Why I Oughta...

After bending and installing the rebar, reinforcing grid and vapor barrier , it was now time to pour the foundation slab for our diy backyard wood-fired pizza oven.   As I posted about last week, I shrunk the foundation slab down to be 72" wide and 80" front-to-back.  It is 5.5" thick (2x6's for concrete forms).   This is sitting on top of six inches of 1/2" compacted gravel and a 48" deep of large rock drywell.   I used an online concrete estimating calculator tool and when you put those dimensions in, it says that I needed 42 60# bags.    I have to pour two slabs - this foundation slab and then, once I build the stand, an insulated hearth.  Each approximately the same size.   When adding those two up, I ordered 85 60# bags and had them delivered.  I opted for 4000 PSI concrete - as a little bit of an upgrade over the baseline concrete. Knowing that the labor involved in this pour is in two parts, I opted to split them up:  first...hauling the concrete

This post deposits two things into the [garden diary]:   the loss of a Japanese Maple and the planting of a different one.  First, the loss.  Last Summer, I planted a 2-gallon Japanese Maple that was mis-marked.  It was labeled as an Emperor 1, but was had dissectum or laceleaf foliage .  I marked it as an 'unknown' Japanese Maple - likely a Takukeyama.  That tree was purchased on May 12, 2023, so I had a decision to make.  By May 11th (this past weekend), the tree was not leaf'ing out.  The scratch test showed that the trunk was still alive, but no buds had opened up.  With the one-year warranty running out, I opted to yank it out and get the store credit.   This marks the second loss of trees this year - the first being the Silver Maple that I removed earlier this Spring .  Two trees lost, zero planted.  But, that is about to change thanks to the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale.  A few days ago, I posted about the Sun King Golden Japanese Spikenard (Aralia) that I picked up a

 The sign at the Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale reads:  2020 Perennial Plant of the Year!  A unique addition to your shade garden.  'Sun King' emerges mid-spring with bright gold leaves and reddish brown stems.   In heavier shade, the foliage ranges from chartreuse to lime green.  A hardy, tropical looking beauty that brightens up the shade.   It gets 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide.   I've been thinking about Sun King Aralia for a couple years and I finally pulled the trigger and bought six of them for our backyard garden.   Here's a listing from Proven Winners that describes Sun King : A unique golden-leafed plant for the shade. The color will be brighter yellow in part sun, and more chartreuse or lime green in full shade. Tiny white flowers. After blooming, deep purplish black, inedible berries. Here's the plant tag below: And, here below is a look at the plant in the nursery pot: These are going into a 'Garden Edit' in the backyard and will be part of

We have three Doublefile Viburnums that are grafted tree-form in shape in our backyard.  Two along the north fence line, one on the far west (far back) by the firepit.  I planted these in Spring of 2022 , making this their third growing season.  These have emerged earlier than last year (2023 - their first Spring) and I suspect the warmer, earlier Spring accounts for that earlier wake-up.  Last year, at the beginning of May, these were *just* leafing out .  This year, they're ALREADY blooming in that first full week of May.  This post is on May 12th, but I took these photos a few days ago when the shrubs were in full-boom.   They bud'ed out in March this year .  And now flowered in May.  They've put on some size - both height and width and are growing into their screening-purpose.    Last year, I posted photos of these blooms in mid-May .  So, these are about two-weeks ahead of 2023.   Below are some photos - first showing the top of the tree-form shrub.  Then, a look at th

Last week, I ran through the details of the final dimensions of our backyard wood-fired pizza oven including the reinforced slab, the block stand and the insulated hearth.  I had been thinking of a 39" diameter oven and after looking through the actual dimensions of the block stand (less than 16" per block), I've settled on these final dimensions: Reinforced foundation slab: 72" wide x 80" deep. Stand: 4 blocks wide x 4.5 blocks deep - 62.5" wide x 70.312" deep. Hearth: Same as stand.  Framed with 2x6 dimensional lumber. Oven: 39" interior, 51" exterior side-to-side x 64" front-to-back. The first major task is to pour the foundation slab.  The steps to get that done include: Excavate the site Lay down 1/2" gravel and compact the base Think about drainage on/around the foundation slab  Set up the forms and stake them level and square Buy the material (concrete, rebar, cinder blocks, angle iron) Lay down a 6 mil vapor barrier In

