Why I Oughta...

A week ago, I posted a couple of photos showing the hedge of (now) mostly mature Frans Fontaine European (columnar) Hornbeam trees that are growing along our property line and serve as a green screen between our house and our neighbor's house.  They were still green at that time and are still green a week later.   This year, I added another Frans Fontaine Hornbeam to our yard, but I put it back by the firepit area - in the border between the gravel and the lawn .  It replaced an Emperor 1 Japanese Maple that was hit by the cicadas a few seasons back and never quite recovered.   That tree is in a spot that doesn't usually get sprinkled as part of my rotational watering using the sprinklers in the backyard.  But, I paid *some* attention to it with water.  Doing, mostly 'deep waterings' via the hose for 15 minutes (or so) at a time.   And, the tree appears to have weathered the first growing season.  And, didn't get shocked too much b...

The past couple of days I posted some first-frost photos from around the garden.  On the coleus.   And on the dahlias.  The frost arrived over this past weekend, but before it did I went out and tended to the eucalyptus.  This year, I grew two varieties:  Silver Dollar and Baby Blue Bouquet Eucalyptus .  Both in the ground and in containers.   I went around to the plants that were in the ground and selected a few to transplant.  More on those in a little bit.  Then, I pruned off the tops and stuck them all in a big water pitcher.  Here's how much I collected: I transplanted a few and also brought inside the vertical garden tray that I'll (hopefully) try to get to stay alive all Winter.  More on those in a little bit.   #8 on my 2026 to-do list was to experiment with other 'cut flowers'.  Is this a flower?  No.  It isn't.   But #9 my list was to grow more 'accent plants' .  I sure feel lik...

Yesterday, I posted some photos about how the first (real) frost arrived and zapped the coleus pretty good and signaled the REAL end of the season around here.  I've read a bit about the environmental signals that get flashed inside of plants when they experience frost - and (hopefully) enter shutdown/dormancy mode.   One of those plants that was hit by frost, but NOT quite fully bitten are the dahlias.  Here, below are a couple of photos of one of the Saint Martin dahlia plants that is tucked into the bed under our kitchen window.  The first photo shows some of the dark, frost-bitten foliage that is curling up and looking sad: But, when you get closer to the bottom of the plant, you see a bunch of green, in-tact foliage.  See below: Google's Gemini tells me that the top getting hit with frost is *enough* of a signal to tell the plant to begin to harden up the tubers.  Here's what Gemini says that the frost is, indeed a 'biological trigger' that redir...

Something wild:  I'm still getting dahlia blooms in the first week of November.  In Zone 6a/5b.  Yes...that's right.  I'm still snip'ing off a handful of blooms from the dahlias.  Because...we haven't had a hard frost yet.   I wrote about the lack of first hard frost for our area back in late October.   At that time, I pointed to this post from the University of Illinois State Climatologist who has a map up for the 'latest' first frost on record (which is since 1991 to 2020).  Here's a link to that map .   I've pasted the map below.   But, before we talk about it, let's take a look at the dahlias that are (still) blooming.  Below are a few photos showing Sweet Nathalie dahlia, Great Silence Decorative Dahlia and (Not) Rip City. Great Silence Decorative Dahlia Great Silence Decorative Dahlia (Not)  Rip City Dahlia There are more, like the Saint Martin little ones and a few Blue Wish and some buds on Cafe au Lait....

There are a lot of things that I really like in our garden that make an impact.  There are also other things that I've planted and occasionally forget about, but when I *do* spot them, I realize how much I love them and how great they (silently) perform their job. One of those silent success stories are the Doublefile Viburnum - treeform shrubs - that are planted along the Northern Property line.  There are three in total.  I found them in 2022 and planted four.  Three of which are still around.  Two along the northern fenceline, one in the back.   These shrubs show off in Spring with a big, beautiful set of white blooms.  Here are some photos from this year's Spring flower show .   Right now, the shrub is turning purple.  And, it looks really great.  Here, below, is a look at the foliage turning color, but hanging on to the branches (so far): I looked to buy more of these this Spring, but didn't find them at the nursery. ...

