Why I Oughta...

I planted some Green Giant Thujas back in the Spring of 2022 and....now...coming up on three years later...they are starting to have 'presence' in the garden.   Perhaps it is because everything else is in dormancy.  Or...more likely...because these have put on size - height and width.   See below for the three along the southside of the property.    I'm now thinking of putting a few more of these in the backyard - come Spring 2025.  Screening trees along the back sides of the garden - including adding even more along this same fenceline.

Each late Winter, I prune up the pair of Greenspire Lindens that are formal in shape via espalier.  They need a bunch of pruning along the top level of the horizontal cordon.  There are waterspouts EVERYWHERE.  And, this year is no different.  With these trees recently dropping their leaves, the structure has been exposed and I can see all the top-growth from that top level.  See below for the pair of trees: Come February, I'll dormant prune ALL of those off and bring it back into shape.  

The Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas on the southside of our backyard in the 'kitchen curved bed' are holding on to their greenish/purple-ish leaves this late into the year.  Below in the photo you can see a number of them lined up along the back/middle-back of the border that are droop'ing, but...holding their large leaves: Also note...the leaf litter in the photo all across the beds.  I've cleaned these out a handful of times, each time trying to cut up the leaves with my mower and blowing the scraps back onto the beds.  

Once I posted the structure of the front-yard Spring Grove Ginkgo tree , I figured I should include the back stoop versions (there is one on each side) in the [garden diary], too.   Both of these have a one-year head start, but are showing a bunch more height than the front-yard tree.

2024 is one of the years where our large, mature Red Oak trees aren't holding their leaves late into Winter.  This year, they've dropped MOST of them already - by December 1st.  I've posted about these two backyard Oak trees - the Tree Swing Oak and the southside Oak - over the years - documenting how much foliar marcescence takes places.   This year - here are a couple of photos showing the canopy of these trees on December 1st:  mostly bare. Here is December 6, 2019 - when the Oaks were holding TONS of leaves .   Here is November 23, 2020 - when the trees (both of them) had dropped all their leaves . Here is December 2, 2021 - when the tree swing tree was holding leaves .   Here is November 22, 2023 - when they were FULL of brown leaves .  

I spent a long time thinking and planning and (eventually) buying and planting a full hedge of (at that time) small Hicks Yews across the back of our yard back in 2019.  I planted twelve 1# pots in the Summer of 2019 and they've had (now) six growing seasons ('19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24). I picked these because they're shade-tolerant.  And, evergreen.  And, narrow/upright.   But, I was hesitant.  Why?  Because...well...Yews have a bad reputation.  Ask any gardener my age if their parents had yews in front of their house when they were growing up and the answer is:  yes.   I was hesitant to use Yews because of what I had grown-up with in the garden.  Everywhere you look in suburban gardens, people have been using Boxwoods.  And, I have, too.  Boxwoods here.  Boxwoods there.  But, after some hemming-and-hawing...I opted for these $5.00 Hicks, upright Yews for the hedge.    I came across this 'undu...

In the Fall of 2021, I was on a "Hicks Yew High" - where I planted these tiny shade-loving evergreen shrubs all over the backyard.  I put six of them in the south bed with designs to 'replicate' the undulating hedge from the back border .  Here are the six in winter when the contrast with the snow shows how small they really were in January of 2022 .  In Summer of 2022, I did a 'garden edit' where I pulled out some Lilacs and replaced them with some Green Giant Thujas.  At at that time, I also relocated three of the Hicks Yews .   Three remained.  Set on sort-of 'an angle'.   I set up my wine barrel 'water feature' next to them.  And, haven't thought about them much at all.  (that is the wine barrel that I've turned over for the winter in the photo...) Have they grown?  Yep.  The photo at the top shows their current state.  I'm hoping that - with time - the gaps will close and a small 'hedge' of sorts appears here....

In July of 2022, I added a pair of Hicks Yews (if it isn't clear by now, I was *really* hot on Hicks Yews in 2021 and 2022) on either side of the 'entrance' to our firepit area.  Like the rest of the Yews on our property, these were bought and planted as #1 nursery pot shrubs (and were bought at 50% off of $9.98 - so $10 for both of them).  They've had 2.5 growing seasons - all of 2023 and 2024 and half of 2022 - the year they went in.   My thought at the time was that these will create a little 'framed' entrance to the firepit from the yard, but they would need TIME to put on the necessary size. They were probably 12" tall when planted.  Barely visible in the landscape. Below, you can see the current size of this pair of Hicks Yews: These weren't watered that much this season, so they're clearly established.  You can see the little dark spot in the soil/mulch just to the right of the Yew in the foreground.  That's the mark of the soil-injected...

