Why I Oughta...

In the Summer of 2024, I planted a small, dwarf Spring Grove Ginkgo tree in the island bed in our front yard .  This tree was one of two anchors (other being the Northern Glow Korean Maple tree) in that (then) small bed.  This year, I planted a large drift of coleus that (somewhat) obscured the Ginkgo, but now that the frost has killed the coleus, the Spring Grove Ginkgo is showing off.   Ginkgos do a good job of turning bright yellow followed by a VERY RAPID (almost 'all at once') leaf drop.   Here, below, is a look at the Spring Grove Ginkgo with its curled foliage showing yellow/gold tips and green centers.   Something to think about this Fall:  Expand this island bed and think about how to best plant-up the bed next year.  There were some wins here (Coleus and hopefully the Ajuga) and some losers (Medusa Allium) and some misses (Didn't plant Autumn Moor Grasses).  

There I was, minding my own business as a tourist walking around Dublin when I came across a large municipal sidewalk planter that looked different.  It was tall and round and didn't have flowers in it.  \ Instead, it held a dwarf ginkgo tree.  Full, round-in-habit and leafy.  See below for a couple photos: I have (now) three Spring Grove (dwarf) Ginkgos planted in the ground.  A look at their hardiness rating and it shows they're hardy down to Zone 3 .  The rule-of-thumb is that you can (likely) over-Winter a tree in a container if it is able to go a zone below your actual zone.   We're in 6A.  This is hardy down to Zone 3.   It *might* work. 

The pair of square beds that sit on either side of our back concrete stoop have changed over the years.  Starting with a pair of Rhododendrons, I replaced them with Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf trees) in Spring 2023 .   I also added some (volunteer) Angelina Sedum to both sides that has had ups-and-downs. After doing a clean-up in this bed, here below are what the two square beds look like currently.  The trees have been attacked by (Dang!) rabbits.  And the sedum has seen better days.  I'm hoping that the weather will warm up and these sedums will spring to life.   First is the south bed - close to our grill: And, here below is the south bed.  In between the stoop and the screened porch door:

Once I posted the structure of the front-yard Spring Grove Ginkgo tree , I figured I should include the back stoop versions (there is one on each side) in the [garden diary], too.   Both of these have a one-year head start, but are showing a bunch more height than the front-yard tree.

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the small Skylands Spruce in our front yard island bed.  Today, is a photo showing its companion:  the Spring Grove (dwarf) Ginkgo tree that was planted this season, too.  Unlike the Skylands Spruce, the Spring Grove Ginkgo tree is naked right now; it dropped all its leaves earlier this Fall.   And that's revealed a STRIKING structure.  Pointy and sharp.  The branching provides a bit of 'Winter interest' with a handful of main branches and dozens of short, straight secondary branches emanating like spikes.  See below:

Walking out the backdoor, I found a bunch of these fan-shaped Ginkgo leaves laying on the stoop.  They're from the pair of Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf, Witches broom trees) that sit on either side of our back stoop and flank the entrance.  I originally had a pair of Rhododendrons in these spots - planted in 2018 .  But, moved them out in 2023 doing a 'garden edit '.   I caught this post on Instagram from Erin - the Impatient Gardener - where she posted some photos of her own dwarf Ginkgo - a Gnome Ginkgo - and included some info that...I sort of 'observed', but didn't know what was going on with Ginkgos. Her post, embedded below, includes this line :  "Ginkgo trees develop these scars on all their leaves simultaneously, causing them to drop all at once when triggered by a hard frost." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener (@impatientgardener) "Blink and you'll miss it...

