Why I Oughta...

Just yesterday, I posted details and photos of six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' groundcover plugs that I planted along the sidewalk out front and talked about how those got my total up to 30 for the year.  My previous high-planting mark was from that epic Fall planting spring in 2023.  Today, I'm showing photos of six more Ajuga plugs going in - bringing my total this year to 36.  Matching my high. I previously put in six in front of some of the Hakonechloa All Golds in the back. Today, I extended that row with six more.   Here, below is a photo showing the first six and then the empty space in front of the All Golds just beyond: Here, below is another look.  The previously planted six on the left.  The empty space calling out for groundcover to the right: This six pack of healthy plugs from the Good folks at Menards: They went in easy-peasy.  Below are two photos showing the results.  First is a look at the new six followed by a view of all twelve...

Over the past month, I've posted a number of posts about adding groundcover plugs to the garden.  The latest was a post about six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs that I put into the front yard Island Bed at the very edge of the sidewalk.  Those joined three existing ones from 2025.  They weren't the most healthy plugs, but they went in anyway.  That brought my groundcover planting total to 24 total planted for the year.  Today, I added six more Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs to that same Island bed.  Five along the final edge in the front and one 'up the driveway'. This brings the total to thirty groundcover plants added (to date).  #20 on my to-do list is to "Keep Going on Groundcover" .  Thirty in the Spring is a good number.  My previous annual high-planting mark for Groundcover plants was that epic Fall 2023 season when I added 36 .  I'm right there and it is just Spring.   Adding this 'living mulch' down in the Island bed serv...

Dahlia season has begun here.  With the initial planting of seventeen dahlias.  That was day one of planting the tubers that I started out in the garden.  I made this annotated map to show (mostly myself) where everything is planted because I'm growing many new (to me) varieties for the first time and have a much more diverse lineup than in previous seasons.  Note:  this post is going live in early June, but I planted these on May 20th.  Last year, I planted them in the first week of June , so this is almost three weeks earlier.  Here, below is that map.  So far, I've put six in the "Pizza Oven West" bed, seven along the side of the house in the "South Sun Wall" bed and four "Under the Elm".  You can see them numbered in red: Pizza Oven East 1.  Crichton Honey 2.  Cafe Au Lait 3.  Creme de Cognac 4.  Blue Wish 5.  Milena Fleur 6.  Jowie Winnie Here (below) is a photo below of these plantings.  Note that I pu...

Yesterday, I showed photos of the 76 Titan Blue Lavender Halo Vinca annuals that I added to our front porch bed where I hope they'll grow into a carpet of color.  In service of the notion of 'repetition', I opted to plant the same annuals down in the island bed to try to carry that same color further forward and bring those two plantings together visually.   I went with 36 vinca down there.  Below are a few photos showing how the 36 Titan Blue Lavender Vinca are planted in between the Red Wizard Sun Coleus and the existing Ajuga groundcover that abuts the sidewalk.  First up are side-views: And, here below is the curb-view: Last year, I didn't have luck with the flowering annuals in this bed, so I'm hoping that these Titan Vinca will fare better.  

Last year, I planted a new (to me) annual bedding plant in our front porch beds:  Madagascar Vinca.  64 plugs .  They worked really well and filled in the front of the border with a carpet of pink color by the end of July .  I mentioned in that post that ten-or-so died immediately, so the total was closer to 54 plants that filled-in the bed.  They were pink - which was a result of just *having* to choose something.   This year, I found flats of purple Vinca at Wannemakers.  Titan Lavender Blue Halo.  Here, below, is a photo of the plant tag and one of the flats: Here's what Ball Seed says about Titan Lavender Blue Halo Vinca : Big, bold and better branching vincas! Titan is up to 2 weeks faster to flower than open-pollinated vincas, with superior branching and big flowers in all the top-selling colours. The most uniform F1 vinca series on the market shows off flowers that are up to 50% larger than O.P. types in cooler temperatures. Faster to...

Number 19 on my 2026 to-do list was to upgrade the stumpery.  That means improving the hard features (like fountain, stumps, bench, etc), but also the plantings.  I wrote in the list:  The thing that I need to add here are even more Autumn Ferns. See #15. I have some Autumn Ferns and LOVE them. More is better. #15 is "Stay focused by using the concept of Repetition vs. new."  Those two items - repetiton + Stumpery plantings collided when I found a bunch of quart-sized Autumn Ferns at the nursery.  They were nice-sized and healthy looking: I ended up buying seven of them for the Stumpery.  I spaced them out behind the front row of All Gold Hakonechloa grasses and inter-planted with some of the existing Crested Surf Japanese Painted Ferns.  This area was mostly blank. There are two small Autumn Ferns that came back around here , so these seven make it nine for this area.  See below for the seven new ferns planted in the bed.  The stumps for th...

