And a few more....

Grow Linden, grow! The scraggly looking, taller shrub is a Summer Snowflake viburnum that we transplanted. It went into shock, but appears to be coming back nicely.

Up and along the other side of the yard...

Voila! Can't wait to get those babies planted now.

That's beautiful! I love everything!

Very, very nice!

That is one helluva lot of work!!! But beautiful, without a doubt! Luxurious-looking lawn and grounds but you know... the lawn is way more than you need, right? ;-).

I can't get over the amount of space you have in which to plant your babies! Excited for you!

Hahaha! The lawn - yes, it has really shrunken in the last couple years. We just have to leave enough to play the occasional game of croquet!

Not many days better than new mulch day for a gardener.

Gorgeous!

Wow windymess you have outdone yourself, that looks fantastic! You must be really pleased to have the hardest part of the work done. Happy planting!

Simply amazing! I love everything about it. Happy hosta planting.

Wowzers!!! What a fantastic job.....give yourself a good pat on the back. I am waiting with great anticipation for the updated planted version of your project. :)

Wow! How nice this will look in coming years when everything grows. And so much lawn left :-) Happy planting!

BEAUTIFUL!!..what a HUGE amount of work..and you worked in the heat and your yard seems sunny!!..I'm a wimp when it comes to the sun (have a wooded lot)..glad the hardest part is over..keep posting pics..

Just beautiful! Happy hostas!!

Beautiful! Your hostas are going to make it look even better than it already does. Have fun planting!

Thanks all- I'm anxious to get out there tomorrow and start planting.

Nicholsworth- I pretty much melt in the sun too! That's why I'm working on developing more shade. But the south side of the yard will always be sunny, so I've got some peonies (love peonies!), little lime hydrangeas, and other sun-lovers over there. The big corner bed (or back-forty, as we call it) has a sunny side until the trees and shrubs grow, so next year we might put a very small raised bed in that space to grow a few veggies with our granddaughter. When I get some shade there in a few years I'll plant hostas.

And the other long-range plan is a pergola over the patio.

windymess..you have the best of both worlds!..as much as I love hostas some sun loving plants are to die for..I would love to grow tomatoes sigh..

What a great job well done! Love the terraced walkway, congratulations!

You've showed how it should be done. Here's wishing you many years of enjoyment that you've earned with your planning and hard work.

Well that's a whole lotta mulch!! Did you buy it by the tractor-scoop or in bags?

I always need more mulch. Your pictures remind me of that.

Littlebug - we bought it in bulk. It's less expensive and actually seems to be better quality than the bagged - with less dust and mold. I do have a couple bags in the potting shed though, so that after I get done planting I can touch up the places where I've made a mess and have dirt on top... anything to keep down the weeds!

It was hard to figure the right amount to order, though, because of all the rocks, and areas that we didn't have before. So we ordered 10 cu. yd. and got a college kid to spread it for us.... but it wasn't enough, so we had to get 5 cu. yd. more, and spread that ourselves.

Next year I plan to get this done in May, and I'd like to hire it done... I'm picky though and with all the young plants to work around, I'm not sure how that will go. I don't want someone dumping a wheelbarrow-load of mulch on top of my second-year hostas. So, we'll see. Eventually I hope all this stuff grows and fills in and we won't need so much of this - just around the edges, etc....