Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I posted a photo showing the mid-Summer update on the 36 Titan Halo Lavender Blue Annual Vinca that are planted down by the sidewalk in the Island bed.  I talked about how they had grown slowly the first two months - all of June and July - but have recently put on some size.  A little too late for my taste, though.  At least down there where they're supposed to provide some curb appeal. Further back, in the front porch bed, I also planted Titan Halo Lavender Blue vinca plugs.  I planted 76 of them in the newly expanded bed .   In 2025, I planted 64 vinca plugs .  They were bedding vinca from the big box store.  Nothing special.  But, by the end of July they had created a carpet of color.  Branching out and filling in.  And continuous flowering.  They were great .  So great that I went ham on annual Vinca this year.   With...what I thought was a 'better' vinca.  At least, bigger and bolder. ...

Back in June, I planted 36 tiny plugs of Titan Blue Lavender Halo Vinca in a mass planting in the (mostly) front of the Island Bed down by the sidewalk.  I grew Annual Vinca in the front porch bed last year and in addition to planting more there this year, I also decided to give it a try down in the Island Bed.   The 36 plugs were tiny when they went in .  And, maybe I spaced them too far part.  But, after all of June.  And all of July, they're finally starting to put on some size and fill-out the space that I gave them.  Not all of them survived, but I'd say that the great majority of them have made it to August.  I'm not sure, but I think a few of them might have been over-watered (vs struggle from drought).   Below is a as-current photo of the Titan Halo Vinca.  I recently watered them, so they're a little 'tipped over' from the weight of the water.  But, this gives us a sense for spacing.  And color. Turns out, 36 isn...

I noticed some green peeking through the mulch up front, along the driveway in the Island Bed.  It seemed out of place and I immediately thought it might be a weed of some sort.  I've started to notice the Wild Onions starting to fire up  in the backyard and worried that somehow they had migrated up into the Island bed.   Then...I looked closer.  I saw this:  And, I saw a few more scattered around the same area: And, then I saw all five of them scattered along the driveway.  Two rows of two with one in front: And, I realized that these aren't weeds.  But, they're not wild onions.  But, they *are* onions. Last Summer, I planted five Medusa Alliums up there after buying them from Northwind Perennial Farm up in Wisconsin.   These didn't do exceptionally well last year and faded pretty early.  But, as a gardener, I'm learning that sometimes that happens in year one - when you plant a new perennial.  They don't thrive in ...

I bought and planted a small cluster of three large-scale hostas last Fall in one of the borders around our firepit in the far back of our garden.  They are called Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hostas and were the 2014 Hosta of the Year.  I posted about them here  when I found them in the 50% sale at the orange Big Box nursery.  I planted them in September and they were small at that time .  For comparison's sake, head to this post and quickly look at the photo .  Then come back here.   These did fine in September and October.  And they lasted all the way until mid-November when they started to head into dormancy .   How are they doing today?  Well...all three are back and growing.  Two more than the third, but have a look at the photo below to see how they're all doing by mid-Summer: I spaced these out to allow for their full mature size, so I expect those gaps to fill-in.  I posted about how this spot could use some additio...