About a month ago I wrote about “Planning Paradise,” wherein I shared the fun I had deciding how I would landscape my new yard and shopping with my husband for all kinds of new plants to put in it. Well, this weekend all those pretty, interesting, wonderful new purchases are being put in the ground, and let me tell you, PLANTING paradise is a whole lot more work than planning it!! Our former home sat on what was basically an enormous sand dune. While I often bemoaned the fact that it sucked down water like a sponge and I had to constantly add compost and nutrients to help things grow, nevertheless I was thankful for how easy it was to dig holes and pull weeds there. Now, however, I am back in the land of rocks and clay, and I am really feeling it today! I believe our property lies over a former creek bed, and you might think that would mean there would be lots of nice river silt here. Think instead of lots of cobbles held together with clay so thick and gooey that I’m sure I could fire a pot with it. When it’s saturated, it is heavy and impossible to mix with lighter soil; and when it is dried out, it becomes as hard as concrete, almost. Our tools yesterday included a wicked-looking, two-headed pick-ax, and there were times when I wished we could have used some explosives, too. Thankfully, we have some areas that have had a lot of good topsoil spread over the native “soil” (I use the term generously), so not every hole we dug was quite such a struggle. Notice I am saying “we,” for Harry was right there to help me fill our bare beds with last month’s finds . . . except for some rather lengthy water breaks in the house when I suspect he was checking out the ball games and golf on TV. Last night we creaked around the house, with sighs and groans whenever we had to rise from a chair, lean over to pick something up, or basically move at all in any direction. Neither of us work in jobs that require much physical exertion, and I’ve pretty much ignored my workout routine since the move and my cruise last May. We’re not done yet, either, but we encourage ourselves knowing that the trees and largest shrubs and perennials already have been planted. At least the price for our aching bodies and blistered hands will be worth it, once the last herb, groundcover and ornamental grass has been tucked (or dynamited) into place, and paradise will be ours. –Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader