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Tuesday 9 October 2012

The long farewell ....

I went overboard a couple of mornings ago .. what gardener doesn't I ask you !?
I wanted to replant the poor plants I yanked out to make sure the tree removal company didn't squash or kill them in their "removal" of my sumac.
They had been waiting patiently on the deck in many pots .. pouting to this point now.
So I had to try and remove as much of the roots from hell in that area to give them a chance to let their own roots settle in and get ready for winter !
Spring would see me yanking them out again to plant Golden Spirit smoke bush .. then that section would be finished ... for a while ?
The tree removal company told us to "salt" the trunk to kill the tap root which is a real problem with sumacs.
So sweetie drilled holes in the truck and applied the salt we use to keep from slipping on in the winter .. that one seemed to be the recommend type conveniently since we had it on hand.
Then cover with plastic and let it sit over the winter to do its job.
So .. I thought a few pictures of before and after might keep me on track with what is going on in the garden!

The last picture I took late September with my beauty in it.

Now for the afters
A bit blurry .. sorry .. I think I was a bit teary.

You can see the bricks sweetie put on it to keep everything in place under the plastic.
The replanted .. plants.
Astilbe .. heuchera (Peach Flambe, my favorite) a Lime Ricky , a dwarf globe cedar, a nice Spirea shrub (rather bare right now) and I am trying to over winter black Mondo grass .. it stuck out this killer summer in a tight jar and I was truly surprised by its tenacity!
Lady's Mantle that is so old it is one of the original from 10 years ago or more ..
How old can they get ? I have an anise hyssop that is 12 !!!

So there I am .. no more Halloween tree ... but, I know Golden Spirit will be beautiful too .. so all I have to do is wait patiently (something gardeners have a hard time doing but seem to have to do it a lot ?)
After some rain and cooler temps the grass and plants are green again ... but frost is on its way and so is that white stuff ... and I have loads of chores to do before it happens .. EEEEKKKK !!!

9 comments:

Linda said...

Oh Joy, how sad your sumac had to go, I know you loved that tree.

Unknown said...

Farewell indeed....no wonder your plants grow so well,look at all that rich soil!!!!

Heather said...

Definitely a huuuge job Joy! Once you've replaced your wonderful Sumac, you'll soon forget it was even there... and you're right, patience isn't always a virtue gardeners have, LOL! As for the frost... well, we've had some snow already, but it hasn't stayed yet! Hugs.

Leslie's Garden said...

It's amazing how great your garden looks this late in the season. It's so hard to make a major change, but I look forward to seeing the new planting.

Nadezda said...

Joy, I did not know that sumac interferes other plants.
I hope all your plants will grow well now!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

hello Linda girl .. I love your Autumn header picture ! .. and all those projects you have on the go ! phew!
Yes .. my sumac was an unusual beauty but I am sure Golden Spirit will be too in time : )Thanks!

That soil was dug into and a war of the roots commenced girl ! LOL
It better look good! wink wink

Hello Heather girl : )
Yes ! I saw the snow and the partridges .. those pictures were great and the dialog was too funny!
thanks girl .. at least I will always have the pictures ?

Leslie that outing you and your family had looked wonderful .. beautiful country side and those stores would have me totally distracted ! LOL

Nadezda girl that tour of the botanical gardens was wonderful!
What a beautiful place to enjoy all of those plants : )

Lisa at Greenbow said...

It is just a shame you had to take out your sumac. It's replacement will be ok. You will fall in love with it no doubt...if the sumac will give up. Lime Rickey doesn't like it in my garden. I have tried it several times. This summer took out several coral bells. Only the old standard held up to the drought. We have had several heavy frosts. Things are looking a mite peeked. It is that time of year after all. Your halloween pictures are cute.

RobinL said...

Girl, what did you do? Why did the sumac come down? I'm going to cry! Was it sick? You asked about my camera, but it is NOT an SLR. I have a great point and shoot, recommended by my professional photographer nephew. It's a Canon Powershot SX110, but it's a few years old at this point so has probably been improved by now.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thanks Lisa girl : )
Yes I know you do have a hard time with heuchera .. my favorite is Peach Flambe .. the colours deepen in the Fall and it is outstanding !
I know Golden Spirit in place of my sumac will be a beauty too : )

Thanks Robin girl .. I always am curious about other people's cameras
My sumac had gone through it's life cycle and it was time to take it out .. it was sad .. but life is in cycles so I knew this was coming .. I just hope we can get the trunk and main root out to plant my smoke bush there ! could still be tricky!