Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I shared a look at the long, thin and pink-tipped Spring buds on the lone Pagoda Dogwood tree in our backyard.   A little further back in the yard - behind the Yew Hedge - is one of the Doublefile Viburnum tree-form shrubs that we have in our backyard.   In April 2022, I planted this one (and a few others), so it has had two full growing seasons (2022 and 2023) and is now back for its third growing season.   It has burst its buds and is a little bit ahead of most things in the garden.  Below, is a look at the green tips that have arrived on this treeform Doublefile Viburnum in Zone 6a:

I planted a small, native dogwood - a Pagoda Dogwood - that I bought at a local plant sale back in October of 2021 .   I put it back by the firepit area, in front of the Yew hedge, and left it alone for couple of years.  It was small and I wasn't sure how it was going to grow, so no pruning was done until last Summer ( June 2023) when I took back all the lower branches to just a few pairs of leaves.  The goal was to get it to focus a bit more on the taller/higher section and begin to take on a more tree-form shape (vs a shrub with low, wide branching).   I was out in the garden today taking an inventory and noticed that the Pagoda Dogwood has produced long, thin buds that are beginning to burst.  See below for the current state at the end of March 2024: This tree puts out a lovely-looking foliage - here's last Summer's view of the lined, almost-ribbed leaves that emerge out of these buds . According to the Morton Aboretum, this will eventually get up ...

I last added ten (10) bags of gravel to the excavated wood-fired pizza oven construction site to begin to level the area.  As a reminder, this is being built on-top of our drywell, so this gravel layer is an extra insurance policy for drainage below the slab in hopes of avoiding heaving.  When I added the ten bags, I noted that I thought I'd need another round of gravel to finish the project.  Before heading to the store, I eye-balled the site and decided that I needed a bit more material on the western edge of the site.  Thanks to a sale, I decided to add six (6) bags of River Rock to that side.  Thinking that the larger size of the rocks would fill in the deeper portion of the dig - that part is going to *mostly* be outside the footprint of the foundation.   Here's the site after six bags of river rock added to the left side (note the different color): Below is the Menards item # for the River Rock - 180-2006.  Normally priced $3.49 per bag, it ...

Earlier in March, I posted the details of a partial project in our front-porch bed that included the application of some cardboard to smother turfgrass that has crept into the bed .  I laid down cardboard, the topped with with a mix of clay, topsoil and biosolids.  I still need to finish the rest of that bed. But, in the meantime, I also applied the same treatment to a couple of spots in the expanded IB2DWs bed.  Last Fall, I carved out some new beds and removed SOME turf.  Turns out, I left behind A LOT of it, so...cardboard was the play here.   I did this in two spots - closer to the Bald Cypress - 'above' the first Baby Blue Spruce.  Then, again, closer to the sidewalk by the other Baby Blue Spruce tree.   Below are a some photos showing the post-cardboard + top soil + biosolids application.  There's still more grass to smother in this bed, but this is a good start: I used topsoil, clay and then a big batch of biosolids.  In an a...

Each Spring and Fall in our neighborhood, if you pay attention, you'll hear the croaking that comes with the bi-annual migration of Sandhill Cranes .  They seem to fly right over our block each Fall (on their way south) and Spring (on their way back north).  Sandhill Cranes fly HIGH in the sky and in weird, sometimes-swirling patterns.   I saw them over the weekend.  Turn up your audio and have a look at their northern migration over the Western Chicago suburbs in mid-March 2024: Here is a link to a similar video of the same flight north last year in 2023 .

As part of my 2023 "Fall Planting" spring, I added a number of sedum groundcovers in a few spots of our garden.  Three of those sedums were named Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' - with one of them going in the front porch bed along the south property line and two of them down in the 'hard to grow' section of the IB2DWs (extended) bed by the sidewalk .  They were big plants when they went in, but I wasn't sure how they'd do after being planted so late in the season.  Not to mention...the (dang!) rabbits were happy to gnaw on their green, succulent-like foliage all Winter.   When the snow melted, there wasn't much of the plants there.  But, fast forward to today in Mid-March, and here, below is what that little bed (right up against the sidewalk) looks like.  Tulips to the right side and turfgrass to the left.  In between?  Those variegated sedums: Below is a close-up photo of one of the sedums showing their new 2024 growing season growth: I'm...

