Why I Oughta...

Earlier this year, I ordered a bunch of plugs from Farmer Bailey/Garden Club and I've documented my (learning) journey with them along the way.  From ordering them to having them arrive too early (Self-inflicted) to potting-them-up to keeping them (some of them) alive to planting them in.   Part of my 2026 to-do list was to 'experiment with other cut flowers' and these plugs were a bit part of of my answer to that challenge.   Amongst the plugs were an eight-pack of Phlox Cherry Caramel .   These faired the worst of all of my selections with four of the eight making it to planting-time and the other four withered while they were in the small pots.  I planted the four in different spots:  two in the pizza oven bed, one in the front island bed and one IB2DWs down by the sidewalk. They're all on different growing schedules with some already growing larger than others.  One of them has even bloomed.  I'm posting this in early July, bu...

We have three Emperor 1 Japanese Maples in our backyard.  Acer palmatum Emperor 1.  The largest one is back by the firepit with a couple of smaller ones closer to the house.  They all were her during the Cicada swarm of 2024 and all suffered some damage from them.  The largest tree (by the firepit) suffered the most and has been set-back pretty sizeably.   The 3rd-to-be-planted is also the smallest one.  It is about half-way back on the north side.  It went in the ground in 2024 (Cicada year) and I protected it with some fabric .  That didn't completely protect the tree from the slits from cicadas and the top-part died-back.     But, that white tulle wasn't the only protection that I set up for this small Japanese Maple.  I also have left-up a ring of Chicken Wire around the tree, in an attempt to keep the (dang!) rabbits away from killing this tree in Winter.  That has...somewhat worked.  But, it hasn't stopped ...

I really do NOT like the dang rabbits that live in and around our yard and garden.  I've done my best to protect against their damage, but I didn't do enough this Winter.  With the snow melting, I took one VERY small walk through part of the garden to see how things have fared in the past month-or-so.  I don't want to walk on the wet ground and didn't walk in any of the beds to avoid compaction.   But...from the edge of the beds, I was able to see some serious rabbit damage on a number of my Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  Even on one that I wrapped in Chicken wire.  What the heck!?! Here's a few photos showing the rabbit pressure - and gnawing of the tips - on my SnowQueen and Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas.    The problem is that these flowering shrubs bloom on old wood.  That means...2024 will be a year of limited flowers.  Bummer.   Weather-permitting, I'll go out and grab more photos.  Coming up with a real plan on rabbits feels ...

 You can't swing a dead cat and not hit someone on the Web saying :  "oh...no, no, no.  Don't worry....rabbits hate allium.  They won't eat them.  Go ahead...plant them." For those people:  I have news.  They eat allium.  Gnaw them right off the top.  Don't believe me?  Have a look below at some of our allium foliage that has emerged this Spring in our backyard.  Those tips weren't taken off with a tool.  Well...a tool that isn't a pair of rabbit teeth: I'm going to go on offense this Summer with the rabbits.  I've done the cages during Winter.   But, now is go-time to get them to find other places to visit.  

One of the things in the garden that we didn't get this past season were ANY blooms on the stand of Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are planted near the patio.  Rabbits ate 'em all up last Winter by gnawing on the tips.  This year? I used chicken wire to protect them .  And...a quick peek at them outside shows that the tips are all hanging on - out of reach of the dang! rabbits.  See below for a couple of mid-Winter shots.  Leaves still hanging on, too. Way less than were on in mid-December .  But, as you can see...a bunch still there.