I decided that this summer the third and last section of the hedge will get planted, come what may. I dug the trench, weeded, spread fresh soil on top and ordered bushes.

And waited.

And waited.

And by the time it was time for us to fly to Austria, I still hadn’t gotten all the bushes, even though I’d left a ten-day margin beyond the estimated delivery date, just in case there were delays. I just wasn’t prepared for delays of this magnitude.

Now we’re back and I’ve also finally received all the bushes I ordered. Some are near death after waiting here for a week, even though I put them in the shade. Some are near death for no visible reason – I’m guessing the garden centre used different suppliers for different species and some were faster than others, so the ones they got early were left lying around somewhere for a week or so, while they waited for the rest. And finally some are near death because I got sold bare-rooted plants instead of potted ones. I thought I was so careful when I double-checked my orders but somehow I still missed this. Who on earth delivers bare-rooted plants in July?!

Luckily I also have some bushes that have not languished without water, and they’re looking strong and green. I also hope that the near-death ones will revive, given time and water. So I’m going to plant them all and hope for the best. But the planting is far from the joyful task I had been looking forward to.