Why I Oughta...

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 S...

Mid-July is when the big box stores start to put some of their perennials on 50% off sales.  They have their trees and shrubs that have been picked over out on pallets with big 50% off signs, but they also begin to put some of the perennials inside the garden center, including shade plants on discounts, too.  On one of my trips to one of the Home Depots near us, I found some of these Jack of Diamonds' Brunnera in 1# nursery pots from Proven Winners that were marked down 66% - making them three for the price of one.   These are the second set of Brunnera that we now have in the yard with the first ones (a trio of three) were these Queen of Hearts ones that I planted in June of this year in the shade of our backyard .  These are new to me this year, but were on the list that Laura from Garden Answer published of her favorite shade perennials.   The Queen of Hearts Brunnera are planted in a border mixed with some hostas and they've done well this first y...

Every year, we've planted annuals in our front bed to add a little pop of color to the front of our house - with mixed results.  Last year, we used 24 Devine Lavendar Impatiens in the bed .  The most plants we've put in this area.  The full progression looks like this: Our first full year - in 2018 - we planted some Ranunculuses - about eight of them.  In 2019,  we planted 16 orange marigolds.  +8 plants yoy. In 2020, we planted 24 Impatiens.   +8 plants yoy. The second goal (beyond the color) is to help improve the soil in this area as when I got started it was solid clay - from the foundation backfill.  I amended the soil with Gypsum and have added some biochar/humic acid to the area, too.  And, of course I've added mulch to these beds over the years.  First, with hardwood fines, then in 2019 and 2020, I laid down cocoa bean hull mulch .  The thinking here is that nothing aerates and breaks up clay soil better than roots gro...

Last year, I added five Guacamole hostas to our backyard - three larger ones, two smaller ones.  In two different spots .  The plan that we're working from calls for Guacamole hostas in a couple of different spots including in what I've called "Priority Area #2" for 2021 - this woodland garden section .  Here's a look at part of that section that highlights the hostas.  Green = what I planted last year.  Yellow = what is remaining. In terms of cultivar, Guacamole Hostas have a lovely color that resembles...you guessed it...guacamole. It has margins on it and is a two-toned green.   And, 'tis the season for impulse buys, right?  Well, Nat was at Costco recently where they're selling packages of perennials like hostas and other-what-have-yous and, well, I couldn't help myself.  She sent some photos and I ended up pulling the trigger on a different variety that I think will complement the trio of Guacamole hostas.   Say hello to France...

Over the years, we've tried different annuals in front of our boxwoods in our front yard bed.  Our first full year - in 2018 - we planted some Ranunculuses - about eight of them.  Last year - in 2019 - we planted 16 orange marigolds.  Neither set of those did very well.  The marigolds were better than the Ranunculuses, but they didn't spread and some did better than others.  When we started with this bed, it was about 2" of mulch and then backfilled clay.  Not a ton of organic material to deal with beyond the mulch.  Over the years, I dug up spots and added pelletized gypsum a few inches down in an attempt to loosen up the clay soils.  (speaking of which...I should probably add some gypsum to my lawn this Summer) and tried to amend the soil to improve the conditions. Last year, I used a bulb auger to dig out the holes for marigolds, planted them and covered with cocoa bean mulch.  I read somewhere that the BEST way to loosen up cla...

In this piece on Garden Design that lays out eight landscape design principles, there are some things that I found interesting and wanted to share here.  Both for you, my dear reader, but also so I remember them.  To start, I thought I'd go with the final one on *their* list.  It was this final one  that caught my attention.  This little nugget is from a guy named  Ralph Snodsmith who hosted a radio show about gardening in New York .  I'm sure he imparted quite a bit of knowledge to his listeners/callers, but it seems that he had one statement that stood above the rest.  This certainly feels like something I need to remind myself when I'm out in the garden: "It’s better to plant a 50-cent plant in a $5 hole, than a $5 plant in a 50-cent hole." The Garden Design piece goes on to say that there's no greater planting wisdom than this.  Hole preparation, especially for folks like me who, due to new construction, have a clay layer that is ...

