Monday, February 25, 2013

The Deer Help with Planting Daffodils in the New Tiger Gardens


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Deer helping with planting a garden?? What?! Yup, you heard it right! Unbeknownst to most of you Mr. Fix-it and I are making a dream come true-okay, I did let the cat out of the bag in Wednesday's post. The dream is to purchase a lot of land-enough so that we will not have any neighbors. We found the absolutely very close to perfect spot in the next county over recently and closed on the acreage this past Friday, 22 February 2013. (It would be perfect if it was already fenced)

Today's post is about the garden to be-and deer and daffodils and a non-gardening husband who loves me enough to try! The picture above is of Mr. Fix-it and is a classic picture of him. He is contemplating all the garden work to come-of which I believe he is fervently hoping he is not involved in! That is not to be! Please look around the area where he is standing-look carefully. What do you see? A field that is overgrown and plum full of weeds, briar, and who knows what else. Then, look closer and you might notice some cleared areas. Do you know what could have possibly cleared the area? I'll give you a clue-it leaves lots of scat and likes to eat gardens. It is deer of course!
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In my haste to move my garden from Old Tiger Gardens to the new Tiger Gardens, I decided to begin digging daffodils. Big mistake. I began digging the daffodils (approximately 1000-1200 bulbs of one kind-'King Alfred') prior to thinking about how hard it would be to plant them in the large uncleared field near where our home will eventually be built. It was a "WHAT WAS I THINKING MOMENT" when I realized it would be difficult at best to plant the bulbs prior to us clearing the field. Nonetheless, the bulbs were dug and really needed to be planted. So, into the truck we go to plant the bulbs-hi ho hi ho HI HO! The bulbs pictured above are not even half of the type I dug and I have three or four or five other types to still dig! OMG! I guess I've done a pretty good job of multiplying the daffodils here in Tiger Gardens because I never would've thought the count would be so high.
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And just how do I know how many bulbs I dug and replanted? My garden helper Mr. Fix-it was my divider and conqueror. His job was to separate the clumps and lay them in the very overgrown field. While doing this he had to count the bulbs. Laying them in the field for planting did not go as I had hoped. Again, I did not consider the fact that the field was overgrown and would be virtually impossible to plant. Just look at all of the plant matter Mr. Fix-it is standing on. It is thick and strong.
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Our solution was to use the trails and bed down areas the deer had 'so thoughtfully' prepared for us. This type of planting may turn out to be a mistake in the long run because even though the bulbs are massed they pretty much follow trails--so they are randomly massed. I may go back and fill in all the blanks where we could not plant or perhaps leave it as is. There are more bulbs coming after the field is cleared so I'll have to see how it all works out with the varieties I still have to move. But, if I decide to keep the 'King Alfreds' simply as they are planted in the deer trails, Mr. Fix-it and I will forever have a good memory of the property where the deer roamed....

in the garden...

The count for daffodils planted on our land to date is: 800 Division 1 (trumpet style daffodils), a 'King Alfred' type daffodil planted the weekend of 16 & 17 February; 50 'Rip Van Winkle' Division 4 (double daffodil), and 10 'Ice Follies' Division 2 (large cupped) planted yesterday. The garden move has begun! Wish us luck!

Don't forget my drawing tomorrow for likes on my Facebook page. I'll post the winner Wednesday on this blog, but will publicly post the winner's name on my FaceBook page once I have made contact with the person. It's not too late to like my page and get the chance to win a prize!  



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

22 comments:

  1. Oh Tina...I just LOVE this post. The pictures of Mr. Fix-it are priceless! He is being such a good hubby helping with those daffys. In the coming years those daffys are going to look so beautiful! It was nice of the deer to help too!

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    1. Thanks Christy! Mr. Fix-it is a sweetie! We've been having so much fun (can you call work that??) on the property. Spent some time hiking the land yesterday-along with mowing with my kick butt mower and picking up trash. We have a driveway now! And sorry, but your bucket is gone. Trash is a neverending battle.

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  2. I can't wait to see your new garden come along!!

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    1. It should be fun Cherry! Next year, with any luck, we'll be looking at these daffodils from our new front porch there! And they should all be blooming happily.

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  3. I'm looking forward to your exciting adventure with your new land! Congratulations!

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  4. The pics of Mr Fixit are so funny. I can see the wheels turning in his head but being a great hubby, he just rolls with the punches where your garden is concerned. I think you may need to purchase him a big tractor with bush hog type attachment! I hope you know that planting along the deer trails is playing with fire so to speak. LOL, Good thing deer dont eat daffy's! Am sure the little sunshine faces will be awesome to view from your front porch! When does the ground breaking ceremony for the house take place? I so plan to walk some of this land during a March visit! I am dying to see the bare land before with my own eyes as that is much better then pictures! Do you plan to move all the large bushes and trees or just the smaller things from the garden? Wow, you have a lot of work ahead of you girl but it will be fun planning it all out. What fun...

