Planting project, final phase

Well, we did it. We got all our new plants into the ground in one (extended) weekend, and we managed to do it before the rain started. Here is the final set of plantings: our new raspberry bed. 

There wasn't quite enough room to plant our dozen raspberry canes in a single row, so we put them in two staggered rows, about 18 inches apart diagonally (with a gap to provide access to our telephone box). It took four bags of mulch to cover the lot to the 6-inch depth the books recommend. (That's one point I hadn't really considered in this whole planting escapade: the plants themselves are a one-time expense, but they will have ongoing maintenance costs in compost and mulch. But still, they shouldn't need nearly as much mulch added on a yearly basis as they did this first time.)

I also got my first crop of the year into the garden: my snap peas. Actually, if the seed packet is to be believed, I probably could have planted these earlier, since it says "as soon as ground can be worked in the spring." So maybe next year I'll try and plant them earlier in hopes of getting some "snow" peas before summer starts.

Unfortunately, we now have a week to wait before another weekend rolls around and we can tackle our next outdoor chore: hacking down the big forsythia bush that's currently obstructing our access to the new raspberry bed. I could work on it during the week, of course, but Brian thinks it's more a brute-force job that he should be the one to handle. And I'll also need his participation the other two jobs we've just added to our to-do list based on this weekend's activities: cleaning out the shed and the workshop. Those don't require as much brute force, but they do require both of us to be present during the process, or else we'll never be able to find anything afterwards. Hmm...maybe I could at least start sort of planning out where to put things....