Why I Oughta...

Earlier this week, I p osted some photos of our four (current) Hellebores in the backyard and talked about how our plan called for even more in the borders in a few areas .  As I wrapped up that post, I mentioned that there were (now) a few perennials on my 'plant wish list' and that I should do a proper post showing the mix of trees, shrubs and perennials that I have on this standing 'want' or 'wish' list.  That's what I'm doing here:  taking that first list and add shrubs.  As part of my 2023 garden planting, here's my current (as of early December) standing plant wish/want list below: Perennials, groundcover and grasses: ( previously posted - but I added a few more here)  1. Hellebores . Up to 16 more. 2. Even more Autumn Ferns and Ghost Ferns . Probably want to replace (gasp!) my Ostrich Ferns. 3. More Hakone Grasses - Japanese Forest Grasses . 4. Pulmonaria ground cover . 5. Pineapple Lily bulbs . 6. A couple of Disneyland Roses for IB2D...

Last week, I shared the sweet deal I found at the Orange Big Box nursery on six small Autumn Ferns and talked about how they are/were on my plant 'want list' because of how well they've performed in our backyard the past two growing seasons.  The three that I have are standouts and are what I'd call semi-evergreen as they last WELL PAST the first frost.  That four-season aspect is a big part of what I'm drawn to with the Autumn Fern.  And... the fact that it doesn't look ratty after the long, hot Summer . One of the aspects of our garden that I've continued to work on is the notion of repetition.  Garden design that works (for me), very often includes a repeating set of plants in different locations to help pull the whole thing together.  I have started on my repetition journey with Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses and Hicks Yews.  I'd like to keep adding Autumn Ferns in different spots to begin to show a repeated glimpse of these four-season ferns....

I spotted this Climbing Hydrangea - retail price at $50 - at the Growing Place this past weekend and I've now put it on my 'plant wish list' for the Fall.  Assuming that these things will go on late-season sale, I'll try to come back and grab one of these to plant back near the firepit so it can climb on one of the Hackberry trees that are large enough to support this.  See below for a photo of the container that shows the name:  Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris.  It works in 'part shade' - which is nice. If not this Fall, then perhaps something to watch next Spring at the Morton Arboretum annual Plant sale. 

Just last week, I posted some details and photos of ferns that are peforming really well late in Summer and early Fall in our garden .  Those were Japanese Painted Ghost Ferns and Autumn Ferns.  I planted three Autumn Ferns - Dryopteris erythrosora - in May of 2021 and have watched them become standouts.   One of the things that I learned - by 'getting to know' these ferns is that they're semi-evergreen.  All the way until mid-December (2021) , I was able to see these ferns show up in the garden, well-past when everything else went dormant.    I liked them so much that I put the idea of adding more of these on my 2022 to-do list (#2)  and on my 2022 plant wish list .    Good news:  on a recent trip to the orange Big Box nursery, I found a set of six of these Autumn Ferns that were 50% off.  They're small to begin with (1.5 pint), so half-off made them $3 a piece.   Some photos below show these newly acquired Autumn F...

I've long talked about how my favorite garden plant family are ferns.  Hostas are a close second.  Why?  Because my Mom was a shade gardener who toiled in her garden over the years with hostas .  Our backyard is mostly shade, so like my mother...I, too, am a shade gardener.  That means finding things that work well in shade and/or part shade.  That has lead me to lists like this that talk about various things that work well in shade like heucheras , lungwort and...of course ferns and hostas.  Over the years, I've planted various ferns in our gardens, but my first fern love was the Ostrich Fern .  I've had them in our garden in Elmhurst, brought a couple to my sister & Equation Boy's house (when we lived there) and have them here in Downers .  And, while they're really great ferns, they start to look a little ragged as the growing season goes on.  But, on a recent walk around the garden, I've noticed that a couple of varieties of fer...

Right around Labor Day last year (2021), I planted a little cluster of three Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grasses that I bought at Northwind in Wisconsin .  These were planted on the border of the north bed right around the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree.  They seemed to do fine during the Fall last year and then went dormant for the season.  This Spring, I marked their reemergence in May of this year and was happy to see them come back for their first true growing season in the garden.  What do they look like 11 months after their initial planting?  Here, below, is a photo showing how they've all put on size and are doing well in their spot.  The one furthest to the right is the smallest and is currently competing with a bunch of small Frances Williams hostas . I'm really liking these and think I can see even more of these repeated in a few spots.  They prefer shade, so I can't put them close to the house, but in the beds in the back, there's tons of r...

The colonies of Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion - Allium - are looking full and happy in the various spots of our garden.  All of them are showing a series of buds that are - right now - downward-facing - and ready to explode with Summer color.   Last year, these were further along with their white flowers extending upwards by mid-July.   So, these are a bit behind.   I should use these in a few more spots, so I'll put that on my 2023 to-do list (along with groundcover).

