The current forecast of a solid week of rain would be depressing, except that I just planted all my bare-root catalogue perennials while it was sunny out, so I am doing a gleeful happy dance instead. GROW MY PRETTIES, AHAHAHAHAHAAA.

I am quite pleased with the way the back yard is shaping up. It remains a work in progress, obviously, but still: filling in and up with a very gratifying mix of colours and textures. Need to keep an eye out for possibilities for late-season colour on the shady side - haven't yet laid hands on any monkshood, for instance, and I may yet try another japanese anemone and some more brunnera.

Also need to hit Canadian Tire for some of their lovely shrimpy $2.50 perennials, namely foxglove and delphiniums, although I may try direct seeding the foxgloves first (Note To Self: AFTER mulch!) My delphinium patch is oddly depleted this year - it's back to about half its previous size. Not sure if that's due to weather or just what's meant by "short-lived perennial". Oh well, now I can pop some pink ones in there too.

Also not doing so well: some of the roses. Prairie Joy only died back by maybe 1 cm at the very, very tips of the canes, and otherwise is leafing out prolifically. Blaze died back to the base again, but that's par for the course for it, as far as I've observed in previous years, and at least it looks like it's starting to put out new canes. We'll see how it does this year, I guess; it doesn't seem to get the chance to really climb very far, maybe I should replace with something hardier like John Cabot or Quadra. Teasing Georgia and The Fairy, meanwhile, although still green at the base, do not seem to be growing or leafing out at all. After The Fairy's performance in the fall, I am baffled. Maybe it put out too much new growth too late in the season? Well, if it dies, I will replace it with one of the compact Mordens, those should be slightly more indestructible. And Teasing Georgia...I don't know about that one. It's not in a particularly good location for a rose - too shady. Another clematis would probably be a better pick there. I could try moving TG out front early next spring, I suppose, and see what happens.

Need to make a field trip out to Galetta one of these days - John Davis is on my shopping list at the very least. And, well, it just wouldn't be economical to drive all that way to get ONE plant, now, would it???

Also pondering additional front-yard hardscaping, which I seriously do not have the money for right now, but may enquire about anyway to gauge how much I'd have to shore up to get it done. I'm realizing that I need some sort of dividing line between me and my neighbour - a haphazard line of dirt and mulch encroaching on his grass is just not going to do - and similarly the strip of grass that's left between the garden and the street has REALLY GOT TO GO. Building little retaining walls is kind of pushing the limit of what I'm willing to risk doing myself, though (and also may be over-ambitious given my current beach-ball-like 7-months-pregnant shape.)