More Room Please

This "old house" may not look like anything to you, however, a family of wrens built a nest in there.  Guessing that they wanted or needed more room, I told the President, there was no way I was putting my arm in there to clean it.

It belonged to my friend who passed away a few years ago.  When her husband was cleaning ou their yard earlier in the year, he told me to take whatever I wanted.  She loved "old" things so quite a few of her favorites came to live with us.  In some small way, it was my way of still having her around.

I'm sure over time you'll see (or hear about) about her stuff here and there.  We've got several concrete rabbits, although I left the one she placed near my viewing spot when I go in to observe the Eagles.  She told her husband she put it there to keep JP company when I'm gone once she knew her time was limited.   Then there's her concrete pig.  I named it "Babe" and placed it outside the garage, where it sits proudly greeting people.  Her bright red wind catcher/spinner is on a shepherd's hook near the walk to our front door while the family of the three concrete pigs are safe too.  They're within the confines of our fence and seem to enjoy being shaded by the old tree in the upper yard.  Anyway...

Being a president of a nearby Garden Club for years, she knew anything and everything when it came to plants and gave me several over the years.  However, as selfish as this sounds, I really wish she were here to give me some advice on new iris bed.  I know she's watching though and I am grateful for that!  

After doing some research and reading the steps, we began, totally underestimating what we were in for.  First, the Pres made a beautiful oval bed outlined in stone bricks.  Located in the full sun, it was about 5'x7". Now he was going to drive to the farm with his trailer...his very old trailer...to get some dirt.  

Me:  "What don't you just take my trailer?  It's small, new (used once actually) and it doesn't have a hole in the floor.  Just throw a piece of plywood under the dirt.  It'll work."

The Pres:  "No.  Mine's better."

And that was the end of the conversation.  Off he went.

Yep...you got it.  After loading the dirt on the trailer, he drove about 70'.  Then the axel broke on the trailer!  Leaving the trailer at the farm, he came home with a look of frustration and disgust on his face.   After checking with a few local places, he was told to "bring in the old axel and we'll match it."  Yep, back to the farm two days later to pull the axel, then order a new one.  

Anxious for it to come in, when it did, he picked it up and again drove the 1 1/2 hrs to the farm to get his very old trailer up and running.  

Several hours later we were shoveling the dirt off the trailer and into the bed to let it settle for a few days.  Meanwhile the digging of tubers began.

The first day I began digging the tubers, which hadn't been separated in five years.  The wagon was nearly full with only half the original bed dug!  YIKES!!  

Oh, and did I ever tell you that the reason for all relocating the iris was because the bed was simply overtaken by ferns, which of course, blocked the sunlight from the tubers.  My poor iris were so smothered, I'm surprised they even survived, although they are very hearty plants.

When I researched transplanting iris, it suggested August for zone 6, washing each tuber with the hose, removing any decayed and or soft tissue,  trimming the foilage, then replanting.  After the first hard frost, the remaining foliage should be cut down to ground level which will prevent iris borders from laying egg on the blades in the Spring. 

Well, when I washed the first wagon load and added in those that Pres dug while I washed,  I counted 210!  That night while we ate supper, we decided that the size of the bed would have to double.  Yep...more bricks for the border and a lot more dirt.  Of course, that also meant that before the dirt went in, "yours truly" (and you know who that is, right??) would be digging out the grass from the designated location...UGH.  So here's the finished product.  Although it may not look like it, there are 210 tubers now getting full sun nearly all day.  And yes, there were another 28 tubers that I placed on the South side of the house in an existing bed because I needed more room.

So it sure seems like what we've been up to is all about "space issues" because....

the other morning, while I was making Livy's supper, I noticed that rather than being right near me, she wasn't around.

Looking in the direction of the DR, I still didn't see her.  It wasn't until I stepped down into the DR that I spotted her curled up and squished into Katniss' cat bed!  And where was Katniss?  Why she was sprawled out in Livy's dog bed!

seeing, saying, and sharing...

More Room Please