There are some plants that I've bought at various nurseries that seem to have done well and others that don't make it.  Then, there are the plants and perennials that I've bought at the Morton Arboretum plant sales.  I'm pretty sure that aside from some Huecheras that I planted in full Sun and were trampled by workers building the house next door, just about everything that I've brought home has worked out well.  The first time I went to the Morton sale was in the Fall of 2020 - they had a Fall Sale due to COVID - and I brought home some new-to-me perennials.  The first of those were three Twinkle Toes Pulmonaria - or Lungwort - that I planted in our backyard in late September 2020 .  They survived their first Winter and emerged for their first Spring a year ago - in mid-March 2021 .   Ever since, they've just performed and had some nice growth along the way.    The last time that I showed these were in Fall of last year when they put on som...

This is the third in a series of shrub exploration posts that are helping me think and plan how I execute on my #1 priority for 2022:  plant shrubs in a deliberate way .  I started with this 20' area where I need to replace some lilacs with an evergreen layer and three Tardiva Hydrangeas . Yesterday, I looked at an adjacent spot that calls for a similar (but different) evergreen layer fronted by three dwarf Little Lime Hydrangeas that are planted in a way to NOT foreclose a potential path.  Today, I'm looking at the area that lays at the feet of the pair of Greenspire Linden trees along our fenceline.  Here's what it looks like today: Orange ovals = Greenspire Lindens in a horizontal cordon espalier.  Green ovals = Summer Beauty Alliums. I've always wanted a little bit more structure in this area - but haven't done anything meaningful. There are two problems:  First...the plan is SILENT here.  No plantings.  Second, there's a bit of an elevation...

We have just ONE hellebores in our garden - bought during the height of COVID during a 'drive-thru' trip to the Growing Place.  Our plan calls for a couple of areas with MULTIPLE (like 10) Hellebores (or Lenten Roses) , but alas...we have just one.  And, yes... I (now) am aware that buying just ONE of any plant is a mistake, but I didn't know that then .  The problem (then AND now) is that Hellebores aren't cheap.  They're $20 to $30 a piece.  When I need 20 or so, that's a big budget number.  So, I'm going to say *that's* why I have just one (for now).   That one that we DO have in our garden is called a Sally's Shell.  Planted in May of 2020 .   In early March (9th), it was beginning to emerge from the ground .  And...  It bloomed for the first time last Spring in late March .   This year, that schedule has shifted back just a bit.  This is mid-March and it still looks like it is *just* emerging from the g...

My journey with Staghorn Ferns starts where a bunch of my gardening, craft and DIY interests came from:  Martha Stewart.  Back in the aughts, we used to get Martha Stewart Living magazine delivered in print.  In one of those editions, she covered Staghorn Ferns.  That was my first exposure.  I found this old, 2008 Martha Blog post about her Staghorn Fern that might have been *around* the time of the print piece.  Since then, they've been on my radar.  She posted again in 2018 when she talked about mounting a few new Staghorn Ferns and how she puts them on her front porch.   In March of 2021, I bought my first Staghorn Fern - a six-inch container from Home Depot for $10.  In that post, I talked (again) about Martha .  I kept this one in the container and moved it outside during the Summer where it spent a few months on our front porch - just like Martha.  Because I left it in the container, I decided to drill a bunch of hole...

Earlier this month, I posted a couple of things that I'd like to reference here.  First...was the post talking about 2022 Garden Trends and how - like high fashion - the trends we see in the garden center or local nursery emerge years prior at places like the Chelsea Flower Show .  In that recap post about trends, one of the design direction that was a big takeaway from Chelsea this year was the idea of 'organic ovals'.  It is one of the big, macro trends mentioned in this piece cover last year's Chelsea show .   The other thread I'm pulling at is the idea of a ' Getting to Know ' plant series that is part of my ongoing self-education.  I started by talking about Eucomis (Pineapple Lillies) and how I ordered a handful of bulbs to try in containers this Summer.   Part of these "Getting to Know X" posts is about getting myself a little more familiar with unique plants and cultivars.  Things that not everyone has in their garden or yard. ...

On Friday, I posted a photo of my blue (foliage) grow light that I've set up for some of our houseplants this Winter.  These are all containers that I've kept outside during the Summer (mostly in spots with indirect light) or on our screened porch (that is enclosed) during the edges of the growing season.  One of the containers that I've had for 10 months now is my one-and-only (and first ever) Staghorn Fern.   I bought it - on a whim - from Home Depot for $10 last March .  It came in a nursery pot and despite researching how they're supposed to be *mounted*, I've left it alone.  The last time I showed a photo of the fern was in August of last Summer when it had spent a few months outside on the front porch - in shade.  At that time, I also made a move that I (sort of) consider a compromise between mounting Staghorn Ferns and keeping them in a container. There's plenty of folks who keep them in what I'll call a 'basket'.  My solve to get my cont...

Last year, I started a series of posts that I tagged as part of my 2022 garden planning something I've been calling my 2022 plant wish list.  I suppose that's not entirely an accurate way to describe things, as they're not wished-for plants as much as the beginnings of a plant buying prioritization process.  In this post showing the four-season interest of these Autumn Ferns , I mentioned that I should add more.  Same with this post showing a few Arrowwood Viburnum that I picked up late in the season - and mentioned that I needed to find more.  But, the way I'm thinking about what I want to add to the garden this year isn't about wishing as much as it is about going through some logical progression of identifiying needs and prioritizing.  So, I think a better way for me to start thinking about this is more akin to the notion of 'getting to know' some plants for 2022.  That's a clear 'tip of the cap' to Roy Diblik from Northwind Perennial Farm wh...

