Mission accomplished!

The bulbs are finally planted.  I told myself when I woke up today that I had to get them in the ground no matter what the weather was like.  Luckily for me the rains held as I cut back a few more perennials and squeezed the bulbs in.  I always forget how hard it is to find room for bulbs when I'm shopping for them.  It's kind of like the old saying about food that "your eyes are bigger than your stomach".  I did manage to get them in and only chopped into a few bulbs that were already occupying the space.  Hopefully I patted the soil over them hard enough so the squirrels won't find them.  They've been very busy digging around the garden for the past few weeks.

These are some of the bulbs I planted today.  I'm really excited about the Fritillaria, these are different from the type I've already got.  I planted these near Heuchera 'Marmalade' and Heuchera 'Petite Pearl Fairy' near the pond.  I think the colors should look very pretty together.  The Chionodoxa, also known as Glory of the Snow, were planted in a front shade bed.  Hopefully they'll do okay there.

Also planted were Tulips, Daffodils and Alliums.  Last year I planted lots of Crocus which I'm hoping will multiply along with Muscari and more Tulips, Daffodils and Alliums.  I'm thinking about trying Crocus in the lawn this year if I can find them for a good price.

These pictures are from a couple of days ago when the Japanese Maple was at it's peak and the sky was blue.

The fall color didn't last long and the leaves are already drying and covering the roof and ground.

I always feel such a relief once I get the majority of fall cleanup and planting done.  There's still plenty to do, but it can wait for another time.  Around here we can usually garden most of the year if you're willing to put up with cold weather or the ground being wet.