Why I Oughta...

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.

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.  

Last week, I posted my first [Priority Project] for 2026 that focused on replacing the Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are being destroyed each year by the (dang) rabbits.  These [Priority Posts] help me begin to formulate my annual yard-and-garden to-do list.  I've found (over the years) that I NEED to prioritize some key projects and keep a running list of goals so I have focus and accountability.  Otherwise...I tend to wander and get distracted. Today is a look at Priority Project #2: Expand and fix the edges of the front yard island bed.   Starting earlier this year, I posted an exploration of how I could expand the front yard island bed and then , after thinking (or... because of WRITING ABOUT IT ), I changed my mind and reconsidered some aspects including the orientation and number of curves .  I initially was thinking about attacking the project by GROWING the bed from the sidewalk-backwards towards the house.  I say 'attack' because I know myself and...

Earlier this week, I posted some photos and research on the dahlia tubers that are being sold at the big box hardware store near me .  I listed some of the stars (to me) and talked about what was appealing to me.  There was one more that I didn't talk about, but I ended up bringing home.  Actually...two more because this is a package of seven tubers in what they call the "Cherry Pie Blend".  They have the same listing over at TulipWorld that you can see here .  Below is the front of the package that shows a photo of the two different varieties, but....doesn't LIST THEM by name: The package, does however, provide some good information.  First...the hieght.  Says...40".  That's right in my target height range.   And the photo shows two different varieties.  One with light centers and dark undertones.  And the other with dark centers.  Very complimentary of each other, so I can see why they put these together in this 'blend'....

Spring clean-up is upon us in the garden.  And, it appears that I'm a bit later than last year in doing some of the early spots like the Hellebores.  Below is a close-up shot of what some of our Hellebores look like right now after removing some of the leaf litter that protected their crowns over Winter.  A really nice peek at the flower buds and new foliage that signals Springtime is here. Here, below, is a wider shot showing four colonies of Hellebores.  Three across the front with one tucked in by the picnic table (green) legs.   Here, below, is how they started with their previous season's foliage that needed clipping-off and the leaf litter pulled back.  This photo shows how much I 'left' the leaves.  (We had a super early Snow that hit and I pretty much stopped Fall clean-up earlier than I normally do last Fall, resulting in more leaf litter than I normally leave behind.) ' Here's a look at the area after cleaning up most of the dead foliage...

At the hardware store this past weekend, I came across their racks of Spring flowering bulbs that had the usual assortment of lilies, gladiolas, peonies and....the star(s) of the show:  dahlia tubers.  A huge number of them are Dinnerplate varieties, which I'm (for now) staying away from in favor of the smaller types like ball, decorative, pompon and even collarettes.   But, that doesn't mean the tuber selection isn't worth a once-over.  And, even a little bit of guided education on what they have and don't have for sale this season.   Here, below are a couple of photos showing a portion of their Spring bulbs - with a focus mostly on the non-dinnerplate dahlias.  (although...a few Dinnerplates snuck in here).   I'm still a beginner when it comes to growing dahlias, so everyone of these is new (to me).  I thought it might be a good learning experience to research a few of these to see what I can learn.  After searching for detai...