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Showing posts with the label patio

2nd Burgundy Glow Ajuga Planted - Screened Porch - November 2023

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Last month, I posted details of my 3rd Ajuga variety:  Burgundy Glow.  I found one at Lowe's and tucked it into the IB2DWs bed near the driveway .  In that post , I looked at the tri-color foliage and how it is a little bit slower-grower than 'Chocolate Chip'.  Well...it tuns out that I'm (now) planting a second one.  That was a gift of sorts. Back earlier this Summer, the kids made Fairy Gardens.  One of the plants that one of the girls bought - but LEFT IN THE CONTAINER - is an Ajuga Burgundy Glow.  Here below are a few photos - including how this thing had roots coming out the bottom big-time: I carefully peeled the container away and decided to stick it into the backyard - right off the patio, by the screened porch door - hoping it will fill in the space and hug the patio.  See below for the size: More groundcover.  More, indeed.   I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

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

Teal Oil for Teak Patio Table - Summer 2023

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It isn't the patio container box ( which...is #23 on my 2023 to-do list) , but it *is* something:  I applied a coat of Teak Oil to our patio table.  The top is, indeed, teak.  And, after a few passes with a sander, I was able to get down to some nice, clean teak.  And the top soaked the oil right up.   Is it a seasonal project?  Sort-of?  I'm going to count it on my 2023 to-do list check-in, for sure.

Patio Containers - One Color Each - July 2022

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The past few years, I've used a tricolor combination in the 'corner container' on our back patio that was inspired by beds in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.  Red, Orange and blue/purple.  Last year it was marigolds, salvia and petunia .  Along with an Elephant Ear tucked into the corner for a little tropical flair.   This year, I went a different route - with a monochromatic scheme.  Well... actually since the foliage is green and the flowers are all white, this might *technically* be a complementary scheme.  But, I'm going to call it one-color.  I went this route with both the corner wooden container and the larger clay pot that we've had for 10 years or so. Let's start with the corner container.  I planted this with a combination of white flowering annuals and some foliage plants.  First, the flowers:  16 Catharanthus roseus - annual vinca. Those are the white flowers with red centers.  And 16 Easy Wave White spreading Petunias.   I also tucked in a pair of As

Shaggy Boxwoods By Patio - Pre-Shaping - June 2022

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One of the projects in the backyard that I've been eying since we arrived home from vacation is to clean up and shape the boxwoods that we have close to our patio in back.  They're pretty shaggy right now and have grown together a bit after being in the ground for four growing seasons.  You can see their current state as shaggy boxwoods below: A little history - these were planted in 2018.  And I pruned them for the first time in Spring of 2019 .  I haven't touched them since.   Why?  Because I found some inspiration both on the Web and in person.  First... these Jacques Wirtz cloud hedges that have grown together and are shaped in one big mass.  And then this mass of boxwoods that are in Memphis at the FedEx Worldwide Headquarters .   The Fall of 2019, they started to put on some size .   And a year later - Fall 2020 - they had grown even closer together .   It seems that the time has come to shape these, but (right now), I don't have shears.  Seems there are a couple

Peak Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses - June 2022

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I know that Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses are very (as they say) basic.  You'll find them in plenty of landscapes around Northern Illinois.  But that's for good reason:  they are really strong performers.  Across multiple seasons.  They stay upright and proud to provide winter interest, but they also put on a show as they grow in early Summer.  In fact...I'd say that right now (mid-June) really *is* PEAK Karl Foerster grass season.  They've grown up for the season and have put out their flowers on the tips that are light green.  But, the blades of the grass - in particular their color - are the real stars of the show.   Here's a few looks at various Karl Foerster grasses around the yard right now below.  First, some of the grasses planted right off our patio.  These were planted last Fall and were divisions. Next up are the three that are in the mulch island between our front walk and our driveway.  These, too, were divided last year ( and this Spring ). Here,

Drawing for an Expanded Patio + 4,000 Posts - April 2022

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I was digging around in some of the old landscape design files and I found this sketch of an expanded patio that adds a secondary square onto one of the corners that expands the whole patio, includes a firepit and a seating wall.  It appears that we discussed going this route out of the gate, but opted for a smaller, starter patio.  That doesn't mean this doesn't have merit - aside from the firepit - and a good reminder of what we *could* do back there with a slightly larger patio.  Filing this drawing below for future reference. But, the other reason for this post is to mark an occassion. This is my 4,000th post on the blog.  Across 18 years of blogging - since February 2004.  More than half of those 4K posts have come in past seven years, so the once-a-day-everyday momentum has pushed the volume up in a big way.  