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    1. We've got a date then! Bring your work gloves, some loppers, and shovel and we'll have a right ol' good time girl! Just kidding. Might bring a walking stick though. It's SO pretty walking among hills, streams, wildflowers, and trees-some are huge!!! The pond is awesome too.

      Yes, I plan to move every single thing I can. I will be talking about it in Wednesday's post. I feel like whoever buys this property may or may not be a gardener and I really don't want to take the chance. My trees and shrubs that I can take go. The perennials and most bulbs will go. Many gardens will go-yes! I can do that and have started already. I just can't totally start until we have our house site situated with the garage and septic. Don't want new gardens and trees damaged. We expect to break ground in the fall. A few things need to happen prior to then for our schedule-mainly a well, electricity, and a driveway and clearing! Be sure to give me notice on your visit. We are out there whenever we can be. It's a lot of work but we've made progress already! I guess I should post some pics.

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  5. As I mentioned on Facebook -- a big congratulations to you! That is so much work! I complained yesterday when I moved three large clumps of daffodils! I can't imagine the move you've made.

    One thing we ran into here -- at our previous home, we had to dig up everything we wanted prior to showing the house. Once the house had buyers, we weren't allowed to move anything else. Don't know if you'll encounter the same issue. I left so many gorgeous plants at our other house as we couldn't replant here due to all of the construction equipment. Timing was terrible for us! So, I started from scratch.


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    1. Those daffodils get me every single year Freda I tell you!

      It is the same thing here. All plants, pond, brick, etc, will have to be gone before I even list the house. We are lucky in that we are very close to our new land and I think slowly but surely I'll be able to do it all. If not the house won't be listed until so that should be motivation. So sorry you have to leave your other garden. It was fun starting from scratch though huh?

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  6. Congrats to you both. Mr Fix-it sure looks like he is enjoying all the work & the new adventure. Yes, pics would be nice. I do so enjoy the before & after.

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    1. Thank you Lola! I hope to document the process in a logical manner. I might not be starting off too well though.

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  7. How exciting, Tina! A fresh plot of land is like a blank slate-- so many possibilities. Congratulations to you and Mr. Fix-it!

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  8. Much luck to you both on the new property and future home. The deer are crafty so I hope your daffodil planting has some luck too. I would so love to move to a place with no neighbors but the work of a big property is beyond what I can handle now. Plus, my husband is NO help, so it all would be up to me. You are fortunate to have a helpful hubby.

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    1. Thanks Donna! Yes, Mr. Fix-it and I are good partners. He helps a bit when I really need him and I do the same for him (think holding oily car parts) when he needs it. We hope maintenance will not be so bad once the property is fenced off. We hope! All but about five acres is forest but I guess even forest might need maintenance.

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  9. I went through a similar situation regarding the problem of planting daffodils in an uncleared area this past season. I was helped by a Deere of a different nature. Luckily my bother-in-law owns a small John Deere back hoe and we did a rough tilling with the machine and then created rows with the tines on the backhoe itself. Within a few hours thousands of divisions were planted with hopefully effective results this spring! Good luck with your new property... so exciting to have a blank canvas! Larry

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    1. Hi Larry! What a beautiful blog you have! The pictures are simply stunning. Donna (GWGT) has wonderful pictures like that too. I sure wish I had a brother in law with a 'Deere'. What a great play on words. I hope you'll post pics of the new daffodil field when they all bloom. I'd love to see them.

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  10. You sure had a lot of daffodils to plant. Are you making sure not to plant near where you are going to be building? Or where the construction vehicles might be driving? Just a thought. I am going to buy a bunch next fall and plant more in the septic field...want lots of spring color!!

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    1. Oh yes Janet I am trying. We have a good idea where we'll build the house and where the septic will go. But are still staying away from it. That is slowing things down as far as moving the garden but the field is 5 acres so plenty of room to stay away I hope! I hear building is a messy process and I am worried-so worried no major planting until after the build. It's sad too because I need some shade trees in there pronto. Thanks for the tip!

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  11. Congratulations on getting some acreage! That has to be so exciting to think of gardening with all that room! I hope your daffodils do well - I see them growing randomly in fields here, so I assume they will be fine. But I can't imagine planting that many! That's a lot of work! And good luck moving your entire garden! You're going to be very busy!

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  12. Love how Mother Nature helps us out at times we are not expecting...can't wait to see the field next year....

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