Why I Oughta...

A few days ago, I posted a look at a couple of locations for my (hopefully) wood-fired oven to be placed in our backyard.  In that post, I mentioned that I was going after a brick facade and gable roof structure.  But, besides the notion of brick, I haven't - until just now - given much thought into the type of brick and the pattern of brick.  Why am I thinking about that now?  Well... Recently, I saw this TikTok  from Hans Lorei Design ( here's the Hans Lorei Design Instagram Handle  where he posted the same video) about brickwork *used to be so much better* and with the modern way we are building things, the real *art* has been lost and replaced with brick faces on buildings being laid in a field pattern.   It is embedded below.  Click play, and turn on the volume.   @hansloreidesign Our brick work & buildings could be so much better if we embraced more patterns & detail #homedesign #architecture #architecturaldesign #interiordesign #oldbuilding ♬ original sound

This morning, we're getting walloped by a big snow storm, which will leave behind six-or-so inches of new, fresh white snow.  Yesterday, before that arrived, I walked our kitchen compost out to the bins (and of course, dumped it in the active compost collection bin with the "Feed Me" sign hanging on it ), figuring that it might be a couple of days before I was going to get back there.   On my way back to the house, I was struck by some of the 'winter interest' that I came across in the garden.  Most of the time, it sure feels like when I read about 'winter interest' that they're mostly talking about evergreens.  Shrubs, trees, etc.  And, those surely provide interest during the winter.  But, as I've posted about (and have some regret about), I've made a long-term mistake by neglecting conifers as a key part of our garden and rather focused on deciduous trees and perennials.    I've begun to address that conifer situation and will continue

I was watching this garden tour on YouTube from Garden Gate Magazine and just about totally fell in love.  What a garden.   There is SO MUCH to appreciate in this one video in this one garden that I'll probably post a few things about it that struck me.  The first of which...is related to gabion-style walls.  Below is a screenshot of the garden tour - at the 9:53 mark ( here's a link to that 9:53 mark in the video ) that shows off a set of pillars that are done gabion-style.  See below: The garden-owner talks about framing and how they use these gabion-style pillars as a way to frame the entrance for visitor's experience.  The gardener saw these in a local garden and decided to replicate them and included putting pots on top.   I've posted about gabion walls back in 2019 when I saw them in an annual garden trend post .   I also posted a few other posts about various walls over the years including this stone wall at Disney's Aulani resort , a timber wall in our neig

Like everyone that I know, I've been a bark mulcher.   For my entire gardening existence.  That means that every year, we get a big load of hardwood mulch (usually 'fines') that is spread out on top of all of our beds to serve as a mulch.  It is the exact same thing that everyone on the block does:  make the beds look 'pretty', provide a bit of weed suppression, retain moisture and make things look uniform.   But, over time, I've learned that those hardwood bark mulches aren't exactly what I've been aiming for in our garden and this year, I just skipped the application.  Instead, I applied a mix of compost in some areas and biosolids in other areas.  And, in a lot of the garden...I applied nothing.  No new mulch.  The beds have had a couple of years of bark mulch application, so in most spots it isn't like there's nothing on top of the soil, so I figured I could get away with a year off of the mulch.  And, I chose this past year (2023) because I

Earlier this growing season, I discovered that most of our Disneyland Roses were having their foliage destroyed by someone or something.  The leaves were spotted and some of them were eaten-up and looked like lace.  Here's a post from June 2023 that shows one of those eaten-up leaves .   I applied a granular fertilizer all season - starting in early Spring - and I wasn't sure if the foliage damage was a result of the granules clinging to wet leaves, but it seemed far-fetched.   The foliage-eating continued all season, but by July, I decided to take some action and switched from just straight Rose Fertilizer to a 2-in-1 feed and care product from BioAdvance .  My hunch was that SOMETHING was eating the leaves and the 2-in-1 is a 'systemic' product. That means it isn't something that takes root immediately and eliminates the pests.  Rather, it feeds the roses and - via the roots - takes up the insecticide and carries it to all the plant material.  I've used a simi

In my 2023 recap post, I included a list of ten 'lessons learned' or takeaways from the year .  They were a mix of looking back and a few looking ahead.  One of them was about flowers.  I wrote that " 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. " When I said that I 'started', that meant the late-season plantings like the Blue Fortune Agastache , a Pow Wow Wildberry coneflower , a pair of May Night Salvias and some purple foliage Pentstemons (all IB2DWS).    And, I've had a lot of fun with the Disneyland Roses - including in arrangements.   I've also done a little bit of dabbling with Dahlias over the years.  But, I've always treated them as annuals and haven't invested much in the tubers.  I grew Night Queens .  And some orange ones.  And Cactus dahlias, too .     Over the years, I've kept a

