Why I Oughta...

As is the custom around here, we planted some Amaryllis bulbs in small containers in the time right around Thanksgiving.  We picked this one up - the Double Dream - at Wannemaker's.  Below is the bulb set in the soil and below that is the plant/bulb tag showing the fully-grown pinkish full bloom of the Double Dream Amaryllis.  

The scourge of our neighborhood is in peak form right now.  Wild onions - with their waxy, thin green foliage can be spotted in lawns and beds all over our neighborhood.  And they seem to be getting WORSE.  Starting back in 2019, I've conducted an annual removal process of these things.  Some years - much more than others .  But, I've dug up and tossed Wild Onion bulbs every April. I was out cleaning up some of the edges this week and decided to dig some of the bulbs out.  I hate them. Turns out, wild onions are biannuals - they come back every two years .  That means that you REALLY have to be diligent for two consecutive seasons if you want to control them.  As for the lawn vs the beds - I'm coming around on the lawn, but think I'd like to attack them in the beds (especially around the tree swing tree).  

The pink tulip bulbs that are planted down close to the sidewalk IB2DWs are up and showing out this week with blooms that are opening up.  This area was grass until September of 2021, when I declared this a 'hard-to-grow' spot that wasn't supporting turf.  Between the poor soil conditions (clay + gravel from the driveway and sidewalk installation) plus the heat that radiates from those during the Summer made this an inhospitable spot that held Kentucky Bluegrass turf that ALWAYS went dormant during the heat of the Summer.  Look back here for a photo of this section when it was grass .  In the Fall of 2021, I planted a number of tulip bulbs down by the sidewalk and they had their first Spring in 2022 .  That makes this (2024), their third year of blooms. That same Fall (2021), I added an ornamental grass - Panicum Shaenandoah Red Switchgrass in that same bed that has come back each season.  Last Fall, I planted a pair of variegated sedums - Sedum Kamtschat...

Right around one month ago today, I posted photos of the inherited daffodil bulbs that were showing their annual strap-y foliage that had emerged for the year .  Today, they're in bloom.  Well... *some* of them are in bloom.   Below is a look at the colony of daffodils and a close-up of the yellow bloom that are on these.  (Note: to the top, right of this photo is the pile of material that I excavated for the pizza oven and tried to smother with arborist wood chips .).  By my count, I see just six flowers this year.  More than 2021 .  This spot in the garden has not been addressed yet, so I see NO reason to do anything other than enjoy these yellow blooms.  For now.  

The tulip bulbs that are planted (somewhat randomly) around the bed behind the large Northern Red Oak tree (Tree Swing Tree) have emerged for the year.  These are purple and yellow and white flowers that live amongst hostas, ferns and grasses.   And...wild onion.    Here's a couple of photos (below) that show the location of the bulbs - they're *mostly* scattered behind the tree trunk in the bed.

Right around this time every (early) March, the green tips of a set of daffodil bulbs emerge from the mulch in the bed behind the secondary Northern Red Oak tree.  These were inherited - and I didn't plant them.  I've observed them over the years - as far back as our first Spring here (2018) -  and here's last year's post .  They have flowered exactly ONCE.  Just once - in 2021 .   Will they bloom this year?  I doubt it.

Last year, I started to learn how to put together cuttings from our garden into countertop arrangements .  I made a number of them from late Summer to Fall that were primarily anchored by the Disneyland Floribunda roses.   By the end of the season, I came the conclusion that I needed to get outside of my foliage-gardening 'comfort zone' and start to add some flowers.    On a late-season whim (sale), I planted a few new (to me) flowering perennials including May Night salvia , coneflowers and some Agastache 'Blue Fortune' to the front IB2DWs beds.   I also pulled the trigger on a small dahlia tuber order from Longfield - where I pre-ordered some Melina Fleur (Decorative) and Cornel Bronze (Pompon) tubers .  My (current) plan is to put those in by the Disneyland Roses on the side of the house.    I also bought some Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnia seeds that I'd like to start inside and move to my containers in the back  - to replicate the...

We've had a VERY mild Winter.  There was a span of about three weeks when it was brutally cold and it seemed like it snowed every.single.day.  But, overall...it was mild.  And that's likely turned a number of gardening variables on their ears.  Emergence.  Bloom time.  Exposure to late Frosts.  And, more, I'm sure. One of the 'mild Winter' related change that I saw VERY early in January was that the tulip bulbs that I had planted around the parkway tree had ALREADY come up, out of the mulch.  By January 5th.   J A N U A R Y. That seems VERY early.  It was BEFORE that three-week spell of 'brutally cold' weather that I mentioned above.  But, tulips being tulips, the foliage didn't mind the weather.  (or...the snow blanket was sufficient insulation.) I'm *very* aware of mulch volcanoes around trees and worry that every year - when we add another layer of mulch - that I'm burying things and creating problems.  Everyone sa...

