Why I Oughta...

The data suggested it was going to happen.  Even if the forecast didn't show it.  I'm talking about the first frost of the season.  And, despite it looking like it was never going to arrive, it has, indeed arrived.   Was it a 'hard frost'?  I'm not sure.  But, it zapped the coleus.  Which, brings the coleus season to the end for 2026.  Here are a couple of photos showing the frost-bitten coleus skeletons. First up is the Wizard Sun red coleus in the front yard Island Bed .  Below shows the coleus in the mid-bed with the annual Vinca curling up in front:? And, here below is the Talavera Moondust coleus (speckled) in the corner patio bed in our backyard: I p osted a similar photo last year (at the end of October) when last season's coleus was zapped by the frost .   And, just like last year, the coleus shows the most initial frost damage with other things (including most of the dahlias) still green and fleshy.  

Two weeks ago, I p osted an update on the (still small) Ginkgo tree that is growing in our backyard along the southside of the garden .  This is a tree that was 'snapped' in half, but has (seemingly) recovered.  In that post, I included a couple of photos showing the shape and growth of the tree.  With all the foliage camouflaging the tree, it was hard to see the actual size, so I ended up annotating a photo with markup .   Well...just like the Saratoga Ginkgo tree out front, this Ginkgo tree is changing color.  Into a canopy of gold foliage.  Which...now allow for the size and shape of the tree to be EASILY read by the eye.  Here, below, is that same tree, now lit up in yellow leaves: Still not a massive tree, but it continues to grow each season.  Five years in the ground .  Five more until it is meaningful, I would think.  

'Tis the season for Fall color in the garden.   Plenty of it is 'nice' to look at around our garden.  Both in front and back.  Reds, oranges. Yellows.  Even...browns.   Last week, I posted this photo from our back stoop showing the backyard coming alive in fall color.   And, more recently, I posted a photo of the color combo that is happening with the Saratoga Ginkgo and the Little Henry in front .  And, how the Doublefile Viburnums were turning purple .   Like I said...nice.  "Nice" colors.   But, there's another plant in the garden that does something else in Fall.  I'd call it borderline 'shocking'.  When you see it.   That plant that I'm talking about is the Butterscotch Amsonia.  Three of them planted in the [kitchen curved] bed back in 2021 .  I'd say they've been a 'garden win'.  They provide really 'nice' texture all season-long.  Then...come Fall...something else happen...

The last time that I checked in on the row of Frans Fontaine European (Columnar) Hornbeam trees that serve as a screen in our sideyard was just back in August .  Before that, I pruned them a little bit this Summer, to make a little room to navigate the boardwalk .   The full archive of posts on my Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam trees can be found here .   This year, I added another one, but in a different spot:  back by the firepit .   For background, you can check out this post from 2023 , when I documented the progress over the years.   More recently, I've posted about how these trees turn into dormancy and demonstrate marcescence - or holding onto their leaves late into the Winter.  Here is a post from November 2024 when the leaves were turning yellow .   We're now in early November (2026) and what to they look like?  Green leaves.  And, mostly full.   Here, below, are a couple of photos showing th...

Something wild:  I'm still getting dahlia blooms in the first week of November.  In Zone 6a/5b.  Yes...that's right.  I'm still snip'ing off a handful of blooms from the dahlias.  Because...we haven't had a hard frost yet.   I wrote about the lack of first hard frost for our area back in late October.   At that time, I pointed to this post from the University of Illinois State Climatologist who has a map up for the 'latest' first frost on record (which is since 1991 to 2020).  Here's a link to that map .   I've pasted the map below.   But, before we talk about it, let's take a look at the dahlias that are (still) blooming.  Below are a few photos showing Sweet Nathalie dahlia, Great Silence Decorative Dahlia and (Not) Rip City. Great Silence Decorative Dahlia Great Silence Decorative Dahlia (Not)  Rip City Dahlia There are more, like the Saint Martin little ones and a few Blue Wish and some buds on Cafe au Lait....