Over the past few years, I've been adding Bluestone Chips to a path on the north side of our house that takes you from our driveway to the back/side boardwalk.   One of the items on my 2024 to-do list is to sort out what is going on over there.  Is the gravel sinking in?  What do I do to remedy the situation?  Larger gravel?  Some sort of grid?    Next Summer, before I add more Bluestone Chips, I need to diagnose the failure and implement a remedy.

It was just a few days back that I mused about adding a little personality to our garden via the addition of a way-finding sign on our compost bins .  I was seeing that various users from our house (ahem aheam...the kids) were dumping our kitchen waste in the bin that I was viewing as 'cooking' instead of the storage (not properly mixed bin) that I can get to over time.   I posted about the signage because I wanted to remind myself to make one this Spring.  But, I found myself with a tiny bit of time and decided to just jump on it right now.  This *is* 2024, right?  At least in terms of gardening seasons, I'm call it 2024. I had some cut-offs of cedar pickets that I used for a different project laying around, so I grabbed one of them and some paint.  I painted the words "Feed Me" on the board in white.  Outlined in a navy blue.  Then, spray a topcoat (clear) on top of the paint in an attempt at making the sign lasting just.a.little.bit.longer than it would normall

I went to the orange big box store to look for a Winter Rose Pointsettia this weekend and while I didn't find any of those (they had just the traditional pointsettia), I did find a large rack of Hellebores.  They're all white ones that are in quart nursery containers.  They were (originally) listed for $9.98 and now have been marked down to $4.99.  They're an all white-turning-to-light-green flower variety.  See below for the hellebores: I'm wondering to myself....can these be planted in December?  I mean...the ground isn't QUITE frozen yet and they ARE hardy to our zone.  Would they survive?  Or, could I just keep them alive as houseplants until Spring?   A quick search on the Web turns up answers like this : Container-grown hellebores can be used as houseplants. They prefer to be grown in garden soil but will survive indoors. Give them plenty of light during the winter months and indirect light in the summer. This action will mimic their natural environment of be

One of the things that I've been thinking about is boulders.  How to use them.  Where to use them.  Why to use them.  In my garden.  That's because (mostly) my new conifer garden. But, also...because of my dream of a pond.   Like most things, you can wander around the Web and find all sorts of tips/tricks/inspiration for how/when/why to use boulders.  Like this post from Nelson Landscaping in Oklahoma where they  give a few ideas, including: Highlight a single boulder as a focal point. Group boulders together to create a cohesive and natural look. Incorporate boulders into your patio design to add texture and visual interest. Use rocks and boulders to add height and dimension to your front or backyard. Surround boulders with pebbles and gravel to create a cohesive look. Everybody is talking about large boulders.  That's what the pros use.  When I say 'large', I mean HUGE.  Boulders that you need heavy equipment to move around. I don't have heavy equipment. But,

Prioritizing is important for a gardener like me.  Without a task list, I end up spinning around and not getting things done that I wanted to/planned to/thought about.  Instead, I flutter about with the latest thing that I come across and when I look back at the season, I end up disappointed.  That's where this whole 'to-do list' thing came from:  prioritizing the many needs.  Like most growing seasons, I was optimistic. And went out of the gate hard with a big goal and started with 25 items on my 2023 to-do list - published in early April 2023 . Historical look at my previous lists: Here's my 2019 'Season Scorecard '. 12/17. 70% complete. Here's my 2020 'Season Scorecard' . 22 of 25 complete . 88%. Here's my 2021 'Season Scorecard '. 17.5 completes. 2 semi-completes. 5.5 not-completes. 70%. Here's my 2022 'Season Scorecard. ' 17 completes. 3 'mixed'. 5 not-completes. 68%. I did a September check-in on the lis

