Planets aligned

... or something.

As I started to level the much-moved soil in the bit of the garden I never let the builders near, which I have since trampled over myself countless times removing tons of stone, brick and concrete, I was thrilled to spot tiny, tiny peony shoots. I also found lots of plants left-for-dead on the surface of the soil that were nonetheless producing leaves and, in the case of one hellebore, flowers. I buried all their roots.