Why I Oughta...

The last full-view of the hedge of Frans Fontaine Columnar (European) Hornbeam trees was in late Spring 2025 when they were leaf'ing out and creating that narrow, green screen.  I posted some photos this past Summer showing how I was pruning back some of the tips over the boardwalk on the side of our house - with this being the first *real* pruning I've ever done to them in eight years.   Over the years, these trees have been true to their reputation when it comes to 'holding their leaves'.  They're decidous trees, but thanks to the magic of foliar marcescence, Frans Fontaine Hornbeams typically hold onto their brown, dessicated leaves much longer than most trees around here.    Here's a post from November 2024 showing how the leaves were hanging on in Late Fall , well after everything else had dropped its canopy.  Here's a whole category of posts talking about the phenomenon of [ foliar marcescence ].   And, over the years, I've seen thes...

At the bottom of my 2025 to-do list post , someone posted this comment - asking to see the latest with our Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam trees: The last update I showed on this row of eight columnar trees was in November of 2024 when they were still holding onto their Fall leaves all the way to November 30th .  I wrote a post in 2022 that showed the full history of these Frans Fontaine Columnar Hornbeams (to that date) including their planting in 2018.    That makes 2025 their eight growing season ('18, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24 and now '25).  They've grown from (in 2018) two-inch (2") caliper trees that barely peeked over the top of our six-foot-tall fence .  To today - where they're providing the full screening we've always wanted.   Today, they're not doing that much screening, though.   They're getting ready to break bud and leaf out.  But, right now, they're mostly bare.  Below are a few photos - showing the trees...

Speaking of 'holding leaves' (yesterday...I posted a photo showing the espalier'd Lindens holding their leaves), the row of Frans Fontaine European Columnar Hornbeams that we have planted along the south property line are doing what they always do in Fall:  hold their leaves late.   The term for trees that hold their leaves DEEP into Winter (when they're all brown and dry, but still clinging to the branches) is named foliar Marcescence.  These aren't quite to that state, but based on previous seasons, we'll see these trees brown-out soon.  Then, one or two of them MAY drop their leaves immediately, while others may hold onto them until Spring.   You see this with Oak trees - quite a bit.  They'll hold some of their leaves all Winter .   Here's a post showing what the trees looked like in February of 2023 - still holding small, crinkled, curled-up leaves that late into the Winter .   And here's a post from one-year-and-one-...

I spent a long time thinking and planning and (eventually) buying and planting a full hedge of (at that time) small Hicks Yews across the back of our yard back in 2019.  I planted twelve 1# pots in the Summer of 2019 and they've had (now) six growing seasons ('19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24). I picked these because they're shade-tolerant.  And, evergreen.  And, narrow/upright.   But, I was hesitant.  Why?  Because...well...Yews have a bad reputation.  Ask any gardener my age if their parents had yews in front of their house when they were growing up and the answer is:  yes.   I was hesitant to use Yews because of what I had grown-up with in the garden.  Everywhere you look in suburban gardens, people have been using Boxwoods.  And, I have, too.  Boxwoods here.  Boxwoods there.  But, after some hemming-and-hawing...I opted for these $5.00 Hicks, upright Yews for the hedge.    I came across this 'undu...

The single-best decision we've made with our landscape in the six seasons since we moved into our house was planting a row of Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam trees along the property line on the north side.   Over the years, I've tried to document their grown from 2" caliper trees to a full hedge today (one that likely needs to be pruned next season).   Here's a post from July 2022 that somewhat chronicles the full history of these trees .   I typically try to post some photos of these trees in late Summer - here's the trees from a year ago (September 2023 ) and then again as they drop their leaves.  Here's last Fall/early Winter when they were dropping their leaves - and some holding their leaves .   Have a look at what the trees look like below - right now.  They're tall, full and surprisingly in need of (I think) a prune. Like all the trees in our yard, if you look closely, you'll see a bunch of brown, dead 'tips' on the branches....

In our old house in Elmhurst, our neighbor to the South had a massive hedge of mature Lilac shrubs.  They provided plenty of screening, but they also threw off a profusion of blooms each Spring.  When we moved, having Lilacs were on Nat's wish list.  Over the years, I've ended up planting four (two 'common' and two 'Nocture' ) and transplanting them, too.   The Common ones went in the ground in 2018 .  The Nocturne variety went in the ground in Summer of 2019 - a year later .    They never bloomed.  Too much shade, I suspected.  In the Spring of 2022, I opted to replace them with something that can tolerate the shade a bit more - and is evergreen .   That meant that I dug-up and moved all four Lilac across the yard to an area that gets more sun.   Their first year (in their new location), the Common Lilacs threw off blooms .  Surprisingly.  That was 2022.  Last year, I don't seem to have posted about th...

