Transplantation

Ahead of the extension, we have wanted to move a few plants from the danger zone to safer areas further from the back of the house. I’ve already moved a few and today I moved a few more.

Our cotton lavender is massive and, when the little yellow buttons appear, looks fantastic. There’s no way we’d want to lose it so, today, I decided to give it a new home.

The weather was grey and impending towards the damp but not enough to put me off. So, rake, spade and top soil ready, I set to, digging out a space for it. This is where it was going, before I went mad on it.

Before

Digging the mini-bed was quite straight forward and enjoyable. I even managed to work up a bit of a sweat…not easy when the temperature didn’t get into double figures. Having removed the turf and given it a jolly good forking, I took up the spade and created a goodly sized hole. I then moved up to the cotton lavender.

It took a bit of convincing but, eventually, I lifted the roots out and carried it down the garden, placing it carefully in it’s new home. Eventually, it finally looked like this.

After

The cotton lavender was easy compared to the two Russian sage bushes that were growing up by the fence between us and the Crazies. They seriously did not want to move. One of them even broke my fork!

It all went very well except for the slight interruption due to a horrendous hail and thunder storm which forced all three of us into the office to take shelter. By the time it eased off enough for us to leave the office without a crash helmet, it seemed the perfect time for lunch.

Following food, perseverance paid off and, eventually, I had them both moved to the new border that I created the other week.

Exhausted, I packed up the tools, then stood under a very hot shower for a while. So, satisfying yet so ache inducing.