Friday, May 21, 2010

Perennial smorgasbord



The email started off innocent enough ...

"Special Gardening Request!"
"Good day to you and Happy Spring to all my gardening friends! I have a first time home buyer who just moved into their new home ... It came complete with " a whole lot of perennials and ornamental plants. They have asked me to pass along the word that they would love some gardeners who could and would remove the perennials to a new home - Could this be YOU?"

Yes, it was me!

It took me, oh I don't know, maybe two minutes, to respond back to the realtor who sent this out to a mass list of area gardeners. (How she got my name is still beyond me). But nonetheless, within minutes I was in contact with the homeowner and I had set a date to come over with Mommy's Little Helper, gloves and shovel. I was psyched!


I had no idea what the house would behold but I can tell you it was overwhelming and overgrown. The previous homeowner was quite ambitious in both the front and backyards - even boasting a small pond that used to be stocked with fish. The new homeowners, just young kids, have no interest in gardening and really want to have a yard for a future family and a dog. I don't blame them ...



But where to start?! There were irises, tiger lilies, tulips, lambs ear, daylilies and chives everywhere. And groundcover, oy! ..... Half of which I had no idea what it was.


It was hard to know what to choose as a lot of things weren't in bloom ... I had to pick and choose based upon foliage which isn't always easy to do. Some of the ground cover was so thick that I couldn't even dig up some things that I wanted - which included Johnson's Blue geranium, hyacinth and dianthus. I was bummed.


I loved this look of wild phlox and pink tulips. I took some of the phlox but it didn't take the transplant very well. And boy, did this stuff SPREAD. They had it in every area of the garden. Probably not a good choice to put in my garden after all ....

But we dug, and dug, and brought home some beauties: overdam and blue fescue grasses, yellow and purple iris, this really cool groundcover (ajuga) that seemed non-invasive, and what I think to be neon sedum. My good friend and I will go back this weekend to dig more out and plant at the school. (see previous post)

At the end of the day, I was very grateful for the offer to take what I wanted, even though my planting space at home is getting smaller. I brought home some smart additions to the garden that are sure to be blooming for years to come.

6 comments:

Beth said...

Beth, I'm so glad you got in on this giveaway! I know you will enjoy your new plants. We have some of that purple garden phlox too and it does spread, tremendously. However, if it goes somewhere it shouldn't it is really easy to pull. And right now it's giving a lot of color in my Iowa garden. Stop by if you have a chance.
Beth

http://beyondthegardengate-beth.blogspot.com

My two acres said...

Wow! What a cool deal! Almost like a treasure hunt! I would have been there too!

Susie said...

Smorgasbord is right! How nice to get to take what you wanted. Looks like a beautiful place too!

Hope you are well. Glad to see you online.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi;
Stumbled upon your blog this morning, through a google search. It's always nice to connect with a Dakota gardener. (I was born and raised in SD) I should say, smorgasbord! That's sort of like being turned loose in a candy store. :) What fun.

Beth said...

Beth: Thanks for visiting my blog - I'll be sure to stop yours. I agree with the phlox comment - they were easy to remove but really not ideal for small spaces.

Two Acres: When I back the second time, I dug my spade in really good and got that hyacinth. That was my treasure! :O)

Susie: I've been meaning to stop by and catch up on your blog and I PROMISE to do so this week.

Kate: Another Dakota gardener! :O) Thank you for swinging by ... I will check out your blog too.

Connie said...

What a sweet offer.......I would have been there in a minute!
Nice to see you back on your blog. Mine is woefully neglected as I am desperately trying to get everything planted in my garden after a cool, wet spring.