Like a lot of you guys, I have a whole bunch of Christmas traditions.  Sure, there's the Christmas Train and all the various foodstuffs, but there's also one that is gardening-related:  Planting an amaryllis bulb.  Here's a post showing the two bulbs I planted last year (one from Wannemaker's and one from Menards) .  If you look at that post, you'll notice that the one from Menards - that cost $2.99 - never took off while the $15 version from Wannemakers shot up and bloomed right around Christmas Day.  This year, I simplified things and decided to just do one of these and (obviously) went with what worked last year and bought the $15 version from Wannemakers.  You can see how they pack the bulbs above in a kind of foam carriage to protect the bulb while keeping it free from trapping moisture.  When I was at the store recently, I couldn't remember what variety I bought last year, but remembered that I went with a double flowering version.  S...

Earlier this Winter, the girls and I sent along a SASE and our little donation to the Save our Monarchs Foundation and a few weeks later, we received two packets of the seeds you see above.  We're going to give Milkweed a shot this Spring.  This isn't the first time I've posted about Milkweed seeds here on the blog.  Back two years ago, we scored some Milkweed seeds at a parade that I posted here .   By now, you know that the Monarch Butterfly population is in severe decline and milkweed seeds are one of the keys to their survival.  Planting Milkweed is something that we - as a family - can do to help the Monarchs.  Once the weather warms up, I'll work with the girls to find a sunny spot and plant the seeds and watch them (hopefully) sprout in the early Summer.  

Image above via ThinkingOutsideTheBoxwood I've posted quite a bit about the various trees and plantings in our #newoldbackyard this past year, but I just looked back in the archives and discovered that I haven't posted about one of the most important (and highly anticipated) tree projects on the docket.  And...that tree project *is* a series of Frans Fontaine European Hornbeam trees along the northern fence line near where our screened porch is located.   The image above - which isn't mine - gives you a sense for what we're going for with this allee of hornbeams and also shows how some closely planted Frans Fontaine Hornbeams grow to form a nice privacy hedge.   This is part of the new - and mostly final - landscape plan that was delivered to us in September.  I first posted a look at it in early October with a look at some of the hydrangea beds along the south property line  and then a look at some of the foundation beds near the rear of the ...

This fall is the first fall in our #newoldbackyard, so I've been busy with various fall plantings.  Starting with the tulip and allium bulbs, the harvested hostas, ferns and hydrangea from our neighbor's yard and most recently with a Disneyland Rose plant and a Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea - both from Jackson and Perkins.  This one above, the Tuff Stuff Red Hydrangea, is the last in the series of plants that we were given by Nat's mom as an anniversary gift.   I put it in a spot adjacent to the Everlasting Revolution variety (the multi-colored one) as outlined in the most recent landscape plan documents .    If you look closely at the photo above, you can get a sense for the soil we're dealing with in the #newoldbackyard.  It isn't great.  In the Spring, I have plans to amend the soil with some organic material and till it in where the beds are located.  That might require me pulling some of these plants out and replanting...

In addition to the Disneyland Rose , Nat's Mom also gifted us a few other plants that were shipped this fall including this Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea that you see above.  I mentioned in the post a week or so back that the #newoldbackyard landscape design called for hydrangeas on the south property line tucked in front of a few new hemlock trees .   And that's where I ended up placing this one. This one is three posts down from the tall 6' section of fence on that side.    I planted it fairly close to the fence and if you look at the drawing in this post , it is where one of the Oak Leaf Hydrangeas are placed and I also planted another one (that I'll post about soon) in a similar location.  I've never planted hydrangea in the fall, so I'm not sure how these are going to turn out, but the nursery shipped them knowing our USDA Zone, so I have my fingers crossed that this one survives the winter. Also, if you are following along closely at home, y...