A few years back, after researching Japanese Maples , I ended up buying my first Emperor 1 Japanese Maple.  Emperor 1 is similar to Bloodgood Japanese Maple in looks (dark leaf), but it seems it might be a bit more cold tolerant, so it works well in our Zone 6a/5b border garden. I bought the Emperor 1 and planted it back by the firepit .  That was 2021.  2024 was one of those 17-year cicada years here in the suburbs of Chicago.  That means that we were SWARMED by them.  I did the best I could to try to protect some things with tulle, but they're aggressive and ended up killing off that Emperor 1 .  It was pretty good sized at the time.  Before it was lost, I came across a second one.  Smaller.  From a Big Box nursery.  In May of 2023, I planted it in the front edge of the [kitchen curved] bed in our backyard .  It was a bit taller than knee-high, but not quite up to my waist. By August that first year (August 2023), the tree had put...

Frost is how the gardening season ends.  It brings with it death.  And dormancy.  Another season in the books.  In some ways, it also brings relief.  Things slow down.  Stop growing.  And, I can shift into a 'closing up' mindset.   But, I can't do that until we get a frost.  The furthest that the forecast looks out on Weather dot com is between now and Thursday, November 5th. That's two weeks out.  And, here, below is what it looks like: What is notable?   The lows.   Look at them.  The lowest LOW listed between now and November 5th is 43 degrees.  That's 11 degrees ABOVE freezing.   Now, I recognize that weather forecasts aren't set in stone, but let's (for now) operate under the assumption that this is close to accurate.  We won't see a frost for at least two weeks. Note:  Parts of Northern Illinois had some frost earlier in October.  Here's a Tweet from the National Weather S...

In what is probably the final week of my dahlia blooms, I have one plant that is (finally) producing its initial blooms:  Sweet Nathalie.   Last year, I saw my first Sweet Nathalie bloom in early September and talked about how it is a 'slow to bloom' .  This year, the blooms came in mid-October.  Five or six weeks later than 2025.   But, what do they look like?  They're pretty great: Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlia Bloom - Blush Pink Sweet Nathalie is billed as a dahlia that compares with one of the dahlias that everyone loves:  Cafe au Lait.  Here's what Longfield says about Sweet Nathalie : If you love the colors of Cafe au Lait, this dahlia is a must-have. Sweet Nathalie walks a similar line between buff and blush pink, but its flowers are about half the size of Cafe au Lait and the shape and color are more consistent. What's interesting about that (for me) is that Sweet Nathalie is my second slowest-to-bloom dahlia.  The one th...

Just about every morning...if I wanted to...I could go out and cut an armful of dahlia blooms and bring them into put in a jar on the counter.  Here, below, is a look at what I sniped off the dahlia plants around the garden on a recent morning.  Includes (of course) Saint Martin waterlily dahlias, a Tsuki Yori No Shisha (Semi-Cactus) Dahlia white blooms (which...I'll have you know are "fimbriated" dahlias ), Ivanetti balls, Milena Fleur (formal) decorative, a few (what I think are) Mirella ball dahlias , Blue Wish dahlias, Great Silence (decorative) and the standout:  a single Peaches-n-cream dahlia bloom.  Here are a few photos of the flowers as cut off the stems: And, here, below, are those same flowers tucked into a recycled pickle jar on the counter.    I'm now close to 25 arrangements that I posted about this growing season .   Dahlia arrangement with Peaches-n-cream, Ivanetti, Saint Martin, Blue Wish, Milena Fleur, Mirella and more.... While...

