Why I Oughta...

If you head to the Spruce Plot on the main loop of the Morton Arboretum and park your car directly across the loop from the tall Spruce trees, you are also close to this fallen tree jungle gym.  Walk out of the plot across the main road and go straight.  Soon, you'll find a sunken valley that has a lot of fallen timber.  There, you'll find this mess of tree trunks that you can climb on - just like our kids did in the photo below.   I'll say it again:  COVID took a lot from us and others.  But, it gave us this simple joy: 

 Like the creaking of an old wooden ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Spruce Plot at the Morton Arboretum isn't just a sight for your eyes.  If you listen closely enough, you'll hear some of the trees swaying and rubbing against each other - way up in the air.  The sound is really quite an interesting part of your visit to this area.  You can go anytime during the year, but I think Winter provides the most striking difference in the area. Have a listen to the swaying of the Spruce trees at the Morton Arboretum : I've written a few times about this particular path at the Morton Arboretum this year - and talked about while COVID has taken so much from us, it has also given our family the Spruce Plot at the Arboretum. Here it is in late Summer - August of 2020 - where everything is still green . Here it is in late Fall - early December 2020 - where all of the leaves have dropped and the Sun is able to hit you *just right* in the morning.   The video above is in early Wint

We were out on a walk in the Morton Arboretum when we noticed a basket far off the path.  We wandered over to see what was doing with it and saw this tag that had the title:  Tree Science in Action!  And included a reference to a soil scientist at the Morton Arboretum:  Dr. Meghan Midgley . Here's a closeup (albeit blurry) of the tag: It reads: Tree Science in Action! We're collecting leaf litter to study the effects of trees on soil. DO NOT DISTURB Questions? Contact Dr. Meghan Midgley, Soil Ecologist The baskets appear to be collecting material as it falls from the trees.  This one was in/near the Spruce Plot on the main loop .    What is Dr. Midgley working on?  From her bio : As the Soil Ecologist at The Morton Arboretum, Meghan Midgley studies plant-soil interactions in a changing world. Specifically, she aims to understand how interactions among plants, microbes, and soil mediate ecosystem-specific responses to environmental changes. Her research encompasses two overarch

 Back in September, I posted a photo of one of our favorite spots in the Morton Arboretum called The Spruce Plot .  Or...The "Spruce Plots" as I mistakenly call them.  We were over in the Arboretum recently and - of course - found our way to this area for a little walk.  The sun hits differently in the morning during the Winter at Morton as all of the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves, so the sun comes through the forest and lights up the trunks of the trees.  Here's how things looked when we looked straight East as the sun began to rise in the morning: COVID has taken away so much from all of us - and from our family.  But, one of the really great things that it has GIVEN us are these walks.  

 If you drive by the entrance to the Morton Arboretum last month, you saw a striking series of plants that include some bright colors including this ground cover that is almost highlighter yellow.   They planted a big drift of this stuff that made a carpet-like layout.   See below in all of the late Summer glory: I suspected that this was Lemon Coral Sedum - which I've planted in containers the past few years - but wasn't sure.  But, what is amazing (at least to me) is that the Morton Arboretum has something called a " Plant Clinic ".  What's a Plant Clinic?  From their site : The Morton Arboretum’s Plant Clinic helps homeowners, gardeners and landscape professionals throughout the Chicago region and the world have healthy, attractive, well-chosen plants. Trained staff and volunteers are available in person, by phone, or by e-mail to help with tree and plant selection, identifying and coping with pests and diseases, and other concerns. So, I emailed them to inqui

Yesterday, I posted a photo of one of the Hostas that I bought at the Fall Plant Sale (Praying Hands ) and talked about how I studied the shade to try to pick the right spot that provided the conditions while also placing it so I could enjoy looking at the plant.  Today, I wanted to add to the garden diary the other hosta - Waterslide.  This is the ruffled one that I posted about earlier this month when I bought i t. I ended up planting the Waterslide hosta adjacent to the three Japanese Evercolor Everillo Sedges that are planted at the base of our Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree .  You can see the Waterslide hosta on the left of the photo below. Just like the Sedges, I mulched the Waterslide hosta in with wood chips and have been trying to water it to get it established this Fall.   The plan in this area calls for the inclusion of Ostrich Ferns, so if you recall the back of the tag of this Waterslide Hosta , you'll see that both Sedges and Ferns are listed as companions.  And... 

 On a recent day, we were poking around the Morton Arboretum when we pulled over and got the kids out at the Spruce Plot.  It was empty and we had the whole place to ourselves.  I still remember the first time that I went to the Arboretum and walked in the Spruce Plot.  It was a magical experience.  It is hard to NOT smile when you walk in there.  And...having been there many times since, it is magical still. The Morton Arboretum site describes it as having a 'quite mystery': The quiet mystery of the spruce plot at The Morton Arboretum will make you feel as if you were hiking in the forests of Norway and Romania.

