Garden Renovation, Perennial Bed

Lemon Day Lilies

When we moved to this shore side farm house, we brought a selection of perennials from our former residence.  The work that had to be done here, exhausted our time, most of our transplants died before we could get them in the ground at our new home. The drought here in the last couple of years was a formidable challenge to our garden dreams. It was an obstacle,  that we failed to surmount. I mourn the loss of  some of my favorite plants.

My collection of Hostas simply vaporized in the heat due to inadequate watering and lack of humus to hold the water applied to it. The shade plants couldn't hold up under the unrelenting sun and wind of the coastal plain, they looked like potato chips just before their demise. These losses just crushed my gardening spirit. I lost all hope of having a luxuriously rich green garden.

 

French Weigelia

                        

HELP! Mystery plant, can you identify it?

bed developed with divisions and transplants

We finally got around to replanting the few survivors of our move. After removing a lumbering, amorphous French Weigelia, seen here, from a prominent position at the entrance of the property and the cornerstone of the perennial bed, we moved our transplants into position. The Weigelia was very old, at least fifty years in the same spot, so it took up a lot of real estate.  No matter how I cut it back, removed portions of the clump, and pruned it silly...there was no other solution to tame it. It had to go.


As for our transplants, their temporary home for the last three years was a former pool filled in with sand....and that added to the slow deterioration of many plants. These few survivors were grateful to be moved to a bed with organic material and a watering system.  After planting the divisions, we heavily mulched the bed with ground up leaves and branch debris from the county recycling project. They look great. All should be blooming shortly. Already they are filling out and saluting the sun. I have high hopes for lots of color and flowers. You can see in the photo how some of the bed gets quite a bit of shade from the butterfly bush towering above. Believe it or not that is a plus in this situation, because if anything our beds get too much sun. Say a prayer for me and my perennial bed!