Why I Oughta...

There is a season for every bloom and with our small drift of Lucky Charm Anemone, that season is "late Summer".  Here it is (below) in very late August when the first blooms are just coming on and opening up.  This will be an explosion of color for the next month - all the way right up until the first frost.  I'm not sure which I like more:  the open blooms or the closed, grey/purple-grey closed ball-like buds before they open up.   

I saw this sign at Roy Diblik's Northwind Perennial Farm on the benches for a Lavender that is named Lavandula x Intermedia 'Phenomenal'.  Or...Phenomenal Lavender.  The description says:  "This is what all of us have been waiting for.  This lavendar will live through our heat and humidity, our cold winters.  It can grow everywhere."  Sounded like it was worth a shot, right?  Lavender is hard-to-grow and (from what I've read) likes to grow in hard-to-grow conditions.  Full Sun.  Low organic material.  Good drainage.   I have just the place.  My 'hard to grow' area down by the sidewalk.  It gets full sun and has some gravel in the soil.  And, is right next to the sidewalk, so it gets hot.   I bought a quart that had a small Lavender plant in it and got busy planting it down IB2DWs, down by the sidewalk:

In 2023, I planted two Shredded Umbrella Plants in amongst some epimedium in the understory garden on the north side .  They're foliage plants that have a pretty unique leaf to them and I've admired them ever since they went in the ground.  This is now their third growing season and for the first time...they flowered.  See below for the current state of these unique foliage plants: I figured that in service of 'repetition' in the garden, why not add a few more.  The last time I was up at Northwind Perennial Farm, I picked up three more Shredded Umbrella plants and decided to put them in opposite the current batch - along the southside.   Here, below, are the three nursery container plants pre-planting:  I opted to put them in amongst the Autumn Ferns, in-front-of the water bubbler in the wine barrel.  With a couple of carex in the back, this is becoming a Roy Diblik-inspired cluster of perennials.   These little pop of foliage are someth...

We have a number of Allium Summer Beauty scattered around the garden.  They were the first clumping ornamental onion that I used in the garden and, I think one of the best.  They just grow.  Over the years, I've added others - like Serendipity Allium.   When I was up at Roy Diblik's Northwind Perennial Farm, I came across a new (to me) allium:  Medusa.  Here's the sign they have up below: Twisting leaves with all the purple blooms of other allium.  Sounds interesting.  Here, below, is a closer look at the foliage on the Medusa Allium.  I bought five of them in quart-sized containers: I decided to fill a part of the front yard Island bed - along the driveway - with a colony or drift of these five Medusa Allium.  You can see them set up in their spots below: We'll see how these perform compared to my (current) favorite allium:  Serendipity.  

As I wandered around the tables at Northwind Perennial Farm, I was stopped-in-my-tracks by this silver foliage plant.  It was new (to me) and named "Garden Ghost" Artimisa.   Here's how they look in their nursery pots below: Here's a closer look at the sign below that highlights it's short height (just a foot tall) and color (silver): I tucked the three plants into the back corner of the Island Bed - behind the Medusa Allium (more on them tomorrow).

I have a couple Shredded Umbrella plants in our shade garden in the backyard. That's their trade name, but their scientific name is Synelesis aconitifolia and they're prized for their upright foliage that resembles - as you might have guessed - a 'shredded umbrella' in the garden. I bought them up at Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin from Roy Diblik after fellow garden designer Austin Eischeid gave a talk at Northwind about his shade garden and included the Shredded Umbrella Plant. I tucked two of them in amongst some Epimedium.  That first season, they went dormant early.  I assumed they didn't make it.  But, they came back last year.  Same thing:  early dormancy.  I figured the worst. So, imagine my delight when I see this unique foliage (below) peeking out of the soil this Spring: I'll post an update after this leaf's out later this Spring.  I'll include it on my shopping list the next time I head to Northwind.  

I've posted a few times about the notion of 'repetition' in the garden and how it is a technique that helps create an eye-pleasing and easy-to-navigate visually garden.  I've taken up the idea of repetition a little bit in more recent years by focusing on a could of core, foundational plants that I can carry throughout the backyard.   I was happy with the idea of getting to know the concept of reptition in our garden.  Until....I came accross this piece on Meristem Horticulture by Jared Barnes, Ph.D where he introduced me to the idea of "Legibility in the Garden".  Here's a link to the piece and below is a screenshot of the lede. First things, first.  Dr. Barnes knows his stuff.   And, he takes pretty wonderful photos and is an engaging garden writer. He says: "I love cultivating plants and cultivating gardeners. Over the years, I’ve helped thousands of people of all ages learn to garden better. " He's been doing that with me for a while ...