Garden Water Feature Dreaming: Patio Fountain Wall

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What's better than one garden water feature and 'garden dreaming' post on the blog?  Certainly...You could say that: Two of those posts would be better.  But, even better than two?  That's right....three of said posts.  Especially when they run in close proximity to each other...as it serves as a document of the evolution of my thinking on projects like this and allows me the ability to work in draft format in my garden diary. First... I started this series with a look at some available stock tanks that could be used as ponds . Then, a few days ago, I posted about how I learned all about rills and what they are in the garden .  Today, I'm posting about some further inspiration that I've come across that has appeal to me as a gardener.  In terms of location, I'm talking about the patio-adjacent area to the north of our current patio .  I posted some drawings and thoughts about doing a second Belgian Fence in this area .  You can see the location here .   I st

Divided and Transplanted Feather Reed Grasses on Patio Corner - October 2021

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The Fall ornamental grass dividing season continues with a few more Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses.  I started dividing these grasses the last few weeks by taking some of the larger ones in front and back and dividing them up and transplanting .  Of the five larger ones in our backyard, I had already divided one of them and transplanted near our hops vine .  So, it was natural to take another one of the larger ones from this same area - in front of our kitchen window - and divide it up again.  One of the things that I've been thinking about for a while is how we add some 'corner beds' to our patio and I've mused about using boxwoods.  But, in thinking about how I could use these feather reed grasses in a series of plantings to bring some cohesion to the garden, it seemed right to try a trio of grasses on one of the corners of the patio.   I dug out a small bed on the southwest corner of the patio, removed the Automower wire and then divided a Karl Foerster Grass in

Another Belgian Fence (Maybe) - Defining the Patio Space, Entrance and Screening

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Yesterday, I posted a new photo of a Belgian Fence espalier that sits on the side of the Main Street USA train station at Disneyland Park in California and mentioned that I can learn something about spacing by looking at how they put their (non-tree) Belgian fence together to get a 4-wide x 2-tall diamond pattern.  I also posted earlier this month a 'progress shot' of my mixed apple (fruit and crab) Belgian Fence that is in the second growing season .   I was recently reading this piece on espalier design and usage where I came across this little note that made me think (again) about a second Belgian Fence.  From the post :   "Consider using a Belgian Fence to create outdoor rooms. Their design will impress year-round and provide a wall-like privacy when in bloom. During the holidays, they are prime candidates for Christmas lights." What's that you say? Outdoor room.  Hmmm....Interesting. Privacy wall.  Tell me more.   Christmas lights....well... I've spent

Volunteer Petunia in Patio - Summer 2021

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On our back patio, we have this solitary Volunteer Petunia at the base of our raised vegetable garden bed.  It feels like it tells the story of our backyard and garden this year in a way that I couldn't have predicted.   Not only did we NOT plant this color petunia this year, I don't think we planted it last year.  Back in 2019, we had some Supertunia Blue Skies in some of our containers that I'm now wondering if they reseeded or survived in some weird way to come up through the crack in our patio bricks.   Life has a way, right? Interested in the archives of various volunteers that have popped up over the years?  Head here: [ Volunteers ]. 

Patio Corner Container - Petunias, Marigolds and Salvia - June 2021

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Since our first (and only) visit to Luxembourg Gardens in Paris a few Summers back, I've planted this large(r) corner container with the same color combination that we first saw there and have used (mostly) the same trio of plants:  Red Petunias.  Yellow Marigolds.  Purple Salvia.   Last year, I used the same red petunias.  But, used yellow Zinnias and a perennial, more woody Salvia.  Here's a look at a different container that I planted with the remnants of the wooden corner box.   This year, I used this dark purple Vista Salvia and a yellow Marigold and even tucked in an Elephant Ear bulb into the corner.  Thus far, the elephant ear hasn't put up any growth but, it might lend a nice tropical vibe to the corner of this container box.   You will also note that in the photo above, the container is still naked lumber - and hasn't been stained just yet.  That's #4 on my 2021 to-do list that hasn't been done just yet. 