It is still Amaryllis season in our house with three different varieties all working on their own (different) schedules in terms of bloom time.  The fastest one - out of the gate - was the La Paz .  It is a Spider Amaryllis and has a different look than the traditional spade-shaped-petals of most Amaryllis that we've grown.  Our La Paz Amaryllis bloomed in mid-December .  And is still putting out blooms today.  Pretty good.  The next one - the feature of this post - is the Rilona Amaryllis.  This is another unique (to me) bulb in that it isn't red and it isn't white.  And it isn't red and white.  It is salmon-colored.  And quite lovely.  Doesn't have the same OOOMPH that a dark red one does, but still a really lovely flower and the color sure brighten ups the dark days around here in January.  Reminds me of the Disneyland Rose . Here's a post showing the three bulbs when we bought them at Wannemakers . Here's a post just about ...

Imagine my surprise when - on my walk to take the trash cans to the curb this week - I notice that there's some new, green foliage tips that have emerged from around the large Maple parkway tree in the front of our house.  "It's January 1st", I said to myself.  "What the heck is going on?" What is going on is (apparently) some of our tulip bulbs have begun to wake up and begin their 2024 growing season.  Here, below, are a couple of photos showing these confused (or, just too-early) tulips.  The first is a wider shot, the second is a close-up of the same tulip tips: Our tulips emerged in mid-February in 2023 .  This is a full six-weeks earlier.   That move to Zone 6a - from 5b - sure is meaningful, huh?   I suspect that these tips will remain just that - tips - for the next month-plus.  We haven't really had a lot of cold, cold Winter (yet), but I know it is coming in January.  

In my 2023 recap post, I included a list of ten 'lessons learned' or takeaways from the year .  They were a mix of looking back and a few looking ahead.  One of them was about flowers.  I wrote that " Flowers continue to be a little bit outside my comfort zone. Change that. I started this Fall, but plenty more room to grow/go. Countertop arrangements need flowers. Try some dahlias, too. " When I said that I 'started', that meant the late-season plantings like the Blue Fortune Agastache , a Pow Wow Wildberry coneflower , a pair of May Night Salvias and some purple foliage Pentstemons (all IB2DWS).    And, I've had a lot of fun with the Disneyland Roses - including in arrangements.   I've also done a little bit of dabbling with Dahlias over the years.  But, I've always treated them as annuals and haven't invested much in the tubers.  I grew Night Queens .  And some orange ones.  And Cactus dahlias, too .    ...

Back in mid-November, we bought three different Amaryllis bulbs and planted them indoors in three identical terracotta containers .  In some years, we get blooms timed right up with Christmas.  In other years, we end up with blooms that arrive in January or later.  Either is great - having blooms early or having them arrive late.  This year, we *may* end up getting a bit of both.    As I mentioned in the intro post , the La Paz (Spider Amaryllis variety) was off to a fast start.  That has continued with (now) three flower stalks that have shot up and the first of which is already opening.  See below for the La Paz Amaryllis: With a couple of weeks until Christmas, I'm thinking we'll have Spider blooms come December 25th. Next up, and a little behind the La Paz, is the Rilona (Galaxy variety) Amaryllis.  This bulb has shot up one bloom stalk (so far), but it is much more compact that the La Paz.   See below for the current state of t...

'Tis the season for indoor Winter gardening.  It wouldn't be the Christmas season around here without growing some Amaryllis flowers from bulbs.  I've worked with the kids for a number of years to plant and grow some Christmas flowers.  Here's a look at last year's Amaryllis bulbs .   We picked three bulbs out at Wannemaker's Holiday Open House in November and planted them up.   The three varieties we selected were new to us:  La Paz - a Spider Amaryllis.     This La Paz is a Spider Amaryllis or 'Cybister'.  This post details how they're different: Over the last decade, Cybister Amaryllis have become increasingly more popular. Originally hybridized in South America, Cybister Amaryllis have narrow, somewhat spidery flower petals that appear more species-like than their big saucer-shaped cousins. La Paz has upper dark coral petals, while the lower petals are greenish-white edged in dark coral with darker midveins and a starburst ...

