Moving a Rhododendron

The front yard was an area that I kept ignoring, but really needed some shaping up. Besides being busy with the veggie garden and back yard, the reason I was holding out is because I really wasn't sure what to do about the front. Did I want to build it up? Did I want to plant more? Should I get rid of the hydrangea? The front segment just looked unbalance and had different needs - blistering sun on the south side and cool shade on the front side.


Before: Our meager little shrubs last spring '08. From left to right is my peony, a rhododendron (center) and hydrangea (that came with the house) and a new weeping cherry blossom tree.



After: I moved the Rhododendron over to the left about 2 feet and turned it 90 degrees, so it would grow more attractively. Doesn't it look like a totally new plant!?

I asked my neighbors who told me that the Rho had been there at least 6 years and hasn't grown one bit! So I did some reading online about how to care for Rhos and read they needed a shot of fertilizer in the spring, moist soil, natural compost such as leaves, and in extremely poor cases some strategic pruning. This spring I did give it some flower food pellets and noticed the Rho grew at least a foot! I also pruned 2-3 branches back that were growing funny.



Before I moved it, I filled the hole with lots of leaves and tree bark that I gathered from the lawn. Carefully I moved the entire Rho with the root ball intact into the hole and back filled it with very rich humus from the nursery.



Always water thoroughly. I made a "well" around the base and slowly poured 2 buckets of water into the area. Then I mulched over it.



To the left of the cherry blossom tree, I divided a large hosta into 5 smaller bunches. The area there was always a bit of a mess due to the run off and it's all shade now that the tree is there. The hosta will hopefully hold the soil down when it rains hard and it's a good spot for the hosta too.

Labor Pains

But it's so worth it! Last night, we tilled our new garden bed and planted our Crepe Myrtle. I divided the purple Bearded Irises and transplanted some variegated Hosta in back. The purples, white and greens look good together, so I'm going to stick to those colors for this area. I'm in the market for some white flowers to put in front. What do you suggest?



Today, I spent 8 straight hours working on this little area on the front side of our house. We kept saying that we needed to do something with this area, but we knew it would be such a pain that we kept putting it off. I finally got fed up today and chopped this Hydrangea back and yanked that sucker out.

There were a couple of things at play here:

• The Hydrangea was huge, but was not getting enough sun.
  
• It was HUGE and cumbersome. It was 5'x5'x4' deep. We had to cut it back which looked ugly and walk around it making a huge bald spot in our grass.
• It was a magnet for dead birds and leaves cultivating underneath the branches.
  
• The former gutter that goes under the pavement is clogged and this newer gutter makes a mess on the pavement.
• Because of the inefficient gutter, the soil is constantly washing away making yet another mess.
  
• (not shown) The gate wouldn't open all the way because of all the soil and branches in the way. Again, annoying.
  

3 hours later:

I cut the Hydrangea back (not shown) and dug it up. It was a pain, but not as bad as I thought it would be. There were 6-7 major roots which I cut with tree branch cutters. Then I pried it up with a spade. I moved over 3 wheel barrows full of soil to other areas around the house, so that the gate can swing fully open. Then I had to pick out all these rocks in the soil.


I transplanted an Azalea from the south side of the house over to this side for shade. The Azalea was always getting burnt out as soon as it had blooms on it, so this may be a better spot for it. There's also a Lamium and Fingerplant which are both great groundcovers. I transplanted a couple of pink lilies for some added whimpsy. I planted a new Shasta daisy, which will grow into a full ball (like a Mum) to fill the corner. Also, some Gladiola bulbs, which I hope will a nice appearance in the summer. And a pink "Ruby Spice Summersweet" shrub. The darker soil that you see on top is compost to amend the poor old soil. The light brown sheet is that landscaping material used to suppress weeds. I plan on putting mulch on top tomorrow.

Welcome to Summer!

On Wednesday, we had our first harvest of sugar snap peas and 4 zucchinis. Both were delicious!

Edamame - They grow in clusters and are almost ready to eat. English Cucumber - The cucumber near the sprinkler is doing the best. They require a steady supply of water. It's beginning to climb the lattice.


Heirloom Tomatoes - The tomato is finally starting to show. Notice the ridges along the fruit. The seed packet description says it will look like a flower when sliced. I can't wait to taste one of these. Cherry Tomatoes - My neighbor started these. It's nice to have a variety of sizes for salads.


Corn, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, dianthus, marigolds, zinnias, perilla. Weeding is really keeping me busy.



Hydrangeas - They look beautiful this year! One side is violet and the other side is blue due to the pH of the soil. My husband says it looks like "Berry Captain Crunch" cereal.


Lilies - These are really pretty. I like these far better than the orange ones. I never cared for lilies until now. They are a very reliable sturdy flower that comes back year after year.


Foxglove - Our 2nd foxglove is finally blooming. Next year, we'll get one more, so that there will be blooms each year since it's a biennial plant. Tiny rose the size of my pinky; the plant was a present from my neighbor.


The garden beds.


Bleeding Hearts - Got these off a neighbor. I noticed they were being squashed under a gutter, so I kindly asked if they didn't care for them, if they would mind if I have it. New additions - St. John Wort - not sure where to plant this yet. Can anyone tell me what the purple plant on the left is of the St. John Wort? My mom gave it to me, but I don't know the name of it. It's really tall. I'm going to relocate it next year.


We got another jade plant (atleast that's what I think it is). We've affectionately given it the name of "Shrek ears" because they look Shrek's Ears from the movie.