Why I Oughta...

Last week, I shared the sweet deal I found at the Orange Big Box nursery on six small Autumn Ferns and talked about how they are/were on my plant 'want list' because of how well they've performed in our backyard the past two growing seasons.  The three that I have are standouts and are what I'd call semi-evergreen as they last WELL PAST the first frost.  That four-season aspect is a big part of what I'm drawn to with the Autumn Fern.  And... the fact that it doesn't look ratty after the long, hot Summer . One of the aspects of our garden that I've continued to work on is the notion of repetition.  Garden design that works (for me), very often includes a repeating set of plants in different locations to help pull the whole thing together.  I have started on my repetition journey with Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses and Hicks Yews.  I'd like to keep adding Autumn Ferns in different spots to begin to show a repeated glimpse of these four-season ferns. 

Yesterday, I posted a few photos of a hosta that I divided and transplanted around the large red oak tree in our backyard.  I tucked in the two new divisions into a part of the border that was bare.  I mentioned in that post that doing the seasonal gardening chore of dividing perennials was/is on my 2022 to-do list and I had planned to do a few more around the backyard.  Today, I'm showing a divided Bressingham Blue hosta that I dug up from around the side of the screened porch and split into three segments. The hosta in question was planted as a bareroot plant in 2018.  That means it has had five full growing seasons.  Here's what it looked like last Summer (2021), when I declared that this had finally reached maturity .  Today, I dug it up. First, below, you can see the current state of the hosta.  It has many stems and is a good division candidate. I split it into three segments and tucked the largest one back in the same spot.  Below, you can see the remaining Bressingham

The time has come to start dividing some perennials.  Why?  Because the temperature has dropped and I find myself with a little bit of time where I can putter in the backyard beds after work before it gets dark.  As a reminder, #12 on my 2022 to-do list was to add more 'free plants' through division - something that I've done the past few growing seasons.   My plan focuses on two different types of plants in our garden:  grasses and hostas.   Earlier this Summer, I went around and identified a few candidates to work on, but I started with a couple of hostas NOT on that list.  I was out by the large, Northern Red Oak tree in the south beds recently and noticed that a couple of hostas that are planted there have grown enough to be considered good candidates for division.  I dug up two - these are unknown cultivars - and split them.   I put one from each division in a hole kind of 'around' the oak tree trunk - in a spot of the border that is currently empty.  See belo

Just last week, I posted some details and photos of ferns that are peforming really well late in Summer and early Fall in our garden .  Those were Japanese Painted Ghost Ferns and Autumn Ferns.  I planted three Autumn Ferns - Dryopteris erythrosora - in May of 2021 and have watched them become standouts.   One of the things that I learned - by 'getting to know' these ferns is that they're semi-evergreen.  All the way until mid-December (2021) , I was able to see these ferns show up in the garden, well-past when everything else went dormant.    I liked them so much that I put the idea of adding more of these on my 2022 to-do list (#2)  and on my 2022 plant wish list .    Good news:  on a recent trip to the orange Big Box nursery, I found a set of six of these Autumn Ferns that were 50% off.  They're small to begin with (1.5 pint), so half-off made them $3 a piece.   Some photos below show these newly acquired Autumn Ferns.  First, a top-down look at the fronds.  Then, a

Ten days ago, I posted a couple of photos a new (to me) project of trying to grow hydrangeas from cuttings .  I tried two different culitvars (Limelight and Strawberry Vanilla) at the time and frankly...I wasn't sure if what I was doing was going to work and/or if it was going to be too late in the growing season to even attempt these. I still don't have the answer to the second question (is it too late?), but I do have a mixed-results answer to how they would do.  That answer?  The Limelight seems to have transitioned from cutting to (potentially) rooted.  The Vanilla Strawberry cutting?  Not so much. Here, below, is the limelight cutting.  The most critical thing to note?  The new, lighter color leaves at the center.  These new leaves are a sign that this cutting has managed to 'take hold': The larger leaves are cut.  And that's on purpose.  I trimmed them in half as a way to try to help the little cutting survive.  Some plantsmen call them 'solar panels'

