Why I Oughta...

Earlier this year, I set out a Yard & Garden To-Do List and a To-Do List Addendum that outlined 17 (10 on original list, 7 on Addendum) tasks that I wanted to tackle.  With the month of October coming to a close, I think it is worth taking a look and scoring myself. So...how did I do?  7 of the 10.  Missed on the Belgian Fence, Angel Topiary and raised beds. The original ten items on the list : 1.  Improve the soil.  Check . And Check .  And Check . 2.  Plant a Belgian Fence.  Nope. 3.  Try metal frame topiary.  Kinda.  I tried pruning small shrubs for topiary or bonsai . 4.  Do the Angel topiary.  Nope. 5.  Plant a Yew hedge.  Yes! 6.  Move Automower Boundary wires.  Yes.  No more getting caught up under the trampoline. 7.  Prune the Linden Espalier.  Yes . 8.  Add conifers.  A couple of them .  And planted six tiny Canadian Hemlocks.  Lost on...

The photo above is from the plans at Gardener's World that were our inspiration Back in April of this year, I published a list of seven additional or addendum items in my Spring/Summer To-Do List that included: "Work out the patio container situation" .  We had a hodgepodge of containers in our back patio and Nat wanted to do something about it.  She shared a few photos of planters that she liked and we came across this plan from Gardener's World that featured a simple timber planter .  You can see it above and how it features a two-tiered planter with three sections. After noodling it a bit and altering the plans a little, we ended up trying our own hand at making a similar patio planter.    Off I went to Menards and I ended up coming home with a van full of 2x3's of treated lumber. That 'altering' of the plans included Nat's decision to lop off the top level and just make it a flat-topped planter.  Here's how it ended up: Because I ...

Number one on my 2019 Gardening To-Do Addendum List was to relocate some of my Fall bulbs.  It didn't make my main To-do list for the year, but the two kind of go together.  Why's that?  Because #8 on the main To-Do list is to add some conifers to the backyard.    My thinking was that if I move these tulips from back against the fenceline, I can replace them with the Weeping White Spruce that I bought and move these closer to the front of the bed.    Here's what these same tulips looked like earlier this Spring .  I started to dig them and realized that moving blooming tulips is not for the faint of heart.  I dug deep and tried to pull out the bulbs and the ground with them.  Then, I poked around and tried to remove whatever weeds that had glom'd on to the bulbs and stuck them back in the ground.  Everything I've read about Tulips suggests that people often cut off the tulip leaves far too early because once the flower blo...

Out in the backyard, we have what I'd call a real work-in-progress when it comes to the lawn.  Well...a work-in-progress when it comes to everything back there including the landscaping and trees and mulch and what-have-you.  But this post is about the lawn in particular.  The past two seasons, I've done what I'd call the minimum in terms of working the lawn.  I put down a synthetic crabgrass preventer with early feed, a weed and feed and a Summer feed.  I also put down a synthetic grub treatment and last season put down an organic insect killer that was supposed to treat for ticks and ants and other things.  But, I mostly left the weeding to chance.  When we moved in, we sodded about the first 100' of grass, then seeded the next 50 or so feet and left the balance to just be how it was.  There were plenty of weeds, crabgrass and clover back there.  The problem with weeds in the lawn is that they don't just stay in place.  They colon...

Last week, I posted photos of the new Gold Cone Junipers that I bought at Menards .  I'll get around to posting some photos once I get them into the ground in the coming days.  But, that post talked about the need to add some spiral wire around the trees to ensure that they can take the snowload and stop them from splaying during the Winter.  In that post , I mentioned that I needed to add to the 'addendum' that lengthens my 2019 garden To-Do List that included wiring up these Junipers. That got me wondering what else would be on my addendum list. Let's get started and I'm guessing I'll revisit this list to add more items over the Spring and Summer. Addendum To-Do List for 2019 Gardening Season.   Original List here .   1.  Relocate some of the Fall bulbs including these Tulips along the South Fence line in the backyard .   If I move these 'forward', I can extend that bed and add something taller in the back. 2.  After I plan...

Number Eight on my 2019 To-Do List is to add some conifers to our yard this season and I'm getting an early start on checking the box.  I picked up three of these Gold Cone Junipers that are small sized at Menards this past weekend.  I put one of them in the cast iron pot outside of our garage just to fill the space, but I intend to put them in the ground in the backyard as soon as the soil temperature increases later this month. The tag below shows these in their Spring, golden spendor.  The back lists the size - which is the big reason I'm drawn to these:  they will get about five feet tall, but stay 1-2' wide.  Columnar.    Or something akin to an 'exclamation point' in the garden. The big question in my mind is:  are these trees? Turns out the answer is 'no'.  Can't count them as trees.  They are technically "evergreen coniferous bush".  Can't count them in the number of trees that we've planted - technically.  Bu...