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Another week goes by and my gardening "to-do" list remains nearly as long as when I started. It seems there is always more to do than there is time. Of course, there are those "must-do" projects, which I usually get to eventually and there are those "want-to-do" projects that take quite a bit longer to get accomplished. Sometimes I have to tell myself "It's only a hobby!" but even when I worry about my garden it is still fun.

Here is a short example of a few of the items from my list:

1. Pull grass from rose beds/front flower bed
2. Prune/Remove trees (5-6)
3. Build water element that is solar or mechanically powered
4. Fill in empty beds with new plants (Figure out what plants)
5. Weed gravel paths in front garden/treat with herbicide (???)
6. Buy chipper/shredder (???)
7. Mulch

And on, and on, and on…

A New Plan

Since my life has taken a turn towards the busy lately I have come up with a new plan for addressing some of these challenges. Instead of trying to attack each project as a whole, I am breaking it up into manageable slices. Instead of trying to weed the entire 50+ feet of rose beds I will take 10 minutes and weed the section between roses 1-4. This is something I can do when I come home from an errand and before putting my son down for his nap. Then when the next bit of time becomes available I'll weed between roses 4 and 8.

Eventually I will work my way through all the beds. Of course, this means that the weeding doesn't get done nearly as quickly but it does get done. If I waited until I had time to address the who project it might never get completed. I have found that this makes me feel a little less guilty since at least something is getting done, even if it is something small.

Moving, moving, moving…

One of the small projects I completed this week was the moving of several vines to (hopefully) more productive areas. The first group to travel were wisteria vines that had re-sprouted from an area behind the garage. Although I had removed many plants and transplanted a few there were still a few roots left behind. These sprouted a few lively vines so I took 2 of the best and transplanted them to the wisteria trellis I have mentioned in other columns. Hopefully these will fill in where another transplant had failed. It says something about the hardiness wisteria vines that these root remnants sprouted in an area with little water and very little direct sunlight. I am guessing that I will see more sprouts there in the future.

The second set of vines were spindly items that I happened across on the north side of the house. It seems the previous owners used this area as a holding place for plants when they couldn't find anywhere else to put them. Late last year I transplanted a shrub rose from the same area. I haven't yet identified the vines but it is possible that they are passionflower. (Passiflora) I hope so as I have been admiring a similar plant I pass on my neighborhood walks. Several attempts to swipe some seeds from that vine (it grows wild and untended right next to the street) have failed so I hope the transplant succeeds.

Joseph, my 18-month old, assisted in the transplanting process. He was fascinated with the shovel as I jumped on it to get it into the soil. Once I had worked the plant out of the ground he would take his small trowel and start to fill the hole. Together we would carry the plant on the shovel to its new location. There he would help me dig the new hole, set the plant and re-fill this hole. I can only hope he stays interested in gardening as he grows older. I can always use the help.

It is a miracle that these plants were surviving at all. The ground was dry and packed tight around the roots. I carefully removed the hardened clay and saved as many roots as possible. It is always a waiting game when you transplant something like this. I watered the plants in deeply but the movement and hot summer day took its toll. The vines were heavily wilted at the end of the next day but this morning they had recovered somewhat. This is a good sign the roots are taking up some water. I should know in a week or two whether the vines will survive in their new home.

Here are some transplanting links:

Hometime How-To < http://www.pbs.org/hometime/pc/lg/pc2lgtpl.htm>

Park Gardener's Handbook < http://parkseed.com/gdnbook.htm>

Welcome Home Magazine < http://denver.digitalcity.com/welcomehome/fallplant.html>

Keep Digging!

Douglas