Early 2022 Yard and Garden To-Do Musings - December 2021

Just a couple of weeks ago, I posted a scorecard from my 2021 Yard and Garden To-Do List and (after grading on a curve), gave myself a solid B on the report card.  Did I get everything done on the list?  Nope.  Just 17.5 of the 25 completed.  2 of the 25 semi-completed.  And 5.5 (more than 20%) incomplete.

What were the 5.5 that didn't get done?

1. Stain patio container (the half one)
2. Do more bonsai (combined)
3. Figure out small tool storage and build something (combined)
4. Keep going to mulch pit for wood chips and bio solids.

So, let's call those the first four of potential 2022 to-do items.

What could the other 21 look like?  A good place to start are the various posts that I've already tagged in my potential 2022 list and my running list of 2022 plant 'wish list' items.  Those are full of quite a bit of random thoughts, ideas and concepts that I didn't want to lose based on this season's experience and garden diary.  There's way more than 21 items, so I'm thinking I should start to combine a few into bigger categories this year.  There are some 'big picture' items that should be included that don't have specifics and others that are *very* specific to a plant or tree or area.  

Let's begin with some musings.  Will we get to 21?  Not sure.  At least until I get to the bottom.

5.  Focus on a four-season garden.  Come late Fall, our backyard mostly goes to sleep.  The Autumn Ferns this season were a revelation.   I meant to plant some Lenten Rose this year, but didn't get to it.  Working to find some new additions that have Winter interest is one part of it for sure.  But so might be thinking about Spring ephemerals. 

6.  Take the next steps on espalier and pleached trees.  Work the Lindens.  Remove the frames.  Set up some frames to pleach the London Planetrees.  Add another one (maybe?).  Wire up the crabapples on the south side of the house.  Replace the crabs/apples in the Belgian Fence.  Frame up the top, too.   Although it isn't traditional espalier, I want to wire up the hops vine we have to allow it to grow vertically. 

7.  Bite the bullet and kill all the Poa in the backyard and do a full lawn renovation with the back-half of the lawn.  Also, overseed the KBG with Tall Fescue in the front-half.  

8.  Get going on shrubs.  I planted two Viburnum this year.  But, Priority Area 2 from last year calls for even more.  I have a hydrangea up front to replace. Buy some more small Hicks Yews when they're on sale.  And should think about watering those differently.  And, revisit the mulch problem - with hydrophobic mulch.

9.  Enhance the ib2dw area with enlarged beds, a few more grasses and likely more turf removal. 

10.  Divide even more grasses, hostas and heucheras.  I did a bunch this year, but there's way more to continue to do.  

11.  Fall in love with groundcover.  That means buying even more sedges, toad lilies, moneywort, lungwort and barrenwort.  If I don't add two dozen sedges this year, it will be a miss.

12.  Continue down the native tree path with seedlings.  Kentucky Coffee trees.  Catalpas, too. 

13.  Expand the proof-of-concept with the Disney twinkle lights and add them to a few more Hornbeam trees before they leaf out in Spring.  

14.  Composting continues.  Use the alfalfa cubes again to speed things up.  Revisit the frames and the 2 bin, one tumbler system. 

15.  Expand my use of tropicals and sub-tropicals in the garden.  In the ground.  In containers, too. 

16.  Live that foliage gardener life, but don't forget to revisit inspiration photos like this one showing a little color even in the shade.  

17.  Just do it:  build or buy or install a water feature.  Also, do something with the patio borders besides the transplanted grasses. 

18.  I've found a lot of joy in a couple of house plants:  my Mickey topiary.  And my Staghorn fern.  Think about adding one of each this growing season.  I had them both outside in different areas (Staghorn on the front porch in the shade, Creeping Fig Vine topiary in the back in part Sun), so I want to think about both places when I add more containers/house plants.  

19.  Like I have the lawn, establish a shrub, tree and flower feeding and treatment schedule.  I have Davey feeding the trees, but I want to ensure I get the rose feeding and aphid treating done right.  

So, that gets me (for now) to 19 ideas that *might* make a 2022 list.  That's a good start, right?  

There are a bunch of other things that are bouncing around my brain that I've thought about, but not sure if they're worth including:  working the beds with weeds in a better way, build a shed, process the firewood, build some landscape stairs, plant a small parkway tree, plant more front-yard trees in general as understory trees, remove the turf on the southside sideyard, collect walnuts again for even more stain, add a walking path to the firepit, add to our bird feeding setup, document all of our trees in the tree diary including new caliper readings, find interesting hostas to add, buy markers for trees, shape my boxwoods and up my container game in general.  

There certainly seem like there are 25 items here - either by breaking apart some of the existing list or by adding a from my other L O N G, rambling list of potential items above.

I usually try to get my annual list baked by late Winter, so I'll revisit this in late in a few months.