Oh you are just humming the melody that runs through my mind all day, every day!! I had not a clue what "look" I was going for when I stuck plants in every which way and am still not 100% certain what I think it should look like but I'm definitely not happy with the way it looks today. I don't have your ornamental grass issue but I do have a few other mature perennials that resent being disturbed. Since they're very happy right where they are, it's tough to plan around them. I bought a pad of graph paper and have been drawing the beds on it & filling in plant names/heights, etc. It's not a solution but at least it lets you visualize what the bed might look like after changes are made.

Here's wishing you, me and anyone else in the same boat unqualified success & show-stopper flowerbeds!

Oh come on, and show us your art work. I can't believe you didn't know exactly where you were going to put each and every plant as organized as you seem.

I had 2 huge miscanthus in pots. They had outgrown them and needed to come out. I soaked and soaked them and then was able to get them out of the pots. My DH then took a chain saw to the root balls. I repotted all the small ones and they have done great.

If you put the hose on low and really get that ground soaked you should be able to pop out the root ball...then divide with a chain saw. I was amazed but they grow with very little root...hard to kill. Hope this helps. c

I had a huge miscanthus in my garden when I wanted to get rid of it I dug out what I could, then my DH had to resort to using an axe to get the remainder out of the ground. Mine had plenty of roots which made it quite a job to dig it out.

Funny, I was just mentioning to another Gwebber how I always get the itch to shuffle plants around in the heat of summer. It's just too hard to tell what needs to be moved in spring, since EVERYTHING seems to look good then.
I move things around all the time, not just in spring or fall. I think moving plants around in summer depends on if you live in a cool enough zone and are willing to go to all the extra work of shading the plant (I use a beach umbrella, bucket, small outdoor table or chair with a towel over it, etc) and giving it more frequent waterings. Super special things I sometimes wait until a cooler season to transplant, but not always.

I've been moving quite a number of things around recently. Last week it was a jumbo peony, yesterday it was a big Helenium, today it was a Veronicastrum, and tomorrow it will likely be a disappointing perennial Geranium. Then there is a whole section of the back garden that needs to be revamped/shifted around. I'm still trying to figure out the exact placement of some things (since I don't want to block a rather short peony in back). Plus I want to redo the front sunny side bed too- veggies just did not work well there.

Ps. Do you have a bare area that all the extras [that need to be removed] can go? I've taken to putting all the plant "rejects" in a strip out by the alley or along a narrow section on the west side of the house. Or maybe you have a neighbor or friend that would enjoy them?? Could you maybe try chopping the grass up into several sections and then removing those individually, instead of the whole plant at once?
CMK

Oooh, this is good to read! I have been itching to rearrange because I had this plan to make a "river" of heucheras running through other plants and only 2 survived lol. So now I have these gorgeous heucheras hidden by taller plants and should really reshuffle while I can still see.

It must be in the air is all i have to say. Im like some of you, i dont know what it is i want to move and how thats going to solve my problem. Maybe just plain moving to a new house, lol.

Do you want to move the grass because it is dying out in the center? If you want to keep the grass where it is you can use a reciprocating saw to saw out the dead center and remove the roots and dead grass then fill in with fresh soil. The grass will slowly grow back into the center. Some years ago Victory Garden visited a home of a grass collector who shared this tip. It has worked well for me.

My garden needs a complete overhaul:( but it's a slow go for this ancient one. Never mind I've made a start and will keep plugging along. I think I will have less specimens:) and more ground covering/smothering plants when I'm finished. Well that's the plan but you know me and my collections, sighhhhh.

Annette

I think Garden Gate Magazine had an article on how to cut those tall grasses. I can recall seeing a picture where you wrap some type of tape(like masking or duct tape around the plant and it holds all the grass sturdy and then you take a recip saw like the person above mentioned and cut it. Don't take the tape off until you have completed the job. I didn't understand whether you wanted to remove the tall grasses or just cut them down to a managable size.

I just returned from a brief trip to the US (crossborder shopping:-) and was surprised to find such a response. The miscanthus (I do love this grass)is sadly getting to be too big for it's neighbors. It's getting to be a bully and so I have to take it out. I may be able to save something and transplant it to the back of my yard. However that does means I will have to destroy some plants in order to accomodate this grass. Sigh...

My variegated hosta has become a bully in the backyard. They will have to go. It's managed to cover up my beautiful blue hostas and the heucheras.

