Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of some tulip foliage that has begun to peek thru the mulch layer in the IB2DWs bed (down by the sidewalk) and talked about how tulips are (despite the dwindling numbers) are a happy sign of Spring in our garden.  Today, posting a photo showing another sign of the coming Spring.  This also features some red-tinted color, but is not another tulip.   Back in Fall of 2023, I planted a few Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' around the garden including two small pint-sized containers down by the sidewalk IB2Dws.  I've long described the section of our garden closest to the sidewalk as "hard to grow" because of the poor soil conditions (lots of gravel from the driveway, as well as dry conditions with even more gravel due to one of the drywells dug out there).  And, I planted a few things that never took down there.  Until, I moved on to trying sedums.   They came back in their first Spring and I was pleasantly surprised...

If you look hard enough around parts of our garden, you'll see some strong signs of Spring.  Including these purple tulip foliage tips that have popped up from the mulch down by the sidewalk IB2DWs.  I've posted about the various tulip bulb tips emerging in late Winter/early Spring over the years including in early February 2025 (last year) .  In 2024, they were up in early January (it was a mild Winter).   I haven't planted tulip bulbs in years, so the numbers continue to dwindle, but I still like seeing these pop up as a reminder of what is to come in the garden.  

With the weather warming up this past weekend, I was able to get out and do a tiny bit of dormant pruning around the garden.  I started with one of the two Greenspire Lindens that are planted near the house, along the south fence line.  They're currently trained into a four-tier horizontal cordon espalier and each season they show A TON of top growth that needs to be pruned back in late Winter.   Over the years, I've learned (just a little bit) about the best way to handle some of this task and I've modified how I've approached the task.  Some years, I take more off the limbs, some years less.  I seem to have settled on leaving limbs with two buds and cutting back the rest.   I posted some thoughts on these trees just two weeks ago and showed the current state of them with all their 2025 top-growth .  In that post, I talked about how I pruned them back in March 2025 and said that I wanted to get them done earlier.  Good news, Jake. ...

We have three Emperor 1 Japanese Maples in our backyard.  Acer palmatum Emperor 1.  The largest one is back by the firepit with a couple of smaller ones closer to the house.  They all were her during the Cicada swarm of 2024 and all suffered some damage from them.  The largest tree (by the firepit) suffered the most and has been set-back pretty sizeably.   The 3rd-to-be-planted is also the smallest one.  It is about half-way back on the north side.  It went in the ground in 2024 (Cicada year) and I protected it with some fabric .  That didn't completely protect the tree from the slits from cicadas and the top-part died-back.     But, that white tulle wasn't the only protection that I set up for this small Japanese Maple.  I also have left-up a ring of Chicken Wire around the tree, in an attempt to keep the (dang!) rabbits away from killing this tree in Winter.  That has...somewhat worked.  But, it hasn't stopped ...

Here is a look at a pair of SugarTyme Crabapple flowering trees that are (now, seemingly established) in their spot on the southside wall of our house.   These were first planted in Fall of 2021 , they've (now) had four full growing seasons in the ground ('22, '23, '24, '25) and all but ONE of the eight limbs in the four-tier pair has extended out.  The missing limb is on the tree on the left, the lower right branch.    I last  posted a photo of these trees when they were loaded full of foliage in late October 2025 .  At that time, it was showing the curls on the tips of the limbs. Curling downward.  I wrote this: Of note, late Winter pruning and support with stakes is something I should put on my list of tasks. The tips of the limbs are arching down due to the weight of the crabapples and foliage. Still...these look really good and are providing a great view against the large expanse of white Hardieboard siding. Winter pruning and support....

Yesterday, I posted photos of the Oregon Green Austrian Pine tree in our front yard .  That is one of two conifers that have been planted in the past few seasons as small trees up in front.  The other one is a Skylands Spruce tree - Picea orientalis 'Skylands'.  This was planted in Fall of 2024 in the front yard 'island bed' and looking at the photos, it came right behind the small (dwarf) Spring Grove Ginkgo and the Northern Glow Korean Maple that were already in place up there.   Interesting to note that both this Skylands Spruce and the Oregon Green Pine went in the ground the same week in October 2024 .  (Good week in the garden, huh?) This tree, too, has put on some growth, but not a massive amount during its first full growing season of 2025.   The Skylands Spruce is noted for the color of its needles - bright lime/yellow-green new growth that hangs around most of the year.   And, that includes Winter.   Here, below, ...