I had some time spare on Sunday morning, and thought I’d tackle one of my to do list items. I didn’t think it would take long – just needed to move the clump of daffodils that were in our old front flower bed (now been grass-seeded) to a new position around a palm tree at the side of our house.
Only I hadn’t factored in just how terrible our soil is. You see, our house is a newish build (about 10 years old, I think) and the soil appears to be a mix of pure clay and builder’s rubble. What started as a five minute job just digging out some plants, became something that more resembled an archaeological dig. I got my trusty trowel out, and started carefully digging around each clump, freeing their roots and brushing the soil away with my gloved hands, before easing each bulb out individually.
Akra came out and laughed at me. Obviously it was going to take ages – I should have been using a garden fork, it would be much quicker. I gladly offered him centre stage but he couldn’t get the prongs in more than half a centimetre deep. He went off to make lunch instead and I carried on, finally removing the last bulb before lunch was even ready. I tried not to feel too smug.
I thought there’d only be about 5 or 6 bulbs in the bed, in the end I had about 50 of varying sizes – I only lost about 4 or 5 when I got a bit too impatient and split them with my trowel. Akra was coerced volunteered to replant them and I left him to it.
Poor chap, it took him hours and he lost the will to live half way around digging the trench, so the semi-circle looks rather wonky. They’re also miles away from the tree (the tree roots prevented digging in a nice tightly hugging trunk-ring that I’d envisaged). Hopefully it’ll sort itself out and look slightly less regimented and weird in a couple of years (it will, won’t it?)
Either way, I’m not digging them up again. I’ll never think a daffodil is a pretty flower ever again.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Sylvia // 27th Apr 2009 at 4:49 pm
Do you have squirrels there? A friend of mine was complaining the squirrels dug up all her bulbs this year and buried them again so they are now coming up in random places all over her garden. :)
2 Pewari // 27th Apr 2009 at 4:53 pm
Yes, plenty of squirrels. Perhaps I should have buried hazelnuts near them to tempt them!
3 David Goodwin // 28th Apr 2009 at 7:27 am
I used to enjoy driving the lawnmower over my mother’s daffodils…
(Oddly, I first read the title as ‘Daffodil Extinction’ …. clearly some repressed memory is at work).
4 Ys // 28th Apr 2009 at 9:57 am
That sounds just like the crap soil I have to work with out the back! It really is just made up of brick – and glass! It’s really awful. I’ve mostly given up with it and just plant everything in pots now.
5 Pewari // 28th Apr 2009 at 10:00 am
David, that sounds a bit … disturbing ;) Stay away from my daffs!
Ys: yeah, is pretty much one of the reasons why we’re grassing – at least that doesn’t require too much soil depth – have dug out about an inch deep and put some top soil down. Each year, we aerate the lawn and stick sand down in an attempt to improve the soil a bit.
If I grow veg, it’s in growbags or pots. Planted some lavender last year in a border (rather stupidly) and it’s not looking very happy with me.
6 Lynn // 1st May 2009 at 4:52 pm
I’ve read this and now feel really really guilty because my garden is looking very sad indeed. I keep blaming the rain we’re having. But it’ll stop in the end and then I’ll *have* to do it.
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