A brief, visual update on a few of the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in the landscape as bedding plants - lending a tropical vibe to the garden (underneath the kitchen windows).  I last posted about these in July when the foliage was just showing up and unfurling .  Here, below is what they look like currently - in early/mid September.  Some of the leaves are REALLY big. Are they the largest leaves we've ever had?  I'm not sure, but they sure look like the largest - compared to these previous giants .   The bulbs in the corner container are growing big leaves, too.  See below: Next year, I'd like to try the black-stemmed version that I spotted at the Morton Arboretum earlier this Summer, but if I can't find those, I'll still turn to these traditional Esculentas as I've made them a 'seasonal' addition to our garden - in both containers and in the ground.  Maybe next year they'll go over by the Disneyland Roses to fill in some of those gaps, too...

I've covered the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in some of our patio containers already , but after gifting a few of them, I had two remaining.  What did I do with them?  I stuck them in the ground amongst some 'escaped' strawberry (that I'm using as groundcover) and Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  See below for these two tropical annuals that have popped up in our landscape: #25 on my annual to-do list was to use 'annuals beyond the container' .  I'd say that this counts, right?   What have I learned?  First...that these probably aren't a perfect fit in this area.  At least by themselves.  But....that doesn't mean that I can't plant them somewhere else, right?  Or, augment/expand this bed and plant some other colors at their feet?  Something to think about for next year.  The other thing to think about?  Those sexy black-stemmed version that they have at the Arboretum .  Upgrade to those, right? 

Like (almost) every previous growing season, I planted some Elephant Ear bulbs in our containers in an attempt to add a (slightly) tropical vibe to our patio.  These bulbs come from Longfield Gardens and are carried by Costco each Spring.  This year, I put a couple in both the wood box at the corner of the patio and the larger, glazed container.  And, both of them have put up leaves that are getting bigger by the day.  See below for first the wood container followed by the glazed one.  I'll monitor these for size - here's the mark to beat leaf-size-wise (from 2021) .

The patch of yellow Daffodils are back and are certainly a sign of Spring in our backyard.  These sit under the canopy of a large Red Oak on the south side and were Spring ephemeral flower bulbs that I inherited from the previous property owners.  Without any help at all, they keep coming back year-after-year.  They flowered just once - in 2021 - but maybe they'll bloom again this year.  Here's how they look right now - tips of green foliage peeking through the mulch:

Just yesterday, I posted some photos of the first tulips that I was able to spot in our front yard beds (in between two driveways down by the sidewalk) and mentioned that I wasn't sure if there were going to be more up by the house.  We took down the large Norway Maple tree and replaced it with a Triumph Elm last Fall .  As part of that process, the crew ground out the stump and with it (I presume) a bunch of the bulbs that I planted around the base on the tree.   But, life finds a way.  See the photo below that shows the trunk of the Triumph Elm up on a bit of a berm.  But...at the very bottom of the photo - in the middle - you'll see some tulip bulb tips: And, so too, have the tulips down around our parkway tree emerged.  See below for a few photos:

Just a few days ago, I posted photos of what I think is the earliest emergence of the tips of Hellebores in our backyard and talked about how I'm not sure what is driving this early Spring .  When I was out front, I noticed that there are other things *already* moving in the garden.  Specifically...some tulips.  Down in the little bed wedged in between the sidewalk, our driveway and the property line are some tulips that were planted in Fall of 2021.  Last year was their first season and I noted their emergence in early March .  So - just like with the Hellebores - this is about three weeks earlier than last year.  Here, below, is a peek at some of the tulip foliage that has sprung up.   H ere's a look at where these bloomed last season .   These are MOST LIKELY going to need a little protection from getting trampled by the kids and neighbors and their dogs.  I looked in a few other spots - around the parkway tree and underneath the...

We're one month past Christmas.  I think that's enough time to pass for me to officially declare that my PaperWhites are a failure.  No blooms at all.  I bought them in early November - a week-plus ahead of when we traditionally buy and start our Amaryllis bulbs.  But...here's the key (I think):  I bought them from the orange big box store .  I planted them as directed:  in gravel.  And watered them in up to the middle of the bulbs.  They responded immediately.  And strongly.  With a thick, dense and vibrant root mat that came off of each of them.  They also shot up new green shoots from the top of the bulbs.   Based on what I've done before (with Amaryllis bulbs) and what was suggested on the Web, I watered them in with a diluted alcohol mixture .  In an attempt to stunt their growth and keep them from 'flopping over' and getting too leggy.   I last checked-in on these in mid-December.  More than ...