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Showing posts with the label front porch

Getting to know Coleus - Edged Leaf vs Veined Leaf Sun vs Shade - March 2024

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Resist the lure of the big box nursery store.  That's something that I'm trying to live-by this Spring.  And, something I'll need to remind myself when it comes to containers.  The past few years, I've picked up some bedding annuals from the orange big box store.  Same with some of the plants that go into our various containers.  One of those has been coleus.  I've used it in containers - but not as a bedding plant where I've installed it as an annual in mass.   Here's a post about our large, rectangular front porch container from the 2021 season that includes some two-toned coleus .   Over the years, I've admired coleus as a bedding plant in some municipal applications (like in large, island beds in Downtown Downers Grove) where they've planted one variety in mass.   I also have come back a few times to this garden tour on the S&K Greenhouse YouTube Channel where Justin (the S&K Nursery guy) visits the home garden of Bruce Duncan .  Justin a

Front Porch Large Container Inspiration - Shade Containers - March 2024

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I came across this TikTok where this professional gardener was talking about a shade container she was putting together and it caught my attention.  It features a long, rectangular container that is very similar to the one we have our on front porch .  I've tried that container a number of ways and have never been thrilled with it over the years.   Carmen Johnston Gardens shows a dead-simple approach: @carmenjohnstongardens Party ready for the SHADE ♬ original sound - Carmen Johnston Here's a screenshot from that very TikTok (in case it disappears and the embed stops working: Source Now...I won't do the blue hydrangeas.  But, the simplicity of a large fern in the middle, flanked by white begonias on either end and the white Caladiums in front seem like something we could do.  Add some sort of cascading item to replace the hydrangeas and we have a winner.    

Front Porch Bed - Drainage and Turf Issues - March 2024

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Last Summer (June), I extended and (attempted) to clean up the front edge of our 'front porch bed' along the south property line .  The edge had been creeping 'inward' over the years, so I decided to use a shovel to remove as much of the grass as I could, carve off a clean edge and sort-of 'extend' the swoop of that bed a little bit into the lawn.    If you look back at the photos in this post , you'll see a nice, grass-free edge that I planted with bedding plants ( dwarf, French Marigolds ) and Dusty Millers .   By September, the dwarf (French) Marigolds took off and filled in the new border.  They looked great and were thick/full of oranges, reds and yellows .  Behind those annuals went a colony of Summer Beauty Alliums .  Backed by some small Green Velvet Boxwoods to extend the existing short hedge of boxwoods.   All was good last year.   This year, I've already started to clean up this bed - cutting down grasses and raking out some of the season

Totem Pole Switch Grass Winter Interest - January 2023

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Planted in 2021, this will be the third growing season for a singular large-scale Switch Grass that is planted in our front porch bed: the Totem Pole Switch Grass .  I've been able to 'get to know' this grass a bit over the years and have discovered that it is late starte r - well after most grasses emerge for the year.  And that every year since planting, the grass has grown taller and taller .  On a recent warm(er) afternoon this past weekend, I wandered around the front beds to have a look at some plants and came across this grass.  And was struck by the seed heads.  And how it provides a really nice look in Winter.  See below for the current state of the Switch Grass: With the removal of the declining Norway Maple and the planting of the Triumph Elm, this front yard bed is one of my main/top priorities for 2023.  Do I leave this grass here?  Add more of them?  Time to make a plan. 

Vibrant Suburban Sunrise - November 2022

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In a remarkable coincidence (at least to me, dear reader...), I'm posting a front porch sunrise one day shy of one year from the date that I posted a very similar photo here on the blog .  This is from November 29, 2021 .  What was the sunrise like a few days ago from our house?  See below for what is a vivid sunrise in the suburbs in November: What a way to start a day.   I have a whole archive of posts over the years that are tagged with [colorful sunrise] .  

New Triumph Elm Tree Planted - Ulmus 'Morton Glossy' - October 2022

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Once I knew the large Norway Maple needed to come down, I immediately switched into tree planting-planning mode.  I looked around-and-around and thought about what we wanted in a tree: 1.  Disease and pest resistant  2.   Fast-growing 3.  Unique 4.  Something 'stately' and (when mature) large I worked with a few people to sort options.  The temptation of the Fall-Colors of the various Maple trees was strong.  But, ultimately, the experts that I consulted said that Maples make up far too-much of our local, urban canopy and that I should plant something different.   Further research sent me towards this narrow list called "Chicagoland Grows".   What is Chicagoland Grows?  From their site: Established in 1986, Chicagoland Grows® Plant Introduction Program is a unique partnership among the Chicago Botanic Garden , The Morton Arboretum , and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois (OGA) , dedicated to developing, selecting, testing, and marketing a diversit

