Why I Oughta...

As part of my 2020 planting/buying plan, I've begun to focus on a couple of areas for prioritization.  We have SOOOO much to do in regards to buying new plants per our plan that I thought it would make sense to break things up into chunks.  The first one up on my priority list is this section of the landscape plan that is visible from our patio.  It calls for seven new Alice Oak Leaf Hydrangea bordered on one side by a series of Summer Beauty Allium and underplanted with Fanal Astilbe out front.  You'll see in the image above that I've called out 3 'columnar trees' in teal.  That's based on this tree-planning post .  We have three existing hydrangeas in this area - where the Oak Leaf ones are supposed to go - including this Tuff Stuff and this Everlasting Revolution and this teardown Limelight .  The first two were planted very small and have NOT bloomed, but the Limelight one that I transplanted bloomed last year , so I want to think about what to d

Over the years, I've been quietly (and not so quietly ) pining for the day when I can build a wood-fired oven in our backyard.  Between the lifestyle we have (with young kids) and this being a pretty hands-on, weekend-time-sucking project, it seemed like it wasn't ever quite time.  But now?  I'm still not sure it is the right time for tackling something like this - what with the digging of the foundation/footings, building the frame, then cutting and creating the dome from firebricks. But, I also want to - and need to - get going on the full planning for the #newoldbackyard including some fall tree/shrub plantings and hardscape upgrades, future water feature placement , the eventual placement of a vegetable garden and greenhouse, irrigation system, a sports court and more. At our old house in Elmhurst, we built out a backyard pavilion that we used to shelter us from the sun that housed our patio and I'm keen to replicate some parts of that with a new pavilion