Random Trip Thru the Garden

It's beginning to be that time of year again when you can move things around and correct location problems that are developing.  Usually, by August I am totally burned out and waiting for fall so the pace will change.  But this year I had my overload meltdown in back July with the dry weather and spraying deer repellent almost every night and all the food coming out of the garden.  With the daylilies being over and some rain now and then I've recovered and gotten back on top of the pile.  The whole garden is very well ordered and I am enjoying the process every day.

So now I am working on things that need to be changed for next year.  In this row of Linden trees that defines the end of our backyard I originally had all daylilies.  As the trees mature and the shade closes in, the lilies have slowly stopped blooming.  So it is time to transition them out and replace them with Hostas that are getting too much sun elsewhere.  And I have plenty of those.

Earlier this week I removed and transplanted the daylilies and yesterday I started moving the Hostas.  Hostas that are not happy will practically jump out of the ground for me and they are very easy to divide up.  They usually take right off in their new spots.  I put some grids over them to stop inquisitive deer who will be drawn to the area of upheaval and will not be able to resist mowing them to the ground.  Even with repellent.  Bumping their face on a grid deters them every time.

In fact, when I get tired of continually spraying, I relocate any grids I can spare to the Hostas.  Yesterday when my husband got done mowing the lawn he said "you know you left a big crater behind those Hosta you moved."  Yes, I know.  I am going to fill it with more Hosta.  Just not today.  These projects need to be taken in small bites so they don't overwhelm.

August is the time when you get to enjoy all those things you planned for and worked on all spring.

This Karley Rose grass below was mail order last fall.  It was tiny!  This spring there was only one little green spear that came up.  I almost replaced it.  But sometimes you just gotta let it ride.

I am also enjoying this Black Eyed Susan below.  In years past I had so darn many BES.  I got sick of them.  I pulled them out.  I relocated them.  I got tired of supporting and spraying and deadheading them.  Two years ago I ripped out the last big area of them.  For some reason, I must have had a really nice green clump and I stuck them into a fiber pot and put them along the compost pile with other refugees and forgot about it.  This spring when I was looking for things to fill in bare spots in the dry creek I stuck that little clump in.  I'm really enjoying it as a stand alone plant.  It can't spread there.  It can be just a tame little bright spot.

Another mail order plant that is thriving.  Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit.  I got a dozen of these in these spring and planted them in trios in several spots.

Do you have any plants that you love but Can Not Grow?  Here that's ground sedums.  I've tried various varieties a dozen times and no matter where I put them they fizzle pretty quick.  This sedum has decided to buck the trend.  It is super happy in its spot.  I just try to ignore it and pretend I don't see it so I don't mess it up.

The replacement strawberries are looking awesome.  Why didn't I just ditch the old ones weeks earlier and plant these where they belong?

I have been transplanting them in batches of 2 or 4 back into the strawberry bed and they are doing fine.  The four to the right are the most recent.  In a few days I will trim the older leaves that start to get stressed and the new leaves will take hold and flourish.

This week has been a mad flurry of butterflies.  We enjoy sitting back at the fire pit watching them in the dry creek bed with all of the pollinator friendly flowers, especially the two butterfly bushes.  Its tough to get good pictures of butterflies.  But Bumblebees are easy.  The Vanilla Marigolds have been full of dozens of bumblebees every day.

The Dahlia bed is flourishing.  The whole center row is Cafe Au Lait which is a super prolific dinner plate size.

Here is a back view of the pepper pot.  The front view showed some of the Sweet Bananas.  These are a hotter variety that are just now starting to turn orange and develop some taste.  The plants are loaded!

The second planting of sweet corn is maturing fast.  We are still eating out of the first planting and I am starting to freeze the excess.  But I have my eye on this big ear in the direct south sun of the second bed.

The second planting is in the first bed next to the fence.  Squeezing in here every day to water is like legit walking thru a big cornfield. 

And the harvest keeps on going.