More groundcover (or living mulch) is something I've been working-on for a couple of growing seasons.  This month, I put in six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs in the [kitchen curved] bed in the backyard and six Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow' in the backyard near the colony of Hellebores on the northside .  This week, I put in six more Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs in the front of the Island Bed in our front yard down along the sidewalk.  This brings my 2026 groundcover planting total to 24. Here, below, is a look at the six new plugs that are to the left of the three existing ones that went in last year in August .   Here are the three existing groudcover plants last Fall .  One of the challenges down by the sidewalk is retaining the mulch, so I'm hoping these plugs will grow-in and provide a 'living mulch' mat that stretches the front of the bed along the sidewalk.  You can see the six new ones in this photo of the red coleus annuals: These weren't the...

Over the years, I've added two sets of Sun King Aralias to our backyard.  First, were six as part of a garden edit in the 'nook' garden in 2024 .  Last year, I planted three more on the opposite side of the garden .  In service of reptition and planting what works in the garden, I bought three more at this year's Morton Arboretum Plant sale.  See below for the tag/sign at the sale: When I brought them home, they were already good-sized plants.  See below for a look at the box of plants the day of the sale in my garage.  Compare the Sun Kings to the All Gold grasses right next to them: This Spring, the existing Sun Kings suffered some late-frost damage, so I held back on introducing these to the garden for weeks.  But, the time finally arrived. They were getting big and drying out. One of the things that I've been talking about over the years is what I've described as a 'hosta replacement' project on the northside.  I took this opportunity to remov...

Last year, I planted ten small white Polka Dot Plants (Hypoestes) in be-twix the Boxwoods underneath the Linden Espalier.   I sort-of bought them on a whim and stuck them in there because they do well in shade.  By August, I was declaring them a [gardening win ] because of how they brightened up a dark space in the garden and were mostly care-free.   At Wannemakers recently, I picked up a full flat of Confetti White Hypoestes Polka Dot plants.  That's 40 annuals.   See below for the flat and plant tag.  I wanted to use these as bedding plants (on my 2026 list) and talked about how planting these in a couple of spots in the backyard can help bring that notion of repetition - (which...ahem...improves garden legibility).   I haven't planted all forty just yet, but here's how I've started with them below.  I started with seventeen (17) under the Lindens.   Along the southside, I planted two little pockets of bright white....

Last year, I planted three Inferno Coleus in the corner patio bed and as they grew up (and out), I really loved them.  I called them a [garden win] specifically.   This year, I found some small quarts at Wannemakers of a new (to me) variety - Talavera Moondust Coleus.  See below for a few photos showing the tag and the speckled foliage.  It is easy to see why this one jumped off the bench, right? Here is how Ball Seed describes Talavera Moondust Coleus : Sun-tolerant varieties maintain color and foliage patterns in both sun and shade conditions. These late-flowering selections are tidy, non-bolting plants in the garden. Sun-tolerant.  Check. Maintains color and foliage pattern in sun.  Check. Late-flowering.  Check. Non-bolting.  Check.  What's not to love? Below is a photo of the back of the plant tag where they mention it is 'well-branching' and 'stunning' and 'rich'. Select Seeds adds these details in their product listing : Unsurpassed i...

Last week, I posted some photos of six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' groundcover plugs in the kitchen curved bed in our backyard.  Those were #7-12 of groundcover plugs put in this year with the first six being Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow' on the other side of the yard .  Today, I planted six more Chocolate Chip a little further back and right in front of some of the All Gold grasses.  Below are a few photos showing the process. In front of these grasses is a little bit more blank space than I'd prefer.  A perfect spot for a low, creeping living mulch. The pack of plugs is tidy and healthy in their little nursery carrying container: I've learned over the years that while Ajuga spreads out, it doesn't grow massive.  It is a 'good neighbor'.  That's why I planted the six pretty close together.   This puts me at 18 groundcover plugs planted for the year.  And, my second 'upgrade' to the Stumpery - with the first one being the addition of three All Golds ...

Yesterday, I posted a 'Getting to Know' post about a new (to me) Korean Maple:  Alpenglow Korean Maple .  This is an Iseli Nursery introduction that is part of their Jack Frost Collection that is cold-hardy down below most Japanese Maples.   #21 on my 2026 to-do list was to add another ornamental tree, so adding this Alpenglow Korean Maple checks that box.   This Alpenglow (with "merlot" foliage) is the first tree that have planted this year.   In 2024, I posted about adding a third Emperor 1 and included a drawing that highlighted the back-and-forth (and across the lawn) pattern for planting red-foliage ornamental maples in the backyard .  One of those spots that I called out in 2024 is where this tree is set to be planted. On the northside and sort-of tucked in *behind* the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree is a bed that was part of a previous "Garden Edit".  It is where this tree is going.  See below for the spot: A little bit fu...