This past Winter, I identified that we were experiencing some 'sinking' in the gravel walkway on the side of our house .  I put it together using Bluestone Chips and some metal edging, but starting last year, I noticed that the 'level' of gravel seemed to be going DOWN with time.  Looking back, when I installed the path in 2021, I went pretty 'thin' with the Bluestone chips on the path - because I used MOST of them back by the firepit.   Last Summer, I made a couple of trips to the landscape supply yard and brought home 50 gallons of stone that I applied to the firepit area and the side path.  I thought that'd be enough to raise the level of the stone.  But, alas...it still felt like it was sinking. So, fixing this 'sinking' gravel on the path is something I want to take-on in 2024.  I even included it in my 'early look' at 2024 projects .    There are a number of (potential) methods that one could use to try to keep the gravel from sinking ...

Last year, I planted a number of Seslaria Autumnalis (Autumn Moor Grasses) in our front porch beds that I picked up from Roy Diblik's Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin.  They did REALLY well in their first year - so well, in fact - that I decided to roll-the-dice and divide a couple of them in their FIRST Fall in the garden.  I divided three of them and planted the three new divisions in the backyard - around the tree-swing Oak tree .    Some of my other Fall Divisions dealt with some 'heaving' and I'm not sure if they're going to make it.  But, these three Moor Grasses?  See below - they appear to be putting on green blades for their second growing season: These are inter-planted with some Summer Beauty Allium that are planted closer to the border.  And, what appears to be some to-be-determined Allium bulbs (based on the foliage) closer to the trunk of the tree.   My plan is to (likely) divide a few more of the Moor Grasses in front, bu...

Last May, I planted a pair of Brookside Geraniums in the square beds on either side of our backstoop along with a pair of Spring Grove Ginkgos .  These geraniums were from the Morton Sale and I tucked them into the back of the little beds.  A month-after-planting, I looked-back-in on the planting and they were doing well - and in bloom by the end of June .   That meant that this past Winter was their FIRST Winter - and I didn't have any data on their reemergence.  We can now add these to the [garden diary] showing the Brookside Geranium foliage comes up in a small, dark-green clump in mid-March.    You can see the current state of this Brookside Geranium below: Last year, these sort-of 'spilled' out one side of the bed and didn't spread very much.  Perhaps this will be the year that these will fill-out a little more.  

This past season, I opted for a different method of winter crown protection for our Disneyland Roses (Floribunda Roses) than I've used in previous years.  In each of the past few Falls, I have set up a ring of chicken wire and filled it with chopped-up fallen tree leaves to serve as insulation on the crown of the rose bush.  This year, I opted for mounding of biosolids .  A 'hilling up' in the traditional way, but using municipal biosolids vs something like compost.  As Winter started to fade away, I went out and inspected the roses and discovered a good part of the canes were still green - so that means that the combination of a mild Winter, their protected location and the mounding of biosolids did their job.   That also meant that it was time to get out there and do an annual pruning of the roses - part of my 'seasonal tasks' that I keep-up on in each of my annual to-do lists. (This year will be no different.) I've done this each of the past-few late Win...

Last year, I discovered that our Serendipity Alliums were out-performing our Summer Beauty Alliums in terms of bloom time and WHEN they bloomed ( Serendipity bloomed later ).   I've added a number of Summer Beauty via divisions over the years, but I had - until last Fall - not divided the pair of Serendipity Alliums that were IB2DWs.   I originally planted three of them the middle of the Summer 2021, but only two survived.  (Should have known planting a new perennial in the heat of Summer was unwise.) Last Fall, I took the two existing clumps and divided them up into five plants.  From two-to-five = net of three new plants .  This Spring, all five have come back - for now.  Below is a look at the three in the original IB2DWs bed - close to the driveway: And below is a look at the other two - in the new conifer garden - they can be seen on the left side of the photo.   I'm thinking that I'll see how these do and perhaps in next year, we'l...

