Why I Oughta...

The Babe was going to a team dinner at the home of one of her teammates and wanted to bring a little dahlia arrangement to give to the host.  This one is small, but packs some punch.  Includes Ivanetti, Rip City 1 , Saint Martin waterlily dahlias and the star of the show:  Crichton Honey.  It also has a group of small Burlesca Pompon Dahlias - which I'm growing more fond of as the season wanes on.   I also clipped a few springs of Silver Dollar eucalytpus.  And, a spray of Lucky Charm anemone for some height.   I'm continuing to believe that I like Ball dahlias as my favorite variety, but these little pompons are growing on me.  The mix here of Waterlily, Ball and Pompon along with a semi-cactus provide some nice textural contrast.   1. I'm calling this Rip City here, but it isn't Rip City . ↩

Over the weekend, we went down to see our Fighting Illini take on the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference at Gies Memorial Stadium.  Despite the terrible outcome (feels like one of the worst losses in the Bret Bielema era, doesn't it?), this was the first time we were able to see - in person - the largest scoreboard in college sports.   That's how the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics and scoreboard company Daktronics bill it .   Heading into the game, we knew it was going to be BIG.  But...seeing it in person really *is* something.  It is...genuinely YUGE.  And, the team is doing some neat stuff with it in terms of engaging the fans.  I presumed it was going to be used for ALL ADS.  ALL THE TIME.  But, it really wasn't.  They also added some new boards around the stadium - above the students, along the West side.  And, under the overhang of the east side.  We sit on the east...

Yesterday, I posted what I labeled as "Part 1" of my compost turning process that I recently started in the far backyard of the garden.  I previously emptied the compost tumbler of finished compost (Black Gold) and then turned my attention to the three bins.  I emptied the 'finishing bin' and filled the tumbler.   Part two covers the next step: Upgrading the cedar panels in the third (finishing) bin to help retain the decomposing material inside the actual bin. I started upgrading the bins a few seasons ago.  In Fall 2024, I turned the bins and then installed some cedar fence boards to the interior of the third bin.  That was designed to try to retain more of the finished compost inside the fence panels.  Here's the post that shows those initial boards installed in the front face of the bin .   The boards worked, but I could use a few more to continue to hold back the organic material from pilling out the bin. I have some cedar boards laying...

A couple weeks ago, I posted photos and details of how I was emptying the compost tumbler of finished compost (black gold) and top-dressing the dahlias around the garden.  And, stashing piles of compost in beds that I'd like to improve after the growing season (like the pizza oven bed that is full of clay).   #14 on my 2026 to-do list is to be an active compost gardener.   To be that, I need to turn the bins.   For me, that's an annual process.  I do it in late Summer/Fall.   And, that process was something that I recently started.  This post will cover part one (not sure how many parts there will be) of that process.   First, let's start off with the state of play with the three bin setup.   Left = holding bin.  The freshest material.  Not properly mixed. Center = mixed bin.  Material that is (at least) one-year aged.  And (hopefully) properly mixed. Right = finishing bin.   Two-y...

They can't all be 'gardening wins', can they? Yesterday, I posted about how lovely the Talavera Moondust Coleus was doing in the corner patio bed in our backyard.  And, about a week ago, I posted an update on the Wizard Sun Red Velvet Coleus in our front yard Island Bed .  And remarked how its compact growing habit has been a nice surprise.   At the end of that post , I declared myself a Coleus fan.   Looking back at the [ coleus ] archives here on my [garden diary], I see a turning point where I began to plant coleus in mass plantings as a bedding plant.  And that's changed the way I use coleus.  Prior to 2024, I was tucking them into containers.  Shade containers, mostly.   But, once I began to 'get to know' coleus and learned about the difference between sun and shade-tolerant varieties , I started to experiment a little bit more.   That started with a Flame Thrower Coleus that I planted in a larger container and put o...

A few days ago, I posted an update on the 'compact' coleus (Wizard Sun Red Velvet Coleus) that I planted up front in the Island Bed in our front yard and talked about how my thinking on them has evolved as the Summer has gone on.  I initially was dissatisfied with their size, but after seeing them branch-out (a little bit), I've now come to the realization that their compact growing habit is a feature.  Not a bug.  Today is about celebrating another coleus that I've planted as a bedding plant:  Talavera Moondust Coleus that is planted in the corner bed by the patio.  I posted about this planting in early August when I declared they were doing: preeetay, preetay, preetay good .   Today, in early September, they're doing *even better*.  These have lived up to their billing as 'late flowering' and 'non-bolting' as I've only had to pinch off a few flower buds.   Last year, I declared the planting of some Inferno Coleus in this same spot a...