High Five Baby

I was going through several years worth of pictures of our yard today (when I was supposed to be working).   We began documenting our yard in pics in 2008 - the year we began landscaping our back yard.  What a difference.  This is what it looks like in May 2012:

And this is what it looked like when we first planted this bed in 2008:

What a disaster!  How do you like that pile of loam to the side as well as that gravel pile in the middle of the lawn that was left over from the pool excavation?  When I realized how far we have come, I gave myself a high five.  Luckily I sit in a corner cubicle where my foolish antics are well hidden.   As well as the fact that I am not actually working.
By 2009, it was looking better but still.  Then:
(can you tell the where the propane delivery guy sunk into our new grass? Thanks buddy)

....and now (not the same time period since more blooms in the 'before' picture.  And I no longer have delphiniums.  Damn I miss them!):

In reviewing our yard's history, I found there are several plants that have since met their maker that I miss dearly.... Foxglove, Dianthus, Lupines, some nameless purple phlox-looking flower and most of all Delphiniums:

  
I know what's on my wish list for next year.