I planted a trio of Green Gem Boxwoods in the backyard in Fall of 2021 .  That feels like an eternity ago, doesn't it?  They've had two full growing seasons (2022, 2023) and are headed into their third (2024).  They went in as tiny, one-gallon pots that were 50% off (my favorite price).   Looking back at their initial size, they've put on some good growth over the years, but they're certainly NOT mature just yet.  This post talks about them being more dwarf in size - topping out at two-to-three-foot balls .   Here's what they looked like last Fall - October 2023 - when I remarked that they had filled out.   I was out in the yard this week and noticed that one of these Green Gem evergreen shrubs took on some Winter damage.  Dry, brown tips that appear to have died-back with the cold temperatures.  See below for a look at the winter burn/winter damage: Over the Winter,  I decided to pull a couple of boulders closer to the f...

2024 is the year when I need to continue to remind myself to get more comfortable with flowers.  By that, I mean...I'm a gardener.  But, I'm a foliage gardener.  Because of my full-shade backyard, I've opted for focusing on foliage gardens - ferns, astilbes, shrubs, trees.   Last Fall, I bought a couple of late-season flowering perennials and decided that I needed to do more - specifically in the new IB2DWs (extended) bed that is a conifer garden.  At the end of last growing season (2023), I ran through my normal 'to-do list' grades, but I also wrote up some 'lessons learned' that included 10 things that I wanted to keep in mind including #6 :   6. Flowers continue to be a little bit outside my comfort zone. Change that. I started this Fall, but plenty more room to grow/go. Countertop arrangements need flowers. Try some dahlias, too. I've started down that path - at least in theory.   Back in December, I ordered some Dahlia tubers ...

Just yesterday, I posted a photo showing some of the new red tips of peonies that had emerged from the mulch beds (in this case...a biosolid-top-dressed bed) and talked about how they were a sign of Spring.  But, the peonies aren't the ONLY red-tipped perennial that has arrived for the year: some of our Fanal Astilbes that are planted in our backyard shade garden are making their way out of the mulch to begin their annual foliage show.  Below, is a photo of the Fanal Astilbe that is planted at the furthest East-end of the row of these shade-tolerant perennials: I started with a dozen of these Fanal Astilbes planted in the backyard in 2020 along the south border and have moved them a few times.   By last Summer, these were thick, full and happy - so I put them on my Fall Dividing list.   And, I was able to dig-up and divide four of them - creating four new 'free plants' that I planted on the other side of the yard in a hosta-replacement project . ...

Over the years, we've had a tough go-of-it with peonies in our yard.  I suppose you can say that we were totally spoiled when we lived in Elmhurst.  We had a number of peony plants that were very productive.  But, in Downers?  Not a lot of luck.   I have long suspect that was a result of too-much shade, so that lead me to a number of years of moving them around.  From the far back to near(er) to the house.  And then, in 2022, I moved a couple of them out to the IB2DWS bed.   And guess what happened?  We got our first peony bloom in 2023.   Or, should I say 'blooms'.  The IB2DWs peony produced a number of blooms.  And, so too, did the ones by our curved-kitchen-window bed .   Each year, they emerge in late Winter/early Spring with their redish-purple tips.  Here's the 2023 version when they showed-up in early April .   Last year, because of the production, I decided to leave them as they w...

It is (barely) Mid-March and I'm ALREADY seeing our Saucer Magnolia tree (multi-trunk) in our front yard dotted with signs of pink petals that have begun to emerge from their wooly shells after a long Winter's nap.   What is MOST striking about this is the timing:  a full month ahead of 2023.  Here's a post from April 12, 2023 that shows the pink flowers at the same state they're currently in - photos below. 2023's bloom-time of mid-April was (mostly) in-line with historicals.  2022 saw the tree in peak-bloom in late April .   2024 - (so far) flowers emerged in mid-March 2023 - Mid-April peak-Magnolia bloom 2022 - Late-April 2022:  Peak-Magnolia at end of month 2021 - Mid-April 2021 : In bloom by mid-month (April). 2020 - Early April 2020 : Blooms began the first week of April. 2019 - The tree did NOT bloom at all. 2018 - Early May 2018 : Didn't bloom until early/mid May 2018. This tree was planted in 2017 , so this make it the eighth growing se...

