Tackle It Tuesday

It's been a few weeks since I participated in this meme. Today's tackle is a work in progress (as are many). It began last week when I bought and planted some tulip bulbs. Since then I have been itching to add some extra soil and mulch to protect them.

Some tulip bulbs are planted along the sidewalk and around the sedum, which will die off after frost hits, providing the bulbs with the full sun they need. Here you can see the faded mulch under the birch (I plan to add fresh mulch there, too) with the new mulch in the background:

Here's the side where I plan to extend the bed to the fireplace. I need to soak and dig up the existing dirt, add some compost, and then split the 2 daylily plants which haven't been split yet and plant the 2 "new" plants in the new extension. Then I will mulch that area. In the Spring, I hope to transplant some ornamental grasses from my dad's yard to hide the meter a bit. I wasn't sure if I had enough mulch for the extension, so I began by working on the existing flower beds.

More tulip bulbs are clustered in front of these 2 shrubs and behind the mum.

I finished this before 9 a.m., then I called Jackie and realized I should have checked my e-mail. Her kids are sick with bronchial crud, and our plans to meet today have been thwarted. I may finish my tackle during Bear's nap. Right now my little bundle of energy is taking Snook the sloth's suggestion and asking to play hide and seek.

2:20 p.m. update:

Tackle Complete!!!!

The undivided day lilies were soo overcrowded along the garage. They were begging for breathing room. I had divided the front 2 plants to give some to my sis, but 2 were still overcrowded. Plus, the "new" plants will provide life for the extension until I decide what else to put there. And I think the extension gets rid of an awkward space between the old edge of the garden and the fireplace.

If you've never dug out a flower bed before... it's hard work. First, I took my spade and stabbed the ground until it loosened. Then I got the hose and drenched the area. Throughly. The initial loosening helped the water go down into the hard clay-ish dirt. That enabled me to turn over the dirt in the whole area before dumping compost mix on it and mixing the old and new soil. Then I dug the two holes where I wanted my day lilies. Next, I took my spade over to the side of the garage and stabbed the day lilies in the middle. I lifted up to get approximately half the roots, and was able to pull the divided plants out with minimal mess. I made the holes a little bigger, added more compost, dropped the clumps of lilies in, and pressed the soil around them. Then I watered them some more. To pull the area together, I dumped a bag of mulch over the area. taking care not to crush the flowers too much. The edging isn't perfect, because we only have a narrow rounded edge spade, but it'll do. The area should be ready for future plantings. After dumping mulch around the base of the birch, I watered my mums, lilies, hostas and tiny struggling mini rose plant with all-purpose plant food.

Now if the seed that hubby put down will just miraculously grow in an instant...

What are you tackling today?