Why I Oughta...

Right around this time every (early) March, the green tips of a set of daffodil bulbs emerge from the mulch in the bed behind the secondary Northern Red Oak tree.  These were inherited - and I didn't plant them.  I've observed them over the years - as far back as our first Spring here (2018) -  and here's last year's post .  They have flowered exactly ONCE.  Just once - in 2021 .   Will they bloom this year?  I doubt it.

In mid-October, I transplanted a groundcover plant (Burgundy Glow Ajuga) from one of the kid's container fairy gardens into the small foundation bed outside of our screened porch door .  It has a massive set of roots that I had to man-handle to get out of the container and that likely put the plant under a lot of stress.   Then...the cold temperatures arrived and it appears that this plant didn't have much time to recover and put down any new roots in its new home.   Here's what it looks like today (below).  It did NOT handle the cold temperatures as well as some of my other Ajuga colonies. Now...a closer inspection reveals that ALL might NOT be lost.  My eye spies a small (maybe quarter or less of the plant) that appears to have healthy (although winter-damaged) foliage.  That *might* mean that it can come back as the temperatures warm up.  I'll be keeping an eye on it in the next few weeks to see if it wakes up.  I'm going to try to ap...

Last year, I started to learn how to put together cuttings from our garden into countertop arrangements .  I made a number of them from late Summer to Fall that were primarily anchored by the Disneyland Floribunda roses.   By the end of the season, I came the conclusion that I needed to get outside of my foliage-gardening 'comfort zone' and start to add some flowers.    On a late-season whim (sale), I planted a few new (to me) flowering perennials including May Night salvia , coneflowers and some Agastache 'Blue Fortune' to the front IB2DWs beds.   I also pulled the trigger on a small dahlia tuber order from Longfield - where I pre-ordered some Melina Fleur (Decorative) and Cornel Bronze (Pompon) tubers .  My (current) plan is to put those in by the Disneyland Roses on the side of the house.    I also bought some Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnia seeds that I'd like to start inside and move to my containers in the back  - to replicate the...

A few days ago, I posted a couple of photos showing off some new (to me) Spring Ephemerals that my neighbor dug up and shared over the fence:  Virginia Bluebells .  But, she also shared another small clump of other Spring Ephemeral native flowers:  Bloodroot.   Bloodroot - or Sanguinaria canadensis - is new to me, but has a pretty unique habit:  It emerges in Spring, opens up during the day and then curls up at night.  This post by the Wisconsin Extension details them .  They say : The flowers open up in sun but close at night or on very cloudy days (when their bee and fly pollinators are not active). The flowers are ephemeral, with the petals falling within a day or two of pollination. The phot at the top and the one below - are from early in the morning when these have NOT opened yet.  Both the petals of the flower AND the foliage curl up.  That's kinda neat, isn't it? I planted the two little flowers (and their rhizomes) next to the V...

All four of our Hellebores are throwing up their Spring blooms and putting on new foliage.  I've covered these earlier this year - and how they emerged really early (like...a MONTH EARLY) .   Last year, I added three new ones and will likely buy more this year at the Morton Sale.  Below are a few photos showing these Winter/Spring flowers in early April.  First...all four of them: Then, a little closer look: And, finally....a ground-level look: Upward-facing blooms - and breeding these to face up - has been a breakthrough and provide even more enjoyment for this Zone 5b gardener (or...plantsman...lol). 

Back a few years, my sister gifted me a clump of purple bearded (I think) Iris that came out of her (and...for a couple of years...MY) neighbor's garden . His name was Wes and he had a couple of rows of Irises that lined his driveway.  Wes and his wife moved away and his house was torn down for a McMansion to go up on the property.  But, before the bulldozers arrived, Vic dug up some of the Irises.  I planted them on the side of our house and they flowered that first season .   Last Spring - in early April - I posted a walkabout that showed early foliage including these Iris tips .  Looks like these are about three weeks ahead of 2022.  See below for the tips: Wes' garden might be gone.  And, we might have moved off of Indiana Street.  But, with this plant, I can say that little bit of Indiana Street (and Wes' garden) are alive and well over here in Downers. 

The weather is showing snow this week, but that doesn't mean Spring isn't already here in the mind of a gardener.   Between the tulip foliage emerging and my first bloom via a Snow Crocus , you can't blame a plantsman for thinking that the time for planting is near.  And, the inventory folks at the Orange Big Box store nursery think the same thing.   I was on a quick run to the hardware store when I noticed two things;  first...the parking lot nursery wasn't quite set up.  But...they did put out a couple of shopping carts turned over on their side to sort of 'mark' the boundaries of where they're going to build their nursery - in an attempt to keep cars out of there.  And...when you walk up to the entrance, you can see the nursery tables set up on either side of the main entrance and all the way down to the garden center.   Second thing of note:  they have some early trees in their inventory along the sidewalk.  Of course, I co...

