Why I Oughta...

Last Fall, I took the pair of Serendipity Alliums and divided them into five 'clumps' that I transplanted into two spots IB2DWs .  I started with three, but one didn't make it.  So, I put three back in the original location and put the other two further down IB2DWs (extended).  I've noted how I really LOVE Serendipity - it gives me everything I like in Summer Beauty - but more.  Longer bloom time.  Later bloom time.  Just all-around better performers.  So, why not divide them and get *more* of Serendipity.   I've had a lot of luck dividing Summer Beauty, but there's no sense in spending time dividing those right now when I'm looking to upgrade them with Serendipity.   As part of Fall Planting, I decided to divide one of them into three clumps (+2 free plants) to get our garden a few more of these.   Below is a look at the 'before' bed - with the Serendipity Allium that I was planning on dividing on the right - you can see it dug-up a little bit.   I

Back in the Summer of 2022, I picked up and planted three VERY SMALL Green Velvet Boxwoods around the base of a flowering pear tree IB2DWs.  These were right at the break in the bed where our gravel (Bluestone chips) runs from our driveway back to the yard.   When I say 'very small', I mean it:  they were in 1# nursery pots.  I've planted a number of 1# boxwoods over the years and I've been ok with the fact that they take time to mature.   That's the case with these three.  They're not fast-growers, but they sure have grown up.   This post tracks 28-months of growth.  That's 2.5 growing seasons (1/2 of 2022, all of 2023 and 2024).   They grown from about six-inches tall and four-inches around.  To, what you see here, below.  These are now more than a foot tall and close to a foot in diameter.  The first photo shows two of them.  Then second photo shows the third one.  Note all the suckers coming out of the flowering pear tree that need to get cut down.   Th

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. 

Over the past few days, our Cardoon (planted IB2DWs in full sun) has begun to bloom.  I posted a pre-bloom photo last week and talked about how I had to fend of aphids and bag worm to get to this point .  The first purple, pointed bloom emerged from the largest artichoke-like bud in the center of the plant.  It started small and soft-to-the-touch.  No smell at all (at least that I could detect).   Below is the first morning of the bloom.   Below is a wider-view of all the buds that will (hopefully) follow the first one: And, below is an even wider-view of the plant - showing how it is planted close to our driveway. The next morning, the initial bloom opened-up wider.  Below are a couple photos showing the second day of the Cardoon flower bloom:

 For Mother's Day, the kids and I bought a couple of flats of ordinary orange zinnias from the big box store that we planted in some pots for the Moms (and God Mothers) in our/their lives.  I ended up having a few extra and put some in our back patio containers (more on those later), and decided to plant four as bedding plants near the driveway in the original IB2DWs bed.  I picked orange because I like orange and it is the Illini color (of course).   Yesterday, I posted about the one Uproar Rose Zinnia IB2DWs - and that one is much larger/bushier than these.    Below the first photo shows what these orange zinnias look like after a week or so in the ground: I have limited experience with flowers (as I've said in the past), but what I've read and watched online, you can pinch off blooms to (try to) get bushier plants.  So, naturally...I decided to sacrifice these early orange flowers.  I cut them all off - you can see the result below.  I left the flower heads there on the

I've been thinking about creating a post that features a list of hard-learned 'Garden Rules' that are absolutes in how I approach working in the garden and yard.  That list ebbs-and-flows each season, but one of the items that I KNOW (with certainty) will be on the list is this:  Leave newly planted trees alone.  Don't prune them for years.  Just don't touch them.  Don't 'limb-them-up'.  Don't do anything.   I've learned this the hard way.  Thinking that I'd give the tree a better shot at growing up/out faster, I've pruned trees when they were small.  Eliminating far too much canopy in one go. That means, for the past five-or-so years, I've followed my own advice and left young trees alone.  That includes the small Bald Cypress that I planted IB2DWs back in Fall 2018 .   But, a time comes when a young tree needs to get cleaned up.  And, this weekend was *that time* for our driveway Bald Cypress.   Below is a 'before' photo sho

