Why I Oughta...

A fall-planted Allium bulb that is a stand-out in our garden is the Allium Christophii that we have in various spots around the front and backyard gardens.  Below is a pair of the star-shaped foliage that emerges in early Spring from these alliums.  This is in the original IB2DWs bed - and you can tell that based on the bronze Bald Cypress needles that these are growing-in: When I think about Fall bulb planting, I'd add more of these alliums to the list of 'wants'. 

Sedum groundcover is something that I've added over the past few years - some of it works, some of it is a work-in-project.  In walking around the beds this weekend, I noticed the pair of Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' that I planted in Fall 2023 are doing the best of all of the groundcovers.  These are IB2DWs, down by the sidewalk.  You can see them in this post from a year ago .   They're tucked in near some legacy tulips - that you can see both of below.  Tulips on the right - just foliage.  And, right down the middle of the photo, there are two clumps of sedum that are putting on Spring growth: These put on small yellow flowers in mid-Summer.  Here's a photo from June 2024 showing the flowers .    One of the big changes here is the expansion of this bed in the past 12ish months.  These were, when planted, adjacent to lawn.  Now, they're surrounded by mulch.   Groundcover continues to be something I'm going to fo...

Another sign of Spring:  one of (at least one of) the Brookside Geraniums has emerged from the mulch in the square bed next to our backdoor stoop.  These are growing in the shadow of the Spring Grove Ginkgos.  Planted in 2023 from the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale , this will be their third full growing season.  They're the only Geraniums that we have growing, but that might be something I'll add this year via the same Morton Arboretum sale. Below is the green foliage emerging in late March 2025:  

I have planted zero Crocus bulbs.  Yet, I have a couple of Crocus flowers that have shot up this Spring.  See below for one of them.  I've begun to think about a 'bulb lawn' - vs....where I used to be:  a perfect lawn.  This naturalized Crocus might have pushed me over the edge in that direction.

My experience with clumping Allium started with Roy Diblik's Summer Beauty Allium.  Or...ornamental onion.  I have them planted in a number of spots - in the back and in the front.  But, in 2021, I added a new variety - Serendipity Allium .  They're *very* similar to Summer Beauty, but have a few improvements.   I started with three, but only two came back IB2DWs, and by the Fall of 2023, those two were big enough to begin dividing .   I took the two existing clumps and made five total.  All five came back in the Spring of 2024 .  Three in the original spot - in the initial IB2DWs bed and two more in the IB2DWs extended.  Last Fall, I divided one of the originals again.  And, transplanted the new clump further down the bed.  Leaving me with six Serendipity Alliums before dormancy .   Like other hybrid perennials, these Serendipity Alliums are an improvement over the original.  They bloom a little later and ...

 Below is a photo of the small colony of yellow daffodils that we inherited in our backyard.  They've sort-of naturalized a bit and have moved over time - but they're always in the bed behind the Northern Red Oak tree on the south side of the lawn.   The clumps of those strap-like tips are a sure sign of Spring: Last year, these were further along by early March .  And were blooming the first week of April .  We're a week away from April and these are no-where-close to blooming.  The flower buds haven't even come up.   I don't know what caused the slower-to-emerge cycle, but I'm noting it for everything else.   We had a VERY MILD Winter from December 2023 to March 2024.  So much so, that the ground was un-frozen enough for me to begin excavation of the pizza oven in February .  February!   I'll see if this two-week delay holds true to other perennials this Spring. 

Last May, I planted a pair of Brookside Geraniums in the square beds on either side of our backstoop along with a pair of Spring Grove Ginkgos .  These geraniums were from the Morton Sale and I tucked them into the back of the little beds.  A month-after-planting, I looked-back-in on the planting and they were doing well - and in bloom by the end of June .   That meant that this past Winter was their FIRST Winter - and I didn't have any data on their reemergence.  We can now add these to the [garden diary] showing the Brookside Geranium foliage comes up in a small, dark-green clump in mid-March.    You can see the current state of this Brookside Geranium below: Last year, these sort-of 'spilled' out one side of the bed and didn't spread very much.  Perhaps this will be the year that these will fill-out a little more.  

