Rex Trulove
This section has already been done. Two clumps have been dug up from here, separated, and some irises have been replanted. The irises look a little flimsy and droopy, but that is because the soil isn’t firm yet and the irises are a bit shocky. These irises were all about four feet tall before I trimmed them to about nine inches, so the appearance is more due to the trimming than the digging, separating, and replanting. They should look fine in the spring when they come back up after a winter of dormancy.
I’m specifically doing this now, though, to give them a chance to establish themselves before winter. The irises and daylilies are being planted under a rich medium of partly composted bark mulch, so the soil should be nice and rich for them after it breaks down through the winter.
The bush in the upper left corner is a lilac that was originally a sucker from one of our lilacs at home. It is now three-years-old, so it will hopefully produce flowers next year.
It will probably take me most of a month to get the rest of this flowerbed done, but once I do, it should look pleasant to the eye and the plants should grow very well next year. I didn’t amend the soil three years ago when I last did this, so everything was growing in rather nutrient-poor clay soil.
At least I have a good start on it and have been working on it daily, except for today. It rained last night and this morning, so I’m taking a day off from this labor.
