Hosta Garden Update

Before (10/11/10) and After (4/10/11)

Last fall I did a post about redoing the Hosta Garden Bed which you can read here if you’re interested.  Basically I divided the 7 Royal Standard Hostas that existed in this bed into 28 smaller divisions.  Some were potted up for a co-worker of my husband’s and the rest were replanted in this staggered pattern.  They may take a couple of seasons to make a dense mass but that’s okay with me.  I pre-ordered Daffodils in bulk to add to the bed this fall. The rest of the plantings include masses of unknown yellow and white ‘Thalia’ Daffodils, a Rhododendrum, two Viburnums and two Nandinas.  The fountain was a early b-day present last year and it rounds out this simple bed.  With a fresh layer of mulch and the edging completed it really looks great.  I can’t wait to see how it looks in a few more months.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress of this garden.  🙂

Fall Checklist Update

Chrysantheums in full glory 11/17/10

Well I’ve been working hard this past weekend completing some of the tasks I wanted to do before the end of the month.  Here’s what we (my son helped quite a bit) got done so far:

• Transplanted a Knockout Rose from my grandmother’s garden bed to my Rose Garden out front (after trimming it back severely)
• Cut back the other 3 Knockouts since they were really unruly.  This took 3 large yardbags! 
• Divided the  one large Phlox ‘Robert Poore’ in this bed into 4 smaller divisions which were planted between the Roses
• Moved a large clump of Purple Coneflowers into the raised garden bed (making 3 smaller clumps)
• Weeded both the Rose Garden and Raised Garden beds and cut back the dead foliage on some perennials
• Divided the Shasta Daisies in Grandma’s Garden bed into 5 smaller clumps that were spread around her bed and my New Garden bed
• Moved some purple Beebalm from my garden into her bed as well as some double daylillies
• Moved the Green Coneflowers into a sunnier spot behind the birdbath in the New Garden (in place of the Beebalm)
• Moved the Hydrangea ‘White Swan’ into the Green Coneflowers former shadier spot
• Planted some  ‘Hair’ Allium bulbs in the New Garden
• Sowed Larkspur, Rose Campion, False Queen Anne’s Lace and Nigella seeds in the Arbor Garden Bed
• Moved a hybrid Rose from the Knockout Rose Bed into the Raised bed

Here’s what I hope to still get done this month (if not than there’s always next spring):

• Replace landscape timbers that have rotted on the Raised Bed out front
• Move my compost bin that’s beside the Arbor Garden to the work area on the other side of my yard
• Make a new bed for the Vitex Tree (yep still in the pot) 😉
• Remove fountain pumps and store in the garage (this is a must)
• Make one more raised veggie bed

Another Project

I might be trying to accomplish too many things this fall because here’s another project I’m trying to finish before the end of the month.  This is the far right end of my Grandmother’s flower bed we made for her when they moved in with us five years ago.  It’s about 5 feet deep and  7-8 feet long.  The red circle is a Knockout Rose that has already been cut back ready to be moved to my Rose Garden out front.  The orange circle is a huge mass of Shasta Daisies that need to be divided and spread to other areas of this bed.  The yellow circles are Rudbeckia which will be divided and moved elsewhere.  Behind the Shastas is a clump of Liatris which will be divided and moved too.  So here’s hoping I get this project completed this fall so I have something great to anticipate next spring.  🙂

Updating the Garden

This past weekend I was reworking a couple of the garden beds out front (the Rose & Raised Garden Beds).  The raised bed that acts as a border between my yard and the neighbor got the biggest overhaul.   You can go here to see a picture of what they looked like in 2009.  I removed the Soapwort that was invading every corner of the front of this area and replaced it with Liatris, Daylillies and Irises.  All of these were divisions from other spots.  The red circles are the ‘Stella d’ora’ Daylillies, the blue circles are the Liatris, the orange circles are the Irises and the yellow circle is Asiatic Lillies.  These should look great come next spring I hope.   Other areas of this bed were cleaned up and Phlox ‘Robert Poore’, Purple Coneflowers and a Peace Rose were added to fill in some bare spots.  The Phlox, Coneflowers and Rose were moved over from the Rose Garden Bed.  All that’s left is to replace the timbers that have rotted.   Now about the Rose Garden….

See this big blank area, it will be the new home for another ‘Knockout’ Rose that I’m relocating from my grandmother’s garden bed.  It is currently blocking the access panel for the addition which makes things tricky with all those thorns.  😉

Hosta Garden Redo

Hosta 'Royal Standard' with Nandinas, Viburnums and a Rhododendron

The Hosta Garden got a makeover this weekend.  I dug up the 6 or 7 mature ‘Royal Standard’ clumps and divided them into about 28 smaller divisions.  Eight of these divisions were potted up for my husband’s co-worker to enjoy.  The rest were distributed throughout this bed and a couple other beds.  This took me about 2 hours and it was messy work but should pay off big time next spring.  Here’s the steps involved in redoing this area:

• dug up mature clumps with a spading fork so as to not disturb the crown and roots
• split the divisions into smaller clumps (by hand and with the fork)
• cut off the spent and broken foliage with shears
• potted up 8 divisions for pass-a-long  plants
• added a full wheelbarrel of compost to the garden
• tilled the compost into the existing soil and raked it smooth
• planted the new smaller divisions into several beds
• watered the new plants