All done

Excuse the basement construction mess on our patio.

Have you ever wondered what 500 empty nursery pots looks like? This is the aftermath of our planting project Saturday. Joel's job was to gather and stack the pots as they were emptied. I need to get out and get some close-up shots, so you can actually see the shrubs we planted. They were all planted around the edge of the grass.

I'm very excited to have all the planting done for our backyard. It has been 6 years since it was logged, and since then we have been working on a never-ending project that just ended. It was very strange to finish up Saturday afternoon and be done. Kind of like finals week in college. You work and study and stress, and then when it's over it just feels strange.

The shrub beds look spectacular. They will look even better in a year or so after the plants have a chance to grow. I bought 1 gallon shrubs whenever possible, so they're tiny, bu they will grown quickly. We are so thankful for KC who helped us so much. I was surprised he kept answering his phone for me with my endless questions about plants and cultivars last week as I tried to round up all the plants from his planting plan. Who knew a horticulture degree could be so useful? KC is the all-knowing expert, and we couldn't have done this without him. KC has created a perfect mix that will bring us interesting colors, textures, flowers, leaves and shapes all year long.

Some of my trees that I'm really excited to see in the spring are: Vulcan Magnolia with its 12-inch magenta blossoms, the Empress trees and their purple spikes of flowers, Cherokee Brave dogwoods covered it bright red blossoms, and the Pacific dogwoods. Their huge white blossoms make me so happy in the springtime. The shrubs will be a whole other world of wonder as they start showing us their flowers starting this winter. Now we get to just sit back and watch nature's magic