Making a New Garden: The Moving of the Plants

And so it begins. As the house is about a third moved to the new digs, the plants are about 2% moved. That's a frightening thought when the plan is to be pretty much moved in by Christmas. I wanted to show everyone why I will likely be in crazy mode for some time and may not be as frequent with blog posts in the short-term. I will document the whole affair, but getting to a computer might prove to be challenging in the coming weeks. 

In the meantime, here's a reason to be glad you're not us right now:
 The first real load of plants are the super heavy potted ones. There are many more still to move. This photo is deceiving, for there are many crammed in there that are not obvious. The pumpkins are thrown in to give my Portland neighbors a break - I don't want to be the only one on the block without Christmas lights who also still has Halloween decor on the front porch. They are going to live out the rest of their decomposing lives somewhere in the fields of the new garden.



 Just to give me a sense that we're accomplishing something, let's revisit what the back garden looked like this summer.



 Here it is pictured in October. All of these beauties are currently safely snug in their deer-proof cage.


This is what it looks like now. Poor lonely Casa Azul. I hope whomever buys this home finds a lot of love for you. And yes, I DO need to move the contents of the shed.



It's a little heartbreaking.


Here's the same general view from this summer.


Back on the farm: I wanted to highlight our first lesson in country living. Parking the truck on the wet lawn to get closer to the unloading areas is not a good idea.



Much cursing went on. At least in my head. 


 This mud splatter is several feet away. Imagine what I looked like at the rear of the truck helping to push it out of its ditch. Oy veh.



 Moving on to more pleasant views, a few of the pots ended up at the front porch. It may not be permanent but it gives a little life to the metal building.


This is the same maple (as pictured above) earlier this fall in its former home.



This is a view of the potted ones that made the journey. I attempted to place them to be somewhat pleasing for the short-term as my plans for this deck will morph into something usable and full of life hopefully by next summer. For now this will do -- making the journey was a huge step. They look so small out here, **sigh** I have a long way to go. The joy is in the journey, right? Right. I'll keep reminding myself of that. Please feel free to chime in when I slip down the hopeless slope of the overwhelmed new home owner.

Speaking of making the journey, that brings up the rest of the plants that are in the ground at the Portland house. I have yet to dig up one plant as it's been either a torrential downpour (flooding, anyone?) or the ground is too cold. I am patiently awaiting the golden hour when it's safe to dig and I have the day off -- then I will go into overdrive. So many of my gardening friends have been wonderfully generous with their offers of helping me to move the garden but I do not intend to burden anyone else with this muddy, cold, confusing task. You guys are off the hook.

I did manage to plant about 100 small species tulip bulbs at the new garden this weekend, something I had been waiting on as the place I wanted to put them was frozen. I braved the mud and dug the earth at the new garden for the first time. It felt great, finally actually planting something, even if it was just a handful of little bulbs.


Here's the plant prison. All of these guys are new, purchased at the nursery. They may end up waiting a long time....or I may find a temporary bed to plant them in until I find suitable homes.

That's what we've been up to, besides moving boxes and unpacking and making an ungodly amount of lists. Why did we want to move? Can anyone tell me? I can't believe how much work it is this time around. I am more accustomed to "apartment moving" so this house-moving business is for the birds. Well, chickadees that is.

That's it for this week at Chickadee Gardens at Blue Jay Lane (yes, Blue Jay Lane is the name of our street.....what are the odds of that?) - you'll be hearing from us again as soon as I have more garden adventures to share. Thank you for reading, as always and until next time, stay dry and happy gardening!



Comments

  1. I've forgotten how long the drive is from the old house to the new, but I think it's substantial. Thought about renting a larger truck to move more plants at once? Also one word about mud: plywood!

    You must keep photos of the plant and furniture populated patio available for prospective buyers -- they may not be able to see the potential of Casa Azul as-is.

    The deck and entry look better already, even if there are just a few pots there. :)

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    1. The drive is about an hour and YES we would love to rent a truck...we're going to this and next weekends. Plywood = good. Thank you for the reminder :)

      As to the "before" pics, yes, you're so right. I have sent off a bunch to our real estate agent in hopes that she can convince people that it can look better! Thanks for your words of encouragement, I need every bit I can get!!

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  2. Anonymous9:30 AM PST

    Best of luck with your move! It's hard to imagine trying to move a garden.

