Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I shared a few photos of the Disneyland Floribunda Rose in its native environment : a flower bed in New Orleans Square in Disneyland Park.  Today, I'm taking a look at the three (more) mature Disneyland Roses that we have planted in full sun on the southside of our house.  They, too are in bloom; having just started their third flush of pink/salmon/orange flowers on medium-length stems. Below are a few photos showing these floribunda roses: This is the third 'flush' of blooms for the season. Early June - First Blooms Early August - Second Blooms Late August/Early September - Third Blooms (this post) In 2022 (last season), I was seeing blooms last all the way into early November.   It seems that this third flush of blooms is a bit earlier than 2022 ( last year, I saw them all the way at the end of September ), so perhaps that fourth bloom will be pulled a bit forward, too.  While I was out there admiring the Disneyland Roses, I also sprinkled them with ros...

Back in the Summer of 2021, I planted three Serendipity Allium - Ornamental Onions - in the IB2DWs bed along with some other blue/purple plants .   I'm pretty sure that I saw someone on YouTube talk about these as a close cousin to a plant that I love (and have planted in a lot of places) - Allium Summer Beauty.  The foliage of Serendipity is different than Summer Beauty - perhaps you'd describe it as more 'strap-y'.  But, the concept is *mostly* the same. As I mentioned in a recent post, I was away from my yard and garden for more than a week recently and when I came back, I felt like I was 'seeing' or 'discovering' some new (to me) things about growth and bloom-time.   That idea - bloom-time - is what this post is about and why I'm posting this in the garden diary.   Here, below, is a peek at the two (remaining) Serendipity Alliums IB2DWs - in full bloom this late in August.  Note...there are just two of these Alliums left, one has died. C...

Late last year, I dug up, divided and transplanted a number of Summer Beauty Ornamental Onions (Allium) around the backyard - including four divisions around the tree-swing Northern Red Oak tree .   I also dug and and divided a large Christmas Tree hosta (that I really like) into three new divisions and planted them behind the allium, closer to the tree trunk . How have those divisions done?  In less than one year, they seem to have recovered quite well.  See below for a couple of photos showing the Summer Beauty Allium, spaced with some polka dot annual plants and the Christmas Tree hostas behind them: They are better than what was there before - a ring of hostas.  And, I've learned that I can pretty sharply divide Summer Beauty and move them around.  Note to self for Fall 2023 dividing.

We have a pair of Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum shrubs that I planted in the Fall of 2021 .  These were part of the layout of of our original plan - in fact the plan called for even more of these, but I've opted to replace some of them with the Doublefile Viburnum that I found in treeform.   But, back to these.  They were feasted-on by the dang rabbits that first year.  And, they lost ALL of their size.  Last year, I used Chicken Wire rings to protect them.  And, these are the ONLY ones that I've left in the rings.    Without the rabbit pressure, these shrubs have put on some new growth and are looking good.  See below for a photo of their current state in early July 2023:

At what point can you consider a perennial 'established'?   There are tons of posts out there on the Web that talk about this very topic - what it means to be well-established ?   It appears that there's no clear-cut answer as every plant in every garden has a different timeline.   One of the colonies of perennials that I've been watching closely is also one of the colonies that was amongst the very first that we put in:  A dozen or so Fanal Astilbes .  They went in back in early Summer 2020 and came with a reputation for being finicky and wanting things like moist soil.    I posted in June 2020 and when I look back , I'm surprised by how far they've moved - I dug them up and transplanted them - over the years.   But, how are they doing in June 2023 - their fourth growing season?  Seemingly....they are 'established'.  See below for a photo showing the red flower stems that have emerged from the green foliage in the so...