Back in July 2023, I planted a pair of TINY (one-gallon) Green Mountain Boxwood shrubs back by the border around the firepit in the far backyard .  I don't seem to have posted about these in the years since, but they've just ambled along in the years since being planted.   They've had 3.5 growing seasons (1/2 of 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026) and have put on some size and mass.  Without much of anything other than the water they get from rain.  They're planted in a pretty shady spot, too.  I have another Green Mountain boxwood that is planted under the tree swing tree. Similarly...planted as a TINY, TINY, TINY shrub.  In 2021 .    It gets a little bit of "Winter bronzing" .  If you plant these, just know they'll do that in Winter.  Don't worry.  They bounce back in Spring.   Here, below, is what the pair of Green Mountain boxwoods in the far back of the yard look like right now, in early November.  Covered in som...

We made an early stop into Wannemaker's Garden Center this past weekend and checked out their newly-arrived shipment of Amaryllis bulbs.  We normally buy ours at their Holiday Open House (that takes place in a couple of weeks), but I wanted to see what they had on-hand.  As always, they have a couple of full, long shelves of boxes of Amaryllis bulbs that you can choose from.  Their bulbs are big and plump.  And, not cheap.  But, they perform.   I recently posted about some of the Amaryllis bulbs that Home Depot is carrying this year .  That post is here and includes a look at Flaming Peacock Amaryllis, Red Peacock Amaryllis, Blossom Peacock Amaryllis, Marquis Amaryllis, Glee Amaryllis. The bulbs at Wannemaker's are varied - in terms of colors and shapes.  The ones that caught my attention are included below.   Last year, we grew Shine Dream and Flamed Amadeus.   This year, we'll grow some new (to us) ones.   Try...

The pairing of the (still small) Saratoga Ginkgo tree with the drift of Little Henry Sweetspire (flowering shrub) are showing off right now with bright reds on the Sweetspire and the yellow (almost chartreuse) green on the Saratoga Ginkgo tree that is tucked into that same bed.   See below for what this combo looks like right now - in early November: I posted a similar photo (from the other side) of this combo two years ago .  The Saratoga Ginkgo tree has grown up a little bit in the two years.  

One of my (V1 Draft) " Great Garden Rules " is to think about designing for a four-season garden.  Part of that idea is to have things that look as good when they are dead as when they are alive.  For me, in Zone 6a/5b, that means things that look good in Winter.  In dormancy.   One of my favorite garden plants (that isn't a fern) is Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass.  I, of course, like how it looks in the garden during the growing season.  But, I also *really* like how it looks in Winter.  With the upright seedheads standing proud throughout the dormancy period. I have it planted all over the garden. I also have had a couple of problems with critters in my garden. Near our house and the back stoop, we have an entire ecosystem of chipmunks and (I think?) voles and or mice.  They scurry around.  Make burrows.  And hide inside all the plant material. We also have rabbits.  I've done my best to keep them out with a fence, but they...

There are a lot of things that I really like in our garden that make an impact.  There are also other things that I've planted and occasionally forget about, but when I *do* spot them, I realize how much I love them and how great they (silently) perform their job. One of those silent success stories are the Doublefile Viburnum - treeform shrubs - that are planted along the Northern Property line.  There are three in total.  I found them in 2022 and planted four.  Three of which are still around.  Two along the northern fenceline, one in the back.   These shrubs show off in Spring with a big, beautiful set of white blooms.  Here are some photos from this year's Spring flower show .   Right now, the shrub is turning purple.  And, it looks really great.  Here, below, is a look at the foliage turning color, but hanging on to the branches (so far): I looked to buy more of these this Spring, but didn't find them at the nursery. ...

