Why I Oughta...

Recently, I have been thinking one of the signature moments in Chicago's history:  The World's Columbian Exposition. The Chicago's World's Fair in 1893.  Plenty has been written about it , but it continues to be a source of fascination for plenty of people - including myself.   There are tons of posts/videos/thoughts about the architecture and the permanent/not-permanent nature of the structures.  The structures were built to be temporary.  That's why they're not around any longer.  (Aside from MSI).  That's interesting of itself.  But, If you look around online, you can also go deep on various kinds of something else 'temporary' related to the fair:  ephemera .  Brochures, photos, badges , coins and more.  I've written about Disney Parks ephemera before, as it continues to fascinate me, too.  In hunting around, I also came across this page on Wikipedia that features the "Official Seal of the World's Columbian Exp...

Mid-December, this Flamed Amadeus Amaryllis was sending up its first stem and flower .  By early January, it was in bloom .  After the bloom faded, I cut the whole thing back to the bulb.  So far, there has been no strap-y foliage emerge from the bulb.  But, a second stem has shot up.  And is now about a foot-tall.  Below is a look at the Flamed Amadeus bud.  We'll get flowers in a week or so, I suspect: Of the two we grew this year, this Flamed Amadeus Amaryllis is about three-weeks ahead of the Shine Dream.  Looks-wise, I prefer the Shine Dream.  Dare I say it is my favorite Amaryllis I've ever grown ?  But, this Flamed Amadeus is MUCH SHORTER and compact.  That's pretty nice.  The Shine Dream is VERY tall - despite using a little alcohol in the water mix.  

The last full-view of the hedge of Frans Fontaine Columnar (European) Hornbeam trees was in late Spring 2025 when they were leaf'ing out and creating that narrow, green screen.  I posted some photos this past Summer showing how I was pruning back some of the tips over the boardwalk on the side of our house - with this being the first *real* pruning I've ever done to them in eight years.   Over the years, these trees have been true to their reputation when it comes to 'holding their leaves'.  They're decidous trees, but thanks to the magic of foliar marcescence, Frans Fontaine Hornbeams typically hold onto their brown, dessicated leaves much longer than most trees around here.    Here's a post from November 2024 showing how the leaves were hanging on in Late Fall , well after everything else had dropped its canopy.  Here's a whole category of posts talking about the phenomenon of [ foliar marcescence ].   And, over the years, I've seen thes...

Trees and winter interest series continues with a pair of Spring Grove dwarf Ginkgo trees that are planted on either side of our back stoop.  These were the first two (of now three) dwarf Ginkgo trees in our garden and were planted in May 2023 .  They've had three full growing seasons in their spot and were replacements for some Rhododendrons that never really performed in these spots.   Over the years, I've posted about their small, green, fan-shaped foliage , how I've fed them/supplemented them with lime  and municipal biosolids  and admired their golden fall leaf drop .   The two trees are different - one having a lower main trunk and multiple branches with the other having a more traditional apical meristem.  But, they've both grown.  Quite a bit.  Here's a bare-naked post from December 2024 (13 months ago) to compare size .  Below is what they look like right now: One of my (recently posted) "Great Garden Rules is #8:...

A few days ago, I wrote about a pair of small Canadian Hemlock trees in our backyard and mentioned that a place where I could add another one of the unique trees (Conifer that grows in shade), might be the stumpery.   I first wrote about stumpery gardens in the Fall of 2023 when I came across (now) King Charles Stumpery at High Grove .  Upon learning about the idea, I immediately ran back to my pile of wood pieces and grabbed a few stumps and hauled them up to a spot closer to the house.  With those three small stumps, I created my own stumpery .    That first growing season, I planted a few ferns around the stumps.  Last year, I added a few more.   I put some Shredded Umbrella plants in the garden bed adjacent to the Stumpery , but figure that I should add some of those to this bed this year.   In January 2024, I first documented the "winter interest" in the stumpery .  I seem to have not posted any winter/snow-covered photos from 202...

Another entry into the recent [Winter Interest] category of the garden diary shows off a feature in our backyard garden:  a handsome pair of Greenspire Linden Trees that are trained into a four-tier horizontal cordon espalier.  There are eleven (11) Green Velvet Boxwoods planted the base of the two trees .   The photo below shows the current state of the dormant Linden trees and the boxwoods showing-up against the white Winter snow.  This is a vignette in our garden that is close to our house and patio and one that we can take-in during the months where we rarely venture outside in the back. A few things to note: 1.  The Lindens need a haircut.  The top-growth on the uppermost tier of the espalier has gone ham.   2.  Last Spring (March 2025), I took a photo showing this same shot but covered in a thin layer of snow .  Not sure it ever looked better.   3.  The boxwoods have grown.  They were planted as tiny 1-gal...