Surprise Package Leads to Work! UGH!

So I'm in my office this morning minding my own business and reading about chickens when I hear a car horn in the drive. "Oh goodie, another delivery of gun pieces and parts for Jim's hobby," thinks I. I was wrong. The postal carrier came to the front door carrying a long green plastic bag that could only contain live, bare-root plants, hundreds of which are on their way to me from every bloody corner of this continent, I SWEAR!

"Is this so-and-so and such-and-such a place at Twelve Acres of pure heaven?" (OK she didn't quite say it like that but it's my story and I'm tellin' it how I want.)

"Uh-huh," says I.

I took the package from her and thanked her and immediately put it on the back deck. No sense in letting dormant plants get used to room temperature, right? I had fully intended to stay in my PJs all day and not go out once but that didn't pan out because now I had 60-some holes to dig and put plant pieces into!

I donned my work clothes, grabbed a garden trowel and my notebook containing the instructions and diagrams as to where all these plants are going to go. Thank God I had the foresight to plan that way or I'd still be out there tonight trying to decide where to plant everything! But since everything was all planned out down to the layout and all, all that needed to be done was to dig the holes and plant. The gray sky was holding back the rain just for me, so I figured I better not waste any time.

I threw on my muddy old sneaks and gloves and out the door I went. Everything went really well but I was surprised to find some still-frozen spots in some of the areas where I planted the Liatris bulbs! I had to pound the soil loose to plant them.

I planted today:

• 2 Mock Orange
• 2 Pink Weigela
• 1 Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'
• 2 Royal Blue Hostas
• 50 purple Liatris bulbs

I purposely paced myself at a leisurely rate. Normally I go into panic mode when I have so much to plant but I've already decided that I'm not going to allow that to happen. I've simply got a lot of trees, shrubs, and perennials heading my way and it's likely they'll now start showing up regularly. As long as I can pace myself and focus on planting each one correctly without rushing I will be just fine. If I let myself get overwhelmed and panicked it will not go together at all. It went well today I must say and I even had energy leftover to spread some more of my fabulous homemade pine bark mulch where it was needed. Now all the planted areas will smell like lovely pine trees. Aaaah! Won't it be refreshing?

When I started researching which plants to use in the landscape I decided to do something unconventional that's just starting to become trendy. I'm planting mostly native plants around the house and wildlife garden. I'm sticking to the tried-and-true shrubs that everyone's grandmothers had in their yard. I'm planting the back-to-the-basics, sturdy species of perennials, not frou-frou hybrids that don't look anything like their parents. Plants like that certainly won't fit in with my native species theme. It's back to Ohio natives for me as I proceed with my plans for living the simple life by homesteading and gardening.

While I was out planting I checked on the areas where I had planted my fall bulbs last year and sure enough, I could see tips of leaves emerging from beneath the heavy mulch. There are large tulips and daffodils on either side of the white Dogwood and I'm anxious to see and smell them. I desperately need a bouquet of fresh spring flowers on the table to remind me that winter is over and green things will once again come to life and I can go out there and nurture them again! Can I get a Hallelujah?