Pippi that's a great suggestion I just might try.

Maybe the reason I'm torn is because I feel I need to do something but I really don't want to get rid of my plants. I no longer have room to plant my precious plants. Neighbors here are friendly but not exactly talkative. So giving plants away has proven to be a challenge. Even a free plant sign hasn't been taken up. They are too shy. or maybe intimidated.

hmm Maybe I'm a plant hoarder!

Have you tried Kijiji or Craigslist with 'plants to give away' or how about a garden club in your area?
I am getting more ruthless as I get older and have no problems sending my plants to the compost pile.
My husband has suggested numerous times that I should have all my plants in pots with wheels. I have moved many things in the middle of summer, but I usually wait until we get a few cooler days or do it in the evening and then provide shade and extra tlc for few weeks as needed. I generally don't divide though, but leave that for spring or fall.
As some plants have a tougher constitution than others, they don't mind moving as much either.
Flora

Another suggestion for tying grass back for cutting is using a bungee type cord or any cord instead of tape. Then you can pick the whole bundle up to take to the compost pile.

Thanks Mnwsgal. I will do that too. The suggestion is also effective to uproot an overgrown greek oregano. Love the plant and it's lovely pink flowers but it's taking over as well.

so I've decided to do the following : First to make space for the miscanthus in the backyard..So kill off a hydrangea annabelle which got hidden by the taller joe pye weed. Reduce the pye weed to a smaller size. Remove the bugloss and see if it can be relocated to another part of the yard. Kill off the Rudbeckia goldsturm (I've another clump located in the front yard. What do you think of the mix of a miscanthus and the Joe Pye weed? I also have a Filipendula but it's white and I rather liked the pink one - so I'm planning to remove this.

In the front yard, I plan to reduce further the salvia nemerosa and to remove a boneset and a miniature joe pye weed. Then remove the miscanthus, some phloxes and then remove all the foxgloves which were ill located. Also a fushia pink achillea. In the space besides the remaining salvias, I plan to put in large delphiniums and I would like to try to get light pinks or light blue ones to contrast with the deep blues of the salvias. I also have a really nice light pink achillea & astrantias to go with the salvias. I also think the delphiniums would come up around the same time the peonies are dying off & I have a really nice one in this area. I tried to put in yellows in the form of coreopsis but for some reason my correopsis is delayed in blooming while elsewhere in the neighborhood, these have been blooming heavily.

So much to do.. but the ideas are forming now...

I should post a photo of my front yard..However I find photobucket to be soooo slow in uploading. Any other good website I could try for free?

Ianna- It sounds like a good plan and I'd love to see pictures!

I moved around a lot of plants this spring (mainly roses) that needed more protection from the deer and winter weather. I lost a few, but was amazed at how many of the little ones made it through their first (and not very nice) winter. They're own root roses, so even though a few died back, they're budding out nicely, now :)

The front garden looks really good, but I need to do a little weeding on one end and move a few more roses. The fairy garden looks nice on the sunny side, but the shady side is being taken over by the bee balm, sweet woodruff and columbine. I don't mind, because they all look great, but I need to move a few smaller plants that are being overrun. The little fairy castle keeps being taken over by the 'mile a minute' clover, but it looks really cute that way and the kids love it!

The kitchen garden is still 'under construction' but the half that is finished is looking pretty good. The cabbage, broccoli and marigolds/zinnias are doing much better around the arbor, than the tomatoes from last year. I've also added lots of perennials and have some more shurbs on the porch, waiting to be planted.

I'm not adding any more gardens, until I get these finished, but considering I started all, but one small garden, last year...I think they're coming along nicely :)

Sure in summer is when you see the 'room for improvement', but not the best time to move them when gardens are layered full of plants. The ones that flop & take half the path are the ones that tempt me. I usually end up whacking them back & moving in the fall if I remember. I cut back corydalis lutea to the ground in a few places because they totally covered the path to the hose, so if they survive I'll move them.

I'm looking at a corner of lady's mantle near the bird bath right now that is flopped so mostly out of the bed instead of in it. In other places the lady's mantle isn't so large, so perhaps the conditions or this is a different type of one.

Also, a big blue hosta we planted in a new lasagna garden in the backyard has doubled in size taking another 2' away from the path. That will need to be moved in early spring or perhaps in fall if I muster the muscle. This was a division from our daughter's garden & since they moved there in January we didn't know exactly what type of hosta it was other than it was crammed in a corner next to the house. Obviously, a vigorous grower & a showpiece for us just need to give it more room -- like 6' square.

