Evidence

So here are the pictures that I promised yesterday in my tired stupor.

This was the view from our patio after earlier yard projects this year. Not so attractive to look straight into our neighbor's house/yard. We didn't plan on clearing out our yard to put in a new fence, only to have our neighbor's do the same to their yard and voila-it's howdy neighbor 24-7.J was at Home Depot by 7 am on Saturday to rent this mean machine for $75. We had to plant 6 trees and 10 shrubs. J's shoulders and this auger had the holes dug in 45 minutes!! If we had to to handle that on our own with just shovels we would still be digging. If you are planning on planting any trees or need multiple holes dug, this is definitely the way to go. Well worth the $.

The lovely holes ready for the new greenery.

The finished product! As for the trees-3 Dwarf Magnolias in the center bordered with a Japanese Cryptomeria at each end. There 3 Lorapetalum (sp?) in a triangle formation of 2 in back and one in front b/t each magnolia (6 total) and there are Pitsporum b/t the magnolias and the cryptomeria. It doesn't completely block the view yet, but they will as they grow. What an improvement!

I'll share some pointers that our local nursery gave us. Plant in odd numbers, as in 5 trees, so that way there is a center that the eye is drawn to in the grouping. Same theory in planting the shrubs in groups of 3-the one in front draws the eye to it. Our biggest DUH moment was that we had already somewhat traced out the beds and placed pine straw months ago....somewhat good planning. We didn't even think to rake back all the pine straw before using the auger to dig-so all that pine straw was buried in dirt and we had to completely redo it. Thankfully we have a good pine straw connection. Not too terrible, but a lesson learned.

I have found that I shy away from gardening b/c I feel I don't know enough about it, but I really enjoyed this weekend. The more I make myself get out there and do it, the more comfortable I am with it. I also helped that Saturday actually felt like fall. It was overcast and cool most of the day-I started out with a t-shirt and quickly changed into long sleeves for the rest of the day!! Bring on outdoor fires and pumpkin lattes!