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Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 9:09
| I just got a great gift plant yesterday(Loaves and Fishes, which I've always admired), but have no room left, and not much time to plant it! I have never built a new bed before, so I'm not sure how involved that would be, or how difficult, but unless I crowd it in, or remove a plant I really don't want to get rid of....I don't know of any other options!
Anyone have any ideas? What do you do with gift or bonus plants that you like, but don't have room for? Do you make new space? If so, is it really difficult or a lot of work? All suggestions will be greatly appreciated, thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| That is such a pretty one, I would try to keep it. Maybe pot it and overwinter inside, to give you more time to decide. |
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- Posted by katlynnlily 8b-FL (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 10:51
| You don't have to create a new flower bed, if you can enlarge an existing bed. I am in the process of digging up about 8 inches of grass around an entire oval shaped bed to make it big enough to add another row of daylilies. Hope that made sense? Good luck - Kathy |
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- Posted by newyorkrita z6b/7a LI NY (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 11:29
| Crowd it in a temporary spot just to get it planted. Then do as Kathy suggested and enlarge an exhisting gardenbed to make room for more daylilies. |
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- Posted by soccrmama 5/6 (susansconi@verizon.net) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 14:09
| Thanks so much for the suggestions! Yep, it makes sense. I found a spot I can put it in temporarily that won't be too crowded, its just not a good spot to keep it in(can't be seen cuz its behind a bush) and I'll make the existing bed larger. Is it really tough to dig up the grass to enlarge it? My existing edging in that bed is almost 40 feet long. I'm not sure I'll be able to get the edging up to enlarge(I have carpal tunnel), but I'll try! Do you just take a pitch fork to the grass, add compost, work in a foot or so down, and replace the edging? Ruthz, I never thought of bringing it inside for winter. Would it be ok without much sun, though? I don't have any windows that get much direct light. I'm curious for future reference. Thanks for the ideas!!! |
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- Posted by newyorkrita z6b/7a LI NY (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 15:31
| Ok, here is the easy way. Mow the grass short. Mark with a rope or hose were you want the new edge of the bed to be. Get a BIG stack of newspapers. Lay down newspapers directly on top of grass about 8 sheets thick. You need enough sheets to smother the grass but not so many they can't wet down. There really is no exact correct number of sheets to use. As you go along make sure you overlay the edges of the newspaper to prevent gaps for any grass to get thru. Now put mulch on top of newspapers to weigh them down. You can use bagged mulch like you buy at the store, fall leaves if you have lots of them or Straw that you buy in a farm feed store that comes in bales. Now that you mention compost you deffinately could use that also and would really be good for the new garden. Just lay the compost on top of the newspaper. Since you have a long area to do just start at one end and go along and do a section at a time so that you get the newspapers covered so they don't blow around. And you don't have to do it in one day! Do this now in the fall and you will have a gardenbed ready to plant in as soon as you want to wortk in the spring. No digging required. I have made many beds this way. |
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- Posted by flowergardener Z4 MN (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 16:23
| Maybe you could only enlarge the bed on one end instead of the entire lenght. That would maybe less work for you if you would just have to lift a smaller section of edging. You could use Rita's method to kill off the grass this winter. I know you don't want to make your carpal tunnel flare up by overdoing. Perhaps you could get someone to help you reposition the edging next spring. Good Luck....Betty |
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- Posted by cheesecake983 7a, Maryland (My Page) on Sun, Oct 2, 11 at 17:57
| So glad Rita mentioned the newspaper method! It's pretty awesome and really does work - just like she said. I have a lot of rocks in my yard which makes digging frustrating, but the newspaper-mulch plan saves a lot of that; the only digging I have to do is where I plant each plant. I've found four layers of paper (two full sheets, each folded in half, works really well. - Rachel |
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- Posted by soccrmama 5/6 (susansconi@verizon.net) on Mon, Oct 3, 11 at 6:47
| That's such a great idea! I heard of using newspaper to kill weeds, but never imagined using it for grass. Makes sense! Thanks Rita! That will be a huge help, and also, the left side of the bed will be a good place to start. Thanks to Betty and Rachel also for the tips! It should be much easier to start with just one edge of the garden. My Loaves and Fishes is now happily planted, and I feel better now that I have a plan. So glad I asked...Thanks all!!! |
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| Yep, I used the layering method ( with newspaper) about 15 years ago when I first started some of the large beds here. We have hard red clay soil and all the beds are raised beds- over 25 TONS of top soil mix have been moved in to amend over the years. The layering method saves a LOT of hard labor and you end up with better soil than you started with. Besides,( as a daylily friend told me years ago) who needs grass, anyway? Also, there's always room for one more daylily and LOAVES AND FISH is a good one. I grow it here too. |
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| Last fall I dug some daylilies and put single fans in 1 gal. pots. I put them in our makeshift greenhouse (covered canopy w/ heater) for the winter. We had an extremely cold winter for Texas and the heater couldn't keep the space above freezing for a few days. The daylilies were fine and one was ready to bloom in time for our spring plant swap. |
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