplanted 5 hydrangea bushes that were not doing well in the locations we'd originally planted them to the new bed, along with the rhodies and the hostas. The knock-out roses replaced 3 of the hydrangeas, and 6 of the day lillies replaced the other 2 hydrangeas. The remaining 6 day lillies went in beds near the air conditioners near the deck. And then we spread 5 yards of mulch.

It looks a bit sparse in the new bed right now, but based upon the mature size of these shrubs, it should be quite lush in about 5 years. I had hoped to put in some annuals to help fill the space this year, but our budget is tapped, and I am tired!