Why I Oughta...

 I took the Sclafani Crushed Tomatoes plunge.  Via a 12 pack of these 28 ounce cans from Amazon.  They don't seem to be available locally and the price on Amazon comes out to $2.32 per can , so I figured I'd give them a try.  I can get the Kroger brand of Crushed Tomatoes for $1.49, so there's certainly a premium, but these are (by all accounts) a good, quality item .  When they arrived, I opend up the case and saw those adorable cans. In the post from