Why I Oughta...

Here comes planting season. The first of the new perennials has just gone in:  the three primrose that we bought at Wannemaker's early season sale .  These are Primula belarina 'Blue Champion' and I interplanted them with the Twinkle Toes Lungwort that I transplanted late last growing season (I moved them closer to the front of the border in order to allow space for other things in the middle of the bed that are taller .) and they have reemerged this Spring.   This area is more Sunny this time of year, but becomes more shade as the trees take on their seasonal leaves.   My hope is they'll be watered in (enough) to get established this year and as the Lungwort grows up, it will protect these Primrose a little bit.  

There we were...wandering around the Garden Show at Wannemaker's earlier this month when I was smacked with a burst of color.  The lure of color and vibrancy is almost too much.  Not to mention that Nat was with me and she fell in love with some color and picked out a new (to me) flower and put it in our cart.  What caught her eye?  See below for a peek at a purple/blue flower: At the show, there were various growers with little 'booths' or setups - the one that we were most drawn-to was from Elite Growers in Volo .  Here's the Elite Growers booth below.   But....come on.  It is mid-March.   All logic went out the window.  That's what happens when you go plant shopping without a plan.   What did we get?  A set of Primrose.  Primula belarina 'Blue Champion'.  See below for the plant tag: Primrose are not - nor have *ever* been on my radar.  But, now they're going to be in our garden.  That tag talks about location - part shade and how they need to be wate

We're about half-way between when we planted our annual Christmas Amaryllis bulbs and the big day - December 25th - when I would (ideally) want blooms.  This is a (partial) progress report showing the three newly acquired bulbs .  Why just these three new ones (and not the bulbs that I kept from last year)?  Because these are the ones that are showing action on the stalk growth and the three that are furthest along.   All three of these bulbs were bought from Wannemakers in early/mid November and were planted up right around Nov 17th.  That puts these three weeks from their first watering.  And just over two weeks until Christmas Day.  Will any of them bloom in time?   First up is the Flamenco Queen Amaryllis .  This is what I think is the most unique of the three - with green centers and white-speckled red petals.  The leaves and first flower stalk are up out of the neck of the bulb, but not too much height so far.  Photo of the mid-growth Flamenco Queen Christmas Amaryllis below

This past weekend, we went over to the local garden center to meet the Big Guy and his reindeer.  We've done this same deal a number of years and it is a nice way to start the holiday season.  In addition to having the kids visit with Santa for a few minutes, we also buy our annual allotment of Christmas flowers - Amaryllis bulbs.  These bulbs are big and nicely cared for and (this year) cost $21 each.  I'm pretty sure that when we started doing this, these bulbs were $15.  This year, we're growing three new bulbs as well as attempting to force four from last year.  I picked out one and two of the kids picked out their own, too.   Below are the tags of the three we came home with:  Flamenco Queen, Magic Touch and Sunshine Nymph.   These bulbs come nicely packed with a little padding for protection.  They're also MUCH larger than the bulbs you'd find in the typical packaged 'set' that includes a container, potting material and the bulb.  MUCH larger.  See bel

The Lemon Star Amaryllis bulb - that we planted in early November - sure missed the Christmas (and even New Year's) window, but it is now the real star of the show.  After the other blooms are (now) past their peak, this one is currently putting on a lovely green party in the center of our countertop.   The flowers are pretty big, but there isn't a ton of them - and they're not double-bloomed.   The other Amaryllis' that we've grown over the years have always tended towards the red/pink/maroon-type.  The Bird picked this one out because it was different.  Pretty sure it was the only green one at Wannemaker's this year.  Would recommend it to anyone - looking to do something a little more unique.    Looking back at this post from January 5th , it appears that 9 days of difference shows the growth from a closed, pointy bud on top of the stalk to having flowers on all four sides open and in bloom. There's another, lower secondary stalk with a bud emerging, so

This month, we added a large tree that checks A LOT of boxes.  This is the third tree of this growing season - with the small Japanese Maple Tamukayama and the bareroot Shagbark Hickory coming before this one. I say "this month" because I'm posting this in mid/late May, but I put it in the ground right at the beginning of May.   But, back to those 'boxes' that this checks.  This is the Weeping Nootka Falsecypress. Weeping. Check. Conifer. Check. Tolerates part shade.  Check. Narrow.  (kinda) Check. Focal.  Check. Nook.  Check. Horticulture Magazine describes it like this : The weeping Nootka cypress (Cupressusnootkatensis ‘Pendula’) is an evergreen tree with lots of personality, thanks to its draping, drooping branches that would fit right into a Dr. Seuss book. This award-winning conifer makes a dramatic addition to the garden where it can add valuable winter interest. Here is the tree that we bought - in the photo below - planted in the new north bed curve.  I