Last week, with the help of the KotBT, we went into the #newoldbackyard and dug up some holes to plant some fall bulbs.  Among the bulbs were tulips (which I'll post on another day) and alliums, which you can see above.  I planted 10 total Allium bulbs of the Purple Sensation variety. I first wrote about Allium bulbs all the way back in 2011 , when the first set of shoots broke through the mulch that Spring.  I planted those in 'secret' as a little surprise for Natalie. I then chronicled their appearance in 2012 , 2014  and 2015 . I put half of this year's Allium bulbs out back by the newly-planted fountain grasses and the other half around this large Oak tree that you can see below.  The red flag isn't related to the bulbs - it is put there by the landscape lighting company to show us where they were planning on putting some lights.  But, If you look closely, you can see a series of holes I dug out around the trunk of the tree where I placed the ...

Just a few days ago, I posted a photo of the three fountain grasses that Nat picked up in an early fall sale .  After a week or so of them sitting on our driveway, I finally found the time to dig up the holes and plant them in the #newoldbackyard.  I toyed around with planting them in different configurations, but after laying them out in various places, Nat encouraged me to put them in a line because the bed where these are located now, isn't quite defined yet.  And instead of putting them out further from the fence, I lined them up along the fence in a row.  That way, the kids would be a lot less likely to trample them when they come/go in the yard/neighbor's yard.  To give you a sense of the context of their location, I put them to the south of this Japanese Flowering Cherry tree that I planted at the very beginning of July of this year .  If you look at this photo , these are between the daylilies and the hostas.    I am going to try to b...

Earlier this Spring, I posted about our 'fostered' Ostrich Fern and giant Hosta that are currently being housed at my in-law's side/front/back yard (I don't know what to call it.  It is kinda all of those things:  the front, the side and the back.   Weird, I know, but if I showed you the area, it *might* make sense.)   Here's the post on the ferns .  And here's the post on the hostas . The good news is in that photo above.  I took that over recently when I checked in on them and gave them a little bit of water.  They look to be THRIVING, which has me excited.  We transplanted them late last year in late July/early August and they looked terrible.  The fern, in particular looked awfully wilted and I wasn't thinking it was going to come back.  But, these are hardy plants it seems.  And that means that I'm thinking if we're in a spot to transplant them as early as next Spring, they'll be ready to go.  And after they arrive, it...

We have two containers on the driveway that we're planting tomatoes in this year - instead of the usual raised bed garden that we had at our old place - and this is one of the varieties:  Chocolate Sprinkles Hybrid Cherry Tomato.   An heirloom, this isn't.   We picked them up at the Home Depot on North Avenue and let the girls pick out their own plants.  One of them picked these.  Guessing it was the name.   From the Bonnie site , it says this is new for 2016: This cherry tomato has it all: good looks, great flavor, heavy yields, and disease resistance. Bite-sized, cherry-type fruits are beautifully colored — red striped with dark green — that explode with rich, robust flavor. This highly productive plant forms its fruit in clusters, and starts bearing early in the season. We'll report back on the harvest through the season, but I'm hoping that they'll survive the driveway conditions.

I've written about the hostas at our old house a few times here on the blog in the past and being part of our shade gardens, they're one of my favorite things to tend to.  Perhaps it is because I grew up down in Frankfort on a heavily wooded lot that just about only allowed my Mom to have shade gardens?  Or, that they're mostly the domain of perennials that come back each year and there's something magical about those?  I dunno.  But...one way or the other, I like shade gardens. We had a really nice, maturing set of shade plants on the north side of our old lot.  We had ferns, astibiles , and plenty of hostas .  All sorts of hostas.  Some, like these , I picked up at Menards.  Some, were left overs from when the wicked lady moved out of the house and she *thought* that she plucked every last perennial out of the gardens only for us to discover the next year that SOME came back including some hostas.  And a special plant that came from my...