Why I Oughta...

The basil that I've been growing for the past few seasons is named Italian Large Leaf Basil.  I've picked it up at the Morton Arboretum annual Arbor Day Plant Sale and have - for the past few years - tucked it into a raised bed along with some bush tomatoes.   Between summer vacations and improper pruning, my success with basil has always been middling.  I'd get plenty of leaves, but it always would bolt.  This year, I tried to be deliberate with pruning and taking it down to spots where it could 'bush out' a little bit.  And, when I see seed heads (those little clusters of basil) growing, I've either pinched them off or cut-off the plant BELOW that part.  That's lead to a good-sized basil plant this year.  And one that is producing a lot of, well...'large leaves'.   Here, below, is a look at the Italian basil plant at the beginning of August: It is healthy and happy and still producing a lot of leaves to use in the kitchen this Summer a...

Earlier this Summer, I moved my Firesticks cactus outdoors onto the back patio to take in the full sun and heat of the summer.  I've done this every season since it was planted in Spring of 2018 .   I showed this succulent just a few days less than a year ago (early August 2023), when it was putting on new growth last season .   When I first moved this out, I kept it in the shade for a while, but now it is taking in the full sun and seeming to respond to being outdoors with new orange-tipped growth (hence the name Firesticks) emerging on all of the tips.  See below for the current state of this succulent: Does this need to get repotted?  Probably.  But, at the same time, it seems to be doing just fine in this small container.  Why change something that is working, right? 

Moving on from the pair of stoop containers (small ones) , we now look at the pair of larger, back patio containers.  #7 on my 2024 to-do list was to 'do better containers' - and these two are the largest of the bunch and that means can have the biggest impact.  Are these perfect?  Nope.  Not by a lot.  Are they better than last year?  I think so.   Here, below, is a look at both of them side-by-side.  There's Creeping Jenny cascading down in both.  Red Wave Petunias are dotted in both.  The corner container has Orange Zinnias.  And the round one has the (new to me) Scaevola 'Bombay Dark Blue flower that has spread out and added some nice color.   Below is a closer look at the Scaevola 'Bombay Dark Blue - from The Growing Place.   Here's a look at all three working together - with the Wave Petunias in bloom (last week). The Creeping Jenny was a hold-over from last year and overwintered in teh container...

I brought home a Giant Marconi Hybrid Sweet Pepper plant from the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale this Spring and - along with some other things - I stuck it into our Greenstalk tower.  It went into the bottom row in a deep pocket - and then I used the on-board tomato cage to sort-of train it up and give it some support.  The plant has thrown off one big pepper so far.  You can see it below.  Long, thin and (for now) green.  I'm going to see if it will redden-up on the plant. #19 on my 2024 to-do list is to keep going on vegetables .  I feel good about tomatoes in the raised bed and now add to things a nice-looking pepper and I feel like I've gotten back into the veggie game a little bit more this year.   The other thing that I'm remembering is that pepper plants don't produce A TON of fruit.  They take up space, but aren't productive.  That's ok, just something to remember.  

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.

I planted three bush (determinate) tomatoes including a couple of cherry and one (new to me) Roma variety .  The Roma is named Little Napoli and is producing oval-shaped tomatoes on a small, bush-shaped plant.  Below is a peek at the true-to-form Roma green tomatoes so far.  I'd say there's a couple dozen on the small plant.  And, the Tiny Tim Cherry (also a bush tomato) from the Morton Arboretum is *even more* prolific - as it is COVERED in small, green tomatoes.   Both are doing better than I expected.  The third bush one that I planted?  Little Bing ?  It is behind these two - both in terms of size and fruit.    I think that means I can take some credit on #19 of my 2024 to-do list:  do more with vegetables .  Done and done.  

Yesterday, I posted a photo of our first broccoli crown that has emerged and talked about our vertical vegetable garden container called a Greenstalk.  I put six Lieutenant Broccoli plants in one of the deeper rows in the middle of the tower.  In this earlier post , I covered a few of the other things in the vertical garden including herbs and a bell pepper plant.  In a few of the rows/levels, I also planted some Zinnia seeds as cut flowers, but that left one deep row (third from the bottom) empty.   Because it is one of the deeper Greenstalk levels, I thought we'd try something new (to us) in container gardening:  carrots.  In our previous, raised-bed garden in Elmhurst, we grew plenty of carrots from seeds.  My problem was NEVER getting the seeds to germinate, my problem was always in thin-ing them out enough to grow good-sized carrots.  Here's a post about the time I used carrot tape (went very well) and here's a series of posts from 201...