Norway Maple Tree Removal - Illinois - October 2022

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The day finally arrived.  A day that I have not been looking forward to in the life of our property.  That day is the day that our large, mature Norway Maple tree that was located just outside of our front porch came down.  This tree was a lovely tree.  Lived a good life.  We moved the location of our house foundation specifically so we could try to keep this tree.  But, it still needed to come down. I foretold the removal of this magnificent tree just last month when I posted about the continued decline of the tree .  In mid/late September, we had an early evening storm and lost another large limb.  Dare I say...a 'widow maker' came down.    It wasn't as if we didn't try to save this tree.  In fact, we surely didn't want to remove it.  But, it seemed liked it was necessary as the limbs kept falling and I began to become worried that it would fall on my house.  Or, my neighbor's house. Over the years, we've worked this tree.  Gave it a growth regulator in Se

Front Yard Annuals - Dusty Millers And More - Summer 2022

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Yesterday, I shared some looks at the island beds (of annuals) that you can see in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris this year .  I've used them as inspiration in the past for some containers, but this year, I thought we'd try to use them as inspiration for our front yard in-ground bed.  I decided to use a combination of 36 (small) Dusty Millers and some other colorful annuals (that I haven't bought yet).  I don't love pinks, so maybe reds is where I'll land.  While the alternating color isn't locked in, the Dusty Millers are, indeed, 'locked-in'.  Here you can see them below:  six six-packs bought and brought home. In 2020, I planted 24 impatiens .  Last year, we planted 20 sedum and 24 begonias .  For historicals: Our first full year - in 2018 - we planted some Ranunculuses - about eight of them. In 2019, we planted 16 orange marigolds. +8 plants yoy. In 2020, we planted 24 Impatiens . +8 plants yoy. In 2021, we planted 20 Lemon Coral Sedum and 24 begoni

Saratoga Ginkgo Tree - Planted - Spring 2022

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I've covered a bunch of the shrubs ( hydrangeas ) and perennials ( Ivory Prince Hellebores ) that I brought home from the Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale already here on the blog.  But, we also bought a tree from that same sale.  I've bought a tree each of the years that I've attended the sale including this Emperor 1 Japanese Maple tree last year .  And this Red Fox Katsura tree from 2020 .   This year, I've prioritized shrubs in the landscape, but I included a couple of tree items on my 2022 to-d list .  #7 was to plant more trees (and measuring them), so this new tree checks that box.   I keep thinking about that advice I came across in April of 2019 related to planting trees .  The proverb is below : That means planting small trees that - over time - can grow into something meaningful.  I've done this recently with a Ginkgo tree (well...two of them, but one snapped in half ), so I figured another Ginkgo would be interesting.   I brought the Babe to the sa

Early Morning Suburban Sunrise - November 2021

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Below is a recent sunrise as viewed off of our front porch in Downers Grove, Illinois.  What we, in our house, call a 'Cotton Candy Sky'.  I used to observe the sunrise during Winter from the 64th floor of our office in the Aon Center, but I haven't been there for more than 18 months.  And, based on some news, it appears that I've taken in my last early-morning Winter sunrise from the Aon Center in my life.  Time marches on.  And, so do office locations.  I'm adding this to the [ view from my office ] collection since I haven't had an office to go to due to COVID since March 2020. I've taken a similar front-porch-sunrise shot back in 2018, but it was Springtime .  

Staghorn Fern Summer Update - August 2021

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I moved our Staghorn Fern outside recently.  I came across it on a lower rack at Home Depot for $10 back in late Winter/early Spring and brought it home.   It was potted in a plastic nursery pot and packed in a mix of soil and what seemed like Sphagnum Moss.  I looked around the Web and most everybody talks about how you can *mount* these ferns to boards and treat them like air plants.  There are a few places that talk about keeping them in containers, but it seems like having them mounted is the pro-move here.   Our fern is happy.  Slow-growing, but happy.  If you look at the very top of this post, you'll see some of the fronds have grown much longer than they were this Spring AND (this is important), the one droop'ing frond on the left seems to be the first frond with the sort-of antler-looking edges.  That's exciting to see. But, back to mounting....I really don't want to mount it.  At least for now.  I worry about watering it. Do I take it off the wall every few w

Front Porch Shade Container - July 2021

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 I don't think I've posted photos of our front porch container in the past here on the blog.  We've done a mix over the years of DIY and even one year Nat had a pro fill our container.  This year, I went to the big box nursery and picked out some shade-loving plants to use including a big, dramatic fern on the left.  Along with some coleus, a purple sweet potato vine and (although they're hard to see, they're there) a few peach-colored Rex Begonias.    The Coleus is putting on a nice show and the vine is beginning to spill out a bit as the container hits its stride in the end of July.   I don't seem to have taken a photo of the tag for the fern, but I think it is a Cinnamon Fern.    Here's a look at the flowers before we planted them below.  The watermelon-striped plant and the Rex Begonias - which were the stunners pre-planting that you see below have been somewhat swallowed-up by everything else. Our front porch gets some early morning sun, then is in deep