Above: Penstemon Confertus, yellow Penstemon
Transplanted dozens of penstemon, iris (setosa?), heuchera and sedum seedlings and divisions around the yard. These are from seedlings I planted late last fall, both in pots and in the ground.
Planted a few tiny seedlings at the “mole run”, the most active mole area from which I’ve already moved the plants. Maybe they will have insidious root formation and be able to thwart the wily moles. The damn moles are lifting up a bunch of my new plantings. I have to place heavy rocks around them individually until they root to protect them.
We checked the ceanothus velutinus (Snowbrush, spice scented) air layerings, and two of the four have rooted. I also have one more Hairy Manzanita layering to plant somewhere. Two of the four I have planted so far have grown into nice sized bushes, but two had died off. Not sure what I did differently. I have eight Red Flowering Currant cuttings which have done well over the year and need planting. Some will go around the lower back yard near the street, for color and screen.
Collected seeds this year for late fall planting: lots of Wild Blue Flax and Gaillardia, my two new favorite perennials together, and some Nothochelone Nemerosa, and some Dodacatheon Hendersonii and dentatum although these didn’t form many seeds this year for some reason. Other more usual standbys: Dodacatheon pauciflorum, Leopard lily ( the two tiger lilies were felled by slugs before they could bloom), Iris Tenax, Harvest Brodiaea, and Camus (Cusackii and Quamash).
I also took out four Chickweed plants, they were getting very invasive, sending runners through all the adjacent plants. It took clawing through the dirt to get the runners out much like st. John’s wort, except that these runners are delicate and break off when you pull at them. I usually stick to my rule of no plants with the word “weed” in the name, but the first plant i put in seemed so tame. That’s the only plant I left in place, in dry area of back yard.
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