Category: Garden renovation

“Sandy’s Corner” Renovation Begins

The last garden area to get a renovation this year will be “Sandy’s Corner”.

The name “Sandy’s Corner” comes from our little Chihuahua Terrier mix who passed this past January. He loved sitting on the corner of that area and snoozing in the sun.

Early years of “Sandy’s Corner”
“It’s a grass kind of day”
Snoozing begins – a bit farther out in the cool grass

The different components of Sandy’s Corner

The garden that is now Sandy’s Corner has had many looks over the years, including a Hostaville of sorts, and a daylily seedling bed, the remnants of which are now fully integrated, and some have bloomed, and even need to be moved to better locations.

I recently took a walk down memory lane for that garden area and discovered I kind of miss some of Hostaville.

Not the full extent of Hostaville – that was a bit much.

Early days in Hostaville
Another area, even more full

But I do want some of that look back, in mini form. Closer to the house, more in the shade, the “looking out” view.

The Plan

I started this week with a pretty “thought out” plan – one that took into account a new viewing orientation, the sprinkler pattern, my own seedlings that I tucked in small places but that have since bloomed and matured to need more space, and then things that were languishing and needed division and/or a new environment (sun exposure, water pooling patterns …). I put a fair amount of time into which plants should be in scope this year and what the dividing and transplanting sequence needed to be.

And, as so often happens, my “full plan”, was just that – a plan.

It took a bit to get going.

That garden has a lot of memories, lots of fun moments, lots of time praying, lots of time rejoicing, lots of time learning the art of daylily hybridizing, lots of time sharing with friends, and also quite a bit of time grieving. But it is time for a change, a gift to my future self.

Still, as I looked at the garden, in a bit of a funk, it took a fair amount of self-motivation to get out there and start implementing the logical plan. It has been hot outside, the AC feels far more comfortable, and entering things in spreadsheets and hitting refresh to update pivot tables became a stall technique. It is always good to exercise healthy caution in the heat, but Step 1 was to move “just one hosta”, and I could come back in the AC 20 times during the process if I wanted and take as much time as I needed.

Out I went. And soon got a whole new perspective on the plan.

I started with that step # 1. I quickly discovered that, indeed, step #1 was the right starting point, but the scope was a bit off. I ended up moving 1/2 of the intended Blue Mouse Ears clump into the allotted spot. It needs space to expand.

Before
After

With step #1 done, as I looked at the result, I realized the swap that was steps #2 and #3 was going to need to be changed too. Lots of thinking ensued. And then … I realized … I have a great hosta for that spot. One that, gasp!, was not on the plan 😉 I initially considered transplanting it this year but crossed it off the list.

I will need to wait on that hosta’s replacement to be available – a sedum that is just beginning to flower. And so, for now, the space is a placeholder. The seedling that was there did a swap with the daylily that closed the path to Sandy Corner.

Placeholder for additional hosta (transplant)

Time to start moving the daylilies

With the hosta adjustments made, it was finally time to tackle the daylily section. That is the area that has the correct sun exposure to house my established and purchased daylilies as well as to mature my own seedlings.

After many years of trial and error, I landed with an approach for seedlings that is a bit unconventional. I tuck the seedlings in with the mature daylilies and then after the seedlings bloom, I assess for moves.

I didn’t land at that approach lightly. I was a bit desperate for space for the seedlings. Mixing them in with the mature and purchased daylilies works wonderfully. And now, with the path removed I have extra options. Plus, with my shift to harvesting self-seed only, at least for a time, there is no need for much access for doing crosses.

Closing off the path with one of my own seedlings

Closing off the path was a big move for me. I considered moving the Autumn Red that bloomed and bloomed over the days my Mom was passing. But I know myself. That Autumn Red needs to move up front to take a prime spot among the other Autumn Reds. And I have a place for it.

The daylily that I chose to close off the path and start a new configuration for Sandy’s Corner was one of my own seedlings, an intentional cross I made that bloomed for the first time this year.

It had a few different scapes and a few different looks, but this one was my favorite.

The plan was very helpful with that first decision. It was a priority 1 for moves.

And now it is in place.

Day by day the reno is coming together. Not according to the original plan, but I’m good with that.

There are a boatload of memories, and even some triggers I need to make sure I address, but all in all, I now have a version 3, or maybe 3.5, and I think it is much closer to where I’ll finish.

We’ll see what happens.

Until then, Be Blessed 🙂

The Bend is Done

Today I planted one more set of Autumn Red daylily fans in the area where the path used to be.  That makes nine bunches of Autumn Red daylilies out front. It should be awesome!

The final touch was a bit of whimsey with the frog and turtles.

And just like that, the corner was done. 

As I realized my reno work there was done, I thought about how many 100s of days I looked at that area and thought it needed something additional. Well … 😉

As for the sad looking pot of Purple Shamrocks – Those should look more like this next year.

And the area where the straight path was – I debated whether I wanted something in this spot.

I had the daylily for that spot. It would have looked great. But my walking around pink sneakers came to the rescue. 10 seconds. Outline gone.

And with that, I am ready to get on to the changes to Sandy’s Corner. 

Even before removing the path, Sandy’s Corner was already on my radar for daylily/hosta swaps. With my decision to not do daylily crosses next year, the plan is firming up. Daylilies don’t need to be easily accessible along paths next year, and I have a very strong sneaking suspicion I will be doing minimal crosses, if any, in future years. My coworkers, the pollinators, are very impressive. And I like this new job of enjoying – planning, planting, relaxing, and then harvesting what the pollinators choose. So onward to the next phase.

Until then, Be Blessed 😊