The last progress-report on our backyard pizza oven was earlier in March when I showed the cut-down concrete slab framing pieces (2x6's) that I cut to the final dimension s (Slab: 78" wide, 86" deep. 6.5' wide, 7'2" deep. Stand: 72 wide, 80 deep - 4.5 blocks wide, 5 blocks deep).  In that post, I talked about the next step is to fill the excavated cavity with gravel ahead of the rest of the slab prep. I went over to Menards and picked up 10 0.5 cubic foot bags of their multi-purpose gravel.  Each bag is supposed to cover about six square feet.  I wasn't sure how far these ten bags would go, but I figured that was about the limit that I wanted to push my car weight-wise.   I brought the ten bags home and hauled them (one-by-one) to the site and piled them up: Opening each bag and spreading it out, I quickly discovered that I was FAR short of the amount of gravel that I REALLY needed to complete the project.  Below, is what the site looks like after ten ha...

Just about a month ago (mid-February), I gave the pair of SugarTyme Crabapple trees a dormant pruning to remove some waterspouts, shorten the length of some branching and clean the two trees up .  They're being trained in espalier into (what I hope to become) a Palmette Verrier.  In looking around the yard, it appears that these two trees are the furthest ahead and have leaves opening up from the buds all along the branching.  See below for the current state of the tiny, green foliage: This *should* be the growing season when I can begin to 'turn up' the tips of a couple of these layers to begin to form the Palmette Verrier espalier shape.  If you go to this post (and scroll down), you can see what I'm thinking for shape .  Of note....these two Sugar Tyme crabapple trees are south-facing and are COMPLETELY protected from any northern cold fronts.  They're right up against the house - a white house - that reflects the sun's heat.  I suspect that the pla...

Just a week ago, I spotted some issues in the corner of our front porch bed .  It is a low-spot and because of that was taking on some water from the downspouts.  But, the front part of that bed was also showing some signs of turf coming back.  This was a small extension that I carved out of the lawn last year.  And...it turns out...I must not have pulled out/dug out all of the turf.   I decided to kill-two-birds in this project.  (Well...half of a project since I didn't have enough materials to finish it.) First, I laid down some cardboard to smother the grass.  I cut holes for the handful of tulips in the area, then spread out some thick, unpainted cardboard on top of the turf.  I then went back to the pile of topsoil and clay that I excavated from the Pizza Oven foundation and spread that on top of the cardboard.   I started by the property-line edge and went north.  Below are a few photos showing the progress - first with ...

I planted a lone Lemony Lace Elderberry (from Proven Winners) late in the season of Fall 2022.  It was bought at the end-of-season sale at the Growing Place and came back for the first time last Spring.  Here's a post showing the purple buds on the shrub in April 2023 .    Last year, I planted another pair of elderberry shrubs - this time they were dark-foliage Eiffel Tower varieties .   The Lemony Lace Elderberry has BRIGHT green foliage that resembles a finely dissected Japanese Maple.  It is also supposed to flower.  This one with big, white blooms that arrive before the foliage.  But, I didn't seen any blooms in the first growing season.  Maybe we will this year?   That's what happened with the treeform Doublefile Viburnum shrubs.  Planted in Spring of 222 and didn't flower that first year.  But, when they came back for their second growing season (2023), they put out a lovely set of large, white blooms . ...

