Why I Oughta...

I'm racing the Cicada clock on a few projects;  the pizza oven foundation.  And...some of my proposed 2024 Garden Edits.  I wrote a post about a number of 'garden edits' that I want to make and started with the Hakonechloa Macra grasses (the green ones ) around the tree swing.  And, this past weekend, I made another large 'garden edit'.    My mantra for 2024 is 'editing' what I have - and that means a focus on planting in mass (larger quantities of the same varieties) that meet three criteria: 1. They work in our yard. Meaning...they thrive, not just survive. 2. Are appealing (to me). Foliage and Texture are key. 3. Have some four-season appeal. I don't want my garden to be 'empty' in Winter. This edit is on the southside.  And this bed - and in particular - the border/edge of the bed have been a hodge-podge.  Mostly hostas to fill-up space.  And, while I put up a few stumps in my new "stumpery" , I didn't plant anything in t

Yesterday, I posted about how as I've matured as a gardener, I'm focusing on garden edits vs additions.  In that post, I called our four spots that I'd like to edit - Tree Swing tree, Kitchen Curved, Hosta Replacement and IB2DWs.   The first one that I've started with is the Tree Swing tree bed.  I was out with my shovel cutting in an edge and took on the edit - starting with finding new homes for some things. My edit criteria are: 1.  Work in our yard. 2.  Are appealing (to me). 3.  Have some four-season appeal. My plan is to feature Hakonechloa Macra grasses (the green ones) and Alliums to start - both of which check all three criteria.  Here (below) is the 'before' - the garden edit - where the plants sit currently.  Just in the wrong (to my eye) spot: First, I dug up the Seslaria Autumnalis (three of them) and pulled them out.  They're moving back in the garden, but that's for a separate post.  Below is a photo showing the holes from the Autumn Moo

2024 is shaping up to the year of garden edits.  A lot less additions in our backyard garden, but some edits to shift towards things meet some criteria:   1.  Work in our yard. 2.  Are appealing (to me). 3.  Have some four-season appeal. That means that changing out things that don't meet those critieria (hostas) and replace them with things that do - both plants that I have on-hand and ones that I need to bring home. My time in this garden is too short to spend time or effort on plants that I don't love.  The edits that I'm thinking about right now focus on mass plantings and repetition.   There's a garden in our neighborhood that I walk past and admire often.  It has a large property with simple, repetitive-planted beds that have hostas, groundcover and a couple of other perennials.  There's A LOT of beds, but they MOSTLY ALL planted in the same pattern - groundcover in front, hostas behind and a third perennial in the rear.  It is simple.  And repetitive.  And lo

A mature gardener can edit their garden.  I'm not there yet, but learning everyday.  And, I've made an edit to the garden that put me out of my comfort zone a little bit:  removing a tree.  The tree in question was one that I didn't plant - it was a volunteer.  A Silver Maple.  I figured out what it was last Fall and posted about Silver Maples - and the paradox of Silver Maples .   I let this grow as a volunteer and then last year it LEPT up.  Big time growth.  That put my antenna up a little bit. Things are NOT supposed to grow that fast.  Then, this past week, I noticed this foliage: Lovely, right?  Lace-like.  Purples and greens.  Almost Japanese-maple-ish.   So, I went online (again) and thought about the Silver Maple.  That foliage was striking.  But, I needed to re-think things.   A quick look around the Web and you'll discover that not only are Silver Maples fast-growing, they also have three primary issues:  weak limbs (come down in a storm), litter (helicopters