Uprootin'

The front garden is looking terrible this time of  year. Especially since we had two big hail storms this summer, and the hosta got the worst of the damage. Undaunted, they have grown to massive clumps and I vowed to divide and conquer them this fall when it is much easier to see where they are, rather than wait until Spring when the tips emerge.
Luckily the weather was cool and I had lots of coffee, making me feel I could handle the task of digging out the roots, which extend to China.
O my. I got a big one out and thought I was gonna die...geesh. I had sweat dripping off my nose. So unladylike.

I had to enlist Dave and we tugged and dug and tugged some more and got out three more clumps. And this is only a quarter of what has to come out. My plan is to use this bed for flowers since the begonias and impatiens in the deck planters were so enthusiastic, and I hope to have the same display in this spot. In the front are my ten peony plants which got moved here in the spring and took root like troopers. In the back row are astilbe which barely saw the light of day, once the hosta reached full height. There are also a few odd specimens, like a sedum, European Ginger and a few volunteer phlox, which I will also be moving.
In the adjacent bed I dug out two huge Autumn Bride Heuchera and a giant Sum and Substance hosta and replaced them with a single Endless Summer hydrangea. After all these years I finally have learned to give the plants the necessary room to expand. With any luck this hydrangea will also get big.
Keep in mind that these are all the 'before pictures'. Next Spring this should look much better. I hope.

Instant garden. We moved all the uprooted specimens to Dave's Memorial Garden, on the west side of the property. This area is now fenced in and we visit here daily, watching the dawgs play stick keep away until they are exhausted. 

And then there's the sweet potato vines...I got my money's worth out of those sale plants, for sure.