Tuesday, July 28, 2009

So Long, Farewell...

Well, it has been nice. 11 summers ago a lone ditch lily grew in the very back of the yard of our newly purchased home. I was grateful to have inherited something that produced a bloom. A lone ditch lily isn't exactly spectacular so I rarely gave you any special attention. Still, you thrived. Perhaps you thrived a little too much.

In fact, you took over. You easily became the most successful plant in the garden despite the way I treated you. You turned the back of the yard into an impassable jungle. As much as I came to appreciate your carefree, laissez-faire attitude, the time has come to tame that little bit of wilderness.

And so I did. Look. I can see my walkway again. I had planned to divide you and replant you in a less chaotic fashion. But seeing that newly revealed garden space made me think that it's time to try something new.

Well maybe not new. Maybe it would be the perfect spot for the Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus" purchased last year but placed poorly in the garden, right next to another group of orange lilies that overwhelmed the maiden grass and made it flop. But I digress.

Even though I've given you your walking papers doesn't mean I no longer care. Just look at all those daylily fans. You didn't think I would just chuck you into the compost bin did you? You're not right for my garden right now. But you still deserve a chance to grow and bloom.

So grow and bloom you will in the community garden. I think your strappy foliage will look just wonderful growing through the garden's wrought iron fence. And your blooms will grow at least as tall as the fence, obscuring the cars that park directly behind.

The more than two dozen fans that made it into the community garden were just a small fraction of the divided daylilies. The rest of you can sit out on the front lawn in pots, eagerly awaiting a would-be gardener who fancies herself a green thumb and finds herself tempted by the "free" sign. Yup. It has been nice. So long and farewell. I don't doubt for a second that you'll do just fine in whichever garden you set down your roots.

3 comments:

Connie said...

Oh, the lovely ditch lily! Great carefree choice for your community garden.
If I lived in your neighborhood I would go home with several of those pots!

Garden Lily said...

What a wonderful neighbour you are... I would have been tempted by the "free" sign also... Is that an euonymus alatus (burning bush) just beyond the miscanthus? Wow, does that bush ever grow steadily - he'll be encroaching on your path soon also. That is the joy and challenge of gardening - always accomodating or controlling growth. Nothing ever stays the same.

O.I.M said...

you are right garden lily. that is a burning bush and it has already encroached onto the path. I gave it a light trim pathside, just enough to squeeze through. the bush looks fabulous in fall...bright, bright red for weeks and weeks.

the daylilies have all found new homes. i'm happy to say I still have many more to divide and give away.

irena