I really should had someone stand in the picture so you could tell the height and breadth of this monster. My sister Sabina (who is visiting from Utah!) and I worked at it all day yesterday and made a seemingly small dent. But man are things shaping up!

Here’s the afore mentioned $14.00 Aldi Japanese maple, foiled beautifully by the new rich soil.

We hit up Gales Nursery and used our Groupons, as well as were delighted to find that Home depot was having 5 for $10.00 on an assortment of their perennials so we were able to get a bunch of things there as well. I would love to plant two Coppertina Ninebarks between the burning bushes at the bed in the back. The strange looking stick tree in the front right of the picture is a transplanted volunteer rose of sharon, we’ll see if it does anything this year, otherwise it’s out!

Here are some pictures of the same bed taken a year and a half ago. After I had removed a hedge of boxwoods. (And before the house across the street was torn down.)

And here’s the bed before we moved in.