We have no blue flowering plants in our yard - so when we came across a full shade, blue-flowering perennial at the Fall Plant Sale - Nat said that we had to buy them.  These are NOT on my plan, but since they're Full Shade, they can go just about anywhere.   We bought three of these (and one more for Nat's Mom) for our backyard.   Walter's Garden describes these as being complimentary to hostas and ferns:  This beautiful shade perennial will make you dance with its impressive spring flowers and unique foliage. Starting in mid-spring shortly after Hellebores are finished booming, dainty light periwinkle blue flowers cover a low, mounded habit. After the flowers fade, you can enjoy its dark green leaves that are lightly sprinkled with silver. This plant will thrive in part shade to full shade as long as you provide moisture. Pulmonaria is an underused perennial that grows well in shady gardens. It is especially attractive when planted among hostas, ferns, and brunneras. Its

Yesterday,  I posted about the purchase of a Red Fox Katsura tree from the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale and talked about how it has a columnar habit and purple-ish leaves that turn green as they mature.  This is the 52nd tree that I've now planted on our property and the 17th of the year - matching the high-water mark of 2018 when I planted 17 trees, too.   This tree is VERY thin.  Like, VERY thin.  I was told it is a two-year old tree and has very little limb activity going on.  The top of it is so tall and thin that it is now drooping over in what you would think was a weeping habit.    Here, below, is a photo showing the tree with the top weeping over and the one branch that exists.  I dug a nice hole, removed the clay with the post-hole-digger and heavily amended the soil with composted manure.  I need to buy some bamboo and straighten out the top.   Below is the tag that shows the height (40-60') and spread (25-40').   I mentioned that I planted this as an "u

At the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale, they had a series of trees for sale including some shade and fruit trees as well as large trees and 'understory trees'.  You know that I can't go to a nursery with a tree sale and not come home with a tree for our yard.  I couldn't decide what tree to buy (I was considering an Ironwood tree), but I asked the staff at the Arboretum which tree they liked the best and BOTH of the arborists that I asked pointed me toward a set of trees that had the fewest there.  There were just three of these Red Fox Katsura trees, but both arborists told me that this was the tree that they'd bring home.  You can see the price above ($24), so it isn't a budget buster. The description from the sign reads:   A purple-leaved selection of the Katsura tree, this specimen has a narrow upright, columnar growth habit and is relatively low maintenance.   Columnar?  Check.  Red?  Check.  And, turns out...it is Japanese.  So, check.   Below is the tag

This is the seventh in the series of plant varieties that came home from the Morton Arobretum Fall Plant sale from last week.  The previous six - including some Japanese grasses, coral bells, a couple of hostas and some other shade plants can be found at the bottom of this post.  I bought these bright Evercolor Sedges based on the recommendation of the staff at the Arboretum.   From the sign at the top of this post, they describe these as having a 10-12" height and 16-24" spread.  But, also, they call out Full Shade - which is a key for me.  The rest of the description reads: Leaf blades are long, thin and arching, with a golden yellow hue.  Adds a burst of color to garden beds, borders and containers.  Mounding habit adds texture to many garden areas, especially when mass planted.  Best color in locations with morning sun.  Below is a photo of the front and the back of the plant tag - where they call this out as a Japanese Sedge.  Walter's Garden compares it to other, si

 The sixth variety of plants that we bought at the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale is a set of five Coral Bells.  Specifically, DOLCE Cherry Truffles Coral Bells.  These aren't the FIRST Coral Bells that we have in our landscape as I planted one (not sure of the cultivar) in a container in 2019 and transplanted into a foundation bed in the Fall.   By August of 2020 (a little bit over a year ago), I checked in on the plant and it seemed to be doing well.    In that post , I mentioned that the best practice is to divide these things every three to five years.  2019 = year one, 2020 = year two.  Next year is year three.  Come Spring, I'll take a shot at dividing it.   Here - below - is the sign for this variety - DOLCE Cherry Truffles Coral Bells from the plant sale. The description reads: Beautiful bright red, heavily ruffled leaves form a low, mounding habit.  In Summer, the bright color persists, maturing to a rich mahogany red.  Dark burgundy stems hold light pink flowers and da

The next up in my purchase(s) at the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale is one of these Chocoholic Black Snakeroot (Actacea 'Chocoholic' ).    The sign from the sale is below, but for the short-hand reason for why I bought it?  It flowers in Full Shade.  And, like it or not, I'm a shade gardener.   This snakeroot grows to 4-5' tall and a three-to-four foot spread.   The description from the sign reads: Bronze purple foliage is a welcome addition to the shade garden.  Rich mauve-pink flowers lighten to white as they age.  Forms a dense, upright clump.   Below is a photo of the full plant showing the current height and clump size.   I haven't thought about Snakeroot before, but when I saw this one flowering, I couldn't pass it up.   The ball-like flower buds have started to explode into white flowers.    The Chocoholic Version is one of many versions of Snakeroot.  Walter's Garden thinks highly of this cultivar : This lovely native cultivar adds wonderful textur