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos showing the transplant location of three purple Astilbes that I moved from the north bed to the south bed where they're (now) tucked in amongst some other Fanal Astilbes.  In that post, I mentioned that this was the first of my early Fall transplant moves that I was planning to take on as the weather begins to turn cooler.  On my [ Fall 2022 ] task list was another transplant project:  Twinkle Toes Lungwort .   I planted three of these Lungwort in the south bed back in the Fall of 2020 and they've done really well over the past two growing seasons.  All three of them have put on size and are really lovely dotted silver, low border-loving plants.   In my post from a couple weeks ago, I mentioned that I wanted to dig these up and move them closer to the front of the bed.  The reality is that they're low-lying plants and need to be closer to the front so I can plant something more intermediate behind them.   This post shows the location

Last Spring (March 2021), I planted some bare root Astilbes from Longfield Gardens that Nat picked up at Costco in the backyard .  They were Gloria purpurea variety and were billed as having purple flowers.  I checked in on them this Summer when I noted that they were pretty crowded in a spot between the trunk of a tree and some hostas.  I mentioned then that I wanted to transplant these this Fall.   Well...Fall isn't REALLY here, but in my garden, I'm doing some of my Fall tasks, including transplanting and dividing.   On a recent, rainy evening, I went out and dug the three Astilbes up and transplanted them over into the second row of my OTHER Astilbes.  Here, below, is what the area looks like with the three new ones planted: It isn't PLAINLY obvious where the three transplants are located, so I've included (below) an annotated photo that I can reference next season when I start scanning the mulch layer for tips of new growth to emerge in Spring.  Here's where

I have a trio of Twinkle Toes Lungwort that I planted in the Fall of 2020 that need to be put on my Fall 2022 transplant list.  In the photo below, you can see the three spotted Lungwort in the upper right of the photo.  And...in the bottom/center of the photo a big, wide-open space in the bed along the border - right where the hose is showing up all wavy-like.  These three Lungwort need to be dug up and moved closer to the border.  Two on the bottom side of the hose, one on the top side - in the middle.  And it is something I need to do this Fall.   I have a few other things (now) on the [ Fall 2022 ] tag in terms of transplanting projects like this Pagoda Dogwood (transplant or prune??) and dividing some hostas .  Now, moving these Lungwort is on there - and something I should do in September to give them enough time before the first frost. 

The mornings are already cooler and smell different.  The days are getting shorter.  The Kentucky Bluegrass in our lawn is starting to bounce back and emerge from dormancy.  The kids are back in school.  That means that the growing season is entering the final stretch - Late Summer/Early Fall.  And, with the calendar turning over to September, I thought I'd do a quick check-in on how I have been doing against my 2022 yard and garden priorities .  We typically get our first frost sometime in mid-October , so that means we have six-or-so weeks left to get busy before putting the garden to bed.  Like I've done in the past, I started the year with a list of 25 items that I considered priorities .  The list serves as a guide and a check on what is most important to get done each year.   Let's see where we are as of September 1st, 2022.    I've done this late-season check-in before ( here's 2020's version ) and I think this is a good way to shortlist what *can* be don

I recently posted about how I began to divide and upgrade the small seedlings of the native Kentucky Coffee Tree that I've been growing for 14-or-so months and talked about how I've enjoyed the process with native tree seedlings.  I posted about trying other tree seeds in the past - including Catalpa and Honey Locust - as new projects.  That is/was part of one of my 2022 to-do goals :  keep working on the seedling project.   I didn't jump on the Honey Locust seeds earlier this Summer, but earlier in August, I decided to give the Catalpa seeds a shot.  Why?  I came across a Catalpa seed pod that one of the kids had just busted open on our patio and seeing the seeds reminded me that I should give it a go with planting them.  Here, below, is the pod and a bunch of the white, winged seeds scattered on our brick paver patio: I decided to try to get these to germinate a couple of ways.  First...by planting them (like 1/4" or so deep) in a series of uncovered containers. 

