Planting a free shrub in a $20 hole.

After putting in an extra shift at work on Saturday, Sunday was a busy, busy, busy day! 

I did 6 loads of laundry and finally got to use the line to dry everything - the never-ending rain has resulted in using the dryer more than I like, since I LOVE line-dried clothes, especially sheets. 

I then ran some errands, including buying 85 pounds of chicken for the dogs (Sunday was the last day of a really good sale, and I have a freezer :) ), then came home, and cut up and bagged the chicken.  A lot of work, but added to some beef I'll buy this week, it's food for the next 4 months for them, so it is worth it!

Then came the "fun" part of the weekend.  While I plan to fence the back yard, I don't want the fence to go into the front yard, but I want something to mark the boundary line, and flowering shrubs, to form an eventual hedge, are a great alternative.  My sister's lilac sends up shoots every year, so this year, she dug out 12 of them and gave them to me.  By the time Sunday rolled around, they had been sitting in a bucket of water for over 24 hours, and HAD to get planted. 

I marked 30" out from the property line, and ran a line to mark the edge.

I started digging out the sod along the line - and WOW, was it thick sod!

I then ran the line back at 42" from the property line, and dug out the rest of the sod, resulting in a 12" wide trench. 

12", by 22 FEET long.  Twenty-two feet long, through thick sod, all by hand.  Fortunately, I had ice water with mint from the garden to keep me refreshed!

 

I filled the trench with topsoil, and spaced the lilacs ~22" apart.  One down, 11 more to go...

And done!  There was a range of sizes, and I realized after I got them all planted that I probably should have put the smaller ones in between the larger ones, to make it more even, but I am NOT digging them out and re-planting.
 

I'll be surprised if all of them live, and actually won't be surprised if none of them live - they were in water a long time.  But the total cost of the project was $20 in topsoil - $20 for a row of lilacs that, if I had to buy them from a garden centre, would cost me at least ten times as much, and I still would have had to buy the topsoil!  I've been watering them well, and I'll eventually mulch the area, but wow! 

 $20, three hours of work - and, after almost three years, the beginnings of my flower gardens!!  Thanks sis!!