Some of our conifers are putting on a two-toned needle show right now.  The new growth on both our Weeping White Spruce and Weeping Norway Spruce emerge in a neon-green color that contrasts with the older, darker-green needles on the main part of the trees.  The new growth brightens up the garden and makes the trees standout a little bit. Below are a couple of photos - first one of the Weeping Norway Spruce that is planted IB2DWs.  There are two of these that went in last Fall, but the one in the photo is the tree that is planted closer to the house than the sidewalk .    And, the second photo is the Weeping White Spruce that lost its leader a number of years ago and has NOT grown up at all.    Here's a post from early June 2023 that shows this same Weeping White Spruce tree with big, blue-ish swollen tips of new needles after the flush grew out.   I mentioned that this tree lost its leader and it hasn't grown at all height-wise for a few years, but now that I'm looking at

I'm posting this on May 9th, but these photos date back to May 1st - when I applied the first (monthly) treatment of rose fertilizer and systemic insect treatment.  I have just three Disneyland Roses left after the three that were planted last year failed to survive the Winter.  Roses are 'heavy eaters', so I try to feed them once a month.  I figure...there's no better day than the first of the month to feed them, right?   Below are a couple of photos - first showing the granules that I tossed around the base of the roses.  And then, below, a photo of the container showing the 2-in-1 product:

Last Summer, I added eleven Green Velvet Boxwoods (1# size) at the feet of the horizontal cordon espalier Green spire Linden trees in our backyard - up against the fence.  I bought them small, due to the cost of adding so many of them in one spot and they didn't take up much space.  You can see what they looked like last June in this post .  Spring is when my boxwoods put on growth, so I thought it was interesting to see how much they had grown in a little less than a year.  These were put in at the end of June - with a biosolids and topsoil mix - and I'm thinking put down roots all of 2023.  This Spring - 2024 - the tips of the shrubs have leapt up and out, adding light green tips to the (still) small evergreen shrubs.   Below is what they look like currently - in the middle of the Spring flush of new growth: There are seven in the back row and four in the front.  They may NOT look like much (on their own, in this photo), but here (below) is an animated gif showing the before

A couple weeks ago, I posted some photos of the (very few) Lilac blooms that we were seeing on our flowering shrubs this year and mentioned that while I had two varieties, one of them - the Nocturne Lilacs - had never bloomed.   Even after being transplanted to a more full-sun location.  So, imagine my delight when I was out in the garden and noticed these dark purple tightly-would flower buds on the tips of some of the Nocturne Lilac tips: These are a couple weeks behind all the other Lilacs in our neighborhood.  But...a quick poke around the Web reveals that the two-week delay is EXACTLY by design .   The late blooming lilacs bloom about two weeks later than the common lilacs and include the Preston hybrids. They are fragrant, robust plants that can be more tree like and resistant to powdery mildew. ‘Nocturne’ is a profuse bloomer with deep violet buds opening to a lilac-pink lightly scented flower. Extending the Lilac season - love that.    "Deep violet buds" reads right,

I'm racing the Cicada clock on a few projects;  the pizza oven foundation.  And...some of my proposed 2024 Garden Edits.  I wrote a post about a number of 'garden edits' that I want to make and started with the Hakonechloa Macra grasses (the green ones ) around the tree swing.  And, this past weekend, I made another large 'garden edit'.    My mantra for 2024 is 'editing' what I have - and that means a focus on planting in mass (larger quantities of the same varieties) that meet three criteria: 1. They work in our yard. Meaning...they thrive, not just survive. 2. Are appealing (to me). Foliage and Texture are key. 3. Have some four-season appeal. I don't want my garden to be 'empty' in Winter. This edit is on the southside.  And this bed - and in particular - the border/edge of the bed have been a hodge-podge.  Mostly hostas to fill-up space.  And, while I put up a few stumps in my new "stumpery" , I didn't plant anything in t