With Progress Comes Challenges...

 

This seemed like a great spot for one of my new snowberries (Symphoricarpos albus), yet upon further inspection it appears to have some prior tenants...

 

Yes, that big thing at the top of the hole is a root. One of many, but too girthy for my poor, inadequate hatchet. Incidentally, I dug around monster root out of spite and filled with water in anticipation of planting. The hole took hours to drain. You're going to love it here, snowberry!

 

Which one of you is responsible for monster root? Like I even need to ask.

 

Moving on to other fun challenges...A seemingly innocuous scene before you, no? This is where the front sidewalk meets the walkway to my house. I did a little planting here this weekend (yay!), complete with blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata), lupine (Lupinus spp.), kinnickinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), and sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum).

 And a little wood's rose (Rosa woodsii). But what happened to the tips of this poor plant?

 

Oh, no you di-ehn't, deer. This means war. I thought lupine was deer-resistant! Yes, "resistant" doesn't mean "proof". I'm still not impressed.