Why I Oughta...

With the flip last week on Daylight Savings Time, it means that I now get a little bit of post-work garden time.  It isn't dark when I close my laptop, so that's kinda nice.  With the calendar being mid-March, I'm now trying to find garden tasks that I can take on while balancing the guidance of *not doing too much cleanup* too early.  One of the tasks that I decided to do this past week was a look at some cleanup in the front yard - including pruning some of my hydrangeas.   In past years, I have done what I'll call a 'light' pruning - lop'ing off the thin branching, but mostly leaving about 2/3rds of the shrub intact.  After watching some YouTube videos and working up the courage to go at them pretty hard, I decided to give theses a harder prune this late Winter. First up, the pair of (larger) Limelight Hydrangeas on the side of our front porch.  Here's what they look like right before pruning - all of the flower heads still attached (photo below) with

Yesterday, I posted an inspiration photo of a mass planting of sculpted boxwoods planted in a three-tiered system and talked about how I could use them under the pair of Lindens in our backyard.   I haven't really done a mass (greater than 10) planting of shrubs, but I've been nosing back through the archives of Deb Silver's Dirt Simple blog for inspiration and notice that she's a big believer (and user) of mass plantings of evergreen shrubs.  Like in this post where she features A LOT of boxwoods in various beds and talks this way about their use : A restricted palette of plants, and a massed planting can be both both classical and contemporary in feeling. I really like that idea of using a mass planting with a limited number of plants and colors to be both classical and contemporary at the same time.   I've failed to put my desired garden style into words overall - I'm not a cottage gardener.  I'm not a Japanese Gardener.  I'm not a minimal gardener. 

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo and details of a singular Boxwood - Green Mountain - that I planted under our tree swing Oak Tree and talked about how it was turning a bright almost-orange color in what they call "Winter Bronzing".  In that post , I included some references that called out Green Mountain as a particular cultivar that was noted for NOT bronzing and maintaining green color all year long.  I came to the conclusion that I wasn't quite sure this was, indeed, a Green Mountain boxwood .  The shape - which is indeterminate at this point - is going to be the real tell.  Green Mountain is pyramidal vs more globe-shaped.  As it matures, that's going to be something to watch.   At the same (Fall 2021) that I planted the Green Mountain boxwood, I also planted three tiny Green Gem boxwoods on the other side of the yard .  Green Gem is a dwarf cultivar that grows in a small globe-like shape that gets just a couple of feet tall and wide.  (note... the Missou

This is the second winter for this little, evergreen shrub.  Planted in the Fall of 2021 , it has just hung out here, under the Oak Tree (tree swing tree) in the bed on the north side of the property.  Green Mountain is properly named: Buxus sempervirens 'Green Mountain'. And, based on this post where I tried to get smart on variety vs. cultivar vs. sport terminology , the single quotation marks are - what I thought the real tell was.  But, I'm not totally sure?   Single quotes = cultivar, right?  But, I think the second word is NOT supposed to be capitalized? Hinsdale Nursery calls it a cultivar .  So, let's go with that.   Green Mountain is a Boxwood cultivar. And, this cultivar is pyramidal - which was why I was drawn to it and planted it as a single evergreen shrub in the bed.   It hasn't grown too terribly much in the past growing season, but it is still here.   But, calling it an evergreen is a misnomer, right?  Look at that photo.  It is orange, isn't it

One of the plants that I picked up at this past year's Morton Arboretum Plant Sale - BUT failed to post about when I planted - was this decidious shrub called a Spice Bush (Lindera benzoin).  I tucked it in back by the fire pit and mostly forgot about it.  Below is a snapshot of the sign from the sale that I took back in April and you can see that it has a Forsythia with yellow Spring flowers.   Below is the plant tag showing that it will grow up to be 6-12 feet tall and 6-12 feet wide.  And will handle partial shade: Below is a photo showing what it looked like when we brought it home with green leaves on woody stems.  It was about 15" tall from the soil-level. This was, clearly, not on the plan.  But, we still bought it, on a whim. The REAL reason that we bought it was that the lady at the sale told us about the Spice Bush Swallowtail, a butterfly, that relies on this plant during the caterpillar stage .  What's not to like about that, right?   Helps us continue to meet

