Why I Oughta...

Ten days ago, I shared a photo of the (now) going-on=two-year-old Kentucky Coffee tree seedlings that I've kept in small 1-quart nursery container since they germinated.  In that post, I talked about how each of the small containers contained multiple small seedlings and it was time to both separate them and upgrade them to larger containers.  With the planting of a few new items in the garden, I found myself having a few 1# nursery pots that I could re-use.   I got started by pulling the seedlings out of their current homes (14 months since germination) and began to split them up by tearing the root masses apart.  Below, you can see one of the seedlings root system after I divided the clump: I started with just ONE set of the trees to ensure that they can handle the division of roots.  I figured there were two routes here:  divide the clumps.  Or, simply transplant the double seedling and cut off/prune down the weaker of the two.   Here, below, is the first of those two divided

Just like yesterday's post showing the mid-Summer view of the three Waterslide hostas in our garden, I wanted to do a similar mid-Summer checkin on the three Crested Surf Japanese Painted Ferns back in a similar spot.  The last time I showed these was back in May when I was happy (and surprised) that all three of these came back for their second growing season .  How are they doing mid-Summer?  Pretty good, I think.  All three are green and doing well.  They're a little delicate and seem to be pretty needy (for now) in terms of water, but they've all put on growth and are filling in together. See below for the Crested Surf ferns with a hosta planted in the middle: I'm not sure the hosta belongs there, but for now...I'll leave it.   These are unique hostas (for me), so I'll keep a close eye on them as they continue to establish themselves.  I'm thinking that if we can get through this full growing season (year two), they'll be more hardy going forward.

Last year, I planed my first three Toad Lilies.  Gilt Edge variety .   I didn't think much about them last year, but they seemed to do just fine.  Then... the dang rabbits started to eat them .  This year, they seem to have come back. Mostly.  There are three clumps of them.  Not all the same size.   First...the photo at the top shows one of those 'clumps'.  And some of that rabbit damage that is back this year.  Jerks. Below, you can see all three clumps - if you look hard.  Stretched out from top to bottom with the 'best clump' being at the top.  The second 'best' at the bottom.  And some small, emerging tips in the middle. Ground cover is one of the big needs in my garden and something that I'm pretty sure will be a key focus in 2023.  I'd like to buy more of these and plant them in different spots to fill in some gaps.  I'll need to protect them this Summer and Fall from the dang rabbits, but that should be doable with chicken wire.