Welcome to RMG, Pcan!

I don't think you did anything wrong at all! For the most part perennials can be planted/transplanted anytime the soil isn't frozen--and dormancy can be a big advantage! The one disadvantage of planting/moving things in late fall or winter is that you can't be absolutely positive it worked till they start growing again in spring! I'd say there's a 95%--or better, chance that yours will be fine. If you haven't already done it, water them in well to settle the soil well around the roots---and then, barring extremely dry conditions for the next couple months, don't water them again till you start to see new growth. Having said all that--I would probably recommend against transplanting anything that's only marginally hardy in your area, or anything that needs any sort of "special" care or protection, so I'm assuming you're working on reliably hardy things that don't normally give you any sort of trouble in taking care of them. Take some pics while you're doing it and come back in spring to show us pics of how well they're doing! :-)

And--uhhh--if you're REALLY looking for some fun garden stuff to do, I could sure use some help finishing up planting all my bulbs! I'm, uhh, sorta over here on the other side of them there hills--in Denver! Just a thought! ;-)

Hang in there! In a couple months your plants will be coming up--and smiling at ya!

Skybird

Thanks Skybird!!! That was what I was thinking but I wanted to check :)

The plants I moved were Liatris, Bee Balm, Crocosmia and a couple Peonies. They were all planted last year so they weren't too established yet.

Now I will let my total garden nerd flag fly!!! I was curious today as I thought to myself we haven't been below 10* this year. Then I thought to myself, I wonder how cold we do get on a regular basis (when it's cold I just know it's cold but never paid close attention to the temperatures). Anyway, I found out we are actually a solid Zone 7!!! Great news for me since I have been trying my hand at a little Tropicalesque gardening. We have not been below 0 in the 7 years I went back. and we only were below 10* an average of about 5 days each winter, none this winter.

Anyway, I love talking about gardening and gardening. I would say I am somewhat ADD when it comes to gardening. "Bamboo, yeah I want Bamboo", "Tropicalesque gardening, yeah I wanna do that", "Cactus and Succulents, yeah I wanna do that", "Asian landscaping, yeah I wanna do that!", Conifers! yeah I want conifers!" "A garden Pond!, yep wanna do that too", "vegetable garden! yep that too". So I tend to keep myself pretty busy LOL. Luckily my DH takes care of the lawn and plants that grow food (he likes food ;) )

Anywho, here are some photos of the yard. None from this winter, but I'll take some showing the beds I changed a bit.

Moved in in June 2008 to this!

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And this is last summer (2011)

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Birth of the pond: 6/2011

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Yes, same yard :)

Rhodo in bloom

Garden Guard Dog

I realized just now that I don't have pictures of a lot of it... The conifer bed, the bamboo bed, the Japanese maple and hostas out front... I need to take more pictures!!!

I have a lot of plans for this spring so this warm weather has been a blessing to help me get a jump start on it :)

OMG!!! How daunting must that have looked when you first started! GREAT job!

When I saw all the tropical looking stuff I went, WHAT! Then I went back up and saw you're z7! Some of that stuff STILL looks like it would be too tender to make it, but if it's working--keep on keepin' on!

With the peonies, they should be starting to "get ready" to bloom in spring, so you may "possibly" have messed with that a little bit--but if they were new last year they probably wouldn't have bloomed much, or at all, this year yet anyway. I don't think you should have ANY problems at all with the other things you did!

I want One Of Each too--but the size of my yard hardly qualifies as a fraction of what you have, so, I work with what I have.

Hope you'll come help answer questions around here when you have time. After doing all that, you must have learned a LOT!

Great yard!
Skybird

I really didn't know where to start till my DH decided to rent a tractor and play in the yard. He ripped everything out and leveled it to a blank slate. That was when my mind started going. He has been amazing. I don't know how many times I asked him "will you move this rock" "will you move this concrete" "will you move this cinder block" "will you dig this pond by hand"... After the pond I thought I had pushed him too far so I gave him a rest last summer lol.

The only plants that need any special care are the banana trees and the Elephant Ears. The Banana trees I cut to about 3 feet tall, cover with a chicken wire cage in Nov, fill it with pine straw and wrap it with plastic to keep them dry. Then I will unwrap them around the first of May. But this is my first winter trying it so we shall see :)

The Elephant Ears I dug up, but now knowing I am zone 7 I think they may over winter in the ground if I cut them down and pile mulch on top.

This year I am going to try some Canna Lilies and leave them in the ground next winter with mulch on top. I am also putting in a cactus and succulent bed in a very dry hot part of the yard. Other than that I will just be changing the shape of a couple beds and adding rock borders around them (I get all my rocks from the desert :) ). Oh and I almost forgot, I am going to put a fern and hosta in a shady corner of the yard and add 3 more rose bushes to the conifer bed.

I would also like to try some giant variegated reed and rice paper plant in the bamboo bed but both are order online only and I am not sure it's in the budget.

And.. Almost forgot again, I am going to get a Meyer lemon tree and a tropical Hibiscus to keep in large pots next to the pond and bring them in during the winter. So far nothing comes in in the winter so I have a little space inside still.

With how busy the yard keeps me you can imagine I was jumping at the chance to do yard work in January with it being 50 outside.