Why I Oughta...

Influenced?  Or inspired?  What do you call it when you come across something on Instagram (or YouTube) that shows you something new, isn't pushing a product but...does...indeed compel you to act - and purchase something.  I'm going to say that I was inspired.  Not influenced.   And that inspiration came from seeing a 'white garden' that was planted up with silver and white perennials and exposed me to something new (to me):  Artemisia.   There are a few varieties that you'll see out at the nursery, but the one that I think might be the biggest (not the best) in the trade is Silver Mound Artemisia.  It is a soft-texture white plant that Walters Garden describes as a 'cushion' .  Here's what they say: Aptly named, 'Silver Mound' has soft, feathery foliage and forms a compact, silky, cushion-like mound. It has many applications in the garden including: edging, rock gardens, pots, or a filler plant for hot, dry areas. It has long been one of the mos

Earlier this Summer, I posted some photos and details of the plantings in the beds of the Fragrance Garden at the Morton Arboretum and documented some of the things that I struck me as interesting - including the use of a new (to me) plant:  Cardoon. So imagine my surprise when I came across this sign at The Growing Place.  Sure enough...Cardoon.  It is in the herbs and vegetables section.  It was cheap to begin with...and with 50% off, I figured I'd take a shot.   Is it cold hardy to Zone 5B?  I don't think so.  But, I planted it - this late in the season - anyway.  Only way to learn, right?  And, for two bucks, why not get a little joy out of this freakshow of a plant. I put it IB2DWs - where I would see it A LOT.  See below for location. Cardoon planted as a bedding plant I'm going to mulch it in pretty hard (pile biosolids on top of the crown) when the foliage dies back, but I'm pretty sure this won't come back - as it is usually listed to Zone 7 .  But, next y

One of the plants that I have learned to absolutely love is Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip'.  I've planted it in a few places and each time I see it, I say to myself:  I should put this stuff everywhere.   It is a great 'living mulch' and plays well with other plants - won't take over in the same ways that something like Creeping Jenny seems to do in my garden.  I've mostly added 'Chocolate Chip' , but earlier this year I also planted six Ajuga 'Bronze Beauty' plugs in the back garden.  I haven't really noticed them doing anything, but most of them seem to have established themselves this Summer.   That Ajuga 'exploration' is the reason why I came home with a single plant (yes...I know one groundcover plant is a mistake) from the Lowe's end-of-the-season sale:  A Burgundy Glow Ajuga.  See below for a look at the foliage: What makes Burgundy Glow special?  From Walters Garden come these features:  tri-colored foliage, blue flowers and

Over the years, I've bought dozens of succulents and - without thinking about it - potted them up as container plants.  I mean...they're not hardy for our zone, right?   That's what I've sort-of thought.  On occassion, I'd come across something succulent-looking in a garden and sort of wonder:  why am I not growing those?  Sometimes they're sedums.  But...other times, I think they're something called Sempervivum.   The reason that I bring this up is that at the end-of-the-season sale at Lowes, one of the kids wanted to buy a Sempervivum 'Hopewell'.  It was 50% off $5, so for $2.50, we were going to get an experiment. I ended up planting it down IB2DWs - by the sidewalk in the 'hard to grow' area right near the Shenandoah red Switchgrass .  What is Sempervivum ‘Hopewell'?  Sempervivum ‘Hopewell’ is an historic garden plant with succulent foliage. It will form large, open rosettes of emerald-green leaves with leaf margins that turn maroon i

A couple weeks shy of five-years-ago, we planted a tiny Bald Cypress tree in our front yard .  At the time, i was dealing with a 'clay bowl' or ' bathtub effect' in the area (on a different tree), so we went beyond in terms of digging a 'five-dollar-hole'.  Five years later, I can saw - without a doubt - that this Bald Cypress is the most successful tiny tree that we've had since we started here in Downers.  Not only has the tree survived, it has put on A LOT of size.  Height and width and even caliper . I last measured it a year ago when it was just about a 3.5" caliper tree.   Today?  I haven't done the caliper (yet), but by the eye-test?  It has grown even bigger. See below for the current - late Summer state of our Bald Cypress that sits in-between-two-driveways. Having learned my lesson on pruning small trees, I've left this one alone totally.  Not a prune.  At least on our side.  Turns out...when our neighbors built their new driveway, th