One of the plants that I've been chasing for a while is a Japanese grass.  I posted a 'dreaming post' back in January of this year featuring something called "All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses ".  I wasn't the only one in our house that has had a little bit of plant lust as Natalie had snapped a photo of a neighbor close to Randall Park that has grasses in their yard and she said:  "I like these" when she texted me the photo.  So, imagine my delight when I went to the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale and came across a bunch of these All Gold Grass - Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold'.   The sign you can see below carries this description: A vigorously growing, all gold version of the Hakone grass.  A cascading habit makes it perfect for the landscape or container.  Spreads slowly through rhizomes.   I ended up buying quite a few of these and have plans to put them in both our front (side) yard and the backyard.   Here's what one of them looks li

The third variety of plant material that I brought home from the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale last week is the second cultivar of hosta.  And it is (maybe?) even more unique than the Waterslide one that has ruffled edges.  This one is called Praying Hands Hosta and according to Walter's Garden , it is "unlike any other hosta."  It also was "Hosta of the Year" in 2011.   Here - below - is the plant tag that shows the height being 14-18" and the spread being 12-16".   Here - below - is a look at the plant that I brought home.  It is really interesting looking.   If you looked closely at the photo of my Linden trees that I posted a few days ago, you might have viewed this hosta at the base of one of them.  I've been watching the sun/shade patterns of that area to see if it is the right place to plant this hosta.  I'd like it in a spot that can be viewed and highlighted - so underneath those trees feels good right now.  I'll do a shade stud

 Yesterday, I started to share some items that I bought at the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale starting with a pair of Karl Foerster grasses and mentioned that I also came home with some other items.  Here is one of those: A Waterslide Hosta. They had a few different varieties of hostas that were unique - ones that you can't buy at Home Depot or most big box garden centers.  All of them were selected by the staff at the Arboretum to be good for Fall planting.  Of the six or so for sale, I ended up deciding on trying a few.  I mean...tell me that you could see a rack of these hostas and not want to buy one? Here's the tag showing the Waterslide hosta mixed in with some other more lime-colored hostas. And the back of the tag: The description on the tag reads: This beautifully ruffled hosta is a thrill to behold! Blue, rippled leaves hold their color all season long.  Lavender flowers appear on proportionate flower scapes. Here, below, is the sign that was up at the Plant Sale

 Last week I went over to the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale and picked up a few things for Fall planting.  They had some items that I've come across before and others that were new to me - having not come across them at either a garden center or big box store.  I'll post about the groups of plants (and one tree) that I brought home over the next few days.   First up are a pair of Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  I've posted about them over the years - and have a series of them planted outside of our kitchen windows in back , three of them planted by our landscapers between our front porch and driveway and one solo grass planted outside of our screened porch.  I bought six and only planted five by the kitchen windows, hence this other one being all alone. I really like these grasses as they provide a mix of coloring through the year - from green to purple to gold - and provide a lot of interest all year long - including Winter.   Back to that one outside our screened por

Another day, another 'tree dreaming' post here on the blog.  And guess what? It features another columnar form tree , of course.  But this one is a conifer.  If you've followed along on the blog, you'll know that I'm pretty far behind when it comes to conifers in the landscape.  I included this note in my 2019 "to do list" that called for 'adding more conifers" .  I added eight in 2019 (see results here ), but six of them were TINY.  I mean... TINY .  Those six Canadian Hemlocks ( now five ) aren't going to be meaningful in our garden for many years.  Still have quite a bit more work to do, I think - and especially as I think about replacing the (LOST) Weeping Cedar . This post is about a variety of tree that we haven't planted yet: a pine.  This is called a Columnar Eastern White Pine tree that Monrovia lists as being hardy all the way down to Zone 3. Here's a photo from Gertens : Note: This is not my photo.  Found it via Ger

I've posted a bunch of times about fountains and ponds here on the blog including a look at some designs that I'm documenting to save as inspiration for something that *could* eventually find the way into our backyard.  In April, I showed this park pond in Woodridge .  And last year, I posted about these bowl-like fountains that I found at Wannemakers .  Today, I'm sharing this image that I took at the Fragrance Garden in the Morton Arboretum .  It is a kind of hybrid between some of the pond ideas that I've been filing away AND the bowl/fountains that I've posted about, too.  This one has a nice round elevated bowl that is perfectly level and lets the water roll off into a concrete bowl that has flagstone ringing it.  This is a kind of interesting approach, but I wonder if having something like this that has A LOT of turbulence in it (water fall) limits the fish you can keep in this?  Maybe they're smart enough to head to the calm waters?  But, I also like