Now that spring has arrived, I’ve been really busy gardening like a mad woman. In my flower garden I’ve been weeding and pulling up grass, as well as planting and transplanting. One of the corners of the front yard has been neglected, and while working out there I kept thinking about what it needed. I finally decided that I wanted to plant a Redbud tree there.
Since they grow wild here, I set out to find a baby one that I could dig up and transplant. I knew they had heart-shaped leaves, but they were just starting to open and young trees don’t bloom yet, so I started by finding a mature one to study.
Once I had a better idea of how to spot one, the hunt was on. It wasn’t hard to find them, but I wanted one that was small enough that it wouldn’t be too hard to dig up. I wasn’t successful until the third or fourth one. Their roots go down into the rocks, making it hard to dig down to get enough of the root to hopefully be successful in transplanting. I actually ended up with two. One was about five feet tall. The other one was very small, maybe about two feet. I planted it in another bed near the house.
Why a Redbud?
That corner of our yard needed some height, but I didn’t want anything that was too large and obtrusive. Of course, a Redbud in bloom is very beautiful, but I like them when they aren’t blooming, too. I like their heart-shaped leaves and their open and airy growth habit. I even thought I’d enjoy shaping it over time.
More Free Plants
Down by an old home on our farm, there are daylilies and irises that were planted long ago and have naturalized. I dug up some of those to put around my Redbud tree, as well as elsewhere around the yard. I don’t know what they look like, so that’ll be another surprise someday.
The wild phlox are blooming and they’re so beautiful this year. They seem to be more bountiful. I couldn’t help but take some pictures before digging up a few to bring home. I don’t like to disturb nature too much, so I dug up some that were growing in the middle of the driveway and might be trampled anyway.
In other nature news, the blackberries and raspberries were already starting to bloom! Before you know it, I’ll be out picking those berries.
The Mayapples are also blooming. They’re so short, at about 8″, that it’s hard to get low enough to get a picture of the blossom. They have a very strong fragrance that reminds me of honeysuckle with a hint of furniture polish (LOL). I’ve never been fortunate enough to get the ripe fruit. I imagine the critters get to them first.
Back at Home
When I returned home I was anxious to get the new plants tucked into the ground as quickly as possible. It was a warm day and they were already wilting.
A few years ago I had tried transplanting some Phlox and thought I was unsuccessful because they never bloomed. All of a sudden, last week, a pink one appeared in my garden. That excited me and made me want to add more. The new ones I dug up were blue.
I planted the larger baby Redbud in the corner and added some irises and daylilies around its base. I had read that you should trim the leaves of irises when you transplant them, so I went back later and cut them shorter.
The new Redbud is so spindly that it was hard to get a good picture of it. The mound behind it is oregano. Behind that you can see some newly transplanted plants. We’re finally getting some rain, so now I’ll have to wait and see if it survives. I sure hope so! Hopefully, with a little time, this corner of the yard will soon be prettier.
Spring seems so fleeting. There are already so many flowers that have come and gone. It goes much too quickly for me! I hope you enjoyed our walk in nature. I just love spring (and free plants)! Don’t you?!
Comments
I just love phlox! I just transplanted some of my MIL’s yesterday. I’m hoping they take root and rebloom this year.
I’m sure they’ll be back next year. 🙂
Author
Great minds think alike! I hope they are fruitful and multiply!
Beautiful! I very rarely pay a penny for flowers; I’m always separating and transplanting as well.
Author
I try to be thrifty when I can. I always want more, more, more!
How exciting! I just transplanted some free trees from a relative’s yard, but nothing as pretty as a redbud! All of our blooming trails a bit behind yours. Our fruit trees are only just starting to have their buds swell, and blossoms are probably a couple of weeks away yet, but the daffodils are open, and it won’t be long before the tulips are up enough to bloom. I still have somewhere between 3-5 garden beds to dig up and divide and replant, though I probably won’t get them all completed this year. Perennials are the best 🙂
Author
I like perennials, too. I can’t resist buying a few annuals to add to the garden each year, but I try to focus on perennials and self-sowing annuals. Enjoy all of your flowering plants! I wish it all lasted longer!
Wow, how fortunate to have property upon which to go hunting for plants like this! Good luck with the transplants, I hope they all do well for you. When our kids were preschoolers, we used to go on walks in the springtime and see areas covered in Mayapples… I would have them tiptoe and hush, and gently pull up the big green leaves to reveal the “secret” flowers under the leaves. We imagined that the woodland fairies were living under the big green shady leaves, and if we were quiet and sneaky enough, we might just be able to see one! But sadly, we were never quiet enough to see those elusive woodland fairies under the Mayapples. 🙂 All we saw were their secret flowers.
Author
How sweet! That sounds like it could be a children’s story. It seems like there are more of them this year, too. They seem to be everywhere.
I also love the redbud tree, even when it isn’t blooming! That corner of your yard will be lovely very soon.
Author
Thank you! Every year I pick a few different areas to focus on and “beef up.” This corner and in front of the fence along the drive, are where I want to improve this year. I hope to be able to share their gradual improvement.
I want a redbud in the yard so much. I’ve tried growing them from seed with no success. Although I’ve thought about trying to transplant one, I haven’t managed to identify one yet! I should go out and try again. How blessed you are to have some irises and phlox nearby too.
Author
I do feel blessed by all the beauty that surrounds me. They are a little harder to identify when they’re so small, but have a go at it! I’m hoping my transplant is successful. Some plants are harder than others. We’re getting a lot of rain, in fact it’s literally flooding, so that should help.
I love free plants! My sister in law shared some with me this week! I wish I could find some phlox too! Might need to buy that if I can’t find it.