Over the years, we've had a tough go-of-it with peonies in our yard.  I suppose you can say that we were totally spoiled when we lived in Elmhurst.  We had a number of peony plants that were very productive.  But, in Downers?  Not a lot of luck.   I have long suspect that was a result of too-much shade, so that lead me to a number of years of moving them around.  From the far back to near(er) to the house.  And then, in 2022, I moved a couple of them out to the IB2DWS bed.   And guess what happened?  We got our first peony bloom in 2023.   Or, should I say 'blooms'.  The IB2DWs peony produced a number of blooms.  And, so too, did the ones by our curved-kitchen-window bed .   Each year, they emerge in late Winter/early Spring with their redish-purple tips.  Here's the 2023 version when they showed-up in early April .   Last year, because of the production, I decided to leave them as they w...

This past May (2023), I planted three Spine Tingler Epimedium that I brought home from the Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale and stuck them in amongst the other epimedium that have survived - Amber Queen.  These are planted under a large Catalpa tree in the backyard, along the north side bed.   Below is a photo showing the current state of these three (along with one Amber Queen on the far right of the image): My experience with epimedium is that they are VERY slow to get established.  They aren't in a state of growing, but also not so much a state of dying.  More like...just a state of 'being.   I've looked back at the photos of when these went in and I'm not sure they've actually grown.  But, I'm also not sure they've shrunk at all.  I'd love NOTHING MORE than to see these spiny-filled barrenwort/epimedium to naturalize this whole area to make a large colony of groundcover.  

Another day, another post in the garden diary to note the spring foliage emergence.  This time...it is one of the Ligularia that are planted in our backyard - in a shady spot mixed in amongst hostas.  I don't seem to have posted about planting these, but I'm pretty sure that I planted three of them - from Roy Diblik's nursery in Wisconsin.  They seem to struggle, so I'm not sure if they'll be back or not and if they'll thrive.  At least one of them is going to give it a go this Spring - see below:  My experience with these is that they're pretty sensitive to water, so I'll try to stay on them.  And...maybe even give them another shot up front in the new bed. 

When I was just starting to garden, one of the first things that I was able to document in my garden diary was the annual emergence of peonies.  Nat's Mom planted them for us in our house.  And, those red tips were one of my earliest lessons in the garden.  I've documented the Peonies being 'back' almost every year. Here's the 'back' post from 2021 .   And 2023 is no different.  Below are a few photos of the early, red growth from these tuber-based flowers that are planted near our kitchen windows.   I moved most of our peonies HERE because it is just about the *most* sunny spot in our yard.  Besides next to the patio (hey!  That gives me an idea).   I'm not CERTAIN how many are here - at one point there were four including a white one .  These photos are from a week ago (April 6) and I see two so far:

The *other* variety of Brunnera - Queen of Hearts - is pacing right about the same as the Jack of Diamonds.  I have three of them that have emerged early this Spring with green and white foliage that is peeking through the mulch.  See below for a few 'Early Spring' pics from the beds showing this shade-tolerant plant.   All three are back for their third growing season.  They were planted in 2021 .   In the photo below....it really hits home that I need to get my yard cleaned up this week.

All four of our Hellebores are throwing up their Spring blooms and putting on new foliage.  I've covered these earlier this year - and how they emerged really early (like...a MONTH EARLY) .   Last year, I added three new ones and will likely buy more this year at the Morton Sale.  Below are a few photos showing these Winter/Spring flowers in early April.  First...all four of them: Then, a little closer look: And, finally....a ground-level look: Upward-facing blooms - and breeding these to face up - has been a breakthrough and provide even more enjoyment for this Zone 5b gardener (or...plantsman...lol). 

Last Fall, like the previous ones, I went about trying to dig up, divide and transplant some of the perennials that we have in the garden .  Why?  Well...because...they're 'free plants'.  Nothing better than that, in my mind.  One of the perennials that I went ham-on in the backyard were the multiple colonies of Summer Beauty Allium that are planted around the backyard.  I divided one clump of these Summer Beauties that were in the south beds and divided the clump into four smaller plants and planted them around the base of the Oak tree - the tree-swing tree.  Here's that post from mid-October showing the four plants .   This Spring brings good news - as all four Summer Beauty Allium have emerged in their spots.  See below for a photo from this week showing the tips that have emerged for their first growing season in this bed: These are WELL ahead of the hostas and grasses that are planted in this bed.  I'm looking forward to seeing thes...