Adding Boxwoods On Corner Of Our Patio?

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In the latest Garden Design email that went out last week , I saw a photo of a patio that was beautiful.  But, also gave me a little bit of wondering as to what we can do with our current patio.  Oh, you're not getting the Garden Design email?  Head here and subscribe .  It is free and - for me - is the email newsletter that I read and click on everytime it arrives.  No skimming for me. In the newsletter, she linked to this story about outdoor living space and included this photo of someone's dreamy patio that faces what look the marshland that borders the Cloister at Sea Island.  Here's that photo with a couple of MY red circles calling attention to something: Not my photo.  Original source can be found here . In those two red rings, I've highlighted some patio-border shrubbery.  What I think are probably boxwoods or yews or something similar.  The oval on the right snows a patio corner installation that I want to focus on here.  Now...that looks like someth

Wood Patio Planter - Plans and Project Kickoff

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The photo above is from the plans at Gardener's World that were our inspiration Back in April of this year, I published a list of seven additional or addendum items in my Spring/Summer To-Do List that included: "Work out the patio container situation" .  We had a hodgepodge of containers in our back patio and Nat wanted to do something about it.  She shared a few photos of planters that she liked and we came across this plan from Gardener's World that featured a simple timber planter .  You can see it above and how it features a two-tiered planter with three sections. After noodling it a bit and altering the plans a little, we ended up trying our own hand at making a similar patio planter.    Off I went to Menards and I ended up coming home with a van full of 2x3's of treated lumber. That 'altering' of the plans included Nat's decision to lop off the top level and just make it a flat-topped planter.  Here's how it ended up: Because I

Our First Elephant Ear Emerged - Container Gardening 2019

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Just like I did last year, I planted a few Elephant Ear bulbs in containers on our back patio.  I like the way they add a little bit of tropical interest and large leaf contrast to the pots and I think that I'll likely continue to add them (or something like them) going forward because this is the second year that I've had success with them.  Above (and below), you can see the first of our ordinary Colocasia start to unfurl.  I also planted a blackstem variety, but I don't remember which container that was in and I'm *pretty sure* that this isn't it.  At least...the stem isn't currently black, ya know? Here's a look at similar Elephant Ears in a container on our back patio last Summer (2018) .  And here's a peek at all of our containers from our back patio last July .  If/when the Black Stem Elephant Ear makes an appearance, I'll post a few photos.    

My Wilt-Pruf Over-Winter Rhododendron Experiment

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In the photo above you can see both of our Rhododendrons that flank the stoop out the back door of our family.  In April of last year, I showed the landscape plan that specified these two plants to be placed in the beds on either side of the rear stoop and then in June, I got around to actually planting them .  And they bloomed beautifully this Summer .  They're a really interesting plant/shrub because they have an almost tropical appearance but also are winter hardy here in Zone 5B.  They keep their leaves on all winter, but that doesn't mean they can't use a little bit of help in fighting off the harsh cold and ice. And that's where something called Wilt-Pruf comes in.  Wilt-Pruf is an Anti-transpirant.  That means it helps protect plants from drying out.  We bought the concentrate version and mixed up a batch to put on some of our plants/trees.  I sprayed our Weeping Cedar in the back .  And the little boxwoods that I added near the foundation behind our kitch

Quick Look - July 2018 Patio Containers

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Right before we went out of town for a few days recently, I gathered all of our patio containers and put them together in order to assist the watering - which was being done by one of our neighborhood kids.  I snapped this photo of all of them in one spot to text to Nat to share with the girl's Mom so she knew what needed to be watered, but I figured I'd post it here to mark what our patio containers looked like in July of this year. In the far back, in the yellow pot 1 you can see the Chicago-hardy fig tree 2 that my Sister Vic and Equation Boy/Man gave me for my birthday this year.  Right in front of that is one of my wine barrel planters with a grapevine 3 growing on the trellis.  That's also the pot that has the Lemon Coral Sedum growing in it . In front of that wine barrel, but mostly obscured is my large basil plant.  It is sharing a pot with one of my Elephant Ears .  Then, buried under the foliage is the other wine barrel planter.  That's this one wi