 Over the weekend - without much thought - I picked up a tiny Maidenhair Fern and potted it up in a six-inch clay pot and added it our little collection of house plants.  My thought was that this would MOSTLY replace the dead fern that I tried to bring back this Winter  and would live next to the potted-up wire vine that I treated similarly .  I opted against using the traditional clay saucer for this one, opting instead for a small plastic container to keep the water from running out AND keeping the humidity level up higher.  One of the things I know about Maidenhair Ferns is that they're temperamental and like to have a higher degree of humidity around them.  Being in clay pot isn't ideal, but it is the cheapest of the pots, right?  It was just $2.99 and quite small, but looks nice potted up.  Here, below, is where its stands as of today.   Like, umm, everyone, I was naturally drawn to the light, airy leaflets of the Maidenhair that kind of dance when you blow on them.   Wha

Back in June, I posted a photo of the one Japanese Painted Fern that we have next to our screened porch and talked about how - after leaving it almost exclusively ALONE for the past two years, it. seems to have established itself and is doing well. Today, I'm sharing another photo at the top of this post showing what it looks like in the heat of the Summer.  It has grown bigger and more full.  And it now has me thinking that when I come across MORE of them - or if I seek them out - I should buy and plant a series of them along the fenceline -underneath the Frans Fontaine Hornbeam trees.  I've had good luck with Ostrich Ferns, but they start to look kinda shabby later in the Summer and I've recently planted a Lady Fern - so I'm not sure how that will look once mature.  But, I do love the look of this Japanese Painted Fern in it's full Summer glory and think they'd look nice mixed in with some hostas under the trees .  I have a gift card from Wannemake

A couple of days ago, I shared some photos of the flowers of the 'double blooming' Cherry Nymph Amaryllis that I planted in November.  I only showed the flowers, but wanted to revisit (for record-keeping sake) all four of the bulbs for height and vitality in January.  The last time I posted photos of these flowers was on January 2nd.  You can see the photo of these same four flowers 2.5 weeks ago here .  Left-to-right, the flowers are:  Apple Blossom (Menards), Red Lion (Menards), Star of Holland (Menards) and Cherry Nymph (Wannemakers). Some notes:  The Red Lion bloomed first and exhausted itself first, too.  This had two stalks/stems. The Apple Blossom went second and is also exhausted.  However, this was the only one that had just one stalk/stem. The Red Lion has a bud that is about to burst open.  It was behind the other two, but the second stem/stalk will have flowers (I think) into February. And, finally, the heights were all over the place:  the Red Lion w

While two of the four Amaryllis bulbs are done flowering, the largest - and most expensive - bulb (bought at Wannemakers) is blooming.  It is a Cherry Nymph bulb that is billed as a 'double blooming' Amaryllis and the moniker is holding true for this beauty. Potted on November 21st, 2019 . A week in, this bulb showed no signs of growth . Mid-December and the tip of the first bud was just emerging from the bulb . Right before Christmas, it was just about 4" tall and thickening up the stem . On January 2nd, the first stem was up and trying to get ready to open . For reference, my large bulb in 2019 was just beginning to open up at end of December . On January 20th of 2019 - 25+ days past Christmas, the bulb was in bloom . And it was still throwing off flowers well into March .  Yeah....March. So, this one is blooming (for the first time) about the same time as last year's large bulb.  Will it stay blooming until March?  We'll watch and see. This r

Like the past few years (and since we moved to Downers Grove), we have two Christmas trees up in our house for the holiday season.  Nat is in charge of the decorating of our house and she does a really amazing job creating an environment that balances nostalgia (with some vintage things that we've both collected over time), personal touches (lots of kid-made things around) and new, joyful decorations.  I'm one of the benefactors of her work and thoughtfulness with Christmas decorations - along with the kids - and grateful for her effort to create a "place" that will be full of memories and meaning for the rest of their/our lives.   But, like a lot of things in life, Nat doesn't over-do-it.  In fact, I think we've/she has managed to peel back a bit in the past few years.  Thinning out some of our Santas that we've bought at various estate/garage sales.  Dropping off decorations at GoodWill for another family to use.  And just trying to simplify

