Ok guys, I can now say the garden is officially planted. Not done, but planted.

We still need to add the mulch that is going on the ground around the boxes to keep us from having to mow or weed-eat around everything. But I’m celebrating the mini-victory that we have everything in the ground.

Yesterday, Hubs told you guys about building the bird barrier so I wanted to quickly explain how we planted these shrubs.

Since these are perennials (they’ll come back every year, hopefully), you need to make sure to put them in a space where they have plenty of room. We used an area in between two of our garden boxes that is about 10 feet on each side, making a nice, big square.

To start, you have to dig your holes. We were wading through some pretty gummy mud while we did this, but I think it was worth it. And the ground wasn’t that wet after we got down below the surface.

You need to dig your holes about twice as wide and a little deeper than the container your shrubs came in. Why? Well, I think it just helps them get established better since their roots can move around through the loosened soil easier than they can through packed soil. And the loose soil helps make sure they get enough water instead of everything just running off. See how wide these holes were compared to our plants?

After digging the hold, sprinkle in some potting mix or good garden soil. We used Miracle-Gro Garden Soil, since we had some leftover from filling our raised beds. Then, set in the plant after carefully removing it from its container.

Then, you want to fill in around your plant with a mixture of the soil that came out of the hole and the garden soil. This helps the roots get used to the soil they’ll be living in a bit more gradually.

Plus, by using a mixture, you add nutrients and help prevent soil compaction around your plant, especially if you are working with not-perfect/muddy dirt like we were. Just layer it in, one layer of dirt, one layer of good soil, another layer of dirt…and so on until you’re level with the ground.

After than, press firmly, but not too much, around the base of the plant to help work out any air bubbles and loose areas. Add more soil as needed.

When you water these in, go slowly but give them a lot, not only to help get the roots established, but also to get out any large air bubbles or pockets that might not have been filled in with dirt. Pour on a good amount (a half-gallon or so, depending on how wet your soil is to start with), then let it sink in and repeat a few minutes later. Repeat with all your shrubs and I promise, you’ll be done in no time, with properly planted shrubs! (Unless you’re planting a hundred or something crazy like that. That will take a while…)

Again, you can add more dirt as necessary at this point, but don’t get it too high up on the stem of your plant. In fact, it works really well to build a little well around the plant to help hold in water and let more of it seep down into the soil instead of running off the surface.

And that’s it!

I would totally recommend building something like our bird barrier structure if you’re planting something the birds will want to eat (any kind of berry, grape, cherries, etc.).

Good luck planting! And don’t forget to whisper encouraging words to whatever you’re planting! Tell us what projects you have on your plate for this weekend…we’re hoping to get a few things done around here…as usual!