Why I Oughta...

Four years ago - in September 2022, I did my first (ever) cutting of an existing Limelight Hydrangea and attempted to grow a new shrub in a nursery container. In mid-September 2022, I cut off a green tip, trimmed back the leaves and stuck it in some compost .   A couple weeks later, it grew some new leaves .   Back then, I was trying to grow a number of things from cuttings and seeds (like Oak trees) .  I would overwinter them by digging them into the ground and mulching them in.  Then, in Spring, I dug out the nursery pots and nurtured them along the season. A year later - in October 2023 - the Limelight cutting was growing upright.  It had two branches and was probably 12" tall .  It was also root-bound in the pint-sized nursery pot, so I up-potted it to a one-gallon nursery pot .   Two years in (October 2024), the cutting (now in that one-gallon nursery pot) flowered for the first time .  But, the plant was also probably not in e...

In a series of posts ( starting in January ) and then via an individual " priority projec t" post and my 2026 to-do list , I've talked myself into the idea of replacing my Oakleaf Hydrangeas in the garden.  It was, in fact, my #1 task on the list.  NUMBER ONE.   But, something changed.  I wrote about the 'surprise blooms' on these shrubs in Late June .   And, now I'm reconsidering.  I might have, well....been.... wrong. Why am I reconsidering?  Aside from those blooms.  I'm also seeing tons of foliage growth.  Even on some of the shrubs that I thought were dead from rabbits.  Here, below, is one of the Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas that I thought was dead.  It is tucked in behind the peonies in the [Kitchen Curved] bed.   But, when I look closer, I see a few shoots coming out of the ground, too.  See below for two of them: This tells me that not only are the shrubs full of energy and growth.  But...also...th...

I had plans to replace my Oakleaf Hydrangeas because the (dang) rabbits have been eating them down to nubs in the Winter.  So, imagine my surprise when I came across these hydrangea flowers emerging on the tips of the shrubs that have appeared over the top of some of our amsonia foliage in the [kitchen curved] bed.  See below for a couple of photos showing these flowers: I looked for some treeform Viburnum (Doublefile) earlier this Spring, but didn't see any, so I never replaced these Oakleaf Hydrangeas. #1 on my 2026 to-do list was to replace those very shrubs, so this is going to be a fail. Unless....I go about dealing with the rabbits in a different way: keeping them OUT of the garden with a fence. I've posted about these blooms coming-and-going over the years.  Here is a post in 2023 when I was surprised (like this year) when they arrived .  And, here is a post from 2021 when they bloomed and I fell in love with them .  They also turn a deep red in the F...

I have a pair of Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum flowering shrubs that I planted in Fall of 2021 along the north fenceline in the backyard.  These are in the understory of the Tree Swing Oak Tree and home (now) to a pretty large (and...expanding) naturalized drift of Ostrich Ferns.  The Arrowwood Viburnums were spec'd as part of our landscape plan that called for them to be repeated in a number of spots.  I only planted two of these, but looking back at the posts, I probably should try to find some more of these and plant them around the back of the property.   They were IMMEDIATELY attacked by the (dang) rabbits, so I started to protect them with some chicken wire cages .  Those cages remain today.   These have bloomed the past few Summers, but I seem to have only documented them last June in a roundup post .   Last month (May 2026), I noted that these shrubs had shot up and have (after five years) have some vertical-ness to them ....

Back in 2023, I (finally) was fed-up with the pair of rhododendrons that were planted on either side of our back stoop and dug them up and transplanted them back into the far-reaches of the garden and replaced them with some dwarf Spring Grove Ginkgo trees.  I've never looked back and have been very happy with that change.   The rhododendrons were planted in the shadow of the Dawn Redwood and (honestly...) mostly forgotten.   Part of my frustration with these shrubs were the lack of blooms and the leggy-nature of the form.   Imagine my surprise when I was in the backyard and caught some purple blooms out of the corner of my eye.  There, under the canopy of the Dawn Redwood was one of the rhododendrons with ten-or-so purple blooms.  Here is a look at the shrub:  Pretty, pretty, pretty nice, right? 