Every year since we've been married, Nat and I (and the kids) have participated in a Moran Family tradition:  heading down to Braidwood to the Tammen Tree Farm to cut down a Christmas tree .  Last year's version can be found here.   And here .    What's that you say?  That's two different blog posts with two different trees?  Yep.  Like her Mother, Natalie likes to put up two trees.  One larger one in the family room and another smaller one in our front room. Our trips down to the Tammen Tree farm are a lot of fun.  We pack into a couple of cars and drive around their farm to try to find everyone a tree.  We buy one (or starting when we moved into our new house - two), Nat's folks buy a couple and her sister buys one (I think).  Driving around is fun, looking for the perfect tree isn't so much fun.   Why?  Because we like Fraser Firs and I want a 'big' tree for the family room tree.  Tammen has a TON - hundreds - of smaller Fraser Firs.  Those that

Here's a current look at our four Amaryllis bulbs.  One of them - the Star of Holland - is out in front in terms of growth as it has two buds that have emerged and are starting to gain some height.  You can see that one on the left of this photo above.  At center - near the bottom of the photo - is the Cherry Nymph bulb that cost almost 3x the other ones .  If you look closely, you'll see a little leaf emerging from the bulb, so things are moving on it. As for the other two, you can see them in the background of the photo above, but for a closer view, check out the photo below.  The bulb at the bottom of the photo is the Apple Blossom Amarylli s and is a little bit further ahead than the one in the back - the Red Lion Amaryllis . I've switched over now to watering these all with a alcohol-blended water mixture to try to limit the height/leggy-ness of the stems.  What is most striking is that all three of the Menards bulbs have taken off.  The last time I tried o

A few days ago, I posted about the Cherry Nymph Amaryllis bulb that I bought at Wannemaker's and planted in a pot to get the season started .  I mentioned in that post that we were going to try (again) a few smaller (and much cheaper) bulbs from Menards.  I found the receipt from Wannemaker's and the bulb that I bought there was $15.99 and after tax came in at $17.27.  The other ones that I bought at Menards are sold as a "gift box" and as you can see from the photo below are going for $5.49.  So...about 1/3rd of the price.  We bought three of them - one for each of the kids to do as a project.  These 'gift boxes' come with a plastic pot (with no drainage holes), what they call 'growing medium' (which I'm pretty sure is peat) and the bulb.  We bought one of each variety.  First is the Star of Holland.  Next is the Red Lion. And last is the Apple Blossom.  Here they are in their pots alongside the larger Cherry Nymph bulb.  E

This year's large Amaryllis bulb is this double-flowering Cherry Nymph bulb that I bought at Wannamaker's last weekend.  One year ago today, I posted about last year's Christmas Amaryllis getting started  but, that version ended up falling a little bit behind of schedule.  By mid-December, it was just starting to send up the trunk . And it didn't bloom for Christmas .  It eventually bloomed in January  and then we were treated to a second flower in March . I treated it with an 8% alcohol treatment last year and I think that worked to limit the height and make it leggy.  I wonder if that kept it from blooming on time? This bulb was $14.99 from Wannemaker's - as those are the ones that seem to work every year.  But, I'm also going back to the Menards Amaryllis to try those again - with the kids. As for this Cherry Nymph - below you can see the large bulb before I stuck it in the pot. And here is it planted in the new clay pot. I am planning on

We were recently at Wannemakers in Downers Grove to pick up a few Fall items (cabbages for the outdoor planters and the like) and - like I usually do when I'm there - I ended up wandering around their fountain and statue area.  I last posted about the fountains in 2018 here on the blog when I was dreaming about a backyard fountain in various shapes and sizes .  I think I've settled on either a bubbler or one of those fountains with a large, ground-level bowl/pool.  (more on that in another post, I suppose...) And then earlier this Summer, I posted about how I've been looking to find another cast iron gnome to add to our garden and how they're either super expensive (vintage) or hard to find (not available very often at retail, so I've been hunting at Estate Sales and Flea Markets), and turned my attention to a possible concrete/stone Gnome that I found from Henri Studios.  The guy I started to be drawn to was named Ziggie and he's more than 2 feet tall.