Falling Leaves, Moving Plants
Before the leaves pile up, move plants in your yard.
I spent last Saturday moving plants in my yard. It’s a chance to rearrange some plants in the hope they’ll do a little better in a new location. And gardens being gardens, there’s always a few surprises. Here’s what I did and learned:
Divide and conquer. Wedged between the stairs and the trough, the bluestar had outgrown its spot. Rather than move the entire plant, which would be impossible for me, I decided to cut it in half. I tried using a spade, then a spade shovel, followed by a hori-hori knife I hammered into the ground and almost couldn’t remove. Then I brought out the ax, and after several blows cut through the woody root. I dug out half the plant with a shovel, and moved it to the side of the driveway beneath an old hollowed out evergreen shrub that I think is a juniper.
Expect the unexpected. I love how when you introduce new native plants to your yard, you oftentimes get seeds or seedlings growing in the pot. Here, a blooming blue lobelia seed must have come in to my yard and did quite well in rocky dry soil next to the generator. I figure if it found its way here and thrived, it deserves a better spot so I moved it next to a pathway. Bonus points: It wasn’t devoured by rabbits, which tells me I can and should plant more.
If one plant species does well in a particular spot, plant more! The threadleaf bluestar turns golden in fall, and for that reason is one of my favorite plants. This one is so hardy it thrives in a dry bed by the driveway. So of course I dug up a few of its babies found in other areas of the yard and added them to the mix.
Admit defeat. Both my neighbor and I grew Shasta daisies at the end of our driveways. Hers could grace the cover of Fine Gardening magazine. Mine were scraggly and mostly dead with a handful of blooms that made the plantings look even more pathetic. Perhaps it was why she recently installed a little fence to separate hers from mine. Ouch! Ok, you don’t have to hit me over the head with a spade. I ripped mine out, and will plant something else. Maybe something native like milkweed that’ll be covered with monarchs in summer.
Test the waters. I figured now’s a good time to plant a swamp rose mallow and a prairie dropseed plant I grew from seed to see if they’ll survive rabbits and deer. So far, they have. Now to decide whether to plant the rest of them, or overwinter them in their pots. Maybe I’ll do a little of both.
Finding resiliency. My witch hazel tree had been smothered most of the summer by towering Joe pye weed and New York ironweed. I was worried it might not survive. It did, and even surprised me with these lovely blooms.
Make note of what not to plant next fall. I thought mums were not on deer menus. I was wrong. They eat the flowers. Even my Halloween ghost finds it spooky.
