Family First, then Garden

One thing I have learned of late is that when there are seven kids in the house, there are two things a gardener has less of, time and money. There is certainly less time for me to garden, as I try to find time to spend with each child each day.

Money, well there is certainly less of that to spend on plants and flowers, as it instead goes to food and clothing. Seven kids tend to eat, and eat, and eat some more. As for clothes, we can’t seem to stop them from growing out of their clothes. Fancy that!

So, with less time in the garden, and little money to spend on it, I found that I was rushing through my spring garden chores a few weeks back. In one of my hosta beds, I noticed that a number of hostas needed dividing, and then transplanting to another section of the yard.

I was hoping to start another hosta bed in a shaded area behind my house. So, in my short amount of time I had that afternoon, I decided to cut corners, literally, in dividing the plant. I placed the shovel in the center of the plant, and tried to cut the hosta in half, and then simply lift the cut end out with the shovel.

Certainly, this would save me some time. The result ended in failure, as I destroyed my division. I should have stuck with the traditional form of dividing and transplanting.

This is the perfect time to divide and transplant plants, as it has not become too hot yet, and plants are leaping out of the ground in the cool spring weather. Though I did not follow the rules that day, division of plants is really quite simple.

When dividing hostas, and other plants, in order to create new ones for your garden, or to share with others, simply dig up the entire plant out of the ground, making sure to keep as much of the root ball intact as possible. Then, with a sharp gardening knife, or blade of some kind, slowly and carefully cut the plant in half.
Placing the two halves aside, dig your new hole, placing plenty of composted material into the “new” plant’s new home. Place your divided plant into it, covering the sides with mulch, and water well.

Do the same thing with the original plant and its original “home,” filling in the gap with composted material. In a year or two, you will be dividing both of those plants, again. Two for the price of one.

Great plants to divide this time of year include hostas, coneflowers, daises, groundcovers, sages, hibiscus, and mums. These divisions not only act as “free plants” for your own garden, but wonderful gifts for friends and neighbors.

Take the time to do it right, and you will reap the benefits. Enjoy!