Walking out the backdoor, I found a bunch of these fan-shaped Ginkgo leaves laying on the stoop.  They're from the pair of Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf, Witches broom trees) that sit on either side of our back stoop and flank the entrance.  I originally had a pair of Rhododendrons in these spots - planted in 2018 .  But, moved them out in 2023 doing a 'garden edit '.   I caught this post on Instagram from Erin - the Impatient Gardener - where she posted some photos of her own dwarf Ginkgo - a Gnome Ginkgo - and included some info that...I sort of 'observed', but didn't know what was going on with Ginkgos. Her post, embedded below, includes this line :  "Ginkgo trees develop these scars on all their leaves simultaneously, causing them to drop all at once when triggered by a hard frost." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener (@impatientgardener) "Blink and you'll miss it...

In 2021, I planted two 1# small Hicks (upright) yews in the backyard - sort of near the understory garden on the north side.  I planted them somewhat close together with eyes on (eventually) shaping them up into a 'Block I' Illinois topiary .  Earlier that year, I posted about this University of Auburn topiary frame and dreamed of a 'Block I' .  The two Hicks yews were probably 12" tall in Fall of 2021 .  They've now had three (2022, 2023 and 2024) growing seasons and have put on some size.   Here are the two Hicks Yews - below - after those three growing seasons.  They've grown up (a little bit) are are still mostly columnar. It isn't easy to determine their height, so here below, is a shovel stuck in the ground to provide a height comparison.   I CLEARLY still have time to create the 'Block I' frame out of Chicken Wire, so I'm not concerned about that.  I am, however, concerned about the 'fullness' of these.  Are they going to ge...

Just when everything was going dormant, dropping their foliage and going to bed for the season, I'm seeing a couple of anomalies.  First, was that Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea bloom last week .  Everything else is in decline...but one stem and small pink bloom.  Today, I'm posting a photo of something else:  the Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea in our backyard.  This is planted in the 'kitchen curved' bed on the southside, right near the Butterscotch Amsonia.   This is one of two of these shrubs that have a Japanese-garden-inspired look to their fern-like foliage.  The other one is in the front porch bed.  These never did SUPER great this year after being planted in November of 2023 .    I noticed that these had set some buds this Fall and assumed they went dormant.   But...we haven't had a hard frost...yet.  Normally it arrives in/around mid-October.  But, this year...everything is winding down very slowly. The Match...

In the Fall of 2021, I made a big decision (or...what seemed like a BIG decision at the time) in our garden.  I opted to dig up some of our Oakleaf Hydrangeas and move them *out* from the fence .  They were planted to allow for their mature size, but tucked in closer to the fence.  After reading and observing our garden - and others online - I decided to invest in putting evergreen shrubs *behind* deciduous, flowering shrubs.  Here's the post from October 2021 where I talk about 'layering' and how most designs call for evergreens *in front of* shrubs like hydrangeas .  That's how it looks in our front yard.  But....this idea turns that concept on its ear - by putting the evergreens BEHIND the shrubs that lose their leaves in Winter.  To do that, I needed to move out the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  And plant some evergreens.  I opted for Hicks Yews - since this is a pretty much full-shade area.  I planted a five-dollar, one-gallon Hicks Yew in O...

In Fall 2021, I planted two small (2 gallon nursery container) Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum shrubs in a pair of locations that were part of our overall, master garden plan.  The plan calls for these Arrowwood Viburnum in a number of locations, but I've only planted two.  (Note for next year, I suppose...) That means they've had three full growing seasons (2022, 2023 and now 2024) to grow up and out.  These are at the very back of the border, so while I'd like to say that I've cared for them...that's just not true:  these have mostly been neglected.  After the first few Winters - where rabbits were eating these, I've watered them (on occasion) and mostly forgot about them.   Despite that, they've grown up and out.  In Fall 2021, they were about 12" tall from the ground/mulch.  Today, they're both over the top of the lower fence (4' tall fence).  Below is a look at the pair of Arrowwood Viburnum - which....are still....surprisingly.....

