Why I Oughta...

In the backyard on both sides, there are beds that are full of ordinary, run-of-the-mill hostas.  They are just green ones.  There are also, some more interesting ones.  Waterslide, Island Breeze, Forbidden Fruit and Guacamole - amongst others.  Below is a peek at a section where these "ordinary" hostas are eating up space.  They served a purpose - and filled in the bed.   But, there are others, like these two Forbidden Fruit ones with bright centers that are 'hidden'.   Something I'm putting on m Fall to-do list is to take-on a section of these hostas and replace them/move some of the more interesting ones up front.  

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos showing the front porch Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' groundcover and talked about how they all had some Winter die-back/decline despite a somewhat mild Winter.  Most of the colonies are back this year up front, but reduced in size. Today, I'm showing part of the front-of-the-border band of Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' that runs in the "Kitchen Curved" bed.  This is the oldest bed and the first one that has fully filled-out with Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Amsonia, various Astilbes, some Japanese Anemone, a Fernleaf Spirea (Matcha Ball) and dotted with a tiny Emperor 1 Japanese Maple tree.   The Ajuga here was first planted in Spring of 2023 .  Here's what they looked like 90 days later - after the heat of August .  They were putting on size with some larger than a grapefruit.   By last Spring, I wrote this 'hits/misses' post showing how some of the Ajuga was working , while other colonies didn't.   Last Fall, as the l...

Here we go:  twenty-five items on my 'to-do list' for 2025.  Just like the past few years, this list includes twenty-five garden ideas, projects, plans and priorities.  Here's 2024's to-do list .  And scorecard (18 out of 25 complete ).  Here's 2023 to-do list .  And scorecard (22 of 25 complete ). Here's 2022's to-do list .  And scorecard (20 of 25 complete).   Last year, the seven that I didn't complete include leaf mulch, working the lawn, parkway planting, building an orangerie box, improving the southside entrance landing, being a weeder and paying attention to my tree nursery.   A few of those will persist and show up in the 25 below. 1. Gravel Path Improvement. This was marked as 'Priority Project #1' this year . And, I've already completed about 60% of the renovation . Once I finalize the pizza oven project, I'll use the remaining nonwoven fabric to finish the gravel path. 2. Make the Pizza Oven operational. This was marke...

In the photo below you can see a number of 'crowns' or slightly different colored dots that are scattered around this bed.  What are those?  Ostrich Fern crowns.  They're filling up the bed behind the Oak tree - tree swing tree.  And, they've naturalized.  They're spreading and multiplying.  It feels like this is a moment:  keep or dig up and remove.   As I mentioned...they multiply.  So, this year there might be twenty.  Next year...there might be 40.    The issue:  I don't have anything to replace them.  But, despite falling in love with Ostrich Ferns, I've moved on to other ferns.  Autumn Ferns, in particular.  But, those don't naturalize.   This is where I've always envisioned a 'garden path'.  Perhaps I leave these now (don't do a "Fern Upgrade") and utilize non-woven cloth to smother out any Ostrich ferns in the way.