All three of the treeform Doublefile Viburnum shrubs are in bloom right now in the garden and they're putting on a pretty good show with their white flowers and horizontal branching.  Standing tall on top of that 'treeform' base, they look really good right now. I've posted about these in-bloom over the years.  Here's a post from May 2024 .  Here they are in late May 2025 - last year .  These are a bit further ahead than the past two years as they began blooming at the end of April.   Below are photos of all three of the treeform versions.  First up is the largest one and the shrub that is closest to the house.  It has branches that cascade down and out.  Here's a close-up of those lace-cap flower clusters below.  They start as tight balls and open-up into creamy-white petals.   Next up is the second one along the same fenceline, just a little bit further back.  This one is slightly smaller and not as far along, but still ...

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...

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...

All the Oakleaf Hydrangea-related attention that I've focused on over the past year-or-so has been on the cluster of Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas up in the 'kitchen curved' bed that is close to the house.  But, I also have a few other Oakleaf Hydrangeas in other parts of the garden including a small grouping in the 'nook' area behind the Weeping Nootka Cypress tree.   In May 2022, I planted a pair of Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangeas alongside one of the transplanted Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas .   This post shows the location of the three of them.   Last year, I covered these when they were in bloom and when they turned bright red in the Fall .   Last week, I posted a photo of the new (to me) flowers on the Japanese Sun King Aralias .  In the photo below, you can see those same Sun King's on the bottom left and one of the Oakleaf Hydrangeas right behind it (in the middle of the photo).   I think this tall one is an Alice Oakleaf....

One of the shade-tolerant foliage shrubs (is it a shrub?) that continues to be a standout in our backyard is Japanese Golden Spikenard - also called Sun King Aralia.  I have a drift of them in the far back 'nook' behind the small Weeping Nootka Cypress tree.  And this year, I planted three more on the other side of the garden - in hopes of bringing some of that sweet 'garden repetition' to the backyard .   I called them 'foliage' plants because that's what they're grown for:  bright green, almost-tropical-looking foliage that thrives in low-light conditions.  But, for the first time...I now have discovered that they also FLOWER.   See below for the little cluster of flowers that has appeared out the top of the canopy:  That's new (to me).  But, wait...there's more (than flowers).  Via the Missouri Botanical Garden listing : Sun King’ is a golden-leaved cultivar that features a large rounded clump of golden yellow compound leaves whi...

2025 is the year of the massive hydrangea flop in our garden.  All of our hydrangeas (panicle ones) are flopping more significantly than they've ever flopped before.  Historically, the Vanilla Strawberry Panicle hydrangea out front of our porch 'flop' most years.  But, I can string them up and keep them (mostly) off the boxwoods.   The Limelight Hydrangeas on the side of our house have NEVER flopped.  But, this year?  Big time floppers. And, even weirder...the Little Lime (dwarf) hydrangeas in our backyard ?  They're FLOPPING this year, too.  See below for a look at the Little Lime hydrangeas flopping over with big flower heads: I'm not sure what the reason is for this:  a wet spring?  A colder Spring?  Something happened to create more leggy (and less supportive) stems so much so that EVERY HYDRANGEA (not Oakleaf) is flopping this season.  

In the Summer of 2023, I planted a pair of Snow Queen Oakleaf Hydrangeas in between some of the Green Giant Thujas along the fenceline in the backyard.  Since then...both of them were ravaged by the (dang!) rabbits.  One of them - the one closer to the house - never came back.  But the other one - a little further back - survived the past two Winters.  Despite the rabbit pressure.  Has it flowered since I planted it?  No.  There's been no "Old Wood" left after the rabbits get to it.  But, that isn't stopping it from putting on some new - and much needed - growth this Summer. See below for current state of this shade-tolerant flowering shrub:  From the looks of them in this July 2023 photo , I'd say that this one isn't quite back to the size it was when I first planted it, but getting close.   Also...note the chicken wire attached to the fence behind this shrub.  More on that soon. 

Earlier this Summer, I planted a pair of Pink Beauty Doublefile Viburnum flowering shrubs.  One on the northside in the back by the Dawn Redwood and the other one on the southside near the little container water feature.  At that time, I i ncluded a little blurb from a product listing that described the shrub like this : A spectacular shrub when in bloom, covered in beautiful rich pink flowers along the branches in spring, an outstanding selection; attractive horizontal branching on a compact plant with bright red berries in summer and good fall color. That part about 'bright red berries' is what I'm interested in right now.  Below, is a photo showing one of these shrubs right now, in mid-Summer.  What do we see?  Bright red berries: These berries are down near the bottom of the shrub, so as it matures, I'm guessing we'll see the berries migrate further up the branches.  

