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Showing posts with the label miegakure

Northern Catalpa Patio Tree - Leader Pruning and New Vertical Growth - July 2024

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The small, volunteer Northern Catalpa tree that is growing up on one corner of our patio had a three-leader situation going on in June.  Catalpas are whirl'd - which means they show growth out of three points, so having three leaders isn't surprising.  About three weeks ago, I made the decision to cut-off two of them and then forgot about it.  It didn't take long, but the small tree reacted VERY STRONGLY to the leader situation being sorted and has shot up about a foot in the past two weeks.  Here, below, is a look at the tree as it sits currently: I'll note that the peak is right above the tips of the Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  Looking back at September 2023 - late last Summer - this same tree was coming in a foot-or-so below the grass tips and I measured it at 41" tall. What is it now - after this growth spurt?  65" tall to the top of the foliage.  24" growth since September of 2023 - and most of it (I think) in the past couple of weeks.

Dwarf Spring Grove Ginkgo Tree Planted In Front Yard - July 2024

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In 2023, I bought a pair of dwaft ( Witch's Broom) Ginkgo trees named Spring Grove Gingkos and planted them on either side of our back stoop .  They're handsome dwarf trees that have done well.  They wilt in the hot sun a little bit, but have put on good growth in their two growing seasons .  So...when I came across another one earlier this Summer, I grabbed it. I wasn't sure where it would go, but when I decided to cut out and create the new front yard Island Bed and plant the Northern Glow Korean Maple , I figured this small Spring Grove Ginkgo would make a handsome companion.     I put it in the opposite corner of the bed and like the Korean Maple, I also covered this with some shade cloth to give it a little bit of protection from the summer sun.  This one is multi-trunked (2 stems).  You can see the as-planted state below: Here (below) is a capture of the plant tags: This is the second island bed plant and will (hopefully) serve as the anchor to the (eventual) larger

Imagining A Front Yard Conifer Garden With Miegakaure - February 2024

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A couple of weeks ago, I posted a pretty lengthy garden diary post that outlined some of the inspiration and design ideas that I've been cataloging for the front yard .  I also posted this conifer inspo of three blue junipers (upright) in a mixed perennial bed .  What would it look like?  Ideally... something like this house .  But, that's not realistic - just yet.   In that post, I talked about doing a 'phase 1', but doing it with an eye for the entire design.  What's the key, defining characteristic of the 'entire design'?  I think it is centered on three things: 1. A path. 2. A bern. 3. ...and some miegakure. I was out front - taking the garbage cans out - this past week and because there was some frost on the front lawn, I thought I could (sort-of) shuffle my feet through the grass and leave a mark of what feels natural in terms of a front-yard path.  See below for my winding, curved (potential) garden path.  It starts closer to the driveway, winds *b

Front Yard Garden Design - Inspiration, Ideas and A Starting Point - January 2024

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Beyond the pizza-oven build, my mind has been thinking about the front yard for 2024.  I went ham on the IB2DWs extended bed last Fall with my new conifer garden , but I've been reading and watching things on the Web that have me thinking about the rest of our yard.   If I'm being honest, our front yard isn't bad. Not at all.  It is, however...traditional.  It is what everybody in the suburbs has: a foundation bed with a corner tree and a stretch of front lawn from that bed down to the sidewalk.  Followed by a turf parkway between the sidewalk and street.  Over the years, I've done a few things:  planned for some tree planting .  Tucked a Saratoga Ginkgo , some Stachys Hummelo and Sesleria Greenlees into the small island bed by the driveway.  And extended the front porch bed a bit this past year .   The rest is a blank canvas.   Some of the things that I've come across/influenced me a bit include this piece from Garden Design focused on curb appeal  that talks thr

3rd Location - Backyard Pizza Oven - January 2024

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Analysis causes paralysis is a trope that people say in business and life.  But, I'm NOW feeling that very thing HARD in regards to our backyard pizza oven planning.  It was just a week ago that I VERY CONFIDENTLY posted about how I was down to just two finalist locations for our oven .  But, today?  I'm not so sure any longer.  What about a 3rd location, on the south side of the yard, about the same distance from the house.  But, tucked into a current bed where the Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas are planted?  See below for this 3rd location at the bottom of the drawing: This 3rd location re-introduces one of the ORIGINAL sites that I contemplated as far back as 2017 .    What does this new site get us?  It certainly doesn't take advantage of the grade change, so that means that the full height and mass of the oven will be in-view.  That provides for a bit of screening.  But, it also means that the oven becomes a garden focal-point.  If site'd here, it would be the biggest dr

Down to Two Pizza Oven Locations - 2024 Project - January 2024

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The notion of building a wood-burning oven in our backyard is one that I've mused about for years.  Dating back to our first house in Elmhurst, I dreamed up how I could build one and where it would go in the landscape.  I've posted about it a few times since we moved to Downers - including here in 2017 and again in 2020 and then one month later (also) in 2020 .  The first post in 2020, I talked about planning for a pond and oven .   That last post in September of 2020 , I mentioned building it on *top* of our large drywell.   When I go back and read those posts, I can see the evolution in thinking - from close to the patio to utilizing the lower elevation on the northside to placing it on the drywell to deal with any potential heaving.  They all make sense.  And, that's what I've been thinking the past few weeks as I've moved into real planning mode. I'd like to call 2024 the year of the pizza oven.  Or, at least...the pizza oven foundation and stand.  Let'

Northern Catalpa Two-Year-Old Seedling - September 2023

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We have a few large, mature Northern Catalpa trees in our yard that I've really grown to appreciate over the years.  They're native trees that have H U G E leaves, put out a really nice set of interesting, white flower blooms on the trees in early Summer , and have a little Fall-show in them with a turn to golden yellow before dropping their large leaves.  They leave behind long, lean seed pods that I've tried to grow into seedlings , but I don't think that I've ever successfully sowed a Northern Catalpa tree on my own. But...they also produce quite a few volunteer trees.   In the Fall of 2022, I dug up and transplanted one of those volunteer seedlings and moved it into the little, corner bed of our back patio; tucked in between the Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  I watered it to get it established and then left it alone.  Two years later, what does that little volunteer (transplanted) tree look like?  See below for the current state of the tree.  It has grown