Confessions of a serial transplanter

You know that feeling.

You just need to have something and will go to any lengths to get it. You cannot get it out of your head no matter how hard you try. Once you get it, all is right with the world; for that moment at least.

That is a misplaced plant for me. It eats at me. I see it while walking the dog or playing with the kids. It makes me doubt myself as a so called gardening enthusiast. It keeps me up at night and it creeps into my dreams. I ain't kidding either. Many decisions have been made based on a vision I've had while semi conscious.

Well, I got my fix early this morning and can say I am safely satiated for the moment. Here is the culprit:

That slow to mature, evil Holly 'Chesapeake' in the center along the back of the bed. It does nothing for that space and I've been stressing about moving it for a few weeks now. So, today was the day:

Don't let the door ...

What went in it's place you ask? Well ... see for yourself below:

It is a Physocarpus (Ninebark) 'Diablo'. And before you can say, "that will outgrow that spot dummy", I will hit you back with a "know it won't YOU dummy. I'll prune this down heavily each year to limit the growth. And  I don't really care about the flowers since it is the foliage that floats my boat".    

But there was more transplanting to be done. I also didn't like how the Northern Sea Oats were grouped together in front of the Ninebark:

And with the magic touch of a spade, we changed to this:

Minimal difference, yes, but it fed my addiction like feng shui in the veins.      

Now I am not your parent's transplanter. I throw caution to the wind, like doing this on a hot, humid and sunny day (all no no's), but I never forget the most important thing of all:

Nice slow drips of water right at the roots.

One other benefit of my over indulging in moving plants is finding these all the time:

So all in all I am happy with what was completed this morning and especially like the contrast the Ninebark offers to the surrounding plants, specifically the Hydrangea nearby:

And as for that creepy little Holly, last I saw of him, he was all laid up, roots exposed and left for dead, will have to let you know how that worked out;

         

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