Last year, I bought and planted a small, native Pagoda Dogwood tree in our backyard close-to/near our firepit area.   It was tucked in right on the curve that transitions from our Hicks Yew hedge (in formation) and the firepit border and I thought (at the time) that it would provide a nice little focal point there - and grow up/over the Hicks Yew hedge to both provide screening and a little sense of placemaking by the firepit.    The small tree managed through the Winter (I protected it from the dang rabbits with a Chicken Wire hoop) and leaf'd out this year.  The leaves are quite nice and interesting .   It has put on growth - a little up, but plenty out.  That means that - for now - it is crowding out the Hicks Yews and the hosta that are planted close to it.   Here, below, is a look at the situation.  Pagoda Dogwood in the middle.  Hosta of some unknown variety on the left.  Small (but growing) Hicks upright Yews on the right.  As the Dogwood has spread out, it starts to 'c

A few days ago, I posted a photo of our lone Christmas Tree hosta in our backyard and talked about how it appeared ready for division .  I thought that - like last year - I could do a roundup of some other potential hosta division candidates.  I've had the most success in dividing hostas (or...frankly...anything) when I do it in the Fall.  I'm talking late September/early October.   Last Summer (end of August), I compiled a list of eight-or-so candidates .  I'm actually NOT sure which of those I actually moved on, but just a quick glance tells me there were a few that were dug up, divided and transplanted. But, what about this year?  In addition to the Christmas Tree sport, here's a few ideas below. First, the Bressingham Blue hostas next to our screened porch.  Here (below) are two views of them.  They're big and crowding out a painted fern.  At least two of these can be divided.  Further down that same path is this hosta (below).  This can be divided: Some of the

First planted as a tiny nursery hosta (from Menards) in 2018, we have a lone Christmas Tree Hosta in our backyard, under the Northern Red Oak tree swing tree .  That means this hosta is in its fifth growing season.  I posted a photo of it in August of 2020 - right about two years ago.  Check it out here .  Last August (2021), I included an inventory of some (potential) division candidates and included this hosta .   Finally... last Fall (2021), I included a photo of its yellow foliage right as it was heading towards dormancy .   So...what does it look like today?  See below for the current state: It has continued to put on more size and mass.  That means...it should go on my Fall 2022 division candidate list.   Earlier this Summer, I mentioned that some of the bare root Frances Williams hostas need to be relocated .  They're in the same bed as this one.    Add these all to the list along with the purple Astilbes that I posted about last week .   Here's the [ Fall 2022 ] task l

Back at the end of February, I started to explore how to mount Staghorn Ferns to boards and even gave a few away as gifts.  I ended up keeping a few for myself and I wanted to put in an entry in the Staghorn Diary on the current state.  Below, you can see a photo of the one, larger Staghorn that is mounted to a flat board: Notably....it is NOT happy.  It is NOT thriving.  But, it is alive.  And has survived a battle with MOLD and moisture.  It has lost fronds.  Most of the tips have browned-up and curled.  But...we might have turned a corner.  We *might* have new growth emerging.  I dreamed of a life of Staghorn Ferns in our screened porch.  And this first year?  It has been rough. The interesting part is that the Staghorn that I gave my Mom?  It is thriving.  She has it laying on its back in a sunny, Western-exposure window.   I had a second, mounted fern (tiny) that has totally died.  I'm now left with two ferns in containers (left as a sort-of hedge) that I think I should try to

Last year, I planted a series of bareroot astilbes - Gloria purpurea - in our backyard around the base of one of the flowering pear trees.  I stuck them there without much thought and early enough in the growing season that not everything *around* them had grown in just yet.  At the time, it looks like I planted six bareroot plants .   I was out in the garden recently and had a look at these.  See below for a photo showing this little slice of the bed: By my count, I see THREE Astilbes that have made it.  As I think back, I'm *pretty sure* that I recall that some of the bareroot starts were small, so I tucked more than one in the hole.  Perhaps I doubled all of them up and ended up with just three? Whatever the case, I'm now seeing these crammed in amongst the tree trunk and a trio of hostas. Which, leads me to think I need to do something here:  transplant these astilbes to a different location. They need a bit of room to spread out. But, where?  The little slice of Japanese-