Why I Oughta...

There are signs of life emerging EVERYWHERE around our garden.  Here's a few photos of things that are bringing me a little bit of Spring joy in beds around our garden.  First, the IB2DW bed - which has (now) five Pinball Wizard Allium bulbs that were planted last year .  Below, you can see the red-ish tips of the foliage emerging from the mulch.   On the south side of the house is an Iris that my Sister Vic gave to me from her Indiana Street (Elmhurst) neighbor.  I call this "Wes' Iris" .  It is coming alive as I type: Under the troubled (in Decline) Norway Maple out front are some *new* (to me) tulips that have arrived for the first time (below).  I planted these last year .  They're DIFFERENT in that the foliage is variegated and has a pink(ish) stripe down the edge.  And, here below, are a BUNCH more tulips that I planted down near the sidewalk in that troublesome spot.  Should note (to myself) where these are and how to augment them this Fall. Below is a peek

In the flurry of late-season planting in the backyard, I managed to sneak in a trio of dwarf ornamental grasses - Miscanthus sinesis 'Adagio ' - in an area underneath the tree swing Northern Red Oak.  They're tucked in behind a colony of Japanese Forest Grasses and in front of the Belgian Fence Apple tree espalier.  One of the noteworthy characteristics of this cultivar is that the flower panicles grow up and out into these gently curving/arching feather heads that provide a lot of Winter interest.  This is the first season we've had these and I'm happy to see the initial view we're getting after these being in the ground for just a short period of time this year.  See below for a look at the feathers at the top: I can already imagine what these will look like in the coming years as they fill in and thicken-up.  I've historically left ALL of my grasses in place over winter and these seem to be no different.  If you're looking for an inexpensive, zone 5

Yesterday I posted a photo of a new bed on the corner of our back patio that is now home to three transplanted Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses .  These were divided from another grass, so....they're the best kind of plants:  free plants.  Today, I'm posting a photo of some other free plants:  another trio of Karl Foerster grasses.   This is the third in the series of dividing these grasses with the first being back i in September.  In that post , I showed how I added just ONE grass underneath our Norway Maple tree in front.   This time, I took another of the driveway grasses (the middle one) and divided it into four pieces.  This one was suffering from Center Rot , so it was due to be divided.  I left the largest piece in place (you can see it in the photo below) and took the other three over by the Maple. I took the other three divisions and planted them in an array in front of the Norway Maple - along with the first one I put there last week.  Now, there's four of the

Last month, I created a new bed , down by the sidewalk that has historically been turf that has ALWAYS gone dormant in a big way during the Summer.  Currently, it is small - like about 24" wide and spans the space between our driveway and the large Hackberry tree in the corner of our property.  I knew that I had to think about some drought-resistant plantings down there due to the history of the site and upon excavation, I now know why:  there was a half-inch or so of topsoil standing on top of gravel.   My plan started by transplanting some of the Lemon Coral Sedum that we had in our front porch bed down there in late September .  Doing so, checked a big part of the box for #3 on my 2021 to-do list to work the 'in between two driveways' section.   I also wanted to add something else to the bed before things went dormant for the year, so on one of my trips to the Home Depot, I came across an ornamental grass that sounded interesting.  At 50% off, this Panicum Shenandoah R

September is a good time to divide some perennials in our growing zone - 5b - due to the cooler temperatures, the little bit of rain we get and the warm soil temperatures.  I have a few plants in our garden that were planted in 2017 that haven't been divided to date - so that's five growing seasons without dividing.  And, when it comes to some ornamental grasses, it seems that they do BEST when you divide them every three or four years.   My Fall dividing plan starts with these Karl Foerster grasses that were planted next to our driveway and our front way.  I just posted a photo of these grasses last week showing the trio of them being full and wide .  That's about their total, mature size.  Coupled with the fact that I noticed some 'center rot' this Spring , I knew it was time to dig these out and divide.   I started with the grass closest to our garage - you can see it on the right in the photo below: I dug it up and divided it into quarters - with four sections t

Last year, I added a number of new perennials to our garden in late September due to a shopping trip to the Morton Arboretum Fall Plant Sale.  That was, turns out, a one-time event due to COVID cancelling the annual Arbor Day sale.  It ended up working to my benefit because I brought home all sorts of new/interesting material including some new (to me) hostas , a slew of All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses , my first sedges and a Katsura tree .  With no Fall Sale, I'm left to my own devices in terms of shopping for some sales at the garden centers where I am finding some things that fit our plan AND are on sale.  Those are my two criteria for shopping this Fall:  50% off sale + something that fits in our plan or is something I've posted a 'dreaming' post about. I started a few days ago with the pair of Sugar Tyme Crabpple trees - which I'm planning on espalier'ing - in our sideyard .  Today, sharing a couple of photos of a new dwarf Maiden Grass that I bought in a