There's a time in the early morning when the sun is just coming up and begins to peek over our house and starts hitting the top of the trees in our backyard.  Right now, it makes the yard almost look electric.  The Northern Red Oak tree (tree swing tree) looks like it is lighting up everything else.  And, it is red.  RED.  Orange and red.  Normally, I'd say this tree doesn't do *that much* of a "Fall Show".  Hews closer to browns and a little orange than reds.  But this year?  It looks like it is on fire.  Pretty great to see: Last year, I p osted a photo of the backyard tree canopy about two weeks later.   In early/mid November.  And this same tree swing tree is orange.  And, in that post, I made the same comment :  this tree normally doesn't do much in the Fall but turn brown and cling tightly to it's crispy leaves.   Perhaps, I need to change my view on the matter.  Two years in a row is a pattern....

We have a small caliper, immature (and short-in-height) Blackgum tree that I planted in our front yard parkway in April of 2025 .  A few weeks earlier (as I was shopping for this very tree), I wrote a "getting to know" post about the Blackgum (or Black Tupelo) tree that is native to Northern Illinois.  In that post , I included this (partial) description: "One of the most spectacular and reliable fall coloring trees, turning brilliant shades of red and orange..." Last year, the tree did, indeed, turn a lovely color for fall.  Red.  Here it was in mid-November when the leaves were still on the tree and the tree was crimson-colored .   This year, that same color has returned.  About 2 weeks earlier.   Here is the tree as it stands right now - at the end of October - below: This tree has really been VERY SLOW TO GROW.  As in...has barely put on any growth in two growing seasons.   I asked Google's Gemini why that might be?...

We've had a weird Fall.  A few days ago, I posted the 10-day forecast that showed no frost arriving in our Zone 6a/5b Growing Zone well beyond the first few days of November .  I talked about how (according to the Illinois State Climatologist), the latest first frost in Northern Illinois (on record) was November 11th .  That means that everything is still....well...hanging on in the garden.   I just looked at the weather app and I can see all the way out to November 11th - the 'record' for last first frost.  And, right now....it is showing one day between now and then with lows in the upper 30s.  And, November 11th is showing a low of 47 degrees.  eeek.   That means that things aren't going to go dormant due to the cold.  Does that mean that I have to keep watering things?  Probably. But, it also means that some of the things in the garden.  Like with our Korean and Japanese Maples.   They have, historically, bee...

This Summer, I planted a small, 7-gallon upright Orange Dream Japanese Maple in the backyard .  About half-way back from the front border, along the southside of the yard.  Just past the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  Or, at least that's what I *think* this tree is in terms of variety.  I've learned over the years that if you are buying Japanese Maples at the orange Big Box parking lot nursery, you have to take their labels with a healthy skepticism.   They label things that are clearly laceleaf as Bloodgoods.  And, they label fan-leaf as Red Dragons.   This one has red stems and fern-shaped fan leaves.  So, it (initally) checks out as Orange Dream.  I didn't see the Spring leaf-out, but we're about to enter the "Fall Show" season.   What does the tree look like right now?  Upright, full and green.   Here, below, is a photo showing the Japanese Maple as it stands in late October after the first few months in the groun...

We have a single, lone white Begonia that is in an outdoor container on our front porch.  I'm actually not sure where it came from, but we've had it for a couple of years.  Yes, years.  This one has been overwintered indoors in our dining room and cared-for by Natalie along with her other house plants.   I usually take photos of plants that I buy (along with the container and/or plant label), but a quick search through Google Photos for [white begonia] turns up nothing.  So, I have no intel on what this might be. But, that doesn't mean it isn't a lovely flower.  Especially right now.  In late October.  It is full of delicate, white ruffled blooms with yellow centers.  Here, below, are a couple of photos.  First one shows the full plant.  Second one is a close-up of the bloom: I'll bring this inside this week and begin to transition it towards living indoors.  First, with a stop in the screened porch, then into the dining r...

