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Dividing And Transplanting Sesleria Autumnalis - Front Porch Bed + IB2DWs - October 2024

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Yesterday, I showed how I moved out a 'mystery' Sesleria to the IB2DWs bed down by the sidewalk.  That left a hole in the front porch bed that I wanted to fill with what was already there:  Autumn Moor Grass.  These things are THRIVING, so it was easy to pick up and divide it. I ended up dividing a clump into three pieces.  I put one back into the original hole, one in the newly created hole (via mystery sesleria transplant) and I tucked the third one into IB2DWs - next to some Serendipity Alliums.   Below are a few photos - first the two smaller divisions: far left and second from the right.  I tucked them in with a combination of compost and biosolids.   And here below is the third from the division - in the IB2DWs bed about half-way down the driveway: This gave me a +2 plants via division.   I need to total up all Fall:  +2 trees, +2 John Greelee Grasses, +6 Ajuga = +10 planted.  And...+1 red swtichgrass, +1 mystery grass and now + 2 Autumn Moor Grasses = +4 by division.  14
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Mystery Blue Green Moor Grass - Transplanted And Divided IBDWs - October 2024

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Last year, I bought and planted a number of (what I thought at the time) were Sesleria Autumnalis - Autumn Moor Grasses - across the front of our front porch beds.  I say 'at the time' because I've learned in the time since that ONE of the plants is not like the other.  The Autumn Moor Grasses put on a show the past two Falls and have thin, yellow-ish blades come October.  The other grass is blue-green and doesn't have the fireworks explosion that the others have each Fall. See below for a look at this one mystery blue-green grass in between a volunteer Dusty Miller and an Autumn Moor Grass: The Autumn Moor Grasses are THRIVING, so I figured...why not transplant this mis-label'd 'mystery' grass and replace it with a divided Autumn Moor Grass.  That's what I did - I dug it up and moved it.  Not before dividing it into two good-sized clumps and one HOPEFUL strand.  I put them right against the sidewalk in the hard-to-grow area IB2Dws.  I filled the holes
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Dividing Red Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ Red Switchgrass - October 2024

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In October of 2021, I bought and planted a single Shenandoah Red Switchgrass down by the sidewalk - IB2DWS .  It was an end-of-the-season #FallPlanting purchase and I put it in that spot because the description said that Panicum are well-known for being 'drought tolerant' .  This was a VERY hard-to-grow spot with harsh conditions:  hot concrete on two sides, competitive mature tree roots and gravely soil.   It went in and hasn't done super well, but...persisted.  There's something to be said for persisting in a spot like this was planted.   In the years since, I've left it alone.  But, as I've learned over the years, ornamental grasses need to be tended-to and do well to be divided every few years.  They will end up with 'center rot' and will get rejuvenated when they're divided.  I've typically done my ornamental grass dividing in the Fall, so this past weekend, I decided to divide a few - starting with this Shenandoah Switch Grass. Here's w
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Fall Project: Lazy Garden Bed Extensions - October 2024

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Over the years, I've created and expanded garden beds using various methods including digging out all the turf, flipping the turf and (more recently) doing some combination of digging/flipping the turf and layering on cardboard to supress the grass.  That cardboard smothering method seems to work pretty well and it is well...easy.  At least it is FAR easier than digging out the turf.  But, the cardboard method has a big drawback - the grass is *STILL THERE*.  So, that means it is tricky to plant in the bed immediately. If you plant in the cardboard zone, you have be careful to remove the turf around any 'holes' in the cardboard that you want to plant in - otherwise you'll end up with grass peeking through around the stems/trunks of whatever you plant.  Trust me...I know.   My problem is that I don't plan ahead enough and get the beds ready BEFORE I want to plant them.  So, why shouldn't I use some of this "Fall Planting" time to build out new/extend ex
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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In Praise of Coleus As A Bedding Plant - October 2024

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This Summer, I planted three small Inferno Coleus plants in the (then brand new) Island Bed in our front yard as bedding plants .  These were (for me) the first Coleus that I'd planted directly in the ground versus using them in containers.   My journey to that moment started in Spring when I was watching a garden tour on YouTube from Justin at S&K Greenhouse .  Over the years, Justin ( who's channel is great and you should subscribe ) has visited the garden of Bruce Duncan .  Justin and Bruce have a history together (I think Bruce spent some time at the Nursery/Greenhouse), but they also have great on-screen chemistry.  Bruce also has a spectacular garden .   In that video, Bruce shows off a few different coleus that he has planted in colonies.  I went and learned a little bit about veined vs edged-leaf coleus and which one can tolerate full sun vs which ones prefer shade. I also included planting coleus as a bedding plant (among other annuals) in my annual to-do list .  
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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6 Chocolate Chip Ajuga Plugs Planted In Island Bed - Fall Planting 2024 - October 2024

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Fall Planting 2024 keeps rolling right along with the planting of a six-pack of groundcover plugs.  These are something I've used WIDELY in my garden: Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'.  #3 on my 2024 to-do list was to keep going on groundcover (or...as I want to call it "living mulch"), so these six help that cause .  I've had some 'hits and misses' with Ajuga , but have learned a little bit about it over the years.   I opted to put all six in the newly 'extended' Island bed in the front yard.  I decided to plant the Skylands Spruce tree in the back of that bed, so I had to add a good amount of mulch to extend it back.  I figured that was a good spot to put down some groundcover.   Below you can see four of the Ajuga Chocolate Chip planted on the northside of the bed - but right at the feet of the new Skylands Spruce.   I put the other two in a little bit more of a 'protected' area - under the canopy of the Northern Glow Korean Maple.  In the pho
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Sesleria Greenlee Moor Grass Planted (And Transplanted) In Island Bed - October 2024

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Fall is for planting.  At least, that's what I've figured out after eight seasons of gardening our property in (now) Zone 6a/5b.  The lure of the nursery in Spring is so strong, but things do better when they go in later in the season.  At least...that's been true the past few years.  Fall Planting 2023 was WILD.  This year, it is slower, but still happening.  There have been two conifer trees in the front yard - Oregon Green Austrian Pine and the Skylands Spruce. Today, I'm showing how I've added three Greenlee Moor Grasses to the island bed.  Two of them are new; bought at the end-of-the-season sale at The Growing Place.  One of them, I transplanted from last year's spot (by the Saratoga Ginkgo) .   Below is a look at the small quart-sized container of the two that I picked up this season: I mentioned this in the post from last Fall - when I dug in the first three - that Greenlee Moor Grasses are on (my guy!) Roy Diblik's "Appropriate Plant List"
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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