She crosses the finish line!

Just over 3 months ago I picked up my first envelope of seeds in the basement. That was the middle of March and I never looked back.

In March I wintersowed my perennials while tender annuals and vegetables got tee'd up in the basement. I also potted up 21 purple canna lilies, 2 pots of dahlias and 5 pots of elephants ears, all cuddled up near the furnace for comfort. And, during an especially nice week I even got the vegetable beds all tilled and composted so they could bask in the sun and warm up.

In April I started the tomatoes in the basement and started planting out leeks and garlic in the veg bed and filled the deck bins with lettuces and pea greens. I also started a blitz of heavy planting in the yard. By the end of the month I'd installed 10 white pines, 5 crabapples, 20 yews and 2 rhodys. In my spare time I would collect grass clippings and mulch the ring bed. On those nice days I also did some dividing and transplanting of larger perennials such as the Johnson blue geranium and the Walker's Low catmint. I also dug up 9 English lavenders and put them in the crab bed. They never even noticed they had been moved.

May is some kind of blur. The early warm weather allowed me to fill the deck with basement seedlings and WS plants I potted up to encourage good root development. The cannas and dahlias had all sprouted and were brought outside. They needed only the occasional floating row cover to protect them from sharp nights. Grass clipping collection became a way of life this year. The warm wet weather stimulated the lawn to the point I had to mow just about every 4-5 days! *pant*

The last frost/freeze was on May 10. The norm is May 18. By the 13th the nights never went below 50 again, so planting began. The cannas were sunk into the fence bed. Purple basil and Golden Jubilee hyssops went into the crab bed. On the 20th I actually planted out 12 tomatoes. Within a couple of days the veg bed was filled with onions, peppers, parsley, Brussels sprouts and a segment of the ring bed sported an additional 10 tomatoes. And before the end of the month there were even cukes and bush beans and carrots sprouting.

And now June. I thought May was a blur? Wow. More mowing. Tree trimming. Planting began in earnest - the annuals were large enough to endure the winds, the rains (lots of rains *glub*), and the herd of squirrels that thunder through the yard at all hours. When they get on the roof it sounds like reindeer doing a stomp dance! *thud* *thud* More transplanting. I installed another 6 yews and a 2nd doublefile viburnum that had gotten too big for my Mom's garden. (It's like 'rescue ranch' here. I'm getting a nice collection of castoffs. LOL) I won't even mention all that I've done over at Mom's this spring.

Two days ago I finished filling the final bed. The big one. The ring bed. This morning I headed out at 6:15 a.m. (we're going to hit 90 today with extra juicy high humidity) to finish up while it was relatively cool. I got the last piles of clippings on the beds, gave the transplants a last drink from the hose, tossed all the equipment into the garage (a bad habit since March) and came inside by 10:30.

But now, in out of the heat and humidity, I am letting the world of Internetland know that I'm DONE DONE DONE.

Well, yeah. Done. Mostly. There are my geranium tips that I'm rooting will need planted. And the cups of herbs that still need a home. But really. Done. I'm pretty sure... At least for now. :-D

I wanted to post a pic of a bed, any bed...but I have none at their current state of finishness. Besides, I really really need to just sit and stare - blankly - for a while. For a looong while. 8-/

Then, eventually, I'll have to clean out the garage....*woof*