Why I Oughta...

It may not be super easy to tell in this photo below, but our Dawn Redwood tree has continued to grow.  And it is taking on a nice upright-ish form.  But, the apical meristem - the leader - is wandering.  It isn't straight up in the air, but rather...leaning back.  My thought here is that a potential 2026 project might be to try to pull the leader back into a more-upright position.  A rope, plus some sort of trunk/bark protection (like a piece of garden hose) pulled tight to a stake to help train it back to be more upright?  Or....should I prune this a bit more to clear out some competition?  Maybe both?

Back in early January, I wrote a post titled " An Early, Early Look at 2026 Projects and To-Do List " that included a look at a bunch of potential projects.   One of the items listed for the backyard was this: Replace Oakleaf Hydrangeas. Dang rabbits.  Maybe add a few Thujas , too.  I think I've arrived at a place where I have to do something about the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  I have loved them - but the rabbit pressure has just about killed them the past few years.  Here's a post from January, too where I showed how the (dang!) rabbits had gnawed away at these shrubs .  I wrote this then, and still feel it today: I've protected some of them with chicken wire cages, but the small ones (dwarf) are just about eaten back to the trunks. And some of the Alice (larger ones) have been reduced, too. I *REALLY* like Oakleaf Hydrangeas. But, I don't know if our garden is going to work for them. Working AGAINST what works is something I need to stop doing as a gar...

See that bright patch in the photo below?  That's a patch of 'protected' Angelina Sedum that is in the same section of groundcover that I posted about yesterday .  I'm not sure where I picked up the tip, but I take some of our patio containers and tip them on their sides during winter.  In an attempt to keep them from cracking.  The container you can see peeking in the photo on the right side on the stair?  That's the one that I tipped into this bed all Winter.  That means that this bright green patch of groundcover was protected from the Winter temperatures (and snow and ice) all Winter.  Which kept the Summer-color of the Sedum all season long.    If you look at the front edge of this sedum, you'll see similar signs of rabbit damage like what I was seeing in the sedum up front last week . 

The sedum that is planted on either side of our back stoop takes on some oranges and browns during the winter months.  Here's a peek at it below.  Along with some Winter leaf litter.    This Sedum was a volunteer from one of our patio pots and I've transplanted pieces of it (now) on both sides of the stoop.  Here's a look at those beds cleaned up in April of 2025 .   I had some chipmunk problems in these beds over the years, but this Sedum covered up most of the access holes/entrances, so I've failed to solve it permanently.  

Bought during the early days of COVID in 2020 , this Big Box store tree has grown up and out over the years.  This tree sits in the far reaches of the backyard and is growing in front of the (never-quite-done-well) Lilacs.  The bend in the trunk is where (I think) the initial leader died back and a new one emerged.  Guessing that's when the nursery decided to pull this and stick it in a small container to sell at the Big Box store.   The upright nature of the tree (right now) may be due to the environment (growing inside of a pair of other trees) or it could be how these grow.  But, that part isn't what is most interesting to me.  My eye is drawn to the exfoliating bark on the lower part of the trunk.  I posted a photo of this trunk last Spring .  I'll get back out there this year to take some close-ups.  I first wrote about these trees on a trip to Paris in Luxembourg Gardens .  And wanted one after that visit.   To the r...

Planted all the way back in Fall of 2020 , we have a small Pagoda Dogwood (native) tree planted in the far back of the yard.  Sort-of in-between the Yew Hedge (in development), the lawn and the fire pit gravel area.  When I bought it, the tree was maybe 15" tall and had an all-green trunk .  Literally...all green.  Not even a pencil in caliper.   As I've learned to do (the hard way...by killing trees), I left this thing alone for the first few years.  I selectively pruned it the first time in its 3rd season ( June 2023 ) when I just 'shortened' the lower limbs, but left them still attached to the trunk.  Trying to get the tree to grow up and rally around its central leader.   The next year ( Summer 2024 ), I did the same thing, but went up a level.    Rinse and repeat in 2025 , too.   That's lead to an established tree with a central leader.  That now stands taller than me.   Below is a look at the fram...

Yesterday, I posted a photo showing some of the whips from one of our hydrangeas that I clipped-off and tossed on top of my compost bins.  I mentioned it was far too early to begin Spring clean-up in the yard, but I went ahead with the hydrangea cutting anyway.  It didn't take but a day for me to get back there and chop up the hydrangea stems into little segments (and the pannicle heads lop'd off) so they can begin the decomposition process.   Below is a photo showing the late-winter status of the three-bin compost setup.  The hydrangeas are now (mostly) in the left (storage) bin with some stems hanging around on the top of the middle (mixing) bin.   I last looked at these bins in early January and there's been VERY.LITTLE decomposition going on with the cold temperatures.  

