Why I Oughta...

A big part of writing a [garden diary] all-year-around is using the dormant season - like RIGHT NOW, deep in the coldest part of the year - to noodle on garden edits and additions.  I've done it most Winters - educating myself about plants, shrubs and trees.  Sketching out edits to beds.  Thinking about what I should/could add to the garden in various spots. With the temps so low lately, I only get out to the backyard garden to dump our kitchen scraps into the compost bins.  I scurry from the backdoor to the bins in the back of the yard.  And then scurry right back.  So, I only have brief glimpses to notice/document the garden. But, one of the spots that I have been looking at (on these walks) is along the south fence line where we have three Green Giant Thujas that are spaced about five-feet apart.   These three went in the ground in April of 2022 and were small(ish).  Looking back at the photos from when they were planted , the tips of the...

Each season that I've put together a 'to-do list' for the yard and garden, I've also done an end-of-season accounting on how well I was able to complete the items on the list. Last year, I had 25 items on my list .  This post serves as the final scorecard of those 25 items. Historically, I've had REALLY good years.  And some not-so-good years. In 2023, I completed 22 out of 25 items on the list . 88%. In 2022, I marked 17 complete .  3 'mixed' and 5 not-completes.  68%. In 2021, I marked 17.5 complete .  2 'semi-complete' and 5.5 not-completes.  70%.  In 2020, I marked 22 complete .  3 not-complete.  88%. In 2019, I marked 12 of 17 complete .  70%. That means over five growing seasons ('19, '20, '21, '22, '23), I have had 117 items on my list. And, I have 90 marked complete (Math: 22+17+17.5+22+12 = 90.5). 90.5/117 = 77% overall. My 2024 list was full of BIG and little items.  I last did a 'late season' check-in on the li...

A few days back, I posted a photo of some snow-covered Angelia Sedum groundcover that was providing a little bit of Winter Interest near our back stoop.  On my way out to dump the kitchen compost bin in the larger bins in back, I stopped to look at some other groundcover that was 'showing up' in the snow:  Spine Tingler Epimedium.   Below is a photo showing the three plants - that I put in the ground in Spring 2023 :  There, amongst the light snow and leaf litter is the dried-out, rigid and spike-edged foliage of Spine Tingler.   These have fared a bit better than the Amber Queen varieties, so perhaps a few more of these should be on my list at the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale in 2025.  

I've done this sort of 'notebook' posts in the past and it has been helpful in organizing my thoughts when it comes to project planning.  Here's an 'order of operations' post on a big, 'new bed' backyard overhaul from 2021 that - just by writing - helped me get my head wrapped-around what I needed to do.   I've done similar 'notebook' or 'musing' posts on retaining walls and our boardwalk on the side of our house .  I've referenced Paul Graham's post about WRITING previously - but the gist his POV is: Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generates them.  The act of writing about something (in this case...the process around my pizza oven project) shows me that I'm in the MIDST of my learning journey on said process.    Hopefully...by the end of this, I'll have a v1 of what I need to do. I've recently updated a few posts with oven construction, but haven't shown the completed project - just yet.  The...

The Angelina Sedum that is planted as a groundcover in the square beds on either side of our back stoop are looking really good with the thin layer of snow (and ice) that is blanketing our garden this week.   I've noted this particular Sedum in previous Winters.  Here's a post and photo from a year ago - January 2024 .  Here's how MUCH brighter it gets by late Spring:  Have a look at May 2024 .  Something to think about in 2025:  Digging up plugs of this to transplant. 

I was at the orange big box store over the weekend and saw this little floor model fridge that was just a couple hundred bucks for a glass-front wine fridge.  See below for the one they're selling - note: I have NO idea if this is (at all!) a decent fridge or not.  Based on the price...I'm guessing it isn't.  But...that's not the point.  What this fridge got me thinking was about the potential for an outdoor kitchen and prep area for the pizza oven.  I haven't thought one second about electricity out there...but....maybe I should be?   For something like this and for...well....lights.  Part of why I'm not using the oven during the Winter is...of course...the cold.  But the other part?  The dark.   Something to add to the (growing larger everyday) 2025 planning considerations.

2025 will continue to be a season of cut flowers (hopefully) with the dahlia tubers that I bought and were gifted to me.  Those dahlias are what carried me through all of 2024, but I also had some setbacks with my other 'cut flowers':  the Disneyland Roses.  I lost two that I planted in 2023 and the three that I've had historically suffered from various stresses.   But, I'm getting back into the game with two more - from the same elf that has gifted us all the previous five:  Nat's Mom. Here, below, is the order form showing two more will be shipped in Spring.  These arrive as bareroot plants, so I'll get them in the ground as soon as they arrive to give them the best shot in 2025.  Planning out the planting location(s) of all the tubers and these two new Roses will be a fun project this Winter - filed under 2025 to-do/2025 planning.  

