Why I Oughta...

Back in May, I posted the details of a new (to me) Korean Maple tree that I planted in our backyard:  Alpenglow Korean Maple from Iseli Nursery and their Jack Frost Collection .   Previously, I have planted a pair of Korean Maples in the garden:  A Northern Glow Korean Maple in the Island Bed up front .  And an Arctic Jade Korean Maple in the backyard along the southside border . Despite having a great first season ( and fall show ), that tree suffered something and didn't come back this year .  Good to their Warranty, the fine folks at The Growing Place in Naperville honored their one-year guarantee and let me bring back the Arctic Jade carcass.  More on that tree in a future post. They didn't have any Arctic Jade trees in their inventory, so I decided to try something else as a replacement:  North Wind Korean Maple. That name sounds familiar, right?  (at least it did to me.) And that's because last November, I wrote a "Getting to Know" post...

Over the past few years, I have posted a few 'getting to know' posts about Korean Maples starting with Summer 2024 when I posted the first:  Northern Glow Korean Maple . Last year, I posted one about the Arctic Jade Korean Maple and then last Fall, I wrote this 'getting to know' post about North Wind Korean Maple .   Today, I came across a fourth Korean Maple:  Alpenglow Korean Maple from the Jack Frost Collection at Iseli Nursery.  This is Acer x pseudosieboldianum. I saw this at The Growing Place in Naperville where they have this point-of-sale sign where they label it 'new 2026'.   Here's how Iseli describes Alpenglow : Alpenglow® is a red-leafed, upright hybrid maple that is hardy down to –30F. In spring, merlot leaves dance on arching branches; translucent veins help them catch the light and glow. The deep red mellows to a burnished bronze in summer and finally turns to blazing orange and red in fall. A refined oval habit and sturdy branching mak...

Over the past couple of seasons, I've learned to 'know' (and plant) a pair of Korean Maple trees in our garden.  A Northern Glow in the Island Bed up front and an Arctic Jade in the backyard .  We also have a couple of Emperor 1 trees in the backyard (but...I'm pretty sure I lost the largest one this Winter.  It was ravaged by the Cicadas of 2024 and didn't seem to recover in 2025).   My success with the two Korean Maples has lead me to think about adding another one - and I wrote a 'getting to know' post about The Northwind Korean Maple from Iseli Nursery that is part of their Jack Frost Collection of cold-hardy trees.   But, as I was poking around in my Google Photos recently, I came across a cluster of photos of a different ornamental tree that I took at The Growing Place last year - on the same visit where I bought the Arctic Jade.  Those photos were for this Fernleaf Fullmoon Maple.  Acer japonicum 'Acontifolium'. This is - as the name...

Earlier last week, I posted a close-up of the fall colors on the Arctic Jade Korean Maple and talked about how I'm (already) thinking about another Korean Maple tree from the Jack Frost collection.   I bought the Arctic Jade from The Growing Place and when I was there earlier this year, I saw another Korean Maple from the Jack Frost Collection:  North Wind Korean Maple.  Here, below, is a photo of the sign from The Growing Place.  Here's the description from Iseli Nursery's website : The North Wind® maple is our flagship of the hardy Jack Frost® maple collection. It has been unscathed in Midwest field testing, surviving temperatures of -30°F. The palmate leaves emerge red in spring and change to green by midsummer. Showy pink samaras standout against the green summer foliage. When other fall color has faded in northern landscapes, North Wind® continues the show with dramatic tones of orange and scarlet. Negative thirty degrees is great.  It emerges red and...

This four-plant Oklahoma Salmon Zinnia just jumped right off the nursery tables at The Growing Place on my last visit.  It was tall, full of blooms and the colors were just in my wheel-house:  salmon, peachy.  See below for the as-bought state of this colorful cut-flower annual: Floret describes the Oklahoma Salmon Zinnia in a way that made me want to buy even more : This gorgeous novelty is one of the most prolifically blooming zinnias I’ve ever grown. Its petite, double blooms are a warm mix of salmon and peach and combine well with anything. Long, strong stems and small flower size make them a winning summer crop and wonderful bouquet addition. After bringing it home (only one, because that's all they had), I wanted those 'prolific blooms', so I knew that I had to cut it back.  Or...pinch it back - as some people say. This has four stems that were shooting way-up.  I counted up three full-sets of leaves and lop'd off the tops.  Below is a before-and-afte...

Silver foliage strikes again.  I've said it before, but I'm totally taken with the silver (or white) foliage trend that is popping up in garden centers.  And, when you combine that color with the idea that something can be grown as an annual and be 'Fantastic in flower arrangements', I'm sold.   That's how these Silver Swirl Snowflake Dusty Millers were listed at The Growing Place.  Here's their sign:  They had them in small quart containers - here's a couple of photos showing the plant and container: The new pizza oven bed is wide open and needs to be filled.  My plan includes running a border of Hakonechloa macra grasses around the edge, but I don't have them yet.  So, this year, these two Dusty Millers are going in instead: These will fill up this space and - once dahlia season is here - I'll start cutting the foliage to use in arrangements.  

A couple weeks ago, I posted a "Getting to Know" post about the Arctic Jade Korean Maple tree .  I showed a couple of photos from the inventory at the Growing Place and talked about how this cultivar is part of the "Jack Frost" Collection from Iseli Nursery .  The Arctic Jade is a hybrid maple that is 'more hardy' than a traditional Japanese Maple, but has 'large green, deeply cut leaves reminiscent of A. japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’. There's a lot to love about this tree - and that's why I brought one home. They had two sizes and after hemming-and-hawing, I went with the larger container that had a larger, more-full tree.  Below is the Arctic Jade Korean Maple tree on our driveway:    Here's a closer look at the leaves: There are a couple of items on my 2025 to-do list that are relevant - #5 is to "Get back in the Japanese Maple game" and #13 is to "add some trees".  This Korean Maple checks both of those boxes.   I placed...