Transplanting

These are not the first things that I have transplanted this spring, but they are the first that I am posting about.  The elm--which is taller than I am--was growing too close to our deck (and would block our beautiful view).

I am not sure what took me so long to do it, but I guess it is the same reason I haven't stained the deck.  Yesterday, Jeff started power washing it to prepare for staining...and then building a catio!  (Something else we have been putting off.)

Digging it out was a bit of a chore, but I found some great rocks for the streambed.  I wish I got more roots, but there are a lot of feeder roots.  As I tend to do, I trimmed the branches and pinched back most of the new growth, so its reduced root system has less to support. 

In addition to the elm, I finally found a place for the native hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) that I bought a couple of years ago.  I bought three, planted one, and put the other two pots near the front door so that I could keep them watered.  Over time, of course, they sent roots into the ground...so, when I went to plant them near "my pride and joy" (our giant boulder), I had to cut the pot away from the roots. 

In addition to these, I have moved several smaller elm trees (at least one or two that were potted), the oak trees that I bought at a yard sale last year, and several shrubs (silky dogwood, meadowsweet, and elderberry--which I am rooting in place...and some wildflowers, grasses, and sedges) along my new terraced path. 

Finally Transplanted!

Quite a few years ago, I bought some bareroot seedlings of alder to add to our property.   I planted a couple out in the yard (apparently they didn't make it)...and planted the majority in a decaying mulch pile.  They did well there, and I intended to move them two years ago...and again last year.  Today, I finally put two of the three or so into the landscaping.   (I suspect at least one of them is two trees growing together.)

I believe I have two more potted elsewhere.

In the process of digging them up, I dug out a red oak that I put in as a germinating acorn.  it looks to be about 4 years old--so, I dug another hole and added the oak to our developing woodland.  :)

 

Finally in the Ground

The other day I got some plants together to share with a friend from work (yup, that is you, Stacie).  Aside from sharing some of the dwarf chinkapin oaks that I got earlier this year, I gave her a few asters--mostly from what I grew from seed.  I was surprised that some of the asters bloomed the first year.  Sharing some of the seedlings was the incentive I needed to get my wildflowers into the ground.  I always seem to do that so late in the season!

I chose to plant them in the plot near the road that I smothered
last year with wood chips.

Kind of crowded.

Well established roots--but not pot-bound.

Very crowded, but at least they are in the ground...in the spring,
I may choose to separate them some more.

I did break some off, separating them from the crowd, and filling
in other areas.

After planting the wildflower seedlings, I
decided to transplant some other wildflowers
from a thick patch that has spread in the past
three years or so.

The section that can become a before picture
once it grows in next year, I'll be able to see
where it all started.