Back in mid-December, I posted the details of my own Dahlia tuber order from Longfield Gardens that included some Maarn Ball Dahlias, Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlias and a bulk oder of Pablo Decorative Border Dahlias.   I say 'my own' Dahlia order because below are the details of a gift order that I was given for Christmas.  So...this is a 'gift order' of tubers and it includes one duplicate and a couple of new-to-me ones. Below is a screenshot of the order showing the tuber varieties:  I'll now be receiving some Wizard of Oz tubers, a few more Sweet Nathalies, some Zundert Mystery Fox Ball tubers and my first set of Collerette dahlias - this one named Pooh.  How can we not love a Winnie the Pooh themed Dahlia flower, right? This means I'll have (at least): 2 Ball varieties (Maarn and Mystery Fox) 1 Pompon variety (Wizard of Oz) 1 decorative variety (Sweet Nathalie) 1 collerette variety (Pooh) 1 decorative gallery variety (Pablo) Next job is to plan on where ...

The garden is sleeping.  It has put itself to bed - with everything going dormant.  Everything...that is....except for some evergreens and semi-evergreens.  Evergreens - like conifers - are what I think of when it comes to winter interest.  But...semi-evergreens are something that I continue to learn about every season.  And...the shining star of my own semi-evergreens continues to be Autumn Ferns.   Have a look at these Ferns below.  This is Christmas Day.  And, everything is bare, brown and dry.  But...these?  Still showing off with their green fronds.  More Autumn Ferns needs to be near the top of my 2025 planting list.  I've said it before, but I haven't delivered as much as I'd like to on Autumn Ferns.  Yesterday's post about a Fairy Garden?  I mention removing Ostrich Ferns.  What should I replace them with in that spot?  Autumn Ferns need to be part of the equation.

2024 was the year of cut flowers, but it also was the year of some ' garden personality '.  I included the notion of adding even more 'garden personality' as number 22 on my 2024 to-do list .  To that end, I feel like I added a bit - including the 'feed me' compost bin sign .  I also added - and mostly neglected - a small Stumpery in the back late in 2023 .   There's another bit of 'garden personality' that I added earlier this year that I failed to post about here on the blog.  That "bit" is my first attempt at a more-permanent Fairy Garden using a piece of Norway Maple trunk and a couple pieces of Norway Maple bark to create a little roof.  I sunk the bottom-half of the trunk into the ground to give it some stability and attached the roof with a couple of decking screws.   I added a little branch 'perch' where the door will go about half-way-up the trunk.  See below for the first Fairy House built in my new(ish) (more permanent) F...

I post a lot of my own gardening wins.  So, I should also post a few of my gardening losses - including this 'garden edit' that never was.  I moved a bunch of ferns out of this bed by the tree swing tree and planned to replace them with Hakonechloa Macra Japanese Forest Grasses - to join the four existing ones.   But...I never got around to buying them and planting them.  See below - the space to the left of the existing grasses all the way past the boxwood is supposed to be these grasses.  Right now...it is BARE. Something - for sure - to do in 2025.  

I planted some Green Giant Thujas back in the Spring of 2022 and....now...coming up on three years later...they are starting to have 'presence' in the garden.   Perhaps it is because everything else is in dormancy.  Or...more likely...because these have put on size - height and width.   See below for the three along the southside of the property.    I'm now thinking of putting a few more of these in the backyard - come Spring 2025.  Screening trees along the back sides of the garden - including adding even more along this same fenceline.

In July of 2022, I added a pair of Hicks Yews (if it isn't clear by now, I was *really* hot on Hicks Yews in 2021 and 2022) on either side of the 'entrance' to our firepit area.  Like the rest of the Yews on our property, these were bought and planted as #1 nursery pot shrubs (and were bought at 50% off of $9.98 - so $10 for both of them).  They've had 2.5 growing seasons - all of 2023 and 2024 and half of 2022 - the year they went in.   My thought at the time was that these will create a little 'framed' entrance to the firepit from the yard, but they would need TIME to put on the necessary size. They were probably 12" tall when planted.  Barely visible in the landscape. Below, you can see the current size of this pair of Hicks Yews: These weren't watered that much this season, so they're clearly established.  You can see the little dark spot in the soil/mulch just to the right of the Yew in the foreground.  That's the mark of the soil-injected...

In Fall 2021, I planted two small (2 gallon nursery container) Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum shrubs in a pair of locations that were part of our overall, master garden plan.  The plan calls for these Arrowwood Viburnum in a number of locations, but I've only planted two.  (Note for next year, I suppose...) That means they've had three full growing seasons (2022, 2023 and now 2024) to grow up and out.  These are at the very back of the border, so while I'd like to say that I've cared for them...that's just not true:  these have mostly been neglected.  After the first few Winters - where rabbits were eating these, I've watered them (on occasion) and mostly forgot about them.   Despite that, they've grown up and out.  In Fall 2021, they were about 12" tall from the ground/mulch.  Today, they're both over the top of the lower fence (4' tall fence).  Below is a look at the pair of Arrowwood Viburnum - which....are still....surprisingly.....