Last year, I planted a pair of Pink Beauty Viburnum shrubs in the backyard.  One on each side of the garden, in the rear of the beds, pretty close to the fence line.  The first one went in on the northside behind the Dawn Redwood .  The second one went in on the southside closer to the wine barrel water feature.   They seemed to do fine in their first year and even showed some berries come late Summer .  This being their first Winter, I'm observing how it is overwintering for the first time.  And, I've come to realize that I 'missed' on protecting these from rabbits this Winter.  I forgot the lesson I learned with my Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum their first season:  These need rabbit cages until they get to a certain height and size that rabbits (dang rabbits!) can't affect them too much.   These didn't have cages, and in the photo below, you can see the rabbit pressure: gnawed-off lower limbs.  The good news, it appears...

With the weather warming up this past weekend, I was able to get out and do a tiny bit of dormant pruning around the garden.  I started with one of the two Greenspire Lindens that are planted near the house, along the south fence line.  They're currently trained into a four-tier horizontal cordon espalier and each season they show A TON of top growth that needs to be pruned back in late Winter.   Over the years, I've learned (just a little bit) about the best way to handle some of this task and I've modified how I've approached the task.  Some years, I take more off the limbs, some years less.  I seem to have settled on leaving limbs with two buds and cutting back the rest.   I posted some thoughts on these trees just two weeks ago and showed the current state of them with all their 2025 top-growth .  In that post, I talked about how I pruned them back in March 2025 and said that I wanted to get them done earlier.  Good news, Jake. ...

We have three Emperor 1 Japanese Maples in our backyard.  Acer palmatum Emperor 1.  The largest one is back by the firepit with a couple of smaller ones closer to the house.  They all were her during the Cicada swarm of 2024 and all suffered some damage from them.  The largest tree (by the firepit) suffered the most and has been set-back pretty sizeably.   The 3rd-to-be-planted is also the smallest one.  It is about half-way back on the north side.  It went in the ground in 2024 (Cicada year) and I protected it with some fabric .  That didn't completely protect the tree from the slits from cicadas and the top-part died-back.     But, that white tulle wasn't the only protection that I set up for this small Japanese Maple.  I also have left-up a ring of Chicken Wire around the tree, in an attempt to keep the (dang!) rabbits away from killing this tree in Winter.  That has...somewhat worked.  But, it hasn't stopped ...

I have a couple of small juniper groundcover plants in the backyard.  They were planted years ago as 'bonsai nursery stock' that I transitioned to just going into the ground in the same spots they were stored.  I'm pretty sure this is a Youngstown Juniper that went in back in 2019 .  It has since grown up and out, but this year appears to have suffered a bit of dieback.  I didn't see this earlier, so am guessing it might be winter-weather related.   The photo below shows the front third of the juniper has gone brown and appears to be dead: Before Spring comes, I'll get out there and prune off the dead limbs and hopefully stimulate a little bit more growth to fill in the (now) bare spots in this groundcover. 

The large Northern Red Oak tree in our backyard (tree swing tree) has mostly dropped its leaves this Winter, but there is a small bit of foliar marcescence going on closer to the trunk on the lower, newer limbs.  Below is a look at the canopy of this mighty oak where you can see the brown, dried leaves only on the central, lower section of the tree this Winter: Over the years, this tree has dropped its leaves at different times, but this year was an 'early' year.  But, that was (I think) driven by an early Snow, so there's tons of these hard-to-break-down oak leaves scattered around our backyard that are still buried under the snow.  They'll wait for Spring clean-up and mulching by my mower.  

The good folks at Forno Bravo sent out their monthly email newsletter this week and it included a look at customer's oven that they bill as being straight out of 'Fantasy land'.  And, I immediately glom'd-on to the images and video about the oven and have begun to pour over the details.  Here's a link to the newsletter (web link ) and below is a screenshot of one of the images in the newsletter that shows off the oven.  This is one of their off-the-shelf ovens that is wrapped in an enclosure.  That enclosure is faced with stone (veneer, I'm guessing) with a cedar (or cedar-inspired roof). This is not my photo.  Source via Forno Bravo's video .  Here below is  their YouTube video that accompanies the story about this oven that shows off even more details: A few things of note: 1.  The wood storage has a door.  Split in the middle and matching the roof trim.   Love that.   Here, below is a slightly better look at the oven w...

The last full-view of the hedge of Frans Fontaine Columnar (European) Hornbeam trees was in late Spring 2025 when they were leaf'ing out and creating that narrow, green screen.  I posted some photos this past Summer showing how I was pruning back some of the tips over the boardwalk on the side of our house - with this being the first *real* pruning I've ever done to them in eight years.   Over the years, these trees have been true to their reputation when it comes to 'holding their leaves'.  They're decidous trees, but thanks to the magic of foliar marcescence, Frans Fontaine Hornbeams typically hold onto their brown, dessicated leaves much longer than most trees around here.    Here's a post from November 2024 showing how the leaves were hanging on in Late Fall , well after everything else had dropped its canopy.  Here's a whole category of posts talking about the phenomenon of [ foliar marcescence ].   And, over the years, I've seen thes...