I have a little cluster of Carex Montana that I planted in Summer of 2023 along the beginning of the impromptu flagstone path along the south entry of our house.  I picked them up at Northwind Perennial Farm and they were just plug-sized .  I put them in next to the Boxwoods that are under the Linden trees and allowed them to anchor the 'corner' of the path.   These things stood-out to me so much this season that I posted about them just a month-or-so ago when I said they were thriving in this deep-shade location .  In that post, I mentioned that I "should plant 12 more of these along the path".   With Fall Planting season here, I decided to try to divide some of these Carex Montanas to get a couple of free plants.  Like I've done with other divisions - when I haven't divided said plant before - I hedged and left one of the three intact.  I didn't touch the one in back.  But, I dug up and divided the other two - which were a little bit ...

I managed to plant a couple more things this weekend after finding these at The Growing Place end-of-the-season sale.  There are now two Stachys monnieri 'Hummelo' planted right at the feet of the Ginkgo tree that is growing IB2DWs.    I have a pair of these same Stachys Hummelos already in the front yard that I planted last Fall (Fall Planting, ftw).   This was their first season and they put on a nice colorful show this Summer - which reinforced why I wanted them in our garden.  As I mentioned in the original post, these are on Roy Diblik's 'appropriate plant list' , so you can't go wrong with having a few of these in your beds.   I've posted a few times about repetition and mass plantings and how I've grown to appreciate (and be drawn to) those concepts.  I've swapped out a few things in my backyard (via Garden Edits) to bring some of that repetition and mass planting to life.   One of the postings - about mass plantings - was b...

In my Fall Planting sprint last year, I planted a pair of Agastche 'Blue Fortune' perennials in my mixed bed IB2DWs .  These were sort-of tucked in behind some Hakeonechloa All Gold Grasses and in front of a row of Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  Roy Diblik - up at Northwind - talked up Agastache, so when I saw it on close-out, I grabbed two.   They mostly just hung out in the background all Spring, but in the past week-or-so, they exploded with some blue/purple bottle-brush like blooms standing tall and proud.  Below is a photo showing the blooms and overall height of the plant: They're billed as being great for pollinators and true-to-the-description, when I was out there looking at these on a recent morning, they were being buzzed-around by some insects.  You can see them if you look closely: More of this, Jake.  Fall planting will be here soon enough. 

Last year, I planted a number of Seslaria Autumnalis (Autumn Moor Grasses) in our front porch beds that I picked up from Roy Diblik's Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin.  They did REALLY well in their first year - so well, in fact - that I decided to roll-the-dice and divide a couple of them in their FIRST Fall in the garden.  I divided three of them and planted the three new divisions in the backyard - around the tree-swing Oak tree .    Some of my other Fall Divisions dealt with some 'heaving' and I'm not sure if they're going to make it.  But, these three Moor Grasses?  See below - they appear to be putting on green blades for their second growing season: These are inter-planted with some Summer Beauty Allium that are planted closer to the border.  And, what appears to be some to-be-determined Allium bulbs (based on the foliage) closer to the trunk of the tree.   My plan is to (likely) divide a few more of the Moor Grasses in front, bu...

Yesterday, I posted an update about the trio of Spine Tingler Epimedium that are planted near the large Catalpa tree in our backyard .  Those three are planted amongst some of the other Epimedium (Amber Queen) that we have had planted for a number of years. At one time, I had five (5) Amber Queen Barrenwort/Epimedium - Here's a look in May 2021, when I planted two new ones to bring the total to five .   By the time I planted the Spine Tinglers last May (2023), there were just four Amber Queens left.   And that's what we're looking at today:  Four Amber Queen Epimedium and Three Spine Tingler Epimedium.   Below is a wider view of this colony showing all eight plants: I've amended some parts of the front and back beds with biosolids last Fall.  Looking at this section, I'm thinking that these could use a slow-release feeding via some biosolid topdressing and/or mulch. I didn't manage to post about these, but I also added a pair of Shredded Umbrella ...