I planted a pair Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf trees) on either side of my back stoop last Summer - in May 2023 .   All Summer-long, I protected them from the sun with a shade cloth as they were drooping everytime we'd have a run of hot days.  They seemed to make it thru the season just fine and by September of 2023, they were showing some new, tender growth .   Both of the trees came back this Spring and I don't seem to have documented their growth in 2024.  This year, I did NOT put up any shade cloth and only watered them when I was watering my annuals.  It appears that they're *mostly* established by this point and are filling out. Below are their current looks.  On the left (below) is the tree on the southside.  On the right (below), is the one on the north - in between the stoop and the screened porch door. At this point, I've done ZERO pruning on them and I don't intend to touch them - until they start to creep in/onto the stoop or d...

Earlier this season, I planted a dwarf Spring Grove Ginkgo tree , a Korean Maple ( Northern Glow Maple ) and a clump of Inferno Coleus in a new island bed in the middle of our front yard.  I used shade cloth to protect all of these from the hot Summer sun, but with the calendar turning to late-August (and Nat saying that it was looking a little 'Sanford & Son'), I recently took the shade cloth down.  And, here, below is how everything is faring this Summer.  The photo shows the Ginkgo, Maple and Coleus all doing well.  I say 'well' because they're not dying.   The top of the Maple saw some damage, but I'm pretty sure that's due to the shade cloth.  The Ginkgo is putting on tiny, curled leaves.  And the coleus is thriving.   Here's what this spot looked like BEFORE I created this new island bed .   My plan for [Fall 2024] is to connect this bed to the driveway and sidewalk and cover it in mulch.  Guess I need to start ...

#8 on my 2024 to-do list was to plant more annuals - including coleus - as bedding plants.   I posted a link to a garden tour video earlier this year where I fell in love with Inferno Coleus and talked about how that felt like an entry-point for me.    While I probably should have BOUGHT MORE, I ended up with three.  Decent start, right?  Below, is a look at the three Inferno Coleus planted in full sun - in my new Island Bed in the front yard.   These three are planted in between the Korean Maple (Northern Glow) and the Spring Grove (dwarf) Ginkgo tree in our front yard .   My immediate reaction is that three is NOT enough.  But, I'll watch these grow this season and then come up with a plan for 2025. As it relates to the 2024 to-do list, I think these three Inferno Coleus check that box.

In 2023, I bought a pair of dwaft ( Witch's Broom) Ginkgo trees named Spring Grove Gingkos and planted them on either side of our back stoop .  They're handsome dwarf trees that have done well.  They wilt in the hot sun a little bit, but have put on good growth in their two growing seasons .  So...when I came across another one earlier this Summer, I grabbed it. I wasn't sure where it would go, but when I decided to cut out and create the new front yard Island Bed and plant the Northern Glow Korean Maple , I figured this small Spring Grove Ginkgo would make a handsome companion.     I put it in the opposite corner of the bed and like the Korean Maple, I also covered this with some shade cloth to give it a little bit of protection from the summer sun.  This one is multi-trunked (2 stems).  You can see the as-planted state below: Here (below) is a capture of the plant tags: This is the second island bed plant and will (hopefully) serve as the ancho...

Late last Fall, I found some time to head over to the mulch pit to pick up a couple of loads (in 5 gallon buckets) of municipal biosolids and brought them home.  I dumped the biosolids out and scattered them across a number of the perennial beds in the front/back/side yards .  A top dressing of sorts.   And a dormant application of organic material with the goal of improving the soil conditions.  I also thought that by applying them in early Winter/late Fall...there would be ample time for them to 'age in place' during the dormant period.  With the return to the garden in the past few weeks to begin to prune back/remove old stems and lightly begin to clean up, I've noticed some areas where the naked soil is 'showing'.  What can fix that?  Mulch!  Oh...I guess that's true.  But, I also thought...biosolids could do the trick.  And...off I went to pick up a load.  Here, below, are a few spots where I spread the material out. ...