Our kids eat broccoli all the time.  I'm a baby carrot eater.  Somehow, they've become a raw broccoli crown eater.  That's why we're trying to grow our own in the Greenstalk this year.  Last week, I posted an overview of what is in the Greenstalk tower - including six Lieutenant broccoli plants in one of the middle rows of the unit.   This variety is supposed to be suited for warm weather, so we're hoping that they will perform over the Summer.  And, early signs are positive - with an early crown emerging on one of the plants.  See below for a look at one of the broccoli crowns: In our previous garden, I grew some broccoli, so I *somewhat* know how to recognize when a broccoli crown is ready to harvest.  I also know that if it starts to flower and go yellow, it needs to be cut off immediately.   It seems like it might also be time to feed the tower with a food-grade fertilizer like Miracle-Gro.  

When I think back on my gardening journey, I really started as a vegetable gardener.  Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, herbs and more.  When we moved, I really leaned AWAY from vegetables and into perennials and foliage.  Why?  Shade vs. Sun.  Our old garden had ALL Sun.  Our new one has almost ALL Shade.   But, I began to solve that by building a patio vegetable garden set-up over the years.  First, with a raised planter box.  Then last year, with a Greenstalk tower. #19 on my 2024 to-do list is to 'do more with vegetables' .   How am I going about doing that?  By planting a couple of bush tomatoes and some other things. First the tomatoes.  I've mostly settled on ONLY planting bush tomato plants.   This year, I bought one at the Morton Sale - Tiny Tim Cherry.  I also picked up two others at the big box store: Little Napoli - which is a roma in bush form (kinda neat) and Little Bing - also a cherry....

Planted all the way back in 2019, we have a Juniper shrub planted in a large yellow, upright container on our patio.  It has been there for five (19, 20, 21, 22, 23) growing seasons and is something that just sort-of exists on the patio.  At least...that's the way I think about it - meaning...that I do virtually NOTHING to it all year long. Here's what it looked like in the Fall of 2020 - when it was green and the tips of the juniper were emerging around the edge of the container, but not by much.  All Summer and Fall, it is a nice green color.   But, come Winter...something happens to this shrub that (at first...) I thought was decline.  It turns an almost rusty-red color.  The first time that happened - in 2020 - I figured the shrub was done .  But, come Spring...it green'd right up. In every subsequent Winter, it has done the same.  Green in Summer and Fall.  Rusty-red in Winter.   Here's what it looked like a little over a...

A brief, visual update on a few of the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in the landscape as bedding plants - lending a tropical vibe to the garden (underneath the kitchen windows).  I last posted about these in July when the foliage was just showing up and unfurling .  Here, below is what they look like currently - in early/mid September.  Some of the leaves are REALLY big. Are they the largest leaves we've ever had?  I'm not sure, but they sure look like the largest - compared to these previous giants .   The bulbs in the corner container are growing big leaves, too.  See below: Next year, I'd like to try the black-stemmed version that I spotted at the Morton Arboretum earlier this Summer, but if I can't find those, I'll still turn to these traditional Esculentas as I've made them a 'seasonal' addition to our garden - in both containers and in the ground.  Maybe next year they'll go over by the Disneyland Roses to fill in some of those gaps, too...

Earlier this Summer, the small Firesticks succulent (is it a cactus? I think so?) made its annual migration from indoors to outdoors.  First...staying in the shade for a couple of weeks.  Then, moving to a little bit more sun.   This container-grown cactus lived in the basement all Winter and seemed to come out the other side in decent shape.  I barely watered it and it barely grew.  But...When I moved it outside and gave it some water, it started to take-off again. The last time that I captured a photo of this Firesticks succulent was more than a year ago - February 2022 .  It continues to grow and the current state is below: It is easy to see that there is a ton of new, fresh growth.  Those yellow-going-on-red tips are the tell.   It seems happy in this small container and I'm not in a hurry to move it to something bigger since I'm seeing so much growth.  I suppose that's something that I need to start to look at and figure out if...

