This is my cow cat Lola! She was a foster fail when she was five… she’s now fourteen! My partner noticed she was cow patterned back when we were still fostering her and we have called her a cow cat since. I was delighted the first time I learned how many other people have cow cats and call them as much.
She’s gotten snugglier in her old age, so a lot of photos are of her napping on me, but here’s a few assorted recent photos.
Some photos of my Berry White’s flowers transitioning to their fall colours as tax for the advice request haha newest photos first, some of the earliest signs of pink from July in the last few photos
Tl;dr of the advice request: how would you transplant a panicle hydrangea that you need to move in an area that gets cold winters and has dense soil (zone 5B, eastern Ontario)?
Longer version: I found, and fell in love with, hydrangeas this year which is the first year I’ve been flower gardening as an adult. I got four this year, including this Berry White as one of my early plants this year. Well, I’ve learned a lot this year since planting, and I’ve realized this panicle needs a better home as it’s going to be way too crowded where it is once it gets bigger (and it’s in an area where city bylaws say I can only have four feet tall max so it’s gonna become an illegal shrub).
Now that I’ve realized I should not underestimate its size and that pruning to keep it small wouldn’t work, I have picked out a new home for it. The new spot still gets a lot of sun, and it leans into the mature size of the plant to make a bit of a privacy shrub. Currently it’s in a garden bed, the place I’m looking at would just be straight into the ground and we have dense, almost clay soil. We’re cooling off rapidly from a hot summer (look at those fall colours emerging!) but we get very cold winters and a lot of snow. Historically our first frost is late September, and our last frost is in May. The ground starts to freeze by mid November I think.
From my reading, fall could be a good time to transplant so it can establish before next year, is this true? Any tips about timing, if the soil needs to be amended, fertilizers to use, etc would be greatly appreciated!
This spring, my partner and I dig a big hole for me to turn into a garden bed. We’ve done lots of veggie gardening together, but this is my first time in probably over 20 years taking a real shot at flower gardening (certainly my first real adult attempt). And wow, I forgot how much joy it brings me! We’ve had plenty of neighbours compliment it too, and it makes me happy it can be a bright spot for people.
Photos taken mid-late June, late July, and mid-late August (last week). What a transformation! I’ve learned a lot… like to pay more attention to plant spacing. That coleus is out of controleus, swallowing up snapdragons, bleeding hearts, and just about everything else in its path. I also want to replace the annuals with more perennials next year, especially native plants. I’m now excitedly planning a rain garden elsewhere in the yard where I can add native plants, too. And that panicle hydrangea needs to be transplanted this fall too, it’s going to become WAY too big for its britches.
All told, just really enjoying adding more life to the yard and have been absolutely delighted at the insects and birds hanging out already. Can’t wait to see how it keeps growing next year!
(Zone 5B, part sun garden for reference)