I've found myself drawn to a creator on TikTok named "Artful Roger" who combines his love of gardening with his other interests (like building miniature things, vintage Christmas and interior design).  I'm much more likely to 'swipe' up/past the miniatures/interior/tablescape design videos, but I never skip one of his garden TikToks.  And...as I've shown...I'm a sucker for Vintage Christmas.   In a series of videos, he posted about how he created what he calls a "Micropond" in his backyard.  Here's one of the videos showing the completed project - linked here - and embedded below: @endtable Here are the pond details. #micropond #gardenpond #waterfeature #gardenwaterfeature #artfulrodger #gardeningbasics ♬ Happy - Calming Tune The photo at the top of this post is a screenshot from that very TikTok.  There's a lot to like about this.  Boulders that he found on-site.  The use of mixed materials like the driftwood.  Pea grave...

With the growing season winding down, I'm turning my attention to a couple of things:  chronicling the lessons learned from this past season AND thinking about what I could do NEXT season.  This post is to put down a marker for next year - with something I've come across via YouTube:  Edging.   I've posted some photos/inspiration of edging over the years including this metal edging from Luxembourg Gardens in Paris , this metal vs. brick edging view in 2019  and this boulder edge at a nursery .   Moxie Gardens is a YouTube Channel of a gardener/landscaper who lives in Kansas (I think) and has built a personality-heavy backyard garden with LOTS of unique touches.  One of them is his use of various types of edging.  Here's a video - and screenshot below - that shows how he used 4x6 posts cut-up to different heights to create a curved edging around his patio.  Here's the 275 second mark with this view: Screenshot v ia Moxie Gardens vi...

This Summer, I planted three small Inferno Coleus plants in the (then brand new) Island Bed in our front yard as bedding plants .  These were (for me) the first Coleus that I'd planted directly in the ground versus using them in containers.   My journey to that moment started in Spring when I was watching a garden tour on YouTube from Justin at S&K Greenhouse .  Over the years, Justin ( who's channel is great and you should subscribe ) has visited the garden of Bruce Duncan .  Justin and Bruce have a history together (I think Bruce spent some time at the Nursery/Greenhouse), but they also have great on-screen chemistry.  Bruce also has a spectacular garden .   In that video, Bruce shows off a few different coleus that he has planted in colonies.  I went and learned a little bit about veined vs edged-leaf coleus and which one can tolerate full sun vs which ones prefer shade. I also included planting coleus as a bedding plant (among other a...

My first year of *really* growing dahlias in my beds has been a learning experience.  From pests to watering to starting them indoors, I've learned a bunch this growing season that I can apply next year.  I'm also learning about their bloom-time.  I last posted a photo of the Melina Fleur dahlias in our front porch bed two weeks ago - mid-September - when the plants were full of blooms .  Fast forward to today, the first of October, and they're (surprisingly...) EVEN MORE FULL TODAY.  Below are a few photos showing some of the dahlias (Melina Fleur, Orange Nugget, and something that was billed as Cornell Bronze, but is a purple pompon one) in our front porch bed and sideyard.   Before we go to the photos, I have to say...it is pretty fun to have something like these to enjoy on October First.   First up is Melina Fleur in front of our porch: Around the southside of our house are more Melina Fleur Dahlias.  This plant is NOT staked: Furth...

 Earlier this Spring, I bought a package of three Orange Nugget Dahlia tubers at big box retail .  They were billed as being compact - less than 30" - and were...well...orange.  So, it was a no-brainer.  I started the tubers inside, but moved them out after the threat of frost had passed.  I planted them in the new 'cut flower' bed on the southside of the house .   From the beginning, these Orange Nuggets were behind my other dahlias - specifically the Melina Fleur and Cornell Bronze varieties.   But, over the past month or so, the plant grew up and out.  And...now - in Late September - is full of blooms and buds.  Below is a look at what these Orange Nugget Dahlia plants look like in the morning: I count seven-or-eight blooms in that photo and a dozen-or-more buds that will open soon.  They're not huge, but nice-sized flowers.  I'd describe them as 'delicate'.    The stems, however...are also 'delicate'.  O...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of my tallest Nicotiana Jasmine in bloom that was direct-sown in our sideyard flower garden .  I mentioned that those seeds came from Nat's Mom and that she grows Nicotiana every growing season.  That wasn't the only packet of seeds she shared:  she gave one of the kids a packet of "Evening Morning Glory" - Moonflower.  I didn't post about it, but I also direct-sowed a few of these seeds.  They're BIG.  Like cherry-pit-size.  I tucked them into the bed and forgot about them. Moonflower - or Evening Morning Glories are a vine and have big blooms.  But, they're ephemeral.   The Observant Gardener has a post up titled "Be Patient With Moonflowers" that overviews this flowering (annual vine) and the features.  Here's a couple of blurbs : One of the most exotic plants that I have ever grown is the mysterious and stunning moonflower. This is not an easy plant to germinate, but it is worth the effort.... ...A u...