Most everything has let go of their leaves for the season.  Our Hornbeams are holding some of their leaves and the Chanticlear Pear flowering trees have many of theirs, too.  But, there are a few shrubs that are playing the marcescence game, too.   The deciduous shrubs that I recently noticed are holding their leaves are a few varieties of Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  This is, I think, the latest they've head their leaves into Winter, but this is ALSO the first year that I've protected them with chicken wire cages from the dang rabbits.  So...is it just a unique situation where they're holding their leaves longer than normal?  Or, is the nibbling from the rabbits what has - in past years - caused the leaves to drop?  Either way, I'm happy to see these leaves stick around. First...the Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are closer to the house.  These are holding deep purple leaves on all of them.  See below: Also, a little further down that same bed are three Little Honey Oakleaf H

Earlier this week, I p osted some photos of our four (current) Hellebores in the backyard and talked about how our plan called for even more in the borders in a few areas .  As I wrapped up that post, I mentioned that there were (now) a few perennials on my 'plant wish list' and that I should do a proper post showing the mix of trees, shrubs and perennials that I have on this standing 'want' or 'wish' list.  That's what I'm doing here:  taking that first list and add shrubs.  As part of my 2023 garden planting, here's my current (as of early December) standing plant wish/want list below: Perennials, groundcover and grasses: ( previously posted - but I added a few more here)  1. Hellebores . Up to 16 more. 2. Even more Autumn Ferns and Ghost Ferns . Probably want to replace (gasp!) my Ostrich Ferns. 3. More Hakone Grasses - Japanese Forest Grasses . 4. Pulmonaria ground cover . 5. Pineapple Lily bulbs . 6. A couple of Disneyland Roses for IB2D

Yesterday, I posted a photo of this strange feather grass that is still green and alive in a large container on my patio and mentioned that everything else has gone dormant and has suffered from the series of frost-filled overnights that we had last week.  Almost all of the various shrubs have dropped their leaves and most of the low-and-mid-height perennials have let their leaves and flowers shed.  But, there are a few things of note in the garden that I thought I'd document for the diary here. First, the Alice Oakleaf Hydrangeas.  They're still holding their leaves.  And those leaves are a dark, dark red/maroon.  A few green ones, too.  See below for a peek at one of these in our backyard: Also, below, you can see the three Twinkle Toes Pulmonaria that are wilting from the frost.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a couple of photos that showed the process of how the arborists at Davey Tree Services are treating our Northern Red Oak trees with a solution to inoculate them against something called the Two-lined Chestnut borer with a deep-soil-injected solution around the footprint of the canopy of the two Oak trees in our backyard.  That's the first application of the season that has been - for the past two seasons - come before the application of a liquid soil-probe-application fertilizer treatment for all our trees and shrubs.   Starting in 2020, we've worked with Davey to apply something called Arbor Green Pro to every tree and shrub in our yard.   Here's the post showing the 2020 treatment in late October . Here's the post showing the 2021 treatment in mid-November . The crew arrived and set up the long hose line from their tanker truck at the curb all the way to the back of the yard.   You can see in the photos that they apply the treatment

And the time has come...for the post about the very last shrub of the year.  The year of shrubs.  That the 2022 yard and garden headline:  The Year of Shrubs.   My number one priority item on my to-do list was to 'focus on shrubs' by adding a variety of mid-sized shrubs to the backyard .  I started the [garden diary] season with shrubs and the very last planting of the year is going to be about a shrub.  This one is a new (to me) deciduous shrub called Lemony Lace Elderberry. Sambucus racemosa. This one is from Proven Winners . Ever wish our popular Black Lace elderberry came in a sunny bright yellow? We are happy to oblige: Lemony Lace offers finely dissected foliage but in a cheery gold color to really light up your landscape . This North American native produces big clusters of white flowers in early spring before the foliage emerges, then bright yellow leaves take over, edged in red. As the foliage ages, it turns an attractive chartreuse . (Emphasis, mine) This is my f