Trees and winter interest series continues with a pair of Spring Grove dwarf Ginkgo trees that are planted on either side of our back stoop.  These were the first two (of now three) dwarf Ginkgo trees in our garden and were planted in May 2023 .  They've had three full growing seasons in their spot and were replacements for some Rhododendrons that never really performed in these spots.   Over the years, I've posted about their small, green, fan-shaped foliage , how I've fed them/supplemented them with lime  and municipal biosolids  and admired their golden fall leaf drop .   The two trees are different - one having a lower main trunk and multiple branches with the other having a more traditional apical meristem.  But, they've both grown.  Quite a bit.  Here's a bare-naked post from December 2024 (13 months ago) to compare size .  Below is what they look like right now: One of my (recently posted) "Great Garden Rules is #8:...

Another entry into the recent [Winter Interest] category of the garden diary shows off a feature in our backyard garden:  a handsome pair of Greenspire Linden Trees that are trained into a four-tier horizontal cordon espalier.  There are eleven (11) Green Velvet Boxwoods planted the base of the two trees .   The photo below shows the current state of the dormant Linden trees and the boxwoods showing-up against the white Winter snow.  This is a vignette in our garden that is close to our house and patio and one that we can take-in during the months where we rarely venture outside in the back. A few things to note: 1.  The Lindens need a haircut.  The top-growth on the uppermost tier of the espalier has gone ham.   2.  Last Spring (March 2025), I took a photo showing this same shot but covered in a thin layer of snow .  Not sure it ever looked better.   3.  The boxwoods have grown.  They were planted as tiny 1-gal...

One of the very best things I did in our garden this year was planting an Arctic Jade Korean Maple in our backyard .  It was/is our second Korean Maple with the first one being a Northern Glow Korean Maple that I planted out front in 2024 .  I posted photos of this small tree when the foliage was green .  And when the foliage was yellow .  And when the foliage was turning red .  Here, below, is a look at the tree when the foliage is, well...gone.  The tree is dormant and has dropped all of its leaves.  Last week, when I posted this peek at some of the Hakonechloa All Golds in the snow , you could see the side-profile of this Arctic Jade.   With it being 'naked' during the Winter, it gives me a chance to observe the structure.  Now....one of my "Great Garden Rules" is #8:  Don't prune anything for a while.  That means there's no touching this tree for a couple of seasons.  But, I can already see something that I'd prune of...

Yesterday, I s howed one of two small Canadian Hemlock trees in our backyard and talked about how one of them was being eaten-up by some (dang) rabbits this Winter .   Here, below, is a look at the other one of these conifer trees that was planted at the same time.  This one is MUCH-MORE full.  But, about the same height (five-ish feet tall).    Similarly tucked into the 'understory garden', this Canadian Hemlock is one of just two remaining of the six that we originally planted.  I mentioned yesterday that I need to include the Canadian Hemlock on my list of trees/shrubs/flowers that work in our garden and think about adding more.   I think the Stumpery is a prime location as well as the unplanted bed that sits in front of the fire pit garden.   Speaking of the stumpery ...I should revisit it this week to show the 'winter interest'.  

All the way back in Summer of 2019, I bought and planted a number of VERY SMALL Canadian Hemlock trees from an online nursery .   Three of them were planted along the north side fence line .  Today, two of those three are still standing .  Seven years ago, these trees weren't even a foot-tall in height.   Today?  This one is probably five-feet tall.  But, sparsely branched.  And, the caliper of the trunk is probably up to almost an inch.  Below is a look at this Canadian Hemlock tucked into the 'understory garden'.   Would I plant this tree back here, close to these other trunks - if I was to do it all over?  No.  Would I plant this small of a tree - if I was to do it all over?  No. But, here we are.  Seven years later and the tree is in this spot. The growth of the tree isn't really the point of this post in my garden diary.  I was out taking some kitchen scraps to the compost bin and took a number of ...

Planted back in the Fall of 2021 , we have a (still) small Mugo Pine in the backyard northside bed about 3/4's of the way back.  It is planted pretty close to the Harry Lauder Walking Stick Tree that I posted about yesterday .  It was a #1 gallon conifer when it went in and cost just $5.00.   I posted about it one-year after planting as it was establishing itself (but not putting on any growth at that time).   Then, in Fall of 2022, I noted that the (dang!) rabbits were feasting on this small shrub .   By Fall of 2024 it had grown a little bit , but it still was small.   Today? Like the Harry Lauder Contorted Walking Stick Tree ...this one has been 'slow-growing'.  Here, below, is the Mugo Pine peeking up out of the snow: I included the idea of ' conifers should come first ' in my v1 draft of Jake's Great Garden Rules   and this Mugo Pine is an example of a conifer that I planted earlier than most.  Was it likely too ...