A girl, a shovel and about 10,000 bulbs*

My New Years Resolution as it applies to garden projects: Plan ahead, Slow down and rely on my friends at the Barn.

At my old job, there were two schools of thought on business personalities. You were either "Aim, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire" (kindof how my brother hunts) or "Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Fire" (kindof how my husband approaches a home improvement project). I was always more like my brother, but I am thinking when it comes to gardening a little more Aim could be a huge help.

So, long after a sane person would plant bulbs, after the first minor snowfall, I decided we absolutely, positively needed to plant the front of the garden center with bulbs to add some color for spring. After consulting with no one, I set out Saturday morning with the idea that I would knock this project out quickly and feel like a real landscaper!

I gathered my supplies, roped a yard boy into helping me and went to work. Both he and I quickly realized our project was in trouble. First, I had no plan. My assistant realized this almost immediately and quickly disappeared, never to return. I always thought he was a pretty smart guy, but this proves he is much more intelligent than I originally gave him credit for. Looking back, the incredulous looks pretty much everyone gave me as I announced my plan was a polite heads up I chose to ignore. And I think I did start crying when I told Heather I was done and she sweelty informed me that there was an entire cart of tulips left.

A number of hours later, I was able to collapse on my couch and I realized although I was tired, I felt good. It wasnt as hard as I thought, and while I am scared of the results, and a little nervous for next spring, I learned a lot of lessons that I can apply to next year.

First, the Barn has some great people with a lot of experience, and I should have relied on that. Second, if I had spent about 10 minutes deciding where and how to plant the bulbs, before I just started digging, it would have been a lot easier. Third, don't bother using anything else besides a good old fashioned shovel. Seriously.

*slightly exaggerated!