I am still in the process of recovering from all of the plants that were lost over this past harsh winter; specifically trying to replace said plants. I have purchased some new shrubs and moved some other plants around to fill the voids. It's a pain in the ass but I love it. The challenge of pulling it all together keeps my going at 200 mph day and night.
Now we all know that plants are not particularly cheap these days. So one of the ways I significantly cut down on those costs is by dividing my existing plants. With a little bit of elbow grease, one plant becomes three or four new plants.
Recently, I identified a few open spots in my front bed that could accommodate relatively narrow plants with a decent bit of height. The exposure is about half sun/half shade. I consulted the plant inventory in my brain and had the perfect option within seconds ... 'Karl Foerster' feather reed grass.
I have had a bunch of these in the same location for four years now and they have never let me down. They look good as early as April (they are cool season grasses so start emerging pretty quickly in the spring) and hold up all through summer, fall and even winter:
I had yet to divide them but knew it would be an easy task.
So out came the shit kicking boots and I was ready to do the deed:
The grasses have shown signs of life the past week so I knew now was a good time to divide them before they grew out any more and became less manageable:
I decided to dig out one completely from the ground and placed it in the lawn. It couldn't have been easier to dig it out:
With a few quick and strong daggers into the grass with my shovel, one easily became four:
One of the divisions went right back into the same hole:
And another filled in a bare spot between this Boxwood and Ninebark:
I eventually settled on adding all three of the divisions into the same garden bed for some repetition and nice contrast with their surrounding plant brethren:
The entire task took no more than twenty minutes and very little physical labor. I immediately watered all of the divisions and it was a wrap.
Next time you are looking to fill in some bare spots in your own garden, think about dividing some of what you already have. It couldn't be easier.