Why I Oughta...

Late Summer 2021, I planted the first three Hakonechloa Macra Grasses (the standard, green ones) from Northwind Perennial Farm in the border right around our tree swing tree.  I had some All Golds in the ground prior to 2021, but I read about the green ones online and when I saw them, I bought them as one-gallon nursery pots.  The All Gold variety have been slow growers (for me), so I wasn't sure what these would do when they matured.  I documented them in their first Spring ( May 2022 ) and then one year after planting ( August 2022 ) - when they had put on some growth. Last Summer, I added four more (behind the tree) and this Spring, I moved them (a garden edit) to sit next to the three original ones on the border.  Those four are two seasons behind and the move set them back with a little transplant stress.  But the three original?  They're starting to fill out the space and REALLY shine in the garden.   Below is a look at the three original Japanese Forest Grasses in our

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

My Hakonechloa Macra Forest Grass crush keeps growing.  It started with the All Golds that I bought at one of the Morton sales, but has morphed towards something else:  the 'straight' green versions that I find up at Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin.  I planted three of them in a border last year and they've quickly outperformed the All Golds that are planted close-by .   One of the things that I observed in our backyard garden this Spring was the need to help 'hide' the dying foliage of the tulip bulbs that I have planted under the large tree-swing Oak tree.  I have some hostas and ferns in there, but they don't move fast-enough to help.  And, based on watching these Japanese Forest Grasses, I've discovered (this Spring) that the straight Green ones emerge must earlier than the All Golds.   So, on a trip up to Northwind, I put four of these in my wagon.   They look really great in the sun - see below: This area is what I'd call 'part shade'

Last year, I bought three Japanese Forest Grasses - Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grass - from Northwind up in Wisconsin and planted them right at the base of the big Northern Red Oak tree - the tree swing tree amongst some hostas.  These grasses are similar to the All Gold variety that I have in a few places, but these aren't as 'lime green' color, but rather a darker green.  They're also (per the signage) more vigorous.   This is their first Spring and all three of them have emerged from the mulch.  You can see them (below) tucked into the border with some hostas (Frances Williams and others) above them.   My plan is to let all of these things come up and then decide if I need to transplant a few things around.   The bare root hostas are starting to get to a more-mature size and as they fill in, I think there might be a few more than necessary here.  

Right at the end of August, I shared a photo of some of the bare root hostas - Bressingham Blue hostas - that I planted this year in a new bed.  Seven of the eight made it and have emerged this year.  Right around the same time, I planted nine Frances Williams hostas in a different (new) bed.  Frances Williams are variegated and have a yellow margin - so I put the bare root plantings in the bed with my other variegated hostas .  I planted these before anything else emerged.  And, I'll say that *these* were VERY.SLOW to emerge from the ground.  Here's the place they went in the ground in April .  So, how are we looking on those nine plants now? Here, below, is a look at the plantings from two different angles: And, here, below, is an annotated version of one of the photos showing - by my count- eight of the nine have worked out. Now...it MIGHT be nine for nine.   And that's because the plant in the circle farthest to the top/right has what is actually three little hostas e