Why I Oughta...

One little section of the backyard garden where we have (what I would consider) 'good' layering going-on is in the curve under the tree-swing tree that features a mix of grasses, shrubs and trees.  The standouts are clearly the Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' Japanese Forest Grasses that sit near the border and hug the curve.  I first bought a dozen of them at the Covid-year Morton Sale .  There are seven remaining here.  (I think there are five IB2DWs.) See below for a photo of this curved section - as it stands in early September, 2023: There were these same seven Japanese forest grasses back in August of 2021 and while the growth has been pretty slow, if I look back at them from two seasons ago , I can notice that they've put on some mass.  The blades are more-full and seemingly longer as these are (now) showing a more cascading-look than they were back a few years.  There are a few more things going on in this little section that you can (if you looked hard enough

Last Summer (June 2022), I bought three Little Lime Hydrangea (a dwarf cultivar of Limelight ) and planted them in front of the Belgian Fence of Apple trees.  They were small, but produced a handful of blooms in late July that first growing season . Fast-forward a year and these three flowering shrubs have changed quite a bit.  They're thicker, more full and...FULL of blooms this year.  See below for a photo of their current (mid-August) state: These are a really good solve for this spot - they're at the back of the bed, but with the Belgian Fence behind, I couldn't use a full-height shrub here as they'd obscure the espalier.  So, this dwarf version is perfect.   It also has me thinking about how I could re-use these in other spots that are mid-bed.  Further back on this same northside of the backyard, there are spots.  And, maybe even IB2DWS?

Most everything has let go of their leaves for the season.  Our Hornbeams are holding some of their leaves and the Chanticlear Pear flowering trees have many of theirs, too.  But, there are a few shrubs that are playing the marcescence game, too.   The deciduous shrubs that I recently noticed are holding their leaves are a few varieties of Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  This is, I think, the latest they've head their leaves into Winter, but this is ALSO the first year that I've protected them with chicken wire cages from the dang rabbits.  So...is it just a unique situation where they're holding their leaves longer than normal?  Or, is the nibbling from the rabbits what has - in past years - caused the leaves to drop?  Either way, I'm happy to see these leaves stick around. First...the Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are closer to the house.  These are holding deep purple leaves on all of them.  See below: Also, a little further down that same bed are three Little Honey Oakleaf H

Earlier this Summer, I brought home and planted three Little Lime Hydrangeas in our backyard .  What feels like so long ago - but was actually just six weeks ago - I was wrapping up my big push around planting shrubs this year with these three flowering dwarf hydrangeas.  I ended up planting them right in front of the Apple tree Belgian Fence along the north fence line.  In the photo below, you can see the three shrubs and how they're getting their first blooms - and really earning their name: A few notes for the garden diary here:  in the foreground of the photo above, you can see two of the three Miscanthus sinesis 'Adagio' grasses . They're doing well in this spot - with this being their second growing season having gone in late last year.   Second - if you squint, you can see one of the Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburums on the far right.  Aside from the dang rabbits nibbling on these, they seem to be doing just fine - and are putting on new growth.  They'll nee

Yesterday, I showed a couple of photos showing three new Green Velvet Boxwoods that I bought and planted IB2DWs - right by the gravel path.  In that post, I ran through the 'shrub math' and compared my initial priority list with what I've done (so far).   Here, below, is the initial list with annotations on what has been done so far.   5 Oakleaf Hydrangeas.   Planted and done.  8 Viburnum.  4 treeform bought.  3 planted in back.  1 in front.  Call it 5 remaining. 3 Little Lime Hydrangeas.   3 Tardiva Hydrangeas 1 Panicle Hydrangea.   Planted one of the Doublefile Viburnum here.   6-8 upright evergreens   Planted six Green Giant Thujas in two spots. 6-8 boxwoods and/or Yews - 3 Green Velvet planted IB2DW .  (at least) 3 left.  This post is about how I found and brought home three Little Lime Hydrangeas.  Here, below, is what the three of these 2# Little Lime Hydrangeas at the big box nursery. These were $29.98 each and were on a lower rack, kind of tucked-away so they seem

At the beginning of June, I showed off the three 2# Little Lime Hydrangeas that I brought home as part of our backyard landscape plan .  I wanted them to fill in right in front of the apple tree Belgian Fence espalier on the north side of the yard - under the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree. In order to get these three in the ground, I first has to dig up and transplant an existing shrub: An Azelea .  This flowering shrub has been in the ground for a number of years and, in reality, was in a terrible spot.  It flowers (barely), but is leggy and not happy here.  I started by digging up the azalea while trying to keep the rootball totally intact and surrounded by soil.  See below for the spade I used to dig this azalea up - right in front of the Belgian Fence espalier: I decided to move this one out further west to a more-sunny spot in the backyard.   With these being #13, #14 and #15 shrubs planted, I thought I'd revisit my initial list : 5 Oakleaf Hydrangeas.   Planted and done. 

A week ago, I started posting a series of photos of the plant material that we brought home from the annual Morton Arboretum Arbor Day Plant Sale.  The first of those posts were these three Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are bright chartreuse in color and are dwarf (under 5' tall) in stature.  The plan called for three Little Lime Hydrangeas, but because this spot is deeper into the shade than it used to be (when the plan was built/drafted), I decided to call the audible and move to an Oakleaf variety.   I tucked these three into the area just to the West of where I dug out the Lilacs.  They get four feet tall and four feet wide, so when mature, they'll (hopefully) fill in the current spacing.  You can see the three Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangeas standing OUT in the landscape below: Here, below, is an annotated version of that same photo showing where these are located - understory of the flowering Kwanzan Cherry tree and bordered by the Everillo Sedges and one (of th

Yesterday, I walked through an exploration of an area in one of my beds that calls for a mix of Tardiva Hydrangea and (now) an upright evergreen layer .  That requires the moving/transplanting of four Lilac shrubs that have never taken off due to shade.  My #1 backyard priority for 2022 is a focus on shrubs and being deliberate about buying and planting them - versus say...perennial flowers.  I've talked about buying and adding a series of Arrowwood Viburnum shrubs in various spots, but there's a segment of our landscape plan that is directly adjacent to yesterday's Lilac replacement area that calls for a mix of hydrangeas and evergreens.   Here's a look (below)  at this 18-20' area that is bound on one side by the Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree and on the other by a large (2nd largest on our property) Northern Red Oak tree.  You can see the tree here in this post showing some winter/snow damage .  That Oak is on the right.  In Yellow is a run of various hostas.