A few years back, after researching Japanese Maples , I ended up buying my first Emperor 1 Japanese Maple.  Emperor 1 is similar to Bloodgood Japanese Maple in looks (dark leaf), but it seems it might be a bit more cold tolerant, so it works well in our Zone 6a/5b border garden. I bought the Emperor 1 and planted it back by the firepit .  That was 2021.  2024 was one of those 17-year cicada years here in the suburbs of Chicago.  That means that we were SWARMED by them.  I did the best I could to try to protect some things with tulle, but they're aggressive and ended up killing off that Emperor 1 .  It was pretty good sized at the time.  Before it was lost, I came across a second one.  Smaller.  From a Big Box nursery.  In May of 2023, I planted it in the front edge of the [kitchen curved] bed in our backyard .  It was a bit taller than knee-high, but not quite up to my waist. By August that first year (August 2023), the tree had put...

A couple of days ago, I posted some photos of the first few Sweet Nathalie dahlia blooms that have (finally) opened up on my lone (single) Sweet Nathalie decorative dahlia plant.  I talked about how it was *very* late arriving, but I wasn't quite sure why it was so far behind.  Not enough light?  Perhaps.  It is tucked in amongst some grasses and hydrangeas and didn't get the best access to the full, open sky. But, I also have another late-arriving dahlia.  And, this one is even FURTHER behind Sweet Nathalie.  And, it doesn't suffer from the same light conditions.  Rather, this one is situated in a good spot.  Just a few feet from other, well-grown dahlias (aside from the spider mite damage...).  But, it has a different issue:  a late start.   That dahlia is the one that started the whole dahlia craze (at least, I think it did?):  Cafe au Lait.   I wrote a post in late May about how a couple of my tubers weren't...

Frost is how the gardening season ends.  It brings with it death.  And dormancy.  Another season in the books.  In some ways, it also brings relief.  Things slow down.  Stop growing.  And, I can shift into a 'closing up' mindset.   But, I can't do that until we get a frost.  The furthest that the forecast looks out on Weather dot com is between now and Thursday, November 5th. That's two weeks out.  And, here, below is what it looks like: What is notable?   The lows.   Look at them.  The lowest LOW listed between now and November 5th is 43 degrees.  That's 11 degrees ABOVE freezing.   Now, I recognize that weather forecasts aren't set in stone, but let's (for now) operate under the assumption that this is close to accurate.  We won't see a frost for at least two weeks. Note:  Parts of Northern Illinois had some frost earlier in October.  Here's a Tweet from the National Weather S...

When you walk into the Home Depot and are hit in the face by the strong smell of cinnamon-scented pinecones, you know it is Amaryllis bulb season.  Home Depot usually carries a few kinds of Christmas flowers (Amaryllis) and bulbs:  Waxed bulbs (That grow on their own), kits (a bulb and a little pot and some planting medium) and individual bulbs.  I've shied away from the kits (due to performance over the years) and have mostly bought all of our Amaryllis bulbs from Wannemakers.  But, the bulbs this year at Home Depot were worth a look. I've posted about the Amaryllis bulbs at Home Depot before.  Here is the post from 2025 when they carried nine (9) types of Amaryllis bulbs and some Paperwhites.  Notably...the Amaryllis bulbs in 2025 were $9.98 each.  I bought three Blossom Peacock bulbs and put them together in a cache pot .   This year?  The one Home Depot we went to recently is carrying just five (5) types of Amaryllis.  And, the...

Five years ago this month, I planted a very small caliper (with a trunk 'injury') Ginkgo tree in our backyard along the southside about half-way back.  The tree went in the ground in October 2021 .  The trunk was basically cracked wide-open ( look at the photos in this post ), but I wrapped it up, supported it with a bamboo pole and hoped for the best.   In the five years since (growing seasons: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026), the tree has survived.  And, put on some growth.  When it went in the ground, it was about waist-high.  Here, below, is what it looks like in the garden today: That's a little hard to read in terms of where the tree starts/stops.  So, here, below, is an annotated version showing the tip of the tree: I took out the tape measure and the apical meristem (leader) now reaches 96".  So, this is an eight-foot-tall Ginkgo tree.  And, the trunk has thickened-up and is no longer pencil-thin.  I've NOT pruned this ...