Moving perennials now

[ElizabethVonArnim]

I’m thinking that if it isn’t raining on Saturday, I might move a lot of my dormant perennials around and see if I can split some of the big clumps. I’ve got a not-very-successful border that is quite well stablished but with plants all in the wrong places so it doesn’t have that nice repetition that makes borders look so good.

I’ve got nepeta walker’s low, lady’s mantle, potentilla and a great big grotty penstemon that was poor on the flower front last year, plus endless self-seeding verbena bonariensis. If I break it up a bit, I could have a good run all along the front of the border and create some space for some medium-height plants mid-border.

Anyone else feeling the need for a bit of strenuous digging?

I am desperate to get in and reshuffle! It’s just so boggy here right now, but I’m worried it’ll be getting too late soon.

What is your soil like? Sandy soil - you'll be fine. Clay soil it will be very difficult to work with. Penstemon won't split as it's a sub- shrub but you could try cuttings. It's a bit early for cutting Penstemons back yet.

To be honest, the penstemon aren’t earning their place with their feeble flower show last year. If they don’t survive the move, they’re weaklings that don’t deserve the space. Survival of the fittest!

Penstemons are not long lived in my experience. I’d get rid and start with new ones. But otherwise, good time to divide.