It was a rush.

I will readily admit that I actually ENJOYED purchasing items for the yard. As you can see from the slide show, it was an absolutely gorgeous day and the help that we had from Shawn and Mary  (employees at Minor's) was the topper of this experience. 

Let me reiterate, if I haven't already, that I do not care for too many outdoorsy things. Sitting outside is going to be prettier but not necessarily less irritating because there are still going to be bugs outside. Camping (the concept) really still confuses me greatly.

Alas, we went out on our journey to purchase the goods for the landscaping project for this Saturday. (There is still a goal to meet folks!) We got to Minor's and it was a beautiful experience. In spite of who I've often felt I am in regards to nature and planting and gardening, I was actually enjoying the time spent with my son and the incredibly helpful, kind and courteous employees at Minor's.

It went so well that Dylan is planning to apply for a job there next year. Though, as you view his video below, you'll surely see why he's most motivated to work there. He was helpful in taking almost all of the pictures and shooting this video (below) and two others that did not make the cut. 

The goal was for him to get me in the moment, really working on and planning to "landscape the yard" and he did just that.

For the record, we bought NO statues or yard decorations. Only plants. Only bushes. Only things that needed to go into the ground. So, today we brought home 1 Japanese Burberry Plant and 1 Orange Rocket (impulse purchases), 3 Jean Davis Lavendar plants (can't wait to find out what this lady did to get a sweet smelling plant named after her), 5 Black Eyed Susans, 6 Feather Reed Grasses, 3 Angelina Stone Crop, and 5 Baby's Breath plants. All of these are PERENNIALS. This means that I don't need to do anything except plant them and clear them each spring. My kind of plants. The rest will be delivered on Thursday.

If you've been following this month's challenge, you probably know that I was hoping to pay someone to deliver and plant the other beauties I purchased today (hydrangeas, rose bushes, boxwoods, minuet weigelas and a beautiful, big Royal Star Magnolia Tree). Well, I called around to a couple of landscaping businesses (after joining Angie's List) and apparently, my little jacked up yard doesn't really rate. They are not "doing this kind of business at this time of year." So, yes. You guessed it. I need to DO IT MYSELF.

To be clear. Gigi is not a do it herself-er. Gigi is a "pick out what you like and pay someone else to do it so it's done the right time first and if it breaks, they have to come back and fix it for free (or close to free)" kind of gal. I was a bit deflated last week. I knew I'd set this goal and shared it on my blog. And, if you don't know it, I am a big fan of accountability. So, since I shared, I felt I must do all I can to make it happen. And...I really, really want to enjoy the backyard this summer with family, friends, co-workers and for the neighbors to be able to enjoy it as well. So, I had to choose to be creative. Which, I am learning I am...in certain ways. I am also learning that I am also a bit of a business woman. 

I need to have labor to get this yard completed and especially if I am going to reach my goal of getting it done by the end of the month. There are a few teens in our church who'd like to go to church camp (at $350/child). And there it is. A partnership.

The details are still being finalized; hopefully to have them come over from 8 - 12 on Saturday. I am planning to make them breakfast and provide water and music. There will be a plan and I am fairly good at delegating. I only pray that "many hands will make light work" and that the weather is great for this task.

After dropping Dylan off at soccer between rushing from Minor's to the drive-thru at McDonald's (bleh.), I realized that I was excited to do something with the goodies that I had just purchased. Tired from the day and the excursion, I chose a small area and planted the three lavender plants. Or shall I say, three Miss Jeans please!?! They are to grow to be about three feet tall and needed about 12 to 15 inches of space between them. I pulled the weeds, dug the holes and planted. As soon as I did it, I was worried they were too close, not deep enough and not straight enough. I put away all of the supplies in the garage and then went to check on them, to look at them and then take photos of them (they are up in there in the slide show). While the bunnies in our hood are very cute, I'm hoping they don't eat or care for lavender plants.

I can now admit that I am grateful that the landscaping companies I called were too busy with bigger projects to consider my yard. Now I can tend to it and grow it and enjoy it too.

Stay tuned for future progress updates. Only 11 days until the end of the month...



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