Replanting has begun. It's a much harder job than I'd anticipated. We were promised a good soil would be placed in the landscaping area but we are dealing with a lot of clay and mud - very wet, thanks to the rain yesterday. For each plant we have to dig a huge hole, hump over to the bluff and dig out some better soil from the dirt mountains there to replace what we removed and haul that back to the planting site by the wheelbarrow, mix in steer manure and compost and refill the hole with the plant. Our boots get covered with wet, sticky, clay mud and after a few trips weigh about ten pounds making the load we haul up the slope in the barrow that much more difficult to move. This is a job for the young, yet there we are. And so my back is killing me with so much yet to do. The disheartening thing is that I spent a small fortune on this load of plants and after putting them in the area still looks bare. I suppose in five years they will be substantial plants, but think of how the weeds will move in long before they are established. Pushky, horsetails, nettles, dandelions. Ugh, they are aggressive and no amount of weeding or Round-up gets rid of them. The best I can do is quickly put in some aggressive grasses and ground covers to compete, and keep the weed whacker in good running condition.
So here is the main area with the aspen clump, three Philadelphus (mock orange) and a silver leaf dogwood in place. You can hardly see them! Two roses, still potted, are in their possible locations. Not in the picture is the lilac, the four Hansa roses, the two spirea, another dogwood and mock orange that are going into other areas, not to mention the grasses and other things around the yard I plan to transplant here. There really is so much to do.
