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Finishing The Pizza Oven Enclosure - Veneer Mortar Temperatures- March 2026

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I've recently posted about a number of [priority projects] for 2026 and (at the same time), I've been drafting my full 2026 to-do list.  That's typically 25 items that help keep me focused in the yard and garden.  One of the items near the top of that list is going to be:  finish up the pizza oven enclosure. Last week, I burned the first small fire in the oven for the season and talked about getting motivated to finish it.  A big part of that finishing is applying the exterior brick.  However, I need the temperatures to improve and stabilize before I can get busy.  Here's what the specifications sheet reads in terms of application temperatures: 50 degrees for 72 hours after application of the mortar.  According to *some* models , we should be hitting that 50-degree average right around early April.   Last Fall, I applied just a handful of bricks to the rear part of the structure - figuring I'd LEARN how to apply the bricks on the part of th...
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2026 Priority Project #3: Finish the Pizza Oven Bed "Garden Edit" - March 2026

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We're moving on to my #3 Priority project for 2026.   First one was to stop fighting nature (nature finds a way) with Oakleaf Hydrangeas . Second was to re-cut the edges of the front yard island bed .   Today, I'm posting the details of #3:  finishing a project that I started two years ago:  A Garden edit.   I wrote about this earlier this year and talked about how I relocated a colony of All Gold Hakonechloa Japanese Forest Grasses from around the tree swing tree and moved them to the other side of the yard.  I moved them right before I began excavation for the backyard pizza oven.  Now that the oven foundation is built out, I had the bed extended around it last year, creating a long empty border.   My plan has been to fill that border with a series of Hakonechloa Macra (straight variety) grasses .  Both from the Oak tree 'backwards' and 'forward'.   Here below is the area that needs to be populated: And here, b...
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Medusa Alliums Back For First Spring - Island Bed - March 2026

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I noticed some green peeking through the mulch up front, along the driveway in the Island Bed.  It seemed out of place and I immediately thought it might be a weed of some sort.  I've started to notice the Wild Onions starting to fire up  in the backyard and worried that somehow they had migrated up into the Island bed.   Then...I looked closer.  I saw this:  And, I saw a few more scattered around the same area: And, then I saw all five of them scattered along the driveway.  Two rows of two with one in front: And, I realized that these aren't weeds.  But, they're not wild onions.  But, they *are* onions. Last Summer, I planted five Medusa Alliums up there after buying them from Northwind Perennial Farm up in Wisconsin.   These didn't do exceptionally well last year and faded pretty early.  But, as a gardener, I'm learning that sometimes that happens in year one - when you plant a new perennial.  They don't thrive in ...
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Snowfall On the Linden Trees - Espalier - March 2026

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It wouldn't be mid/late March without an unexpected snowfall in the garden around here.  One of the best ways to see the structure of the pair of Greenspire Linden trees that have been trained into an espalier is when a light snow falls on the limbs.  Below is a look at the tree and the branches that now stretch out and touch each other in the middle. Compare this shot above to this post almost a year ago .   I pruned back the tips on the trees MUCH harder this year it seems. Here is a post from January of 2022 - four years ago - that REALLY shows how much these trees have grown in that time.  The trunks, in particular, have thicken'ed up as has the top branch.  The lower limbs have grown out, but are still the thin(est) of the group. The Boxwoods also continue to grow in size, despite being in deep shade.  
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Allium Foliage Pops Up- March 2026

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A mix of Drumstick and Christophii allium foliage has appeared in some spots around the garden.  Note to self:  get back to planting Fall bulbs this year.  Something I haven't done in a few years.  The thinner, whisp-ier foliage are from Drumstick Allium that seem to grow each year.  Especially IB2DWs.  I've written about how I like they way they look in the garden, so I should remind myself of this post when I fill up my Fall bulb cart later this year.  
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Signs of Early Life on Climbing Hydrangea - March 2026

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Last year, I planted my second Climbing Hydrangea in the backyard.  The f irst one didn't make it (was planted back by the firepit), but I liked the idea of the flowering vine, so I tried again.  I bought it at the Morton Arboretum plant sale and planted it in front of a clump of River Birch that was in declining (pretty sure it has died).   Because this one is planted in what I'll call a "watering zone", it has a higher-chance of succeeding because I'll pay more attention to it naturally.   But, that doesn't mean the (dang) rabbits aren't going to destroy this climbing vine.  However...it appears that we have a tiny sign of Spring emerging from the crown of this plant.  See below for a peek at the tiny-ist green vine emerging from the soil: Another day, another sign of Spring.  I need to GET GOING on my to-do list.  Eeek.
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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Spreading Hardwood Ash on Clay Soil - March 2026

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The pizza oven bed that I created last year is full of heavy, hard-to-drain clay soil.  While, it may not be a perfect solve, I still laid down a patch of firewood ash (hardwoods only) on top of the mulch after I cleaned up the screened door fireplace for the season.   I've done this in the past like here in January 2024 and typically spread the ash around to different spots in our garden or just dump the bucket into the compost bin in the far back of the yard.   Here, below, is the ash on the pizza oven bed: I need to lay down some organic material on this bed in the next few weeks ahead of planting dahlias here to give them a better shot at success.   The other thing I've done that involves ash is doing some small in-place burns with my mini torch.  I'll get out there and do some of these around the beds, too.  
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Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA
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