The fun of evergreens as part of my Fall Planting Sprint comes to an end today with three Japanese 'Soft Touch' Holly.  Named Ilex crenata 'Soft Touch' - these are a little different than most of the Hollys that I've become familiar with over the years.  The name is the big tell - they're not full of sharp points.  I came across a few of these 'larger-than-one-gallon' nursery pots on a bench at the Orange big box store and quickly whipped out my phone.  Here's what the foliage looks like before planting: The page from NC State had me sold enough to put them in my cart.  Here's how they talk about Soft Touch Japanese Holly : Soft Touch Japanese Holly is a dense, mounded, evergreen shrub with a moderate growth rate. Unlike its parent, it will reach a relatively short height of 3 feet and has soft-textured leaves without the sharp spines typically found on Japanese Holly. Soft Touch Japanese Holly glossy green leaves also have an interesting silver

In the Spring of 2022 (17 months ago), I undertook what I called (at that time) the Lilac Replacement Project where I dug up and transplanted a number of Lilacs.  And replaced them with some upright evergreens.  Those upright evergreens were three Green Giant Thujas that I bought at the orange big box store .  I planted three in this spot and three on the other side.  Two of those died, leaving me with four of the six originally planted remaining.   When I look back at the photos of those Green Giant Thujas right after they were planted (April 2022) , it appears that the top-tip (apical meristem) of them is right around the top of the fence.   Today - they're at least a foot over the top of the fence height.  See below for the current view - with the Green Giant Thujas in the back against the fence.   That's (obviously) not the only thing happening in this photo, so I'll document some of the other changes in this post - for the garden diary. The Thujas have survived here,

 Four months ago, I planted five (5) one-gallon Green Velvet boxwoods in our front porch bed in line with the other ones that existed in that same bed .  My plan was to sort-of 'extend' that low mound of evergreen shrubs down past the new Elm tree and wrapping around the corner.  I also (in June) planted a number of Summer Beauty Allium and Sesleria Autumnalis grasses in front of both the old and new boxwoods.   With the heat of Summer behind us, how did they all fare and what do the shrubs and perennials (and...annual French dwarf Marigolds) look like in late September?  I'd say pretty good.  See below for current state of that curved bed: All five Green Velvet Boxwoods are doing well and putting on a tiny bit of height.  The Allium have exploded and are double-or-triple their original (quart) size.  And the stars of the show are those French Marigolds .  I've been telling myself that I need to be a bit more choosy when it comes to Home Depot plants; there are some th

My 2023 yard and garden to-do list had 25 items on it and with most 1 of the growing season behind us, I thought it would be helpful (for me!) to do a mid-season check-in.  How am I doing against my priorities?  What do I need to do before the season ends?  Let's run through the list and see how we're doing: 1.  Evergreens.  I wanted to plant more evergreens.  I've planted 19 evergreens so far this season:  five Boxwoods in front, a Columnar Scotch Pine tree in back and now 13 more Boxwoods in back.  I also transplanted a large Boxwood from the front-to-back.  So..20 evergreens including one transplant.  I'd say... Done .  2.  IB2DW Extension.   I wanted to extend the bed and add 'clustered evergreens' along with other things like grasses and annuals.  I haven't added anything, but I did amend the soil with biosolids and carved out some turf to extend the bed a little bit.  I'd say this is: Incomplete.   3.  Front porch bed.   I amended the bed with

I've covered the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in some of our patio containers already , but after gifting a few of them, I had two remaining.  What did I do with them?  I stuck them in the ground amongst some 'escaped' strawberry (that I'm using as groundcover) and Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  See below for these two tropical annuals that have popped up in our landscape: #25 on my annual to-do list was to use 'annuals beyond the container' .  I'd say that this counts, right?   What have I learned?  First...that these probably aren't a perfect fit in this area.  At least by themselves.  But....that doesn't mean that I can't plant them somewhere else, right?  Or, augment/expand this bed and plant some other colors at their feet?  Something to think about for next year.  The other thing to think about?  Those sexy black-stemmed version that they have at the Arboretum .  Upgrade to those, right? 

Last Summer (June 2022), I bought three Little Lime Hydrangea (a dwarf cultivar of Limelight ) and planted them in front of the Belgian Fence of Apple trees.  They were small, but produced a handful of blooms in late July that first growing season . Fast-forward a year and these three flowering shrubs have changed quite a bit.  They're thicker, more full and...FULL of blooms this year.  See below for a photo of their current (mid-August) state: These are a really good solve for this spot - they're at the back of the bed, but with the Belgian Fence behind, I couldn't use a full-height shrub here as they'd obscure the espalier.  So, this dwarf version is perfect.   It also has me thinking about how I could re-use these in other spots that are mid-bed.  Further back on this same northside of the backyard, there are spots.  And, maybe even IB2DWS?