Why I Oughta...

The past few years have been a love story between me, the gardener and Ajuga 'Chocolate Chips', the groundcover.  I've bought it a few different sizes (quarts and plugs) and have scattered them around the front and back of our yard.  Some have really thrived.  Some have died totally.  And others...well...they're still TBD.  This time in early Spring is when these Ajugas take on a different form - with curled-up, darker foliage that make them standout a bit.  Soon...they'll be filled with blue/purple flowers.   Here's a look at some of those - starting with some less-than-one-year-old plugs.  These went in the bed in late May in our backyard, sort-of in-front-of the Fanal Astilbes .  The six plugs are not stretching out into six plants.  Soon...maybe this year, they'll connect to each other: Next up, is a pair of plugs that went in the backyard in late Fall.  These are planted in front of the Baby Blue Spruce Tree.  They, well...survived the winter.  Are they

Ajugas.  More Ajugas.  They're awesome plants.  So, why not fill in some spots, right? I've already posted about a pair of Burgundy Glow Ajugas (one IB2Dws and other by Screened porch) and eight Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' - five in the Driveway Island bed and three on the south border of the front porch bed.  I bought another six-pack of Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' and while I'm pretty sure I planted all six, I can only (now) count five.  Here are a few photos showing those five.  First, three in the front IB2DWs section - filling in the space by the 2-year-old GreenVelvet boxwoods.  Then, two more in back - fronting the new Baby Blue Spruce tree by the Linden espalier. I've had some luck with Fall Planting Ajuga, so here's hoping these five take.  And..who knows...maybe I'll discover the sixth this Winter - once I pick up all the leaves. I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

 What's better than two Baby Blue Spruce trees?  If you answered "Three Baby Blue Spruce Trees", you'd be correct.  This time, I've added the small (container-grown) dwarf conifer to the bed near the kitchen window in back.  You can see it in the photo below.  This goes towards my #1 item on my 2023 list - evergreens. But, it also checks some of the box on #18 - dealing with the 'kitchen window curved bed' as this is planted in front of the Weeping White Spruce and to the west of the Espalier'd Greenspire Lindens. As for keeping score on a few fronts, let's first start with the Fall Planting Tally.

A week back, I shared photos and details of the first of three Baby Blue Spruce trees that have gone in our yard as part of my Fall Planting Sprint.  They were all 7# container-grown trees and are small to start - somewhere shy of 24" tall from tip to rootflare.  I planted the first one in my new Conifer Garden - IB2DWs extended.  And, I matched it with the second one on the other end of that spread.  See below for a look at #2 Baby Blue.  This is planted closer to the Bald Cypress.  And...it is planted 'high' on purpose.   As for keeping score on a few fronts, let's first start with the Fall Planting Tally.

Conifers Should Come First .  That's a gardening truth.  And, as I admitted last week...a mistake that I've made in our garden .  But, it also points to an opportunity.  Specifically in the IB2DWs extended bed.  I talked about focusing on adding some dwarf conifers in service of my #2 item - adding clustered evergreens - IB2DWs extended .     As part of my #Fall Planting for 2023, I kind of went ham on dwarf conifers to make up for my past mistakes.  I've sworn off the trees at Home Depot, but when I was confronted with this sign (below), I decided to nose around.   I found that pallet of blue spruce trees (at the top of this post) that had these tags:  Baby Blue Spruce #7 Container Grown.  See below for the tag showing the $45 price: Half-off means for $22.50, I get a dwarf, blue conifer.  And, it is container-grown, so I'm pretty sure that means it isn't one of their air-layered conifers that come in burlap bags.  I needed this tree.  In fact...I decided that I ne