Before the rain

Two new clumps

We're due a nice big rain tomorrow - half an inch maybe? So Matt and I decided to take care of some plant moving and dividing so the new plants would get rained in and we wouldn't have to lug water up to the garden.

The ground at the garden is still very dry - the top 4" is damp, but below that everything is dusty, so we're a long way from being back to normal, though the last few week's of light rain has helped for sure.

Pampas and moved Phlomis

We dug up the Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) "Silver Comet" by the arch and divided it up into several parts.

Then we returned the largest clump to the ground in the same spot by the arch, and then planted five divisions in the brights bed, middle back bed and left bed.

Cortaderia is one of the toughest plants we have, sailing through the drought without suffering at all, so we're confident having more of them is a great idea. This is a sterile hybrid, too, so unlike the plain green kind won't seed all over the place and be a nuisance.

The remaining original

I planted two large clumps of Chasmanthe bulbs in the brights bed, rescued from the Mariposa Center strip's destruction.  The other Chasmanthes in the garden have lots of leaves already so should be flowering soon - a nice spot of orange for the winter.

Lastly Matt moved a buried Phlomis to the brights bed. Much better spot for it, and it should fill in in front of a new Cortaderia there quite nicely. 

We have lots more plants to move and loads of brush to run through a chipper. Need to try renting one again!