Planted in Spring of 2021 , our Weeping Nootka Falsecypress tree is now closing out its fourth full growing season in our backyard.  This was one of the larger 'nursery pot' trees that we've put in, so judging the growth and maturation isn't as easy as it is on some other smaller trees. Has this grown?  Certainly.  Is it 'plain to the eye'?  That's a little harder to confirm.   The answer is 'yes'.  And when I go back and look at the planting post here and then flip back to this photo, I can see it.  This has not only grown taller.  The limbs have lengthened and the whole thing has put on...well...girth.   Below is a photo showing the current size and shape of this conifer tree.  I still love this tree as much as I did when we planted it.  But, this post isn't just about documenting the size and growth of the tree.  It is also to document what is happening on the 'tips' of the falsecypress tree branches:  buds b...

The Fall Colors series of posts continues today with a look at the Dawn Redwood tree in our backyard. Yesterday, I posted a look at the red foliage on some of the Oakleaf Hydrangeas in our backyard and talked about how I don't have a ton of 'red' Fall colors .    Earlier, I posted a look at the contrast between the small Saragoga Ginkgo tree and Little Henry Sweetspire by our front stairs .   And before that, I posted a photo of the Butterscotch Amsonia in our 'kitchen curved' bed that was as bright as it has EVER been in the Fall.  This post shows (at the top) a photo of the orange needles on our Dawn Redwood tree.  This tree went in the ground in 2018 as a three-to-four-foot-tall container-grown tree .  It has grown up and sprawled out.  I'd call this a more 'informal' shape right now.  The leader is leaning over and not shooting up very fast.   This tree has given this small little orange 'show' each Fall - and I've tried to doc...

Recently, I posted a photo of the Butterscotch Amsonia that I described as 'electric' in its Fall colors and talked about how we have some oranges and yellows, but very few reds in our "Fall Show".  Besides the Acer Palmatums, the few red-colored foliage plants we have include some Oakleaf Hydrangea.  See below for a look at a couple of them turning red.  These are Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea that went in the ground in 2022 .    There's also an Alice Oakleaf Hydrangea back there, too.  I lost one of those closer to the house this past Winter that I need to replace, so I might look into transplanting this one back up in the 'kitchen curved' bed.  

I've long proclaimed myself to be a foliage gardener.  That's partially because I'm a shade gardener and partially because flowering plants have always been a little bit outside of my comfort zone.  But, I'm starting to think that I'm also *another* kind of gardener:  a Fall Gardener.  Or at least a late Summer + Fall Gardener.   The September and October Dahlia blooms this year have taught me to love that part of the growing season.  And now....as things are going dormant in our yard and garden, I'm struck by some things that are happening in Fall.   What are those things?  Here's one - below.  The EYE-SEARING gold that is coming from our Butterscotch Amsonias in our backyard that are contrasted by the dark green foliage of some Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  This color is borderline shocking.  It is a little hard to see, but if you look closely, there are a couple of other things worth noting in this photo.  First....th...

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 planted a pair Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf trees) on either side of my back stoop last Summer - in May 2023 .   All Summer-long, I protected them from the sun with a shade cloth as they were drooping everytime we'd have a run of hot days.  They seemed to make it thru the season just fine and by September of 2023, they were showing some new, tender growth .   Both of the trees came back this Spring and I don't seem to have documented their growth in 2024.  This year, I did NOT put up any shade cloth and only watered them when I was watering my annuals.  It appears that they're *mostly* established by this point and are filling out. Below are their current looks.  On the left (below) is the tree on the southside.  On the right (below), is the one on the north - in between the stoop and the screened porch door. At this point, I've done ZERO pruning on them and I don't intend to touch them - until they start to creep in/onto the stoop or d...

I planted three Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' - Dwarf Maiden Grasses in the backyard back in 2021 sort-of near the tree-swing tree.  They were - at that time - part of a layering that was going on over there with Hakonechloa Macra All Gold Grasses in front, these Dwarf Maiden Grasses in the middle and some dwarf Little Lime Hydrangeas in the back.  I posted about this 'slice' of my garden last September.    But...now...the pizza oven has happened.  And it is close to this spot.  I already moved the All Gold grasses out.   Now, with #FallPlanting here, I've turned my attention to these grasses.  They have done a lovely job of growing these past few season.  And...now it sure feels like they're good candidates for dividing. See below for current state of these dwarf Maiden grasses: I see a few spots for these: In back:  around the patio - to layer with Karl Foersters.  Or, on north end to anchor that corner. In front:  paire...