Tea Party

My two year old, Annika, has currently served up my second cup full of "tea" and saucer of raisins. "Here you go mom, here's your tea party!" I can't keep up on the raisins. The sun is streaming through the kitchen nook on to the table, water is dripping off of it and she is pausing to throw a towel on the overflow. "I need some more, its drips!" Back to the towel very intently rubbing the edge of the table. Time for a raisin break, and another cup of tea. THis is the same child who brings me my coffee as a peace offering throughout the day. I get interrupted and run somewhere else in the house and then comes Anni, slowly, concertedly walking with my sometimes steaming hot cup of coffee. Whoops, now the saucers are being poured back in the teapot. It will probably take me about as long to clean up as she is busy with this tea party. Tryn is upstairs, asleep I assume, after asking to go to bed because she was "too tired today." Tristan goes to town in the johnny jumper, propelling himself forward with well placed jumps and swinging back, keeping tabs Annika all the time.
Spring has sprung here, windy and 50 degrees. I want to plant and plant and fill in all the dirt with growing things that are going to look like there was a plan to it all. Ha. Being a novice gardener, I have absolutely no idea where to start so I put twenty northwest gardening books on hold at the library and at least have a rudimentary list of possibilities now that I have looked over a few. Some plants are starting to stick out as "easy to grow" and "likes shade." What makes me crazy is that I can plan the specifics all I want, yet the nursery probably won't have many of the exact plants that I choose. How do other people do this? If I go to the nursery it will take me two hours to get a three plant scheme as I will try to balance shape, color, light, height, etc.
It will just have to be a few trips.