How do our Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam Trees look this season?  Like this photo below- showing the green foliage covering the upright, columnar habit of these trees planted along the northside of our property as a screen between our house and our neighbor's property.  You can see part of the gable of our neighbor's house at the top of the photo below: One of the most comment questions that I get on the blog is from someone making a comment asking about these trees.  Things like:  How do they look now?  Any update?  How far are they spaced?  Someone (locally...who grew up in Naperville, but current lives in Barrington and is planning on putting up some Frans Fontaine Hornbeams in their yard) just posted a comment on this post - asking how they're doing .   Last Summer I posted a detailed history of the trees - showing their growth and how they closed in the last remaining gaps between the trees.  I have not pruned these at all - ot...

Our hedge of Frans Fontaine Columnar Hornbeam trees is waking up for Spring and has begun to leaf-out all over the trees.  The last time that I looked at these trees was earlier this (late) Winter, when all of the trees were still clinging to some of their previous-season's leaves (something called foliar marcescence).   The screening that comes from planting these Frans Fontaine Hornbeams along the property line is starting to come into focus this growing season as the small leaves are opening from their buds.  Below, is a photo showing the current (mid/late April) state in our yard in Northern Illinois (Zone 5b).  And, here below, is a look at the leaf from the Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam (Fastigata).  They are curled and ribbed with a hob-like flower/fruit on the trees It won't be long until they fill-in for the year - check this post to see what these trees look like mid-Summer (July 2022) where they're screening our neighbor's yard. These trees ...

 Three growing seasons ago - the Summer of 2019 - I planted a row of VERY SMALL Hicks upright Yews in the far back of the yard .  I wanted to create a little structure back there and was inspired by a curvy, swoopy, undulating hedge that I saw here .  By last Fall (November 2021), they had put on a little bit of size and girth and I was able to document the current state here .  13 months ago, one of them - the fifth from the left - was at that time the tallest Yew in the row.  Today?  It still *is*.   I wanted to mark the height heading into Winter - so I dug my spade in the ground to show the height in relation to the handle.  See below for the current height of this tallest Hicks Yew: Above is a closeup that shows the very tip almost to the black rubber handle at the end of the evergreen shrub.   Getting tall, isn't it?

This is the third in a series of shrub exploration posts that are helping me think and plan how I execute on my #1 priority for 2022:  plant shrubs in a deliberate way .  I started with this 20' area where I need to replace some lilacs with an evergreen layer and three Tardiva Hydrangeas . Yesterday, I looked at an adjacent spot that calls for a similar (but different) evergreen layer fronted by three dwarf Little Lime Hydrangeas that are planted in a way to NOT foreclose a potential path.  Today, I'm looking at the area that lays at the feet of the pair of Greenspire Linden trees along our fenceline.  Here's what it looks like today: Orange ovals = Greenspire Lindens in a horizontal cordon espalier.  Green ovals = Summer Beauty Alliums. I've always wanted a little bit more structure in this area - but haven't done anything meaningful. There are two problems:  First...the plan is SILENT here.  No plantings.  Second, there's a bit of an elevation...

I planted a Hicks upright Yew hedge in the far back of our yard in the middle of the Summer 2019.   At that time, I planted 15 #1 shrubs about 30" spaced on center.  Here's how they looked when I first started showing the gaps between each Yew .  And, I documented what the hedge looked like in October of 2020 here with growth going up and out for each Hicks upright Yew.  Below, you can see what the hedge looks like RIGHT NOW.  This is now after two full (2020 and 2021) growing seasons and half (2019).   Here's a top/bottom look from 2020 to 2021 - one year of growth:  I'll be honest....I *know* that they grew, but the photos stacked as they are below aren't conclusive to me. I recently planted a bunch of other #1 Hicks Yews around the yard in hopes of bringing this look to other parts of the garden for cohesion.   My plan is to help protect as many of these Yews as I can from the rabbits this Winter, but I know I'll see some dam...

Fall shrub planting has included 8 Hicks upright Yews - in 2 locations so far.  First the pair for the (eventual) Block I topiary .  And then, last week a very SMALL hedge (in planning stage) of six more Yews along the south border in the backyard.   And a trio of dwarf Green Gem boxwoods .  Today's post is almost a year in coming but features two more upright Yews - planted close to the fence in one of our shade beds.   You can see one of the two #1 Yews that I planted in the ground in the photo below: I say that these Yews have been in the works for close to a year because it has taken me that long to complete the various steps that I needed to do in order to get these Yews in the ground. First, I suppose I should explain the WHY behind these yews, their location and what I'm trying to accomplish with this planting. I've posted before about learning from and gaining inspiration from Amy Fedele at Pretty Purple Door including her shared love of na...