Also, have some daylilies I've not yet seen the blooms, so after this summer will make notes to move them in the fall if the colors clash.

Sometimes, I tuck in the little plants I receive in free plant swaps & once I see how they perform in my less than full sun locations I move them around. It's hard to know how much they stretch toward the light sometimes.

Corrine

I heard there's a heat wave in the midwest. In contrast though here in Ontario, we have hot but overcast weather condidtions and rains are expected tonight. So my thoughts are to water the plants well before tackling them. Many are to be destroyed so their survival won't be a too big issue for me. The ones I do need to transplant, like the miscanthus, I would have to handle more carefully.

Now that I am thinking of redoing the yard... maybe it is truly worth the risk for me to tackle it now. My mind will be fresh, I know exactly how the new settings would look. It will just be my sacrificial season for not having a good looking yard now. In anycase, I've taken enough photos of the flowers. Lots of more things I want to tackle like the backyard. I find my Harry Lauder Walking Stick to be too overgrown with foliage that I don't see it's wonderful twisty trunks. It looks more like Cousin It. or my Rhododendron thats growing more branches in the wrong way. I need it grow higher up the fence and instead it's bending forward and hovering over the 'dry river bed' Or my beautiful astilbes being covered up by nearby behemoths. I also would like to add a vine - a dropsmore honey suckle to replace the one that died. This time I want it to grow over my husbands trellis but he doesn't want anything planted beneath the posts so I plan to locate the plant near teh fence and as it grows longer and taller, i will train it to for a natural arbour reaching over to the top of the trellis. It will be such a challenge. I have 3 different types of clematis growing on one trellis. I rather like the effect of multi coloured flowers from pinks to purples.

I'll go through my back issues of gardengate magazine and Fine Gardening and see if I can find that article and make sure I'm remembering the details correctly. I am not sure of what kind of tape they wrapped around the large plant to hold it tight while you take the saw to it. I know my neighbors in our former neighborhood cut theirs with a recip saw, not sure if they use tape or not to hold it.

No prob. Pippi. I`m sure I can tackle the task with masking tape or my twine. The one idea you and the others gave me was to cut down the plant before transplanting. I hadn`t thought of that and proceeded to do this to all the plants I am working on. So far the bugloss is out, the couple of hostas are out. Now it`s too hot to be out there so I`m tackling another task -decluttering my bedroom, cleaning my bathroom, eliminating the paper dragons and the wire dragons (too many electronics at home).

Ianna

Ianna, sounds like it will ultimately be very rewarding once you get everything moved. Of course it's probably a dauting task at this point.

I move plants whenever the mood strikes in Z5. One year I took the week of July 4th off and revamped 4 of my cottage beds during 90+ weather. I dug every single plant out (I had a friend help me who went home with many plants) and then planted them either back in the bed or in another spot in the yard. With very frequent watering I didn't have any losses. We can get away with a lot in our cooler zones.

The main thing is to have a plan before you start digging which it sounds like you do. The worst thing I do is dig plants up and then walk around the garden aimlessly wondering where to plant while their limp leaves/roots are begging to be plunged into the ground or water. Now I try to know where they are going before I dig them up. Do you happen to have a red flyer wagon or something like it. I find that invaluable when I'm digging up a large area. I fill it a bit with water and stick the plants in that and wheel it over to a shady spot.

I have a miscanthus (Giant Chinese Grass) planted with Joe Pye and it's one of my favorite late-summer/fall combinations.

Good luck with your re-arranging!! I hope you can find some spots to save some of your favorite plants that you don't want to lose.

I do have spots. Thanks.

Have started to form new ideas though....would an established elderberry successfully transplant? Can I cut it down to a manageable size and it would regenerate okay? It's located in a spot that while okay, it could be better. I was thinking perhaps it's a good spot for the miscanthus and the miscanthus' old spot is a good location for the elderberry.

Well, I chopped down the miscanthus last night (my favorite time to do gardening) - and when I looked that the remains of this plant, I had a sinking feeling that this is going to be one tough job. I need ideas on how to remove this thing? Obviously I won't be able to tackle it with simply digging it out. I may have to work at it from the outside gradually removing bits and pieces of all the plants.

I also removed the deep pink achillea which took up so much room and it provided a disappointing display.