Why I Oughta...

Back in June, I p lanted ten (10) small plugs of White Polka Dot Plant Annuals in between the Green Velvet Boxwoods that are planted at the base of the Linden espalier.   I saw these same white ones in the Morton Arboretum Fragrance Garden (the shade part) in 2021 and loved them since back then.   They handle the shade and with their white dots on the foliage, can brighten up some of these darker spaces.  Being planted right under the trees, this area gets no direct sunlight.  It isn't SHADE, but it stays pretty dark and - when watered - damp.   All ten of the annuals have survived and are now putting on some size.  Below is a photo showing them in late July: I'm already thinking about these for cut flowers as accent pieces.  And, for next year - as annuals in the backyard.   One of my goals is to focus (more) on repetition.  These might be the annuals that I can tuck in around the back to help increase the 'legibility' ...

We're on a streak of posts about annuals as bedding plants in the garden and that continues today showing this small cluster of White Polka Dot annual plants that I planted in between the boxwoods that are living at the base on the Greenspire Linden espaliers.  This is a most-full-shade spot, so Polka Dot plants seemed to be just the thing that could brighten up this spot.   I've used Polka Dot plants before as annuals in the border around the Tree Swing tree .  This time, I bought eight ten (10) white ones.  Below are a couple of photos showing them as they went in the ground: 

The way that I think about gardening is that you have to have a systemic approach to planning and planting that is paired with a secondary, supplemental approach to zhuzh'ing things during the growing season.  That systemic approach means trees and shrubs and even perennials.  (I need to do more evergreen shrubs....just a self-reminder.) But that supplemental zhuzh'ing is something that I've mostly done through division and some bulbs.   I suppose that's the difference between a landscaper and a gardener, right?  A landscape gets it all planted and is satisfied.  A gardener will work the garden all year long.  A plantsman?  That's for another post. One of the things that I've talked about over the years is how to use annuals in the landscape.  The only place that I've successfully planted them is out front in the porch beds.  In the back?  Nothing. Last year, I included the idea of using shade annuals and dark foliage .  B...

That (above) is our front porch seasonal flower container for Summer 2022.   Earlier this Spring, we planted this long, rectangular container with pansies that were cold-hardy.  Last month, I finally got around to planting this with Summer annuals.    Last year, we went with a more bold and wild container , so this year, I went a little more subdued.   I don't love pink flowers in my garden, but when I was the Big Box nursery, I found a few pink things that I thought might work in our front porch box.  This is a pretty shady spot - it gets a tiny bit of morning sun, but is in the shade for 98% of the day.  What's in here?  First...there are a pair of Fiber Optic grasses.  I dug those out of the back patio container since they were being swallowed up by the Petunias .  They won't be missed.   Then there's a purple Sweet Potato vine, some simple shade Begonias and pink Polka Dot plants.   All the containers ar...

Earlier this Summer, I planted a series of Caladium tubers DIRECTLY in the beds on the southside - near the Fanal Astilbe colony .  I planted them right on the border of the bed and hoped they'd fill in the gap between the current perennials and the border.  These were bought as tubers from Costco and being a Zone 5b gardener, these are (for us) annuals.  They're also (at least to me) tropicals.  Why do I mention tropicals?  Because one of 2022 to-do items ( #14 ) was to work with more tropicals IN the landscape.  And #16 was to work with shade annuals .  This does BOTH of those things.   Five weeks after planting the tubers, we're seeing some action.  Below is a look at one of these Caladiums that have popped up: There appear to be five or six groupings of these white Aaron Caldiums that have emerged.  Once they all grow up and leaf-out, I'll take a group photo.   This is my first season growing a GROUP of tropical tubers...

Earlier this Spring, Nat brought home a package of Caladium tubers from Costco that I finally got around to digging into the beds.  These are Aaron Caladiums that I'm treating as annuals as I don't anticipate digging these tubers up to store for the season.   Aaron Caladiums are described as: "beautifully refined element to add to a shady site; luminous white leaves with feathered dark green margins; a great border accent that will tolerate some sun" .  Here, below, is a look at the Longfield Gardens packaging showing the twelve tubers and the individual bags. I decided to dig them into the south bed where they can sit in front of the Fanal Astilbes that run part of the border .   You can see the disturbed soil in the photo below.   #14 on my 2022 to-do list was to work some tropicals into the landscape, so this checks part of that box.  And #16 on that list was to add some shade annuals.  These, too, check that box.