That is why I spend a fair amount of time digging things up and moving them. Absolutely a process.
But sometimes that way you find little areas that eventually look perfectly wonderful!

(And then two years later you decide to change it.)

foraygardengirl said: But sometimes that way you find little areas that eventually look perfectly wonderful!

(And then two years later you decide to change it.)

I was about to say "yes" again - and then I read the last sentence...
But that last sentence is likely true as well!

A gardener's work is never done.

Right now most of my plunking is turning out to be into nursery beds and nanny pots, because I don't have the big bony things yet. And which I probably shouldn't be planting until fall anyway. But I'm also having trouble knowing when is the right time to uproot something and move it into a temporarily permanent spot. Like Iris; they've finished blooming, they're all NOIDS. Or...or...or...

Turtle said:Right now most of my plunking is turning out to be into nursery beds and nanny pots, because I don't have the big bony things yet. And which I probably shouldn't be planting until fall anyway. But I'm also having trouble knowing when is the right time to uproot something and move it into a temporarily permanent spot. Like Iris; they've finished blooming, they're all NOIDS. Or...or...or...

Honestly, I do things at the wrong times all the time.
It's easier to do it while in bloom than wait until they go dormant when I have to hunt for them and/or forget about doing it because it's out of sight.
As long as I am gentle and attentive, it has worked fine for me to relocate smaller things even while in bloom.
I wouldn't try to move a bush, bit iris, daffs, lilies, even some without bulbs if they are still young (dig BIGGER than I think the roots actually are). And fill its new hole with water, let it drain before planting, then water again to let any air bubbles come out.

foraygardengirl said:A gardener's work is never done.

While I do refer to myself as a gardener, while I am out there, it feels more like "playing in the yard"!
And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Oh yes, it's definitely playing
I too move things at all the wrong times, and they might look a little unhappy for awhile, but then they recover and show me that they like their new home. I have even moved some shrubs, like smaller hydrangeas. That's a lot more work though Most perennials that I grow are quite tolerant of my abuse. In fact, sometimes I think that they do better with anything from benign neglect to abuse. The things I mollycoddle seem to almost resent it sometimes.
And yes, I do talk to my plants.....

As do I.

Arico said:The amount/number of specimens will be trial and error...

I prefer the "by guess and by golly" method.

Here's how much of a planner I am...

Looking out the west window just now, while typing this, I see lots of smoky reds. It's somewhat unusual for me to plant the color red, but there it is...right out there in plain sight!

First and closest are some dwarf nicotiana, behind which is a big tub filled with a red carex, a black-red sweet potato and some dark pink dwarf lilies, and bringing the distance up close is a beautiful wine-red ninebark. I like it!

ta daaaaaa!

gardenglassgems said:Once again I am back. Thank you so much Debra for identifing that plant (Gaura) in my picture with Mary and Joseph. I love that plant. I will have to try to get some more of them. I don't know if it is possible to get seeds from my plant or if it can be divided. Does anyone know? I will try to go a Google search.

Did you ever plant more gaura? It's a hummingbird favorite; I found some fighting over it in our prairie patch. We have Biennial Beeblossom (Oenothera gaura) and it self seeds pretty faithfully.

This subject caught my eye and then I got distracted with Gaura.... well Oenothera, however that is pronounced. :)

I am a definite plunker, but have been trying to put more thought into what natives I put in the front yard. Some have gotten taller than I expected and if I try to be objective about it, look a little messy when they "flop". I would like the neighbours to view native plants as something other than weeds, though in agriculture if it is not the plant they cultivate, it's a weed.

Kim, do you have pictures of your front yard gardens to share here? Since I like to do a lot with native plants as well, I'm always intrigued by and interested in what others have done.

It's a planned plunk system here !!If I don't like that planned plunk I replan around that plunk...

Another planner here. When I have the time, I lay out a bed with photoshop. The problem is, all are often shown blooming at the same time as that's when I and most others take pictures. Then comes the reshuffle. And then there's the ones who don't live up to the plan. Guara has been a nemesis for me. It's a beautiful plant that fails to take, at least according to the plan.

The beds in which I've plucked tend to need quite a bit of reshuffling. I don't mind it so much. Older and wiser, reshuffled and looking better.

I'm a plunker. I buy what I like, especially if it's on sale or clearance and I find a spot to plunk it. It results in a riot of color throughout the season and people who come over and see it get jealous.

Originally, I was a plunker. I still have those tendencies (a visit to the nursery inevitably leads to a purchase that wasn't part of the plan.) However, after transplanting a bit, I'm trying to plan more. There's always the underperforming, the climate changes, the tree pruning, the hardscaping that forces a need for relocation, but I'm getting better at maintaining focus on the big picture.

Welcome Julie.

I have a plan but in the meantime I plunk to just have the color.

Moe said:It's a planned plunk system here !!If I don't like that planned plunk I replan around that plunk...

Thank you, Moe. I've been trying to think of how to say that and you did it for me. I understand precisely what you mean.