As we continue to reduce gardens and ease the required maintenance of the yard we, once again, find more work to be done. Where is that easier to maintain garden?
OK, this is what happened. First, when the new border of shrubbery was installed, I found that one of the shrubs, a viburnum, Blue Muffin®, may need a companion viburnum to successfully pollinate it. This Chicago Lustre® was on my shopping list.
These blue berries are the hallmark of the Blue Muffin® and I certainly wanted to get blooms and berries next season. The garden center where we used to work had one Chicago Lustr® left. It was a balled and burlapped three foot specimen so we eagerly loaded it up into the pickup. I’m not sure how close these two shrubs need to be for this pollination to be effective, so we needed some space.
This large Hosta is Wheaten Blue®. The added sun this area of the garden is getting caused the blueness of it to fade to this dark green. So this was a great spot for the viburnum and the Wheaten Blue® needed a new home.
During the scramble to get shade-loving plants out of the sun when we lost trees last year, this lovely, yet unknown named Hosta misplaced her name tag. The ruffled edges and bright lime color are usually brilliant. But this Hosta is still getting too much sun. It has faded to a scorched off white. So we had another plant to move.
As happens when dividing large perennials, the Wheaten Blue® split into three nice sections.
This area is being used as a holding bed for plants that are still looking for a permanent home.
The Chicago Lustr® is pretty on its own. Lovely white blooms in spring will transmit pollen to the Blue Muffin®, followed by these dark blue berries that the birds will love.
This Chicago Lustr® is settling in nicely and all of the moved plants are getting a regular watering. Watering well will enable the roots to get established before freezing temperature arrive.
This area of SW Ohio is, once again, in a drought. We have had one inch more rain than last year, but we are still 7 inches below normal. As the cooler temperature arrive, do not neglect watering any trees, shrubs, and perennials. They need regular moisture so the plants are not stressed going into winter. Watering until the ground is frozen will better enable plants to survive the winter.
I’m sure these measures will eventually get us the ‘less maintenance’ garden we need.
Thanks for stopping by today. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you with a response.