The dahlias are going wild.  Warmer days and cooler nights right now.  Before...the inevitable frost that is on the horizon.  (Hopefully not too soon, though).   This week, I documented my 20-something arrangement of the season .  This post shows another one.   Including: Great Silence, Milena Fleur, Ivanetti, Blue Wish, Saint Martin, Crichton Honey, Wizard of Oz dahlias.  And, a single spray of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus peeking out the top.  Here it is on a couple of sides of the jar on our counter: Here, below, is how they looked as I cut them.  The lighting in the mornings makes the colors pop. Wizard of Oz (the pale pink one on the bottom right) changes a bit as the season goes on in terms of petal-holding.  Earlier in the Summer, every Wizard of Oz that I'd cut would drop petals almost immediately.  Now? They stay on much longer.  Wonder what is driving that behavior?  I really like Wizard of Oz, but if it is...

One of the new (to me) dahlias that I grew this year was Great Silence Decorative Dahlia.  I grew them from tubers that I bought from Longfield Gardens.  After starting them indoors in nursery pots, I planted them out in two different spots :  IB2DWs (down closer to the sidewalk) and in the back of the Island Bed in the front yard.   Those locations seem to have determined the success of the plants.  With the Great Silence in the Island Bed doing much better, being more productive and all-around happier.  But, before I show the photos of the plants, let's look at the blooms.   Here, below, is a photo of a Great Silence Decorative Dahlia (on the left) next to my first dahlia love:  Milena Fleur (on the right).   They're similar.  But, different. Great Silence Decorative Dahlia on the left.  Milena Fleur Formal Decorative Dahlia on the right. Great Silence has a loose-r, less-focused center and more broadly-exposed pet...

#13 on my 2026 to-do list was to do something that I used to do regularly:  plant some Fall bulbs. Here's how I described it when I drafted my list : 13. Plant fall bulbs. For my first few gardening seasons, I was pretty good about planting fall bulbs. Alliums and tulips, mostly. But, I got away from it. Get back to it this Fall. And…Try a bulb lawn in front. Yes…a bulb lawn. Or, at least a patch of bulb lawn as an experiment. When I posted my mid-Summer check-in on my list , I marked this   Incomplete. Since then, I planted 95 crocus corms .  And 14 dwarf daffodil bulbs .  And six bulbs of (gifted) hardneck garlic .   One of the plants that I took note of this season and told myself (self...you should plant more of these) were the Sicilian Honey Garlic (alliums) that I have in a few places in the backyard.  It looks like I planted 15 of these bulbs in 2021 .  And, mostly forgot about them.  Here it is in bloom  in 2023.  I found a...

Below are photos of two arrangements that I made this week after snipping off some dahlia blooms from around the garden beds.  These two mark the 20th and 21st cut flower arrangement of the growing season (that I've documented 1 ).   These feature Ivanetti, Milena Fleur, Messenger To the Moon, Wizard of Oz, Blue Wish, that unknown orange ball one, a couple (Not) Rip City and....(of course) Saint Martin Waterlily dahlias: The one on the left is in a blue glass Ball mason jar.  On the right is in a thrifted vase. The first one of the season was all the way back in July .  (Not) Rip City, Blue Wish, Saint Martin, that bubblegum cactus/semi-cactus one.  The most recent one was from last week that featured Crichton Honey, Brown Sugar, Milena Fleur and...Saint Martin.   You can see the other 20 from this year here at my [ Dahlia arrangement ] tag.   Going "big" with dahlias in 2026 was one of my priorities .  Seems like 20+ arrangements h...

Two days ago, I described the Saint Martin Waterlily Dahlia plants as my most productive dahlias of the season .  Today, I'm showing an update on my LEAST productive dahlia:  Cafe au Lait.   I didn't intend to grow Cafe au Lait this year.  Some of the tubers that I ordered from Longfield Gardens weren't viable, so they send a pair of Cafe au Lait tubers as a replacement.   They arrived three weeks after every other dahlia tuber was started (and had produced new growth), so these started behind from the beginning. I planted two.  One in the Pizza Oven West bed.  And one in the sideyard.  The Pizza Oven West dahlia died.  Suddenly.  One of those things. The one in the sideyard started slow.  And, kept growing slowly.  All Summer.   I was knee-high in August.   Now, a the beginning of October, it still hasn't bloomed.  But, it has put on a bunch of foliage in the past few weeks.   Cafe...