In the flurry of late-season planting in the backyard, I managed to sneak in a trio of dwarf ornamental grasses - Miscanthus sinesis 'Adagio ' - in an area underneath the tree swing Northern Red Oak.  They're tucked in behind a colony of Japanese Forest Grasses and in front of the Belgian Fence Apple tree espalier.  One of the noteworthy characteristics of this cultivar is that the flower panicles grow up and out into these gently curving/arching feather heads that provide a lot of Winter interest.  This is the first season we've had these and I'm happy to see the initial view we're getting after these being in the ground for just a short period of time this year.  See below for a look at the feathers at the top: I can already imagine what these will look like in the coming years as they fill in and thicken-up.  I've historically left ALL of my grasses in place over winter and these seem to be no different.  If you're looking for an inexpensive, zone 5...

Back in May of this Spring, I planted three Autumn Ferns - Dryopteris erythrosora - that I picked up from a big box nursery in an area of the backyard that is becoming a little Japanese-garden-inspired section with a dwarf Japanese Tamukeyama Maple tree anchoring the bed. I took that photo this morning and it is striking when compared to EVERYTHING else around our yard.   Those three ferns are seemingly UNAFFECTED by the frost and the onset of Winter.  Everywhere else I look, my ferns are gone.  Ostrich ferns?  Gone.  Japanese Painted Ferns?  Gone.  Ghost Ferns? Gone.  Lady Ferns?  Gone.  But, these?  They're tall, proud and....GREEN.  What the heck is going on?!? When I planted them , I referenced this listing from the Missouri Botanic Garden that talks about how they are "semi-evergreen".  I noted that in the original post, but I didn't think MUCH about it.  I suppose, I should have because this is a pretty gre...

Yesterday, I posted a few photos of a pyramidal boxwood - Green Mountain - that I planted in a backyard bed and talked about how it was tucked in by the Belgian Fence and some ornamental grasses.  If you looked closely at one of the photos yesterday, you might have noticed a few other shrubs in their nursery containers in the background.  Today, I'm sharing the details in the [ garden diary ] of those other two shrubs hiding back by the fence. As part of our plan, the designer called for a series of Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum shrubs in a few different spots around the yard.  Below, you can see two areas that call these particular shrubs out. Part of the area you see in the plan above was/is called out as " Priority Area #2 " in this year's list of Priority areas.  You can see that it calls for four Viburnum in this section.  But...when you're dealing with some end-of-season shrub sales, you don't always get the quantity that you want.  I couldn't f...

Fall shrub planting has included 8 Hicks upright Yews - in 2 locations so far.  First the pair for the (eventual) Block I topiary .  And then, last week a very SMALL hedge (in planning stage) of six more Yews along the south border in the backyard.   And a trio of dwarf Green Gem boxwoods .  Today's post is almost a year in coming but features two more upright Yews - planted close to the fence in one of our shade beds.   You can see one of the two #1 Yews that I planted in the ground in the photo below: I say that these Yews have been in the works for close to a year because it has taken me that long to complete the various steps that I needed to do in order to get these Yews in the ground. First, I suppose I should explain the WHY behind these yews, their location and what I'm trying to accomplish with this planting. I've posted before about learning from and gaining inspiration from Amy Fedele at Pretty Purple Door including her shared love of na...

I planted three of these Twinkle Toes Pulmonaria (Lungwort) last Fall after buying them from the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale .  It seemed to do fine to wind down the growing season last year and I was excited to see it re-emerge this Spring with new growth .  I don't seem to have posted any specific photos of these during the growing season, but I did sneak them into these photos from when I planted some Jack of Diamonds Brunnera this Summer .  When I was out planting the Green Gem boxwoods recently, I noticed that these had put on some LATE-Season growth and seemed pretty happy. Below, are a couple of photos showing (first) all three of them.  You can see the new, more-green foliage in the center of the plant as the new growth.  Then, in the second photo, you can see a close-up of the new growth. These have been a great addition to our shade garden and I can think of a half-dozen other places to add similar Pulmonaria plants.  Thinking I should put ...

This post serves as the final 'tree planting' post for the year, but also lays out a little bit of the self-education process I've been through in terms of ornamental tree pruning over the past few weeks. I'm learning (everyday!) that there are many types of pruning - and I've tried one of them:  espalier. But, in addition to espalier, there's also pollarding, pleaching and topping. The espalier I've done includes some horizontal cordon work on a pair of Greenspire Linden trees . After four growing seasons, they're starting to come into their final form and I love them.  And more recently, set up a new pair of crab apple trees with a TBD form .  I've been exploring the other pruning methods to figure out if I should try to learn and get to know them. What I've settled on is trying my hand at pleaching. The first time i talked about pleaching was back in 2018 here when I was discussing trees .  At the time, I was using pleaching and espalier int...