Why I Oughta...

And the time has come...for the post about the very last shrub of the year.  The year of shrubs.  That the 2022 yard and garden headline:  The Year of Shrubs.   My number one priority item on my to-do list was to 'focus on shrubs' by adding a variety of mid-sized shrubs to the backyard .  I started the [garden diary] season with shrubs and the very last planting of the year is going to be about a shrub.  This one is a new (to me) deciduous shrub called Lemony Lace Elderberry. Sambucus racemosa. This one is from Proven Winners . Ever wish our popular Black Lace elderberry came in a sunny bright yellow? We are happy to oblige: Lemony Lace offers finely dissected foliage but in a cheery gold color to really light up your landscape . This North American native produces big clusters of white flowers in early spring before the foliage emerges, then bright yellow leaves take over, edged in red. As the foliage ages, it turns an attractive chartreuse . (Emphasis, mine) This is my f

Just a couple of days ago, I posted the first photo of my compost bins with an initial pile of leaves from our yard in the storage bin .  The leaves just don't stop.  At least, until the trees drop them all.  So, my approach is to try to stay on top of them with repeated cleanups in the backyard instead of waiting until the end when there's one big cleanup.  I've tried that....and found that the job is TOO MUCH if I wait. So, I sent about collecting (and mulching) even more leaves and storing them in the compost bins.   Here, below, is what the bins look like just a few days later: The bin on the left - the carbon storage bin - is now heaping.  And the bin on the right - which is properly mixed - has settled to just below the frame.  So, I put a bit of leaves on TOP of that pile, too.  If you look at the foreground, you'll see that there is a layer of mulched-up leaves scattered in FRONT of the bins, too.   The carbon storage bin will continue to settle and I'll be

The Dawn Redwood tree that we have in our backyard is turning from green to orange and is showing a mix of needles on the tree.  One thing that I've noted about this tree THIS YEAR is that it didn't seem to put on much growth.  Seem is the key word.  I'm sure that it did.  But, it just didn't make any meaningful leap like it has in previous years.  The top of the tree - the apical meristem - is thin and wispy.  And has taken on a curved or flop'ed-over appearance.  The last big 'leap' on this tree was in the Summer of 2019 when the leader jumped up .   Back to the orange needles:  this happens each Fall.  Here's a post from 363 days ago showing the same green-to-orange needle transition .  We don't get a ton of oranges and reds in the garden - something to note - so this orange is welcome.  (We get A LOT of yellow and browns.) Below are a couple of photos showing the emergence of the orange needles on this (now) four-year planted ( planted in 2018 )

The last time I checked in on our compost bins, I was looking after some of the settling that was taking place post a full turn in both bins and our tumbler.  This was in late September when the bin on the right was still 'over full' and the bin on the left was about 1/8th full .  Below, is a photo showing the current state of the same two bins.   The one on the right has settled even further.  The bin on the left has just started to be put to work with the initial pile of leaf mulch piled in that side. The pile on the left will continue to be filled and settled.  I also am planning on insulating the Disneyland Roses with leaf mulch again, so those chicken-wire rings will be full of material this Fall.  Once I get the bins mostly stuffed full, I'll then just simply switch to mulching-in-place the leaves on the lawn.  That's the process I used last year and the material was broken down by the time Spring arrived. I haven't gotten around to adding a third bin, but ma

The pair of Greenspire Linden Trees that are planted in a horizontal cordon espalier have held on to all of their leaves to date.  They're just starting to turn yellow - see photo below - with a mix of green and yellow foliage across all four levels of the espalier.  You'll note that some other plants - like the hostas - have gone dormant and turned yellow, while others (the Summer Beauty Allium on the bottom right) have remained green.    The last time I showed this espalier was earlier this Summer (June), when the trees put on ALL of the leaves in a couple of weeks .  If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see some growth on the top level that needs to be pruned back in late Winter as the top-level continues to try to establish a leader or leaders in normal-tree fashion. As measured this Summer, these are now BOTH over 3" caliper trees and have been in the ground here since August of 2017 .  That's five years of growth here across the growing seasons. Wh

As I mentioned in the post showing how we had our Norway Maple tree removed , we had the wood processed into rounds.  16 to 18" rounds.  That I could split as they dried out.  I wanted to see how hard these were going to be, so I put one of the larger rounds up on another one and began chopping with my axe.  I was able to split the round into about 40 different pieces.  Knowing I pay between 25 and 40 cents per piece of firewood, that means that one round processed into about $12-$15 of firewood.  Currently unseasoned firewood, but....still...firewood.  Here, below, is a look at the wood that came from just ONE round split by hand: As I empty out one of the racks close to the house, I'll start to fill it with this Norway Maple split wood.  Based on what I read on the Web, it doesn't take long for Norway Maple to season from green to 20% in six to eight weeks . That means...that we'll be able to burn this stuff THIS SEASON if I run out of wood.  

Number 8 on my 2022 to-do list for the season was to 'do more with houseplants'.  I talked about repotting a cactus, working with my topiary and mounting some Staghorn Ferns.  I recently covered the current state of the Mickey Mouse standing Creeping Fig Vine topiary, so that's in a good place .  I haven't gotten around to the Firesticks cactus repotting, but maybe that's a Winter-time project.  I've also continued to prune the Umbrella plants in our kitchen, so let's call that bonsai-adjacent. The most recent project in this category has to do with Staghorn Ferns. What started with a single, potted Staghorn Fern turned into a houseplant project and set of gifts for people in our life.  I bought five new potted Staghorn Ferns this Spring and ended up mounting (in total) four of them.  Giving two away, that left me with two mounted Staghorn Ferns and two potted ones. The smallest mounted fern that I kept perished and died.   The larger one, well... it wasn&