This post is going up in early July, but these photos are from a week ago - in late June.  The combination of the pink blooms from a pair of Stachys 'hummelo' paird with the long, white barrel-shaped blooms on the Little Henry Sweetspire erupted together.  At the same time.  They're both planted in our front yard, right along the front walk from our driveway.  Below is a look at the Little Henry Sweet Spire Spirea in full bloom: And, tucked right in front of the shrub are a pair of Stachys Hummelo with their pink blooms standing tall on the top of stalks.  I *really* need to plant more of these. Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' with Little Henry Sweetspire Spirea It was humid out when I took this photo, but below you can see them working together: Stachys monieri 'Hummelo' I also should expand this bed out this Fall - with the 'lazy bed' method.  Noted for my [Fall 2025] task list.  

The treeform Doublefile Viburnums that we have in our backyard are in their full, Spring-blooming glory this week.  At least one of them, that is.  The shrubs have a layered set of branches that are home to clusters of white flowers that spread out from these little green dots.  The result is dramatic pop of white.  Below are a few photos - showing the full treeform viburnum and some close-ups of the white Doublefile Viburnum flowers.   Here's a post from a year-ago that shows the blooms on these same shrubs in Spring 2024 .  They were a few weeks ahead of this year.   A couple weeks ago, I added two more Doublefile Viburnums to the backyard - Pink Beauty .  They are shrubs - not treeform - versions that (I hope) will provide some pink-hued blooms in the coming years.  

Yesterday, I introduced the Pink Beauty Doublefile Viburnum and showed how I planted the first (of two) flowering shrubs behind the Dawn Redwood in the backyard .  Today, I'm showing the other one.  This one is planted on the southside of the backyard, near the container water feature.   In the original plan, we were looking at a few Tardiva Hydrangeas along the fenceline on the southside .  As part of the "lilac replacement project", we sort-of called an audible and went with some Green Giant Thujas with alternating flowering shrubs in-between.   Earlier this Winter, I mused about adding more Thujas along the fenceline - so I wanted to keep that option open .  So, I chose to plant this a little bit 'up' from the fence.  In what would be an 'in between' spot between those (potentially) future Thujas .   Just like the other one, I pulled back the mulch, dug a 'f ive dollar hole ' and watered it in heavily.  Below are a couple ph...

I've talked about how the (dang) rabbits have destroyed a number of our oakleaf hydrangeas in the backyard.  I *really* like Oakleaf Hydrangeas, but I've mused (post here) if I'm just fighting nature too much and should plant things that can do better.   One of the shrubs that we have growing in the yard is a number of viburnums.  They, too, are flowering shrubs.  And they, too can handle some shade.  We have two different varieties:  doublefile and Chicago Lustre Arrowwood.  They've both done well.  The doublefile are treeform - which I really like as we can plant *under* them .  The Chicago Lustre have done well - despite the rabbit pressure.   There are a couple spots in our backyard that still need screening shrubs, so I always stop by the flowering shrub section of the big box stores to see if there's anything interesting.  I found a pair of these "Pink Beauty" Doublefile Viburnum at Menards.  (The trick to s...

I have four Lilac shrubs that have moved around a few times.  In 2022, I moved all four from a part-shade spot to a more part-sun location on the opposite side of the yard.  The 'Common' lilacs have outperformed the 'Nocturne' variety.    Here's what they looked like in 2023 .   Below is what they look like today;  they're wider, more full and taller.  You can see the Common Lilacs on either side of the firepit in the photo below: Will they bloom this year?  I'm thinking we'll get more than we got last year .  

Yesterday, I showed off the one-gallon Limelight Hydrangea that I've grown from a cutting and how it was throwing off its first blooms .  In that post, I talked about how I was going to prune some of the limbs back to get it to be a little less 'leggy'.  This morning, I did just that.  But, I also did something else:  drenched it.  Here, below, is the limelight hydrangea after pruning off the tips.  I kept 3 sets of leaves on all limbs, but clipped off everything above that third pair.  It was looking a little droopy, still: But, a few hours later - after the water had time to work its way through the plant's system, here (below) is what it looked like - a lot less stressed: I'll make sure this thing is happy for the rest of the month, then come September - when the temps begin to drop - I'm hoping it will continue to put on some new growth.