Remember a few days ago when we were clipp’in and cutt’in and prepar’in? Well, it has all paid off.  I am such a happy girl and I think my agapanthus (don’t know what plural is) are happy too.  It was tedious for them and for me.  We spent many hours together in the sun grooming.  The days were beautiful and autumn and the plants felt good being given ‘breathing room’ for the first time in probably 4 years.  There were even some iris that were truly surprised to see the sun.

On Saturday, my ‘main man’ came with 3 others to begin the relocation program. The day was cool and sunny and the 4 began their tasks.  First they had to us a chain saw….yes I said a chain saw to get out the big clumps of agapanthus and check for the living and the dead.  New bulbs feed off old bulbs and so the deceased went in one pile and the newer family went in another.  They like to stay together and so their bulbs extend from one another and the roots wind around one another. Everyone is one big happy family, regardless of being dead or alive. (Makes one think that maybe we should do the same with our family…you know keep them around close instead of miles away in a cemetary….but that’s another story)  ANYHOW,…..the work was hard….(when one has to use a chain saw on bulbs…they’ve been close for a while).  

Then, after choosing and separating, there came time for ‘placing’….The area chosen was in my back yard on a slope. There are about 6 trees on the slope and the men and I decided the agapanthus would look wonderful in between the trees, randomly spaced, in clumps.  That called for the chain again. Dang, I’m glad they brought that.  Shovels were used in the final digging, but the trust chain saw had to cut thru red apple ground cover and some dandy roots.  I knew immediately I had made the right decision not to do it myself.

Now I am good, I am strong, and I can do anything, but this —this chain saw/shovel, red apple, roots on a slope……not my idea of having fun. So the work continued and the holes were dug and the potting soil deposited and the agapanthus relocated. 

At the end of a very long day for 4 people, it was almost complete. The sun, however, caused them to ‘call it a day’ and since they had to return to my town tomorrow, they decided to finish up then.  Bright and early (8AM is bright and early for me nowadays) they were here to finish. Sprinklers were checked for punctures, yard was cleaned up, and trash cans filled .  It was a success!!!  They were beautifully planted and spaced on my slope and I can hardly wait for the darlings to make themselves at home.   They can view their cousins from afar, across the flat part of the yard, and stretch their roots while basking in the morning sun.  The temps are to be in the 50’s and 80’s for the next few weeks and the sprinklers will bathe them at least 3 days a week.

Portions of their family tree will now be extended to the central part of my town and even to the town adjoining us…..they will live in a warmer area and probably bloom before their family here.  Some will even be heading to Nevada, to begin their part of the clan.   Ah, life is good in agapanthus land.