Perennial Beds

Although they can be less work, perennial beds are not carefree. Every year, they should be tended to, dividing and thinning plants that may think the spot is just for them. This year appears to be the year of the fern. Although I love their feathery appearance in the wild or added to cut flower arrangements, this spring I had to do a little culling.

Pretty in the background, the ferns were overcrowding the rest of the perennials

I spent most of Sunday clearing out this particular bed. With a little thinning, the stone wall is now visible and the Foxglove and rest of the plants have some room to grow.

Thinned area

After cleaning out the bed, I top dressed with bark mulch. This is like adding the icing to cake, it may not be necessary, but it makes the finish product look that much nicer. Plus it has the added bonus of retaining moisture and suppressing weeds.

Final Product

Since I have barely gotten my vegetable seeds in the ground, it's nice to be able to work among perennials which are full grown and blooming. Last night I tackled another area of the yard. This bed is only a few years old as it was recently cleared of two large white pines. I am gradually adding sun-loving perennials. Instead of ferns, the milk-weed were taking over. I now know why it is called a weed as with each plant I pulled up a few others that came along for the ride, being attached by long rhizomes underground. I did not take a before picture, but I cleared out about half of the milkweed, leaving the remainder for the milkweed moths, and hopefully a few monarchs.

A mostly sunny perennial bed

This weekend the weather is supposed to be dry and sunny, so I am looking forward to finishing up a few more beds and hopefully the bark mulch pile!