Putting this photo in the [ garden diary ] here to show what the trio of Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses look like in late September, 2021.  The formal name for this sport is: C alamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' , so I should start calling them that in these posts, right? Photo below shows all three of them putting on a lovely, golden show with their reeds standing tall and the grass blades turning a bit rusty, but still providing a lot of interest.  These grasses are sandwiched between our driveway, our front way, our front stoop and the front porch. I showed these same grasses in July of this year when they have a lightweight almost-purple look to them  and now have them planted in four spots (two in back, two in front).  Compare that photo above with the photo in this post (that I'll paste below) from early October 2019 - just about 2 years ago.  Source - Same Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses from early October 2019 . They look about the same, right?  Tha

 I planted this grass in our front bed earlier this Spring after bringing it home from the Morton Arboretum Spring sale.  It is called the Totem Pole Switchgrass.  Named: Panicum virgatum Prairie Winds.  And, I broke the rule of buying just one of anything , but since this thing was billed to be SO BIG (6' tall) and I wasn't sure where it was going to go, I brought home just one.  I ended up sticking it behind the Norway Maple in our front bed.  And, that tree has been killing EVERYTHING in sight, so I wasn't sure how this particular grass would do in this spot.  I've lost hostas, ligularias and even a hydrangea in this area.  So, my fingers were crossed that this would provide a little bit of vertical interest and survive the shallow roots from the tree that seem to out-compete everything else around the tree.  Here, below, is a look at this grass after being in the ground all Summer.  It is about three-and-a-half-feet tall and doing decently well.  It has put up the

I bought a bunch of All Gold Japanese Forest Grasses - Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' last Fall and then bought a few more this Spring - both times at the Morton Arboretum plant sale.   I planted six in the back and then after extending my beds dug many of them up and transplanted some to new spots .    After a Spring drought and a tough Summer, below is what this area looks like now.  The front row has six (photo only shows five) and back row now has just two.  Here, below, is a similar shot showing all nine back in May .  Green circles are the grasses.  I transplanted the back three closer it seems. The one that is dead?  (or in severe decline). The back row, furthest to the left.   See below - the red circle shows the placement.  What's the grass look like in that circle?  This - below.  Just one tiny shoot.  I'll baby it, but I think this thing is gone. I have another one of these out front that hasn't really sprung up too much.  For now, I'm calling these thi

I picked up a new (to me) grass at the Spring Morton Arboretum Plant Sale.  It is called Panicum virgatum 'Totem Pole' and a couple of the defining characteristics are the blue color and the immense size. The tag lists this thing being 72" tall at maturity, so it is a tall cultivar, for sure.  I planted it back in early June after deciding that I thought it would work well in one of the front beds - kind of tucked behind the troubled Norway Maple tree.  I've planted various things in/around the tree over the years and I've had absolutely ZERO luck with just about anything.  Hostas fail.  Grasses fail.  The hydrangeas and boxwoods that live within the drip-line of the tree?  They're all in decline.   But, I thought that maybe this grass could be the plant that changes the course of this bed.  I've been watering this switchgrass whenever I water the front lawn, but other than that, I've mostly left it alone.   I went out front recently and noticed that i

 We have 14 Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses planted in various places around our yard - five outside our kitchen window , four outside our screened porch, three in a little island between our driveway and front porch stairs and a pair planted 'in between two driveways" (IB2Ds).  I've posted photos of these various grasses on the blog over the years, but I wanted to drop a series of photos of these in the [garden diary] so I can track their progress. First up, four grasses planted outside of our screened porch.  I planted one back in 2018 because I had one too many.  But, last Fall, I added three more to make this a four-pack below:  Next up, three large grasses that were planted in 2017 before we moved in and our house was finished.  These are good-sized, but are experiencing (I think) a little bit of center-rot where the center part of these grasses is dying - and the recommended course of action is to dig up and divide.  Here's a look at these grasses in 2018 ,

I bought a large cast iron urn planter off of Craigslist a few years back and have planted it with a combination of annuals and perennials the past few seasons.  I kept it right next to the driveway in front, but at least once a season, Nat would comment about how she thought it wasn't the right spot for the large, black urn.   For history, here are a few posts showing off the various different plantings that I've made in this urn. 2018:  I don't think I captured the planting. 2019:  A dark coral bell, a begonia and some tropical flair . 2020:  A foxtail fern, Blue Salvia and red petunias .   This year, I decided to move it to the backyard - in a bed - and to plant a monoculture.  For the planting, I went with (wait for it....) a couple of fountain grasses.  These are reddish in color and called Fireworks Fountain Grasses - Pennisetum alopecuroides.  These were $9.98 at Home Depot and I bought two of them. And, here's what they look like in the urn: I put the urn on to