Remember this desolate looking hill of dirt???

 It started out look like this.... evolved into this....

I dreamed about it looking like this....

And so far, it looks like this.

It's definitely progress, although not QUITE the dream I had envisioned.

Some things have been more disappointing than others.  The hibiscus plants - the entire reason that I ordered these dormant plants in the first place - have been less than successful.  It seems like 3 of 6 that I received will actually end of surviving.  The same seems to be true for the rose of sharon bushes - 3 of the 6 have leaves, and the other 3 are still stupid looking twigs. 

That's a rose of sharon in the center of that picture

The bulbs, on the other hand, have been a dream.  Both the lilies and the blazing liatris are thriving.

I'm definitely excited to hopefully get some flowers later this summer.  Now that things are actually sprouting, I can't help but laugh at how haphazard the bulbs appear to have been planted.  Some of them are right next to each other, others have 3 feet between them.  If I had not planted them myself, I would certainly be making fun of the gardening who doesn't know how to evenly space.  Oh well... as I always say, lessons learned, right?

There were quite a few plants that just never sprouted, including the Black-Eye Susan's, the Blue Oat Grass, and the Candy Tuft.  I plan to contact the company within the next few weeks if there is no evidence of life in those plants, since they do offer a warranty if the plants do not survive.  But based on what I received in that initial package, I feel like I should be THRILLED with what came up, since I honestly had NO EXPECTATIONS for anything to actually grow. 

I know that I won't get any Hibiscus or Rose of Sharon flowers this year, but I can't wait for lilies!