Yesterday, I posted about the removal and transplant process for a pair of mature(ish) PJM Rhododendrons from the two small beds on either side of our back stoop to the far reaches of our yard.  Back in late April, I posted about this new (to me) Witches' Broom dwarf Ginkgo tree called Spring Grove Ginkgo .  Spring Grove is a small, upright that has those fan-shaped Ginkgo leaves that turn bright yellow before they fall in Autumn.   They something that I haven't seen before, so I thought they'd be a great fit for the back stoop beds - as Rhododendron replacements.  The new Ginkgo's are NOT evergreens, but the uniqueness of them feels like a good trade-off.   I bought a pair of Spring Grove Ginkgos that were in 10# nursery containers and planted one in each of the stoop beds.  Below is the north bed - a few things to note:  The Spring Grove Ginkgo is much smaller than the Rhododendron that was there.  Second, the Angelina Sedum has cont...

It is well established (in our house) that the best (or at least...my favorite) attraction in the entire Vacation Kingdom is in Epcot called Living with the Land .  What's that?   You haven't been on it? Well...let me tell you about it.  Or...actually...let ChatGPT tell you about it.  I asked her this: Can you describe the attraction at Disney's Epcot center that is called Living with the Land? Why would someone call it their favorite ride at disney? Here's what she said: Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride attraction located in the Land Pavilion at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The ride takes guests on a journey through various indoor and outdoor agricultural environments, showcasing different methods of sustainable farming and food production. During the ride, guests can observe a variety of farming techniques, including hydroponics, aquaculture, and integrated pest management. There are also several dioramas that show differ...

I've been TRYING to do more with tropicals outside over the years.  One of them that I've had the MOST success with - in multiple years - are what I call "Elephant Ears".  Colocasia.  I've grown them in containers a few times and even had some pretty big (or so I thought!) ones like this one in 2021 .   The folks at The Growing Place sent out an email that included some new/interesting plants for 2023 and it included a look at a Colocasia .  But...not just any.  This one is "gigantea".  It is also know as the 'Thailand Giant'.   Below is a photo showing this giant elephant ear off via The Growing Place ( Source ): That sure is...something.   Pretty big.  Walters Garden has this to say : To say that this plant will dwarf any plant you already own would be putting it mildly! ‘Thailand Giant’ is much larger than C. gigantea. Its glaucous green leaves can measure a whopping 5' long x 4' wide each. Full grown plants typically...

For the past few years (planted in 2019), we've had a creeping/crawling Juniper shrub planted in a patio container out back.  I put it in this container and attempted to prune it a little bit and wire it up when I was focused on trying my hand at bonsai .   Two years later (Spring of 2021), I was seeing some wire damage and (for now) abandoned the project .  My thought was....let this thing grow a bit more, then let's revisit it for pruning and shaping as it is more mature.   On a recent walk in the backyard, I came across (or...really...'noticed') this shrub in the container and I was (temporarily) alarmed.  Look at it in the photo below.  It is maroon-ish/green.  Or, I suppose, one could view it as greenish/maroon-ish/brown-ish/grey-ish?  Is that a color? (That is a lot of 'ishes'.) I snapped that photo and then went looking back in the garden diary here.  I found this post from two years ago - December of 2020 .  Good news:...

I planted an ornamental grass in one of our back patio containers this Summer and seems that I failed to document what the variety was/is when I installed the rest of the flowers.  Here's a link to a Summertime post showing the labels from a bunch of the plants in the containers, but it didn't include the ornamental grass in the center of the large, round ceramic container.  Based on poking around online, I'm *pretty sure* that it is a Mexican Feather Grass - Nassella .   I'm posting about it, not just to document it in the [garden diary], but rather because of the state it is currently in - post frost in late November.  See below for a photo of the container including this Mexican Feather Grass still showing a lot of green blades: Nassella Mexican Feather Grass is hardy down to just Zone 7 , so perhaps I'm wrong with the identification.  Listen...everything else.  Literally EVERYTHING ELSE in my garden (aside from the Autumn Ferns) have shriveled up ...

Yesterday, I posted some photos of our (very productive) bell pepper plant:  a King Arthur Sweet Bell Pepper variety .   I mentioned that we grew a tomato vine last year and it spilled over/out of our patio raised bed.   This year, at the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale, my Mom showed me a new (to me) idea:  a miniature tomato plant.   This is the Red Robin Cherry Tomato .  And, in the photo below, you can see how has thrown off a ton of small, cherry tomatoes: Here, below, is the tag from the plant: Park Seeds has a nice listing for it here .  This is a bush tomato.  There's no vine.  It grew a small bush and is fruiting all over the place.  It seems that this one is a quick-grower and will put all the tomatoes up at once.   Ever want a true 'container tomato'?  This Red Robin has worked really well for us.  Just like the King Arthur Sweet Bell Pepper , this feels like a re-buy next year.