As I've done a few times, I wanted to document a few looks at the snow bank that has been created IB2DWs.  This is an area where both me AND my neighbor pile driveway snow, so it gets higher/taller than the rest of our front yard.   Here's a look at the snow level in 2021 .  And here's a look at the snow level in 2022 .  Looking at the photos below, there are of course some changes.  The conifers added this past Fall give a different look at the depth.  But, the Red Fox Katsura and Bald Cypress are there all the way back in 2021.  Naturally...the trees have grown, so it isn't super easy to compare.  Based on the branching on the Katsura, I'm thinking that 2023/2024 snow pile is in between the two other recorded.  2022 was deeper.  2021 was less snow.  Just an eyeball guess. Below is an early morning look:

Influenced?  Or inspired?  What do you call it when you come across something on Instagram (or YouTube) that shows you something new, isn't pushing a product but...does...indeed compel you to act - and purchase something.  I'm going to say that I was inspired.  Not influenced.   And that inspiration came from seeing a 'white garden' that was planted up with silver and white perennials and exposed me to something new (to me):  Artemisia.   There are a few varieties that you'll see out at the nursery, but the one that I think might be the biggest (not the best) in the trade is Silver Mound Artemisia.  It is a soft-texture white plant that Walters Garden describes as a 'cushion' .  Here's what they say: Aptly named, 'Silver Mound' has soft, feathery foliage and forms a compact, silky, cushion-like mound. It has many applications in the garden including: edging, rock gardens, pots, or a filler plant for hot, dry areas. It has long been one of the mos

Last Fall, I planted a number of small containers of Ajuga Chocolate Chips that I brought home from Lowes and their year-end sale.   I put some in the back and stuck three of these groundcover plants into the little island bed that is tucked in between our driveway and front walk/stairs/porch.  I don't seem to have posted any photos in the garden diary, but I ended up taking one.  But, in the photo I have from late October 2022 (below), there's only two Ajuga Chocolate Chip in this bed.  You can see that they were pretty small and green. That was very late October.  So, what do this groundcover look like nine-months later?  See below for an update.  And.....surprise!  There's three of them.  (I guess that I ended up planting a third here???) They've spread out and filled in some of that space.  They're doing exactly what they're supposed to do:  fill out that bed, cover up the mulch to make more of a 'living mulch', reduce the number of footcandles so t

Yesterday, I posted an inspiration photo of a mass planting of sculpted boxwoods planted in a three-tiered system and talked about how I could use them under the pair of Lindens in our backyard.   I haven't really done a mass (greater than 10) planting of shrubs, but I've been nosing back through the archives of Deb Silver's Dirt Simple blog for inspiration and notice that she's a big believer (and user) of mass plantings of evergreen shrubs.  Like in this post where she features A LOT of boxwoods in various beds and talks this way about their use : A restricted palette of plants, and a massed planting can be both both classical and contemporary in feeling. I really like that idea of using a mass planting with a limited number of plants and colors to be both classical and contemporary at the same time.   I've failed to put my desired garden style into words overall - I'm not a cottage gardener.  I'm not a Japanese Gardener.  I'm not a minimal gardener. 

Yesterday, I posted some photos showing the series of Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses around the garden .  I also acknowledged that some folks consider them VERY basic.  But, I guess they're a guilty pleasure for this gardener.  In that post, I mentioned that I was planning on doing a follow-up on the IB2DWs bed that featured some of these same ornamental grasses.  Here, below, is a view of the IB2DWs bed.  Consider this the early Summer "State of the IB2DWs Bed". And, here below, is an annotated version of that photo.  Orange = five Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses White = Bald Cypress tree Red = two Serendipity Alliums  Blue = Prairie Dropseed Green = Peony Purple = two of the three Green Velvet Boxwoods that I planted a few weeks back Yellow = the trio of Blue Fescue grasses and Cat's Pajamas Nepeta from this season The bed is starting to fill-in this season, but it still needs some work to add some layers.  I'd like to try to plant some additional grasses

I know that Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses are very (as they say) basic.  You'll find them in plenty of landscapes around Northern Illinois.  But that's for good reason:  they are really strong performers.  Across multiple seasons.  They stay upright and proud to provide winter interest, but they also put on a show as they grow in early Summer.  In fact...I'd say that right now (mid-June) really *is* PEAK Karl Foerster grass season.  They've grown up for the season and have put out their flowers on the tips that are light green.  But, the blades of the grass - in particular their color - are the real stars of the show.   Here's a few looks at various Karl Foerster grasses around the yard right now below.  First, some of the grasses planted right off our patio.  These were planted last Fall and were divisions. Next up are the three that are in the mulch island between our front walk and our driveway.  These, too, were divided last year ( and this Spring ). Here,