Planting & Landscaping #9: Work This Week: Digging & Mulching

Wow, boy, do you ever sit still ?

That’s a gorgeous lily! I really do like the reds better than stellas.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

WOW! Lot of work! it is going to be beautiful!
Very eco-friendly!
Do you get your cardboard wet first? I am in the process of doing that: I find it sticks to the ground much better, rips easier and “hugs” the plants. Then when I put my wood chip, they stick to the cardboard!

And you are quite lucky that your red lilies are blooming. Mine won’t be for a few weeks at least!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a

dini, you ain’t seen nothing yet..

We’ve got around 100-125 different varieties of daylillies. I’ll be taking pictures of several and posting them as they come in.

Eklectic, I don’t wet it until I lay down the wood chips, then I soak the whole thing enough to where the ground gets saturated. That way when the cardboard starts to warp from the moisture it hugs the ground.

Your way works too, and better in fact if you’re trying to work it around existing plants. I just figured I’d cut it with industrial scissors and lay it down first.

Normally I do all the cardboard work well before planting, that way any grasses or weeds under it die off before I start punching holes for plants. Then the mulch over it ensures nothing finds its way up.

Back of the fence was a compromise since we’d planted it first. Most of the grass should die off regardless.

Oh.. and no.. I don’t sit still long.. Too much to do.. I’ll relax in a few years.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Man, that is one BIG pile of mulch !!! WOW!!!!! :-)

Bu-ti-ful Lily Scott!!!!! Envious of yours blooming already. I have lots of buds on the my Stella, but no color yet. My reds, purples, etc. ... no signs of blooms yet. But then the Stella always bloom first.

Your yard is truly coming along … quite a transformation. Loved the before/after mulch photo. Amazing what mulch can do to change a bed.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I’ve been working on the mulched bed
All the live long day ….tra la la . (lol)
Your place is really coming together now Scott.I can’t believe you have such a great variety of lillies.Nice. Can hardly wait to see them all in bloom.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Helps to live only a few miles from a daylilly farm. ;)

http://www.bluegrassgardens.net/

I’ve got a wide variety to choose from.. Though I stay away from the expensive stuff.. I’d have to be on crack to spend $150 for one daylilly.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Wow that is an awesome pic.So many beautiful colours.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Oh MAN … talk about temptation … a daylily nursery, ewwww, I would be in soooooooo much trouble. I LUV daylilies :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Likewise… We buy a ton of $3-5 plants each year.. This year he’s really not selling locally though, but we’re going soon to pick up some mass clumps of stuff he doesn’t want anymore. Need some to fill out the front foundation in front of the bedroom window. Will take pics of that later.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Looking forward to seeing them :)

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

I want a couple of that one , and 3 of this one , and a few of those…...........lol.
I think I better stay away from there or I won’t have room in my yard for anything else , lol.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

How awesome is that … mass clumps of “stuff” he doesn’t want. I will be anxious to hear just what you got and what he is “throwing” out. That front foundation will be beautiful … lucky guy!!!! ;-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

holy moly that’s a lot of work! But gorgeous. I’m glad you did a “trial” section so we could see the before/after in one photo. Very cool

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Here is where some of those “throwing out” lilies will go. ;)

I’ll be placing a yew to the left and right of the foundation wall for some needed height and will be setting up a window box as well. Toss some other things in and mulch it down. Poof, pretty.

Also planning on building some functional looking shutters. Still trying to work out how it’d be, but figuring they’d have to be bi-fold, with some shutter hardware to clip them to the wall. For that matter it’d almost be functional, just not so.

Problem is the clearance to either side of the window. I’ve got a large window on the porch, too, which has little clearance on the right.

Oh well, I’ll figure it out.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Poof Pretty … is right. Gonna look nice when you are all done!!

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I’m thinking of going to the nursery to pick up some larger sized yews, It’d take years for a pair to grow up to a size even remotely large enough.. Hate to spend the extra $$$ though.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Oh half the fun is watching “stuff” grow … Just buy what the budget will allow.
They will get there in time. :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I stopped keeping a budget for the outside long ago. Already burned through what I’d set aside from the house money. Have to keep the rest for the bathrooms and kitchen, which will take a couple grand each.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Well to be honest, just adding the daylilies, shutters and mulch will make such a difference that they Yews could wait another year. Or later in the season when they go on sale … at least IMO (but hey, I’ve been wrong before …) :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

It’s going to be gorgeous! I like GramT’s idea: shutters and flowers will be beautiful and then wait for the Yews.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

If they was a daylilie farm close by, I would be broke!

This is going to be awesome Scott!

-- Eklectic, Follow my Bliss, South East Ontario 5a