And oooooh, my aching back. I started at 4:30 p.m. today to dig the 18" bump-out of my original Obligatory Bushes garden to accommodate transplanting my hosta garden plants there. We did NOT get the promised deluge of rain, so first I had to thoroughly soak the entire 17' span all the way around the front to the back. I was frantic to get that water in ASAP so I could start digging. While the hose was playing water on the critical areas, I was measuring 18" out from the garden edging with a tape measure and marking it with bamboo skewers as a guide to digging.

Thankfully, the water treatment made all the difference and I was able to dig ye olde shovel in nice and deep and lift out large clods. I beat them with the shovel and tossed the grass into a huge garbage bag. Haha, the maintenance guys will have a surprise trying to lift that one....

After 3 hours of hard labor, the worst part--the turning over of the raw lawn--was accomplished. I then poured several bags of good topsoil all along the 17'. This was then anointed with Plant-tone. Then the fun began...

Of all times for the vestibule light to burn out, this was it. That meant I had to open the garbage bags of hostas on my lower stairs in my own foyer. I will get a great chance to really put my new Miele canister vac through its paces tomorrow, to rid the stairs of the inch or more of soil now residing on them. Anyway, I made a rapid choice of what would be planted next to what, and planted them--in complete darkness by now.

I am expecting 3 new hostas this week, so the gap between the last hosta I planted and the beautiful new 16" pot of mini hostas and Autumn Leaves heuchie will soon be filled. I hastily dug out a few annual salvia from the original hosta garden to fill the space, hoping the maintenance men won't notice the bump-out and inform the co-op manager.

Then I planted the Blue Cadet and Undulata mediopicta, which I don't have room for in the new bump-out hosta garden, under my handicapped neighbor's tree. Her son told me it was fine with him.

Finally, I watered and watered and watered the transplanted hostas, as I was concerned they had dried out somewhat in the sealed garbage bags. I hope they make it through the tranplant OK and live, after all that!

Hostas I could not find in the garbage bags: Maui Buttercups, Yellow Eyes. Heuchies missing: Ginger Snap. They probably got mixed in so well with loose soil in the bag that they were too well camouflaged to find. And believe me, I looked and looked for them.

So, until the new hostas arrive, I got this enormous job done and I am SITTING in my computer chair. Had a couple of Advil, waiting for them to take the little aches away. Nothing major, just my muscles reminding me that I put them to hard use today.