I was nosing around on a bulb and seed site recently and came across a new (to me) perennial:  Rudbeckia Black Beauty.  Rudbeckia is something that I've heard (and seen) from Roy Diblik on YouTube and at his nursery (Northwind Perennial Farm) in Wisconsin.  But, this particular variety is something that I don't think I've come across.  Visually, it is quite different (at least to me - the novice when it comes to Rudbeckias).  Check out the photo below of Rudbeckia Black Beauty from DutchGrown.com :   Photo Source - Dutch Grown dot com .  This is *not* my photo.   What does that photo show?  For me...it shows a lack of petals.  This looks (to me) to be a flower that has already bloomed and drop all of its petals, doesn't it?   But that's not what is going on here; rather this is a (dare I say) unique coneflower that doesn't have any petals.   From Heritage Perennials comes this description : This is an unusua...

The last few Falls, I've divided a great number of Summer Beauty Alliums .  This year, I didn't get to all that many, but I *did* add a few 'free' plants.   There was a pair of them flanking the Baby Blue Spruce in back that were getting pretty big.  You can see them below - on the right in the first photo and more in the middle in the second: I dug them both up and divided each - then replaced them in their spots.  Those two new plants - via division - went in on that side of the garden.  One behind the fence - Hosta Replacement.  The other by the Disneyland Roses. Two 'free plants'.  That I KNOW perform.  That's like free money, right? With these two, I BELIEVE that I've wrapped up Fall Planting posts. What's the total from below?   Holy crap.  I planted 68 new things.  Created 26 new plants via division.  Adding 94 total things to the garden in a four-week sprint.  30 ground cover plants make up almost 1/3rd o...

Fall is the right time to divide Seslaria.  And, I'm going to attempt to divide and transplant first-year Seslaria Autumnalis.  Why?  Because I've been so happy with them up front this year.  I identified the three largest plants in front - like the one below - and dug up and split it in two. I wanted to improve the ring around the tree-swing tree with something more interesting - so I moved the new divisions to sit in between the Christmas Tree hostas that I moved here last year.  These are behind the Summer Beauty Allium divisions from last year, too.   Below is a look at some of the divisions and where they went in the backyard. I tucked the original plants back in, too.  Now they were just half-the-size. There's a photo above of a TINY division.  I'm not counting that, so, we're calling this a +3 free plants for Fall Dividing. I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

Another day, another award-winning perennial that takes me outside my foliage-gardening comfort zone.  This time, it is Agastache 'Blue Fortune'.  And I bought and planted a pair in the original IB2DWs bed in front of the Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses that make up the back border.  Just like with others...I know OF Agastache.  But, a quick spin online sold me on Blue Fortune.  From Bluestone : Oodles of soft lavender-blue flowers are held over large deep-green, minty licorice-scented foliage. Unique bottle-brush like flowers of Agastache are very attractive. Leaves feature silver undersides. Exceptional performance in the sun-drenched garden.  Low maintenance, tolerates heat and drought once established. Butterflies and hummingbirds love to sample the nectar rich blooms.  2004 Great Plant Picks award winner. Done and done.  I took the two they had.  And put them in the IB2DWs bed amongst the Creeping Jenny and All Gold Hakenchloa Forest ...

At some point in (I think) 2022, I bought and planted a Japanese Anemone x Hybrid 'Pamina' from Northwind Perennial Farm up in Wisconsin and planted it in a spot on the northside of our backyard.  Turns out, I'm pretty certain that it was the WRONG SPOT.  For this plant.  Too much shade.  You can see the sign at the top of this post that calls for "Part Sun".  It goes on to say:   Beautiful, easy to grow plants, flowering late in the season in a burst of bright pink.  Lovely in a partially shaded site.  Divide in Spring.  This plant does great with grasses and interplanted with Stachys 'Hummelo'. "Partially shaded" site is/was my problem, I think.   What do I have to look forward to - if it succeeds?  From Bluestone Pernnials comes these details - including that it is a "RHS Award of Garden Merit Winner : One of the most compact Anemone, the elegant bright rose-pink blossoms of broad overlapping petals surround whorls of b...

Fall Planting 2023 will go down as a big moment in our garden.  That is...as long as everything that I'm putting in makes it through the Winter.  I'm getting to this stuff pretty late in the growing season, so I a little bit of hesitancy in proclaiming that all of these will make it.  Last year, with the huge mass of Autumn Ferns that I planted late and didn't come back have scarred me a bit .  That fear didn't stop me from adding three more new (to me) plants on the same trip to The Growing Place.  I was wandering around the grass area and came across these small quart-sized grasses you see above.  Short in nature.  Nice seed heads.  I pulled out the plant tag and see this below from Hocus Pocus Groundcovers:  Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' - Greenlee's Moor Grass. Thanks to the Front Porch bed exploration from earlier this year , I was somewhat familar with some Seslerias and ended up buying and planting a number of Seslaria Autumnalis from No...