How Does Your Garden Grow? Part Deux

French makes me feel fancy. "Deux." Mrs. Turner would be proud.

{She might be a tad less proud that I giggle incessantly when I hear the word. Hee hee. Sounds like doo. I am the perfect person to have a boy, I tell ya.}

Now that I'm freshly showered, in comfy clothes, listening to a sleeping baby on the monitor, and half-watching (I'm the champion at half-watching stuff) the Canadian station (cooking shows with adorable accents, yay!), I'm ready to tell of the harrowing tale of my foundation planting today.

Okay, not harrowing tale. Annoying yet rewarding experience tale? Yeah, that. That'll work.

So, after Hadman's breakfast and SECOND poopy potty break of the morning (love that he's using it, but when you're on a time crunch, oye!), we shuffled to the car and zoomed off to Lowe's. I commandeered our buddy's favorite shopping distraction these days, the "car cart", found the topsoil, and stocked up. For this space, I needed 10 bags. Not sure why that's relevant, but just thought I'd say. Oh, and they cost $2.10 each (usually they're on sale, but I'm the idiot that waited 'til the freaking week of July 4th to do get my flowery goodness on), so it came in at under $25.

After filling the back of our SUV with the stuff, we perused the aisles again. They weren't lacking stuff, but I didn't see anything I liked. Plus, my mom mentioned that one of the local joints the town over might have some stuff still, and that they often have sales. Whomever said mom was always right...well, they were right.

At the local joint, I utilized the stroller. This kid can't really be allowed to walk 'cuz he doesn't listen to "no" or "stop" properly yet. Maybe 10-20% of the time, and it's not worth playing those odds on a very busy street. He had fun shouting out the colors he saw in the flowers. After awhile, I had decided on two 6-packs of red impatiens for $3.09 each, and four "4-for-$10" perennials -- three mountain gold alyssums and one lamb's ear plant (so soft!!!). Speaking of soft, Mom's going to be dropping off a family favorite, silver mound artemisia, for me to plant, too, so I may have to shift these guys around, but I THINK I have a spot for it.

So, when we got home with the goods, I turned my attention to the monkey. That's my strategy: chunk the day into manageable pieces and analyze what can be done in what time. It's how I roll, and it usually works. Usually.

Lunch. Yet another potty break. Down for nap. Minimal fussing. I slap on my sunblock and sneakers, grab my gardening stuff, start to grab weeds and...downpour. Damn it.

I came inside and grumbled online until, luckily, it subsided. While it was super drippy (as in, dripping on my head and back) and super messy, the weeding was done pretty quickly.

I piled the bags of dirt near the spots I needed them (easier than one big pile). Then, I actually placed them where the dirt was needed when I cut so that a) I didn't have any unnecessary messes and b) it was less of a lug to spread the dirt. A bit of a workout, but altogether silly easy.

Then, I broke up and evened out the dirt. I planned out where the flowers would go, and, of course...the rain started again. This time, it was more of a drizzle at first, so I just smiled, laughed, and kept going until everything was in the dirt. No way I was going to give up another naptime just to dig some holes, rough up the roots, and plant. No frickin' way!

So...picture me...running to put stuff in the garage (scaring some outside kittens while I was at it, oops!)...snapping a few fast "after" shots (while getting a couple of "looks" from people driving by, of course)...and rushing inside to get a quick shower before Hadman woke up.

I felt like I achieved a huge feat just getting the outside of the house semi-presentable. :-) Now I won't have that embarrassed feeling every time we come or go. Sure, I despise the hosta that has taken over, but I'm workin' with it.

Oh, and I meant to snap a picture of our netting on the veggie garden, but. Y'know. Rain. I'll try to grab one next I think of it!

Do you have a spot around your foundation to plant? Do you have hedges or plants or flowers (or a combo)? How do YOU deal with this fun-yet-awkward spot? Or do you have a different spot that proves challenging to plant at your place? I'd love to hear!

And HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! Hope you have a great time, however you're spending it! Dave's got the day off so we'll have some family time, and you know I'll be watching "Yankee Doodle Dandy" at some point. (And it'll probably make me start a "John Adams" marathon soon, too.) ;-) Enjoy!