The varmint (or varmints) that live under our back stoop have come back (or...more accurately) have come OUT of hibernation for the Winter from under our back stoop.  How do I know?  There's telltale signs - including a couple of entry/exit holes along with piled-up gravel and half-eaten walnuts and black walnut shells.  See below for a top-down view of the dang(!) chipmunk hole right next to our stoop: I wasn't sure if he was eaten by a predator last Fall, but turns out he was just hibernating.  From Nat Geo kids : Chipmunks hibernate in cold weather, which means they spend most of the winter sleeping in their dens. One chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in a day. In just two days, a chipmunk can collect enough food to last an entire winter, although chipmunks typically hoard much more food than necessary. Now...I have to figure out what to do about him.  I REALLY don't want to have to deal with him, but need him to move along.  Before he starts a family...

Resist the lure of the big box nursery store.  That's something that I'm trying to live-by this Spring.  And, something I'll need to remind myself when it comes to containers.  The past few years, I've picked up some bedding annuals from the orange big box store.  Same with some of the plants that go into our various containers.  One of those has been coleus.  I've used it in containers - but not as a bedding plant where I've installed it as an annual in mass.   Here's a post about our large, rectangular front porch container from the 2021 season that includes some two-toned coleus .   Over the years, I've admired coleus as a bedding plant in some municipal applications (like in large, island beds in Downtown Downers Grove) where they've planted one variety in mass.   I also have come back a few times to this garden tour on the S&K Greenhouse YouTube Channel where Justin (the S&K Nursery guy) visits the home garden of B...

I came across this TikTok where this professional gardener was talking about a shade container she was putting together and it caught my attention.  It features a long, rectangular container that is very similar to the one we have our on front porch .  I've tried that container a number of ways and have never been thrilled with it over the years.   Carmen Johnston Gardens shows a dead-simple approach: @carmenjohnstongardens Party ready for the SHADE ♬ original sound - Carmen Johnston Here's a screenshot from that very TikTok (in case it disappears and the embed stops working: Source Now...I won't do the blue hydrangeas.  But, the simplicity of a large fern in the middle, flanked by white begonias on either end and the white Caladiums in front seem like something we could do.  Add some sort of cascading item to replace the hydrangeas and we have a winner.    

The tulip bulbs that are planted (somewhat randomly) around the bed behind the large Northern Red Oak tree (Tree Swing Tree) have emerged for the year.  These are purple and yellow and white flowers that live amongst hostas, ferns and grasses.   And...wild onion.    Here's a couple of photos (below) that show the location of the bulbs - they're *mostly* scattered behind the tree trunk in the bed.

Last Summer (June), I extended and (attempted) to clean up the front edge of our 'front porch bed' along the south property line .  The edge had been creeping 'inward' over the years, so I decided to use a shovel to remove as much of the grass as I could, carve off a clean edge and sort-of 'extend' the swoop of that bed a little bit into the lawn.    If you look back at the photos in this post , you'll see a nice, grass-free edge that I planted with bedding plants ( dwarf, French Marigolds ) and Dusty Millers .   By September, the dwarf (French) Marigolds took off and filled in the new border.  They looked great and were thick/full of oranges, reds and yellows .  Behind those annuals went a colony of Summer Beauty Alliums .  Backed by some small Green Velvet Boxwoods to extend the existing short hedge of boxwoods.   All was good last year.   This year, I've already started to clean up this bed - cutting down grasses and rakin...

Over the weekend, I went out and picked up four 2x6x8 boards and brought them home to begin to figure out if I've done enough excavation for our wood-fired pizza oven project.  I've been using a tape measure to figure out how much I needed to remove and if my dig was large enough to support the slab framing - along with the necessary bracing.  But, that's an imperfect science, so I decided to just go out and cut the lumber down to the final dimensions and place them in the hole to see - without guessing - if I've excavated enough. As a reminder - mostly to myself - my final dimensions are based on 8x8x16 construction blocks:  Slab: 78" wide, 86" deep. 6.5' wide, 7'2" deep). Stand: 72 wide, 80 deep (4.5 blocks wide, 5 blocks deep) Leaving reveal of 6" total both dimensions. 3" all ways. This allows for 2" face brick and a 1" reveal. I cut the two side pieces of the frame to be 86" and the front/back to be 81" (to acco...