Why I Oughta...

Something wild:  I'm still getting dahlia blooms in the first week of November.  In Zone 6a/5b.  Yes...that's right.  I'm still snip'ing off a handful of blooms from the dahlias.  Because...we haven't had a hard frost yet.   I wrote about the lack of first hard frost for our area back in late October.   At that time, I pointed to this post from the University of Illinois State Climatologist who has a map up for the 'latest' first frost on record (which is since 1991 to 2020).  Here's a link to that map .   I've pasted the map below.   But, before we talk about it, let's take a look at the dahlias that are (still) blooming.  Below are a few photos showing Sweet Nathalie dahlia, Great Silence Decorative Dahlia and (Not) Rip City. Great Silence Decorative Dahlia Great Silence Decorative Dahlia (Not)  Rip City Dahlia There are more, like the Saint Martin little ones and a few Blue Wish and some buds on Cafe au Lait....

Back in July 2023, I planted a pair of TINY (one-gallon) Green Mountain Boxwood shrubs back by the border around the firepit in the far backyard .  I don't seem to have posted about these in the years since, but they've just ambled along in the years since being planted.   They've had 3.5 growing seasons (1/2 of 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026) and have put on some size and mass.  Without much of anything other than the water they get from rain.  They're planted in a pretty shady spot, too.  I have another Green Mountain boxwood that is planted under the tree swing tree. Similarly...planted as a TINY, TINY, TINY shrub.  In 2021 .    It gets a little bit of "Winter bronzing" .  If you plant these, just know they'll do that in Winter.  Don't worry.  They bounce back in Spring.   Here, below, is what the pair of Green Mountain boxwoods in the far back of the yard look like right now, in early November.  Covered in som...

We made an early stop into Wannemaker's Garden Center this past weekend and checked out their newly-arrived shipment of Amaryllis bulbs.  We normally buy ours at their Holiday Open House (that takes place in a couple of weeks), but I wanted to see what they had on-hand.  As always, they have a couple of full, long shelves of boxes of Amaryllis bulbs that you can choose from.  Their bulbs are big and plump.  And, not cheap.  But, they perform.   I recently posted about some of the Amaryllis bulbs that Home Depot is carrying this year .  That post is here and includes a look at Flaming Peacock Amaryllis, Red Peacock Amaryllis, Blossom Peacock Amaryllis, Marquis Amaryllis, Glee Amaryllis. The bulbs at Wannemaker's are varied - in terms of colors and shapes.  The ones that caught my attention are included below.   Last year, we grew Shine Dream and Flamed Amadeus.   This year, we'll grow some new (to us) ones.   Try...

The pairing of the (still small) Saratoga Ginkgo tree with the drift of Little Henry Sweetspire (flowering shrub) are showing off right now with bright reds on the Sweetspire and the yellow (almost chartreuse) green on the Saratoga Ginkgo tree that is tucked into that same bed.   See below for what this combo looks like right now - in early November: I posted a similar photo (from the other side) of this combo two years ago .  The Saratoga Ginkgo tree has grown up a little bit in the two years.  

One of my (V1 Draft) " Great Garden Rules " is to think about designing for a four-season garden.  Part of that idea is to have things that look as good when they are dead as when they are alive.  For me, in Zone 6a/5b, that means things that look good in Winter.  In dormancy.   One of my favorite garden plants (that isn't a fern) is Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass.  I, of course, like how it looks in the garden during the growing season.  But, I also *really* like how it looks in Winter.  With the upright seedheads standing proud throughout the dormancy period. I have it planted all over the garden. I also have had a couple of problems with critters in my garden. Near our house and the back stoop, we have an entire ecosystem of chipmunks and (I think?) voles and or mice.  They scurry around.  Make burrows.  And hide inside all the plant material. We also have rabbits.  I've done my best to keep them out with a fence, but they...

There are a lot of things that I really like in our garden that make an impact.  There are also other things that I've planted and occasionally forget about, but when I *do* spot them, I realize how much I love them and how great they (silently) perform their job. One of those silent success stories are the Doublefile Viburnum - treeform shrubs - that are planted along the Northern Property line.  There are three in total.  I found them in 2022 and planted four.  Three of which are still around.  Two along the northern fenceline, one in the back.   These shrubs show off in Spring with a big, beautiful set of white blooms.  Here are some photos from this year's Spring flower show .   Right now, the shrub is turning purple.  And, it looks really great.  Here, below, is a look at the foliage turning color, but hanging on to the branches (so far): I looked to buy more of these this Spring, but didn't find them at the nursery. ...