Ferns

 I transplanted these Ostrich Ferns yesterday- out of the doomed rock garden- doomed because I've utterly failed to keep it weeded since we've moved in, and have succeeded in killing a lot of the flowers that were there- and into a shady spot along a garage wall. The rock garden is getting dismantled this year- It's too much work for me, when my focus is on growing food- and there is a serious grass problem there, it's like sod now with a few flowers struggling to compete. But in an attempt not to let my mother-in-law down completely (the house and garden were hers, before they were mine), I'm saving what I can, so this will be the summer of transplanting.

We also moved some lily of the valley yesterday- into the same shady area, but then read that you're supposed to wait until they bloom to move them- so it seems as though I may have killed them too!- oh well- there's more where they came from- they seem to have thrived on my neglect- which bodes well for them in the future. All this work is going into an area of the yard that I usually ignore- except for putting in a few impatiens, but this year I'd like to make it nice, it's a great place to sit in the evening- when it gets some dappled shade, and it's cool on the hot days, and close enough to the house to run in for drink refills, or hang out while grilling.

It's one of the areas that's getting a face lift- and these Ferns are hopefully going to get large and lovely here, multiplying generously, also as transplants from another area of the yard they fit into my budget of zero dollars, so cross your fingers that they survive.