Yesterday, I posted about the Brown's Yew that I planted and talked about how I was closing the planting season the same way I started:  with shrubs.  Today is ANOTHER (and I think last) plant going in this season:  A Lemon Thread False Cypress.  Both of those shrubs that I planted this Fall are evergreens, so I feel like this checks a couple of boxes:  shrubs and evergreens for four-season interest.   As a reminder, #1 on my 2022 to-do list was to prioritize shrubs .  And #2 was to add four-season gardening plants .  One of the answers to both of those challenges are evergreen shrubs. Here - below - is the Lemon Thread Cypress - Chamaecyparis pisifera 'lemon thread' -  that we brought home from Lowe's: And, here (below) is the tag - with the 50% off sale, this was just $15. The tag shows the proper name:  Chamoecyparis pisifera 'Lemon Thread'.  This was a new (to me) shrub, so when I saw it on the nursery table, I went to the Web to figure out if we could mak

I feel like I'm finishing the planting season of 2022 the same way that I started it:  focused on shrubs.  The number-one item on my 2022 to-do list was to prioritize shrubs by adding a series of them to our backyard .  I'm pretty happy with the results this year - as I added a series of shrubs including new Oakleaf Hydrangeas and Viburnums.  And moved a few others around.    But, I'm closing the shrub-planting season with a new (to me) shrub:  Brown's Yew.  I have a bunch of Yews in our backyard - but they're ALL one variety:  Hick's upright Yews.  I'm drawn to those because of their shape as well as the fact that they can tolerate shade - which we have plenty of around here. I came across this lone evergreen shrub - a Brown's Yew - that was on such a good sale that I couldn't pass it up.  You can see it in the photo above - sitting in a 5 gallon nursery stock container. This was the first time that I came across a Brown's Yew.  Densiformis?  Ye

As part of our initial startup landscaping installation, w e put in five Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangeas across the front of our house .  Four in front of the porch - behind the inital boxwood row - and one over on the side of the garage - the corner where the garage meets the driveway and sideyard.  I've posted about them over the years , but I don't think they've ever managed to reach their peak color-wise like they have this year.  Or...rather...like the ONE by the garage has this year.  The other four have all struggled.  Because of the Norway Maple tree.  Of the four, one of them has died.    The Hydrangea by the garage? It is putting on quite a show: But, the blooms are falling over.  One of my 2023 to-do items needs to be learning how to prune hydrangeas so they stand upright and stop flopping over .   I also need to replace the one that died up front.  With the tree being removed, the time is right bring these to their full potential.

I spotted this Climbing Hydrangea - retail price at $50 - at the Growing Place this past weekend and I've now put it on my 'plant wish list' for the Fall.  Assuming that these things will go on late-season sale, I'll try to come back and grab one of these to plant back near the firepit so it can climb on one of the Hackberry trees that are large enough to support this.  See below for a photo of the container that shows the name:  Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris.  It works in 'part shade' - which is nice. If not this Fall, then perhaps something to watch next Spring at the Morton Arboretum annual Plant sale. 

Ten days ago, I posted a couple of photos a new (to me) project of trying to grow hydrangeas from cuttings .  I tried two different culitvars (Limelight and Strawberry Vanilla) at the time and frankly...I wasn't sure if what I was doing was going to work and/or if it was going to be too late in the growing season to even attempt these. I still don't have the answer to the second question (is it too late?), but I do have a mixed-results answer to how they would do.  That answer?  The Limelight seems to have transitioned from cutting to (potentially) rooted.  The Vanilla Strawberry cutting?  Not so much. Here, below, is the limelight cutting.  The most critical thing to note?  The new, lighter color leaves at the center.  These new leaves are a sign that this cutting has managed to 'take hold': The larger leaves are cut.  And that's on purpose.  I trimmed them in half as a way to try to help the little cutting survive.  Some plantsmen call them 'solar panels'

Late last season, I planted six small upright Hicks Yews in a little row about half-way back in the southside bed of the backyard .  My thought was that I was going to to try to bring a little bit of repetition to the landscape by trying to mirror or repeat the Hicks Yew hedge that I've been growing along the back of our property.   They all seemed to have done just fine this season, but earlier this Spring, I undertook a shrub project that involved relocating the four Lilacs from this area and replacing them with three Green Giant Thujas.  If you look at this post showing the planting of the Thujas , you can see the six small Hicks Yews.  In that post, I talked about how I needed to relocate some of these Yews and with the temperatures dropping, I was finally able to get around to starting that relocation.  Below, you can see one of the Green Giant Thujas and a hole in the mulch directly in front of it where I dug the Yew out of as it was a pretty tight fit. I decided to keep it