I've put down (right around) 36 gallons of biosolids on the two sections of our parkway to date - using 5 gallon buckets and spreading it with a rake to top-dress the turf.  This past weekend, I grabbed twelve more gallons (making it 48 total gallons of the stuff) across both sections.  First (below) is the little parkway island that sits IB2DWs.  Then, I went on the other side of the Norway Maple tree in the parkway and dumped some biosolids in between the tree ring and the property line (below): And, I also went back and filled in some of the spots that looked like they could se some help (below): And...finally, below you can see that I also introduced a little bit to the main lawn - right along the sidewalk.  There is a slight void - a few inches in from the sidewalk - that has settled.   I'm going to keep trying to go - and get 12 gallons at a time - to continue to top dress the lawn this Spring - even bringing some of it to the backyard to help in that...

How old are our pair of Greenspire Linden trees that are in our yard? I'm NOT sure.  But, I know that we have them in our yard for  (coming up on) six full years - and this will be our seventh growing season.  Planted in the Summer of 2017, the have grown into their own across those six growing seasons.    The last time I showed these trees was in October when they were putting on a fall show with orange and yellow foliage .   This past September, I documented via caliper sizing the overall growth of these trees:  they are both greater than 3" calipers now.  They went from a little bit over 1.5" to more than 3" - doubling in size since 2020.   My plan for this year is to plant underneath these and remove the frames.  But, before I do that, I went out this weekend and began to prune some of the tops of these trees.  That top layer of the espalier is thick and full of new growth.  What kind of growth?  What woul...

A few days ago, I yanked out the chicken-wire cages that held a heavy leaf blanket on top of our three Disneyland Roses.  Those leaves were there to help insulate the crown of the roses from the harsh Winter conditions.  With the warmer temperatures (and...shorter periods of sub-freezing temps) here, it was time to let the roses breath a bit.  I still have to clean up all the leaf litter (see below), but for now, these Disneyland Roses are on their course for 2023.   I removed the cages around mid-March last year , so I went about a week earlier this year.   I'll start feeding these in April and then hit them every month to keep them happy. 

The patch of yellow Daffodils are back and are certainly a sign of Spring in our backyard.  These sit under the canopy of a large Red Oak on the south side and were Spring ephemeral flower bulbs that I inherited from the previous property owners.  Without any help at all, they keep coming back year-after-year.  They flowered just once - in 2021 - but maybe they'll bloom again this year.  Here's how they look right now - tips of green foliage peeking through the mulch:

Just yesterday, I posted some photos of the first tulips that I was able to spot in our front yard beds (in between two driveways down by the sidewalk) and mentioned that I wasn't sure if there were going to be more up by the house.  We took down the large Norway Maple tree and replaced it with a Triumph Elm last Fall .  As part of that process, the crew ground out the stump and with it (I presume) a bunch of the bulbs that I planted around the base on the tree.   But, life finds a way.  See the photo below that shows the trunk of the Triumph Elm up on a bit of a berm.  But...at the very bottom of the photo - in the middle - you'll see some tulip bulb tips: And, so too, have the tulips down around our parkway tree emerged.  See below for a few photos:

Just a few days ago, I posted photos of what I think is the earliest emergence of the tips of Hellebores in our backyard and talked about how I'm not sure what is driving this early Spring .  When I was out front, I noticed that there are other things *already* moving in the garden.  Specifically...some tulips.  Down in the little bed wedged in between the sidewalk, our driveway and the property line are some tulips that were planted in Fall of 2021.  Last year was their first season and I noted their emergence in early March .  So - just like with the Hellebores - this is about three weeks earlier than last year.  Here, below, is a peek at some of the tulip foliage that has sprung up.   H ere's a look at where these bloomed last season .   These are MOST LIKELY going to need a little protection from getting trampled by the kids and neighbors and their dogs.  I looked in a few other spots - around the parkway tree and underneath the...

Earlier this week, we had some snow fall overnight.  And flurries flew during the day.  It didn't last long, but the temperatures have hovered around freezing all week and I keep hearing people talk about how we're experiencing a "late Spring" this year.  The grass has green'd up, some of our ornamental grasses (the feather reed grasses) are up, tulips have pushed foliage (but no flowers) and I'm seeing some buds swell on our shrubs.  And, I keep going outside to do little garden tasks, but I haven't taken on any large scale ones.  Planting a few things, cleaning some parts of the garden up.  But, mostly....waiting.  Waiting for the weather.  Some of our perennials are moving ahead - despite the temperatures.  I see hosta tips (some cultivars), Brunnera tips and (as I posted yesterday) even peonies. But the trees?  They're still bare.  I wasn't sure how *normal* this is:  to have no leaves at all on any of our trees in mid/lat...

There are signs of life emerging EVERYWHERE around our garden.  Here's a few photos of things that are bringing me a little bit of Spring joy in beds around our garden.  First, the IB2DW bed - which has (now) five Pinball Wizard Allium bulbs that were planted last year .  Below, you can see the red-ish tips of the foliage emerging from the mulch.   On the south side of the house is an Iris that my Sister Vic gave to me from her Indiana Street (Elmhurst) neighbor.  I call this "Wes' Iris" .  It is coming alive as I type: Under the troubled (in Decline) Norway Maple out front are some *new* (to me) tulips that have arrived for the first time (below).  I planted these last year .  They're DIFFERENT in that the foliage is variegated and has a pink(ish) stripe down the edge.  And, here below, are a BUNCH more tulips that I planted down near the sidewalk in that troublesome spot.  Should note (to myself) where these are and how to augment...