You know that feeling.
You just need to have something and will go to any lengths to get it. You cannot get it out of your head no matter how hard you try. Once you get it, all is right with the world; for that moment at least.
That is a misplaced plant for me. It eats at me. I see it while walking the dog or playing with the kids. It makes me doubt myself as a so called gardening enthusiast. It keeps me up at night and it creeps into my dreams. I ain’t kidding either. Many decisions have been made based on a vision I’ve had while semi conscious.
Well, I got my fix early this morning and can say I am safely satiated for the moment. Here is the culprit:
That slow to mature, evil Holly ‘Chesapeake’ in the center along the back of the bed. It does nothing for that space and I’ve been stressing about moving it for a few weeks now. So, today was the day:
Don’t let the door …
What went in it’s place you ask? Well … see for yourself below:
It is a Physocarpus (Ninebark) ‘Diablo’. And before you can say, “that will outgrow that spot dummy”, I will hit you back with a “know it won’t YOU dummy. I’ll prune this down heavily each year to limit the growth. And I don’t really care about the flowers since it is the foliage that floats my boat”.
But there was more transplanting to be done. I also didn’t like how the Northern Sea Oats were grouped together in front of the Ninebark:
And with the magic touch of a spade, we changed to this:
Minimal difference, yes, but it fed my addiction like feng shui in the veins.
Now I am not your parent’s transplanter. I throw caution to the wind, like doing this on a hot, humid and sunny day (all no no’s), but I never forget the most important thing of all:
Nice slow drips of water right at the roots.
One other benefit of my over indulging in moving plants is finding these all the time:
So all in all I am happy with what was completed this morning and especially like the contrast the Ninebark offers to the surrounding plants, specifically the Hydrangea nearby:
And as for that creepy little Holly, last I saw of him, he was all laid up, roots exposed and left for dead, will have to let you know how that worked out;
I’m surprised you were able to contain yourself when we did our landscaping tour! We could have a transplant-a-thon over here! Our garden beckons you…
It is kind of like moving furniture in the house to get things ‘just right’, isn’t it 😉
You have given me faith. I wanted to move a few things, but figured in my ultimate idiocy I would just kill them if I even touched them. Now, having seen that moving plants once they are growing is doable, I am ready to be let loose. A dribble of water, eh? I’m sure we can achieve that without killing stuff!
At first when I read that you transplanted I was worried, however, you comforted me by seeing the slow drip of water around the plant.. Plus, this nice rain we’re getting this morning is a benefit too! There’s a great product called, “Starter Plus” by Schultz that helps transplants.. it’s loaded with vitamens to help avoid transplant shock and gets the roots adjusted. I would plant that holly though, even though you don’t like it, plant it in a holding area out of your eyesight and you never know, it may fill in and you’ll like it again.
You’re just a rebel, aren’t you? 😀
I’ve moved things in the full hot sun before, and they did just fine. And I didn’t even have the slow drip of water either. I think it depends what you’re moving. Some things are finickier (?) than others.
Wait, did you just call me a Dummy? I may be small and Canadian, but I’m a scrapper, dammit 😛
I love my Ninebark. It will look great when it fills in and don’t worry, they don’t take up that much room.