Why I Oughta...

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. ...

There's a time in the early morning when the sun is just coming up and begins to peek over our house and starts hitting the top of the trees in our backyard.  Right now, it makes the yard almost look electric.  The Northern Red Oak tree (tree swing tree) looks like it is lighting up everything else.  And, it is red.  RED.  Orange and red.  Normally, I'd say this tree doesn't do *that much* of a "Fall Show".  Hews closer to browns and a little orange than reds.  But this year?  It looks like it is on fire.  Pretty great to see: Last year, I p osted a photo of the backyard tree canopy about two weeks later.   In early/mid November.  And this same tree swing tree is orange.  And, in that post, I made the same comment :  this tree normally doesn't do much in the Fall but turn brown and cling tightly to it's crispy leaves.   Perhaps, I need to change my view on the matter.  Two years in a row is a pattern....

We have a small caliper, immature (and short-in-height) Blackgum tree that I planted in our front yard parkway in April of 2025 .  A few weeks earlier (as I was shopping for this very tree), I wrote a "getting to know" post about the Blackgum (or Black Tupelo) tree that is native to Northern Illinois.  In that post , I included this (partial) description: "One of the most spectacular and reliable fall coloring trees, turning brilliant shades of red and orange..." Last year, the tree did, indeed, turn a lovely color for fall.  Red.  Here it was in mid-November when the leaves were still on the tree and the tree was crimson-colored .   This year, that same color has returned.  About 2 weeks earlier.   Here is the tree as it stands right now - at the end of October - below: This tree has really been VERY SLOW TO GROW.  As in...has barely put on any growth in two growing seasons.   I asked Google's Gemini why that might be?...

We've had a weird Fall.  A few days ago, I posted the 10-day forecast that showed no frost arriving in our Zone 6a/5b Growing Zone well beyond the first few days of November .  I talked about how (according to the Illinois State Climatologist), the latest first frost in Northern Illinois (on record) was November 11th .  That means that everything is still....well...hanging on in the garden.   I just looked at the weather app and I can see all the way out to November 11th - the 'record' for last first frost.  And, right now....it is showing one day between now and then with lows in the upper 30s.  And, November 11th is showing a low of 47 degrees.  eeek.   That means that things aren't going to go dormant due to the cold.  Does that mean that I have to keep watering things?  Probably. But, it also means that some of the things in the garden.  Like with our Korean and Japanese Maples.   They have, historically, bee...