Daylilies and Daffodils

Late summer / Early fall is a good time to makes some changes in perennial beds.  In my case I have a few daylilies and daffodils that are so crowded that they have almost stopped blooming. 

2019

These may look OK to you but I can see their decline over in the past few years

2016

This variety of lily (below) is the worst.  The leaves have gotten narrower and they fall early in the season making a big droopy mess right from the get-go.

Of course in August they all look like a big droopy mess.  

And I hadn't finished trimming the old stems so they are really ugly.

 As with any large potting project, I haul the potting bench out of storage and gather all of my supplies.

It's easiest to make the initial division in the ground.

I use an edging shovel and cut a big X in the middle.

Then I come in from the side and wedge out each quarter, slinging them into a wheelbarrow.

With a really root-bound clump, the only way to proceed is with a large carving knife.

I bought an inexpensive knife block for the garden shed.

With a less root-bound clump you can sometimes break it up by hand.

I was able to work some single plants out of the edges.

I worked up the remaining soil, added some potting mix and fertilizer and replanted three or four small clumps back in their original spot.  This should give them several years of growing room.

From each clump I potted up half a dozen to be used in our new landscape area.

I will leave them in the garden for a few weeks, watering daily with the hose, before I relocate them.

You can see the sifter full of daffodil bulbs there.  I put back seven or eight large bulbs in each spot and now have a lot (a LOT) of leftover bulbs to plant in new areas.

Some of the lilies went directly to a new spot I had prepared.

I did three clumps of lilies and four clumps of daffodil bulbs.  With interruptions and gardening distractions when I would spot something else I would rather be doing, this side took all day.

By 3 o'clock I was tired and my hands were cramping from prying apart root balls.

 Today I had some other garden chores that need attention first (like transplanting more cauliflower and cleaning potatoes for storage) and now its raining so I am indoors doing laundry and some organizing and I can't say I mind at all.  Not only do I have another stint of heavy digging and separating, but in a couple weeks I have to plant all these new divisions.

In other news: Tim finished the horse shoe pits along the one side of the garden.

Just in time for Labor Day Recreation.  If the weather is nice tomorrow...