I'm Disappointed with the Landscaping

Hmmm...  I HATE confrontation, but I'm gonna have to tell the landscaper how disappointed I am with the arborvitae that are planted along the fence.

These were (ARE) my requirements:  I need an immediate SOLID screen to block my dogs from seeing and barking at the neighbors. 
We discussed a couple of options.  Burning bushes would have been great except they drop their leaves.  He suggested the arborvitae--it was a short chubby one that would get 5-6' tall and was about 3-1/2' wide.  They were expensive at $100/tree, and he stepped off how many I'd need (19).  More than I wanted to spend, but making sure the neighbors don't hate me is that important to me.

Well...  When the guys spaced out the 19 pyramid arborvitae, they only spanned HALF THE DISTANCE of the fence! So, I called Mr. Landscaper Dude and told him how far the trees went along the fence.  One of the workers stepped out how many more I'd need:  SIXTEEN.  WTF?  Lucky me...  he had that many, and he'd send them right out.

Then I checked the tag out on one of the trees, and it said this particular arborvitae would reach 20-30' tall and 5-8' wide.  That is definitely NOT what he told me.  I was pissed so I asked one of the workers to call him and find out if these were the right trees.  The response:  somebody printed the wrong info on the tag.

At first I thought "well at least I'm getting the right tree."  But...  I can understand over- or underestimating 1 or 2 trees, but NOT 16!

I got online and checked out the description of a pyramidial arborvitvae.  Guess what:  they're supposed to mature to 20-30' and 5-8' wide.  Was the idiot LYING to me or does he really not know about these trees?

So...  to kind of fix the problem, the workers started spacing the trees further apart.  Now I have trees that are spaced very close together to the middle of the fence, and then trees that are spaced wider from the middle to the end.

#1.  if I end up keeping these trees, they're spaced entirely too close to mature at 5-8' wide.
#2.  yet, the trees are spaced too wide apart for me to remove the ugly landscaping fabric we have stapled to the fence as a temporary block
#3.  the trees need full sun, but now they are on the north side of the fence with the sun blocked because of the landscaping fabric
#4.  I still have to keep the ugly landscaping fabric in place SO THERE'S NO FRIGGIN' POINT IN HAVING ANY TREES PLANTED THERE!

Ultimately, I KNOW we were on the same page when he left here becuase there is NO WAY I would have let him leave here with me agreeing to pay almost $2000 for trees that didn't do what I wanted them to do!

I'm gonna go visit the guy this morning.

What is this plant?

This is a little plant that the landscapers dug up yesterday to put in the new plantings.  I hadn't paid any attention to it because I thought it just a dead little stump so I was thrilled to see one full-blown flower, several leaves and a scattering of buds.  I want to replant it.  What is it?



here's what the poor little stump looks like

 


double pink petals, about 2" across

 

Later...  Rhododendron???  Maybe "azuma-kukami"?

But...  to me, it looks way too flat-backed to be a trumpet shape, and there's only a single thingie coming out of the middle (stamen? pistil?).

Guess why this lattice (aka "The Lattice Monster") is on the ground?

Because Annie stuck her head in one of the holes and ripped the damn thing off the deck trying to get loose!

She freaked out.  Her SCREAMS freaked me out.  The other dogs freaked out.  Oh, no...  she didn't just do a little yelp--she was screaming, non-stop at the top of her lungs.  It was not pretty. 

I was mostly worried about her breaking her legs rather than her choking to death because she was getting them tangled in the holes.  It took quite a bit of struggling with her to pull her head loose.  Bless her heart.  Afterwards, she was dripping blood all over the deck, but I couldn't find where the blood was coming from--at least not until I realized it was coming from me!!!  Oh, yeah...  she bit the crap out of me twice.  My thumb is sporting one really good puncture wound at the tip and partially under my nail, a nice little dent in said nail (which her tooth almost went through!) and two smaller little ouches (which are, of course, right in the crease of my knuckle so I get to enjoy the hurt every time I bend my thumb).

Thankfully, she's fine this morning.

Landscaping!!!

Wa-hoo!  The nursery called late yesterday afternoon, and my landscaping will be delivered today!  I only "ordered" it (is that what you do when you buy all new landscaping--order it???) a week and a half ago so I didn't expect to get it this fast!

The blueprint is designed with yellow- and deep purple-colored plants (the red kind of purple--not blue purple).  The landscaper guy was really nice in how he worded his thought process in choosing the colors:  "these colors will stand out against the "muted" colors of your house.  (He's right, but I think pretty much ANY colors would stand out against the "muted" blond brick with putty trim).  The only plants I'm not sure about are these funny little yellow shrubs that look like the McDonald's Fry Guys.

My little weather station says to expect rain in the next 12-24 hours.  I'm gonna ask them to put the 19 arboretum (sp?) along the fence first.  Making sure the nekkid-neighbors don't hate me because the idiot dogs bark like maniacs every time they (the nekkid-neighbors) step outside is more important than making the front of the house look pretty.

I took some before pics yesterday afternoon.  I'll post them along with the afters.

YAY!

The receipts...

I get a giggle now when I'm updating QuickBooks:

• receipts for my purchases have changed dramatically from Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Craft Warehouse to Lowe's, Home Depot, Lumber 84
• my book purchases have shifted from quilting and paper crafts to all kinds of home improvement books (will post reviews of my favorites at some point)
• my expired "PaperCrafts," "Creating Keepsakes," and "American Patchwork & Quilting" magazine subscriptions have been replaced with "Family Handyman" (yes!  I am now officially a Family Handyman!), "Birds & Blooms," "FreshHome" and BHG's "Do It Yourself"

This blog...

I created this blog several days ago, and then ended up spending waaaaaaay too much time trying to find a cute little house to use as a header! I'll work on that later; I'd rather start posting!

I'll be typing about the many projects I've already completed and all the ones I still need to do for my new house and yard--as a way to toot my own horn ("look at what I did!!!"), and perhaps be an inspiration for others. This home improvement business is actually FUN, and it seriously gives me a wonderful sense of satisfaction to realize I am able to do a little of this and that.