The First Garden Disaster of the Season*

It is hard for me to believe that scotch broom is an invasive plant in the west. My broom bush is struggling to survive. It had belonged to a friend, and since it wasn't doing very well in her less sunny yard, she gave it to me in hopes it would do better. It has flowered beautifully in the Spring.

This picture is from last May.

But it has also tipped further and further over each Winter when it is pummeled and buried by snow.

This picture is from March, this year.

Last week, we decided to transplant it to a safer spot, protected by the dogwood tree, and near the tall fence (so I could tie it for support, if necessary).




Now, I know that brooms don't like to be transplanted, and we made this one's change even more challenging by moving it just before it is about to bloom. I figured it didn't have much chance where it was, and I wanted to get the new pear tree in that spot, so I took the chance. I also had two caring women here to help and do the heavy lifting, and we all felt pretty good about the move.

It has been cool, cloudy, and raining in the days since we transplanted the broom, which I thought would gently ease the transition. Then, this morning when I went out to take the girls to school, I saw it nearly tipped over in the soggy, soft soil. I gasped and shouted in shock. I couldn't tend to it right then because I had to rush the girls to school. When I came back, I didn't take a picture, I just grabbed the first thing long enough that I found--a scarf--and tied the larger branch up to the fence. Later, I found two straps so I could secure both branches. I'm not sure what else I can do.

I want it to live.

*Reading through some of my old posts, I realize this is actually the second garden disaster this season--the first one was when the squirrels ate my tulips before they bloomed.