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    1. Thank you Gardenqueen! I appreciate your reading and commenting...and don't try to imagine moving a garden, it about broke my head :)

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  3. It's quite a job moving a garden, but enjoy looking ahead when summer is there and plants are planted. I could not help laughing when I saw the deep tire tracks in your lawn. We live in a wet country and one of my friend's car was once stuck in the roadside. With four ladies we pushed out the car and oh we were all mud......
    This time of year is certainly not ideal for working in the garden but when you have moved the plants you can take it a bit more easy until early spring. Success!

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    1. Oh, Janneke, you are so right. I need to keep visualizing next summer. I'm glad you laughed at the tire tracks, we are such numbskulls sometimes. It deserves a good laugh. Thank you for your words of encouragement, I appreciate it :)

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  4. The mud, the cold, it's not fun. Now you can look forward to the tulips in the spring and know that moving will be done by then. The orange dish planter will look spectacular against the metal house.

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    1. You are so right, Shirley! Thank you for reminding me. I think the orange planter will look great too, I can't wait to get it potted up with something special and show it off. Now I have to get all my colors in order...right now there's a pink deck, a purple door, a red bench, another purple bench and orange accents. Wow. I feel like a crayon factory.

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  5. After the excitement of selecting and securing the new property, this is the unexciting (exhausting, nerve-wracking) part - after 5 years, I still remember it well, down to the way the "large" plants at my old house looked shrunken at my new one. This too shall pass. Pace yourself, watch your back (and fingers and toes) and best wishes!

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    1. Oh, thank you for the reminder, Kris. This is the hard part and YES pace myself, you are so so very right. I'm glad I can turn to you and others for bits of sound advice, keep it coming!! :)

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    2. Oh, I forgot to mention, the BIG plants do look so very tiny here. I'm a little worried :)

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  6. I've probably mentioned this before, but I still have nightmares about moving. It is my very least favorite thing EVER. You have my sympathies!

    Every time you show that metal siding my hear skips a beat. I love it so. Whodda thought you'd go from living in a stucco house to a metal house?

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    1. Thanks, Danger. I appreciate it.

      Well, who would have guessed I'm going from stucco to metal? You're right. I hope at least some of my Spanish Colonial Revival accents (i.e. wrought iron) will fit in somehow.

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  7. Moving is a nightmare, but you're making progress! I like seeing the patio and entry starting to liven up with plants at your new house. I hope the traffic on 30 clears up soon.

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    1. Thanks Evan. I like seeing the plants at the front door too, it makes me happy :)

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  8. I'd be scared as hell with so much of a blank canvass to work with! And Casa Azul looks so forlorn without its decorations and plants. I can't wait to see what you do with that deck!

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    1. Oh Jim, I'm sure it would be fabulous no matter how much you had to work with! I know...poor lonely Casa Azul **sniff** so lonely....

      And yes, I can't wait to see what we do with the deck, too! It was suggested that we take down the pink railing all together and replace it with cable and metal which I think would look fantastic. It would go with the house much more, too. I'll keep y'all posted!

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    2. "cable and metal.." oooooohhh!

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  9. I don't know about being glad not to be you. Launching into such an expansive project with all of your energy and enthusiasm look like a pretty nice place to be.

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    1. Rickii, you always say the perfect thing :) You are too kind. xo

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  10. Oh my gosh, all that work moving an established garden. I do not envy it. Especially in December!

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  11. Great adventures always include lots of discomfort...not sure if that helps or not!

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    1. You know Denise, it's a great reminder and very true. Yes it does help. I know this instinctively but not physically right now. The payoff will be sweet in the long run which is what we're after.

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  12. I know the feeling, Tamara: it's fresh in my mind even though it's been almost nine years! Like you, we moved in winter (January for us) and the garden part was not half as complex as it is for you - or would be for me now. Even so, it's incredibly involved and tiring. Just keep your eye on the prize and plow ahead. We're all cheering for you!

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  13. The Chickadees at Blue Jay Lane - Love it! Sounds like characters in a children's book. So much work already done and so much more to do. Whenever I dream of moving to a larger garden space, the thought of moving all of our stuff makes me reconsider the fantasy. In a few years, you'll be very glad you made this decision!

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  14. Oh! you are lucky to moving to a newer home with much bigger garden space, I presume. So, I will be waiting eagerly to read all your adventures.

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  15. I hope your moving will go smoothly without any surprises. I know how hard it is, but making a new place, a comfortable nest is something that always calmed me down. Best wishes to you in your new home.

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