I have a couple of colonies of Angelina Sedum planted in the small, rectangular beds on either-side-of our back stoop that started as a volunteer and have survived over a number of years.  Last Spring, I planted a pair of Spring Grove Ginkgos in the beds and transplanted the sedum from one side to the other .   This particular Sedum has been pretty tough.  Tolerant of our (previously Zone 5b) now 6a Winters.  And some foot-traffic.  This year, the timing of the VERY cold weather was paired with a few-days-prior arrival of a few inches of snow.  That meant that there was a natural snow blanket for insulation when the temps dropped below zero.  Look back at these photos from a few weeks ago showing the Spring Grove Ginkgo silhouette .  Plenty of insulation.  How did this Angelina Sedum do with winter?  Below are a couple of photos showing the post-snow (still some to melt) condition: And...while there is still *plenty* of Winter remai...

The pair of Spring Grove Ginkgo trees (dwarf Ginkgos) that I planted this past growing season on either side of our rear stoop are worth documenting in the garden diary.  Being winter, they're clearly dormant, but they're doing some interesting things:  They're clearly exhibiting some foliar marcescence with many of their leaves clinging to the limbs.   And, they're covered with buds.  That are stud'd everywhere.  On the limbs.  On the trunk.  At the tips of branches.  And all along them.  They're quite different and really nice to look at when contrasted with he white snow.  Here's a pair of photos showing the same one: the north-side Spring Grove Ginkgo .  The second one is planted by the Grill on the southside of the stoop, but I am not including photos here. The snow cover on the ground is a few inches thick and I'm hoping that it is providing a nice blanket of insulation on this young, one-year-in-the-ground dwarf ginkgo....

Posting this a little bit late, but I checked-off a new (to me) seasonal activity:  feeding our ginkgos with lime.   I had a bag of Organic Garden Lime from Espoma that (on the bag) bills itself as being able to change color of Hydrangea blooms - "Turns Hydrangeas Pink".    I took the bag and sprinkled a heavy hand at the base of the Spring Grove Ginkgos on either side of our stoop.  I also fed the Saratoga Ginkgo in the front yard , the Ginkgo tree that arrived cracked-in-half that I planted in the backyard and the same variety that the online nursery sent as a replacement that is IB2DWs extended (now in the conifer garden).   5 Ginkgo trees, two of which are dwarfs - all (according to this post from Mr. Maple) want alkaline soil : One great tip with Ginkgo that is different from a lot of other trees is that Ginkgo love a more alkaline soil, so by giving them lime when you're planting them and lime throughout the season, you help this plant ge...

More dwarf conifers.  That's the story for today (and maybe tomorrow) as I've planted a pair of Blue Star Junipers - Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' to two different parts of our garden.  The first is pictured above and is in the north-side back stoop bed along with a Spring Grove Ginko, that big flush of Angelina Sedum and a Geranium. My thought here is that by adding some blue - I'd get a nice view of the garden color trinity of green (ginkgo), blue (Blue Star Juniper) and chartreuse (Angelina Sedum) working together.  And...that this Blue Star Juniper might fight back against the sedum and they'd play nice together. What is a Blue Star Juniper?  From NC State : 'Blue Star' Singleseed Juniper is a cultivar that is a dwarf conifer, an evergreen, and slow-growing shrub that may reach from 1 to 3 feet tall and 1 to 4 feet wide. The shrub forms a compact, dense mound. The leaves are blue-gray, awl-shaped needles with a white band that overlap and are densel...

Earlier this year (May), I planted a pair of dwarf Ginkgo trees - Spring Grove Ginkgos - on either side of our back stoop .  I was planning on planting *something new* here, but I didn't plan on these - rather, I just came across them and decided to go this route.    I posted about them one-month-post-planting and they seemed to be doing well and getting established .  But...I knew the hard, hot, dry part of the Summer was coming and I wanted to be sure these dwarf trees were set up to succeed.  We were gone for a large part of the Summer, so I decided to set up a some timed irrigation and then covered these in shade cloth.  Yeah...I covered them for months at a time to keep them from drying out and burning.  I recently took the shade cloths off - thinking the heat of the Summer is behind us.  What happened under the shade cloth was quite A LOT of new growth.  But, that new growth was *very* tender because it was being protected from the sun...