I recently came across some #1 Hicks Yews on a massive sale (these were sub $5 each), so I grabbed seven of them (and some other items) you can see below.  These seven join the other ones that I already have in as a hedge across the back and the recently planted pair that I'm trying to grow into a topiary .  I've had good luck with all of the previously planted Hicks upright yews not having too much trouble with drought, but they've had a little bit of rabbit damage over the years. I took six of these upright yews and put them into a hedge that will span the back of this bed to the front and - when it grows - will be shaped into that 'swooping' profile that I'm chasing .  My thought is that this new section of swooping hedge will evoke the same feeling as the one in back and work to tie the garden together by repeating the look with upright yews.  Here, below, you can see some of the yews set up for placement below: For record-keeping purposes, here (below) is t...

This post is simply an entry in the diary to ensure that I track progress against my 2021 to-do list out in the back/front yards .   Number 5 on the 2021 to-do list: " Lay down a new Soaker Hose under the Hornbeams ".  I went out there to try to remember WHY I needed to do this.  Once I turned the hose on, I quickly realized that the hose had deteriorated and had sprung some HUGE holes near the beginning.  That meant that the trees at the beginning were getting watered, but less-so as the run went.  Here's one of the leaks: And, to check the box, here's the new pair of soaker hoses that are now laying down on top of the hornbeam beds: After I run water through them a few times they'll lay down flatter.  then, I'll get mulch applied on top of them and you'll never know they were even there. Crossing #5 off my list.  

The last time I posted a photo of our stand of eight Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam trees that we have arranged in a hedge was last Fall when they all dropped their leaves .   We've had a VERY dry Spring around here in Zone 5b - almost no rain.  And, I can't help but think that's slowed down some things like the leaf'ing out of our deciduous conifers (Dawn Redwood and Bald Cypress are VERY SLOW to wake up this Spring) and I assumed that was the case with these Frans Fontaine Hornbeams.   You can see what they look like in the photo above - nice and leafy green. And, I figured they *were* behind.  But, when you look back at this post from exactly a year ago (May 1, 2020) , you can see that the trees are actually AHEAD of last year.   One other thing to note in the [ garden diary ] is that I extended the bed below these trees out by about a foot. In terms of how dense they are (currently), here's a look at one of the interiors - about head height...

 Back last Summer, I bought 15 Hicks Upright Yews in small 2# nursery containers when they went on sale at Home Depot and planted them in a row near the back of our rear fenceline.   I planted them in July and watered them in with a soaker hose to keep them alive.  The first Winter, a few of them were eaten by rabbits , but all of them came out of the cold alive.   By June of this year, they had put off their first full-season growth and last month, a few of them had produced their first arils (berries).   I wanted to document how they stand - going into Winter - this year.  Below, you can see a full photo showing the yews from edge of hedge to edge.   The gaps haven't filled in much (yet), but I can start to envision what they'll end up looking like and still want to think about pruning them to be kind of like this 'swooping' hedge that I captured as inspiration . 

After seeing some Winter damage (and rabbit damage ) on some of our Hicks Upright yews that I planted last year, I was happy to see that the shrubs are showing off some growth this Spring.  All twelve (12) of these small yews have new, fresh Spring growth on the tips.  I planted these in mid-Summer of 2019 and baby'd them with a soaker hose. I stuck some of the Jobe's fertilizer spikes in near the northern-most shrubs in an attempt to see if they work.  If you recall, my goal is a wavy shrub like the one this post. I posted some photos of these yews in my garden walk-around earlier this Spring and gave them a heavy mulch.

One of the traditions that I've enjoyed keeping up with each year with our kids is the annual Earth Day planting of a tree in our yard.  We started with one - a Dawn Redwood in 2017 - that we planted in our new lot while our house was being built.  This was a few months before the construction was going to be done.   The next year - 2018 - we planted three Earth Day trees. One for each kid.  We did a weeping cherry (that we lost), a Red Maple Sun Valley tree that we planted all the way in the back and a flowering pear tree that we planted on the south fence line .  Those two have survived since then, but they were VERY small trees.  I wasn't measuring them at the time, but when I measured them in January of this year (which would have made these 1.75 years *in the ground* at our house), the maple was just .87" caliper and the Chanticleer Pear was up to 1.20".   They were similar when we put them in, so guess it was something lik...