Why I Oughta...

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...green i

Last week, I talked about being a "Fall Gardener" and shared a photo of the Butterscotch Amsonia that was/is popping off in our backyard right now.  The front yard has a different early November - Fall Show - star:  this combination of Saratoga Ginkgo and Little Henry Sweetspire.  You can see them contrasting each other below - with the Little Henry popping off in Fall red and the Saratoga Ginkgo's strap-y leaves turning a bright yellow.  The Saratoga Ginkgo is sort-of 'tucked in' amongst the Little Henry, but it is starting to put on some height (finally) after being planted in May of 2022 .  This is the 3rd full growing season for this tree and it (now) requires to be formally staked - something I should do this Winter.   I posted a similar photo exactly one-year-ago showing this combo .  The leader growth on the Saratoga Ginkgo is noticeable when you look back.  The Little Henry Sweetspire is FAR MORE red this year, too.   In front of the Little Henry are the t

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

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 annuals) in my annual to-do list .  

Six years ago, I planted a tiny Bald Cypress tree .  It was a TINY tree.  I mean...tiny.  Pencil-thin trunk with a leader that was four-feet-tall or less.  If you go look at the photos from this post, you can BARELY make the trunk out.   But, that didn't last long.  This tree has grown and grown and grown.  I'd say that this is probably the BEST OUTCOME of any small tree we've planted over the years - and there's more than 100 of them.  I've chronicled this tree's growth over the years - as recent as last September when I noticed HOW BIG IT HAS GOTTEN .  Two years ago - September of 2022 - the tree was filling out and growing up.   Over the years, I have barely touched this tree.  However...when I planted it, there wasn't a driveway RIGHT NEXT TO IT.  There is one now.  So, starting this past Winter, I gave it its first dormant pruning - limbing it up just a little bit.  But, mostly just 'shortening' the bottom branches .   The time to do even more

Dahlias aren't the only thing 'popping off' in our garden right now .  Surprisingly (to me), I'm seeing some nice-shaped blooms on our Disneyland Roses that are planted in our sideyard.  Last year, we had six of these Disneyland Roses - but I lost all three in the front porch bed.  (I replaced them with Dahlias, which...I think worked out nicely...) But, the three on the sideyard are still around.  But, they struggled all year.  I published a post in June titled:  The Disneyland Roses are Struggling .  At that time, they were dealing with (what I'm pretty sure was) a double-trouble combo:  sawfly larvae and fungus.  I treated them a variety of ways - Neem Oil, insecticide dust, systemic combo treatment.  They seemed to 'rebound' by late June .  But, that might have been a response to fertilizer.  Then, they dropped all their leaves.  That had me REALLY worried. Articles like this one - talking about how roses drop their leaves when stressed - didn't pac

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 unique feat

Last Fall - as part of my #FallPlanting sprint, I dug in three Ruby Muhly Grasses right at the edge of the boardwalk (that I installed last season).  I bought them in Late Fall - when they were on an end-of-the-season sale at The Growing Place and were container-bound.   This is an area of Full Sun during the hot part of the day and despite not baby'ing these, they seem to have done just fine this year.  I last posted about them in mid-August; about five weeks ago .  At that point, they were all blades.  A blue-grey thin, whispy set of blades of grass that sort of splayed from side-to-side.  But, at that point, no seedheads.  And...the seedheads of Ruby Muhly Grass - Muhlenbergia reverchonii 'Undaunted' - which I think are called "panicles" are the real star of these grasses.   These went in as quart-sized grasses, so they still need some time to mature, but have a look below at what they look like right now.  They're showing off their first seed heads: While

Late last year, I planted a singular Cardoon IB2DWs after seeing some of them growing in the Fragrance Garden at the Morton Arboretum.  It was eaten a little bit by rabbits, but I ended up protecting it over the winter with a ring of chicken wire.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it seemed to survive all Winter and then grew in Spring and Summer.  By July, it was good-sized and started to bloom .  The blooms were these out-of-this-world purple-spiked blooms that look like they belong on Pandora (Avatar).   After it bloomed, I decided to cut it back to the ground.  I left just a short segment of the stalk that seemed to die-back to the ground.  That was it, I figured. But...something has happened recently.  Foliage started to emerge from the mulch.  What the what?  Have a look at the current state of my cardoon - coming back in late Summer/early Fall.  Is this thing confused?  Will it survive the winter?  Will it bloom again?  The orange zinnias next to these are doing really we

I've had so much fun with the handful of dahlia tubers that I have in the garden this year that it has me thinking/dreaming of what might be next year.  More dahlias?  Yes, please. I'm going to try to save the couple of Melina Fluer and Cornell Bronze tubers that I planted this year.  And, I'll probably buy another couple of each just in case.   But, there's a WHOLE world of dahlias out there.  I've learned that I'm MOSTLY drawn to smaller blooms - pompons, balls, etc.  Not so much on Dinnerplate dahlias.  I also like shorter ones that don't require staking.  But, I'm open to trying a taller one next year.  Poking around the Web and watching some gardeners on Instagram has turned me on to a handful of potential dahlia tubers that might go on my 2025 wish list.   Here's some that are top of mind - right now.   Dahlia Burlesca.  Via White Flower Farm .   They are short(er) at 28" and have sunset-hues on those 'honeycomb'-like flowers.   D