The Garden Reno is All Done – Like Really, Really All Done ;)

The full garden reno is all done 🙂

It turned out way better than I even imagined, and yet … it is a very different look than before. Intentionally.

Since I last blogged, the Bend got one major addition – the very large daylily stand in the center back of the picture above. It was the daylily stand that bloomed and bloomed for the days my Mom was in the hospital, and it continued to bloom through last week. I actually thought last weekend that it was going to form a pod. It held onto that last spent bloom for 3 days. If it had formed a pod, it would have been on the last daylily bloom of the season for the whole garden. But it did not, and that probably was a good thing. I’m not sure we have enough season left to mature a daylily pod.

With that last bloom shed I went ahead and moved the entire clump. It is now the centerpiece of that area.

Once I got to Sandy’s Corner my plan changed daily, but for the better. I now have something I can imagine working with quite easily for the next 10 years.

The hostas have a greater presence again, and yet, the daylilies still have plenty of space.

And the specific corner Sandy used to sit in has been cleared for 2027s daylily seedlings. Potentially there will be four varieties. Yah, one from my work survived. The pollinators have three 😉

I am working on that birdbath, but it may go. I am on a garden doodad removal kick. A few months ago, I got rid of the clematis and trellises out back. With Sandy’s Corner and the bend, I got rid of the hanging bird bath on the short shepherd’s hook, and, after more than a decade I also removed the double shepherd’s hook with the hummingbird feeder. I was tired of cleaning the hanging bird bath, and we have another hummingbird feeder out front that is the one the hummingbirds prefer. Out back they most often choose the blooming flowers.

Out front I moved a hosta out of the entryway corner (to the back) and in its place, I moved in a Chocolate Drop Sedum that was long overdue for division.

It should begin to fill out that corner nicely.

And then at the historic cemetery I planted all of the seedlings I had grown this summer from seed I harvested there last fall.

And, on the one-month anniversary of my Mom’s passing, I donated and planted three fans of historic daylily Autumn Red from my garden to the historic cemetery garden. The Autumn Red daylily variety was registered 85 years ago, the same year my Mother was born. It was a special, dedicated trip over for me, and a special moment of planting. That planting is now the oldest registered daylily variety in the garden there, and it matches a huge stand of Autumn Red daylilies we found between some oak trees on the perimeter of the property this summer. Very special all around.

It is a pivotal year. In many ways it has been a very tough year. And yet … we move forward. God still has work for us to do, and that we shall, according to His will.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and that you are truly Blessed!

“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.

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.

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.

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 😊

The Path is All Gone

Today I decided the whole path needed to go. I dug up all the squares. They are slated for a second life – a nice path in front of the outhouse up north lol.

I also decided against more Blue Mouse Ears hostas out front. I am going to continue to work with the Purple Shamrocks as annuals each year instead.

I am digging one large plant per workday and putting the divisions on the old path. Today I moved a languishing hosta out of Sandy’s corner and into the area that was the bend in the path.

In the spot where the languishing hosta was, I will be planting a large clump of Blue Mouse Ears hostas. That area is by the sprinkler head, and the Blue Mouse Ears do very well there.

And, since I am closing off the path from the front I decided I want to rotate the orientation of Sandy’s corner, putting tall hostas at the bend, farther away from the sprinkler head and gradually moving into shorter daylilies closer to the patio.

That will be a project in itself lol. But that is for another day.

Until then, Be Blessed!

Project “Remove the Front Path” Has Begun

For almost two decades I have had a path going through the garden from the front to the back.

It is how I have designed my gardens for a very long time, and it has definitely looked nice at the townhome, but it also causes harm to the garden contents when it is time for contractor maintenance that requires a hose. It seems to be a flashing beacon for the path of least resistance.

It happened again yesterday. I cringed as I saw the hose go down. And I cringed quite a bit more as I saw the hose being pulled out after the maintenance was done. Over a sedum, and a currant, and multiple daylilies and coming to a stop when it tipped over the bird bath.

I have been thinking about a garden “spiff up”. The sprinklers are all dialed in again, and I have been watching the pattern. I know what will work. I have more Blue Mouse Ears hostas I want to divide. I have a large Autumn Red daylily clump that is languishing in too much shade. Getting rid of the path out front would solve a lot of needs.

Today was the day. Project “Remove the Front Path” has begun.

There is more to come, so stay tuned 🙂

Oh Goodness!

Bonus post.
I saw these pictures of 9 and 10 years ago today and had a little laugh.
Goodness, that’s an awful lot of hostas! Most of those are long gone. That exposure was way too much sun for them. I moved them more into the shade and used the space for more daylilies. But the South Seas and Naomi Ruth were there all those years ago 🙂

Hosta Maintenance Time, Daylily News and Pics

Today was a slow day – a day for a tiny bit of hosta maintenance and a whole lot of enjoying the daylilies.

Today I removed the scapes from the last two Blue Mouse Ears hostas. I think it took 5 minutes. Blue Mouse Ears hostas are super easy to maintain. The scapes don’t need cutting. They snap off.

The spent blooms tend to stick to the leaves, so pulling those by hand is a lot, but a few sprinkler cycles and they should clear.

I am seeing some heat fatigue on the plants, and the hosta by the Blue Mouse Ears pictured above is one of those. That one has been a trooper. I will probably divide and transplant it more into the shade this fall.

The daylilies continue to amaze me.

Pink Moon (one of my own seedlings) is showing some features I really like, especially the outline on the edges.

It also has an interesting look when it is opening up. A cool pattern.

I will be researching a bit more to see what the markings on the open blooms are. I’m guessing they are getting hit by the sprinklers. I may need to move Pink Moon to a better location this fall.

Hush Little Baby bloomed again today. What a welcome addition to the garden!

And what I think is Romantic Rose has an interesting feature around the eyezone today. I don’t remember seeing that in the past, but maybe I just haven’t noticed it. That is a daylily I bought many years ago and transplanted more into the sun just a few years back when we got a larger Traeger and it ended up in mostly shade and was failing. Look at it now! And it has seedlings, yes it does, with Naomi Ruth, both as a pod and pollen parent, so hopefully in 2027 we will see even more beauty!

Just Plum Happy is coming into full bloom now.

And Pink China Doll had 7 blooms today! Very nice!

And as is normal for this time of the season, we are starting to see last blooms per variety. Yesterday Red Volunteer bloomed its last in our townhome garden for the year. I had high hopes for Red Volunteer, but I put it in a bit of a tuck-in spot when I planted it two years ago, and it seemed to get kind of lost as well as be a bit sparse this year – one scape, few buds. I did cross it last year so maybe it is recovering from that, but even so, as beautiful as it is, it is not doing well where I have it. I know Red Volunteer should be more vigorous because I also planted them at the historic cemetery and they look way better there. I am definitely going to move the one at the townhome to another location, but where, I am not yet sure. (Apologies for the not awesome pic – it was a bit awkward to get the front view, as it was obstructed.)

Beyond that, the pods from this year’s successful crosses are maturing. I am going to have such an easy harvest and planting this year. There are only 3 clear successes, and then the one pending from the Pink Tirzah x Hush Little Baby cross. It will be weird compared to other years, but I am looking forward to it. I have so many seedlings in the garden to watch over the next few years I think I will thank myself for putting on the breaks.

I hope you had a great weekend and wish you a great week ahead!

Be Blessed!