Last year, the Bird planted a single Carex Albicans in her little 'garden' that is a in the shady understory section of our backyard.  I didn't think much of it at the time, nor paid much attention to it.  But it appears to have been buried under some leaves this Winter.  And, when I was nosing around that section, I noticed them.  It is green and sitting next to some Wild Onions.  See below: Interesting to note how Carex Albicans have done over the Winter - I have others planted back by the firepit - which look the same.  Also a big note:  the rabbits don't pay any attention to these at all. 

I wandered around the beds for the first time in a week recently and noticed a few things have come back for the 2023 growing season and wanted to document them - and their timing - here in my garden diary.  I'll do that over a few posts in the coming days.  First up?    Three Jack of Diamonds Brunnera that are planted in the southside backyard bed .  Below, you'll see the early, curly foliage that is coming up front the hardwood mulch: I planted these three in Summer of 2021 , so this will be their third growing season in our garden.   Here, below, is a wider-angle look at the three of these shade-tolerant perennials. They're pretty hard to see in that pic...so....below is an annotated versions;

Back a few years, my sister gifted me a clump of purple bearded (I think) Iris that came out of her (and...for a couple of years...MY) neighbor's garden . His name was Wes and he had a couple of rows of Irises that lined his driveway.  Wes and his wife moved away and his house was torn down for a McMansion to go up on the property.  But, before the bulldozers arrived, Vic dug up some of the Irises.  I planted them on the side of our house and they flowered that first season .   Last Spring - in early April - I posted a walkabout that showed early foliage including these Iris tips .  Looks like these are about three weeks ahead of 2022.  See below for the tips: Wes' garden might be gone.  And, we might have moved off of Indiana Street.  But, with this plant, I can say that little bit of Indiana Street (and Wes' garden) are alive and well over here in Downers. 

Last Fall, I didn't plant as many Fall bulbs as I have planted in previous seasons.  But, I did plant some:  12 Gladiator Allium bulbs were added to the front porch bed.  Right in front of the existing boxwoods in the front porch bed .  In terms of layers, this means that we're looking at (from back to front currently):  porch, hydrangea, boxwood, mid-size allium bulbs. These get anywhere from 36" to 60" tall (depending on the info source).   I planted all twelve of these in mid-October.  And, just like some of the other Allium bulbs - including these Christophii which are showing early foliage emergence this year - these Gladiators are starting to peek through for the first time.   Looking back at this post showing where I planted the Gladiators , it appears that I dug six holes and tucked two bulbs in per hole.   Here are a few photos showing the tips peeking through the mulch this week (below):  Right now, I don't cou...

We have our first bloom of the year:  an inherited (and...I'm pretty SURE naturalized) Snow Crocus.  The purple petals stand out against the brown mulch and other decaying matter in the far back of our yard.  You'll notice some green tips in the photo below.  What are those?  Pretty sure they're Wild Onions.  But, I'm not letting those rain on my parade here.  Snow Crocus (Crocus sieberi) is here for just a brief bit - a Spring Ephemeral. I haven't posted about this Snow Crocus on the blog, but I know it has been here since we moved in to Downers Grove.  Not sure how it got here, but glad it is here.   This U of I extension explainer is a pretty good read on Snow Crocuses .  From Ryan Pankau who writes the Garden Scoop Blog says that Snow Crocus is the first sign of Spring in his yard.  And, he talks about how they arrived: So, how did this beauty of spring wind up randomly dispersed across our yard? They have come to occupy ...

I wrote about how I was seeing some Wild Onions appear and looked at the soil temperature tool to find out that the soil temp currently in my Zone 5b is higher than the historical averages.    I also showed how I was seeing the Daffodils emerge this past week, too.  Those seem normal.  Or close to their history in my garden diary. But, an Allium showing up this early? Last year (2022), I was documenting the tips of Allium bulbs emerging in early April .  This year?  See below for a look at some of them that sit on the side of the hosue at the feet of the SugarTyme Crabapple Trees: Now, these were planted in 2021, so last Spring (2022), was their first shot at growth.  Perhaps they were just delayed.   I'll have to get out and have a better look around to see if other Allium bulbs are emerging early, too.