We are going through some changes in the yard and reviewing some plans to update the exterior of the house a bit and maybe even building an addition to our living room. As is our way, we discuss plans, talk about timing, review the plan, change the plan, talk about timing, think about space, review the plan. You get it. We procrastinate. We are slow to pull the trigger, as the saying goes, as we don't always see eye to eye and one of us will have one of those sit-up-in-bed from a sound sleep BRILLIANT ideas which throws a final draft of a plan talked about for weeks right out the window. We've gotten use to working this way over the years, and yes, it has delayed us from time to time.
Currently, while the two areas of dirt I wrote about in previous posts are big topics, we have at least three other areas outside that are currently, or will be soon, undergoing some changes. I've spent a fair amount of time over the years working in some flower beds whose plantings are coming out. In order to prepare for the upcoming remodeling, I'm planning on transplanting a lot from my current beds to the other sides of the house. I hope I am able to save a few things that I have grown to really love over the last few years but I know there are a few that will be lost.
One of these is a curly branched bush called Harry Lauder Walking Stick, with a biological name of something-something Contortia, or something. I love this plant. It is far too big for its current space and will likely not survive a transplanting. At least, not by someone who is as willy-nilly with the transplanting rules as I am, but I have to try. I may not be able manage this bush alone, not like I will be able to do with a couple azaleas and many hosta that are marked for moving.
The main reason why I love this plant is because my mother-in-law had one. It's still at the house and in a spot she once told me was the best place for it, protected, a bit off a path and out of the wind. She reported it was a difficult bush to get started. I love the gnarly, curling branches, named for a vaudeville comedian who was known for his twisted walking stick. As soon as I got the opportunity, and the money, at least twenty years ago, I bought a small bush and planted it in a new flower bed. I knew nothing about bushes, landscaping or what would grow. I only knew I wanted a Harry Lauder Walking Stick.
I planted it too close to the house, of course, too close to the deck, too exposed to the elements. It wasn't suppose to grow in that location, but it flourishes. My mother-in-law and I discussed how it shouldn't be doing as well, I believe it has outgrown hers, and who knows why. If it were two feet further out or to the left or right, it probably would not have grown like it has, but it loves that spot.
That spot will be turned over for another use and Harry will go with it. I'm reluctant, to say the least, and although I will try to move it I have this feeling wherever I try will not be quite right. I do have a place in mind and will undertake the move in the spring. Now, hubs is practical here and says no worries, if it doesn't make it, we'll buy another and start new.
It's not the same though. I was young when I bought that plant and wanted to prove to my mother-in-law that I was worthy of the property, of the home that had been the home of her mother, that I could plant and tend, cultivate and grow. My mother-in-law was impressed with my Harry and told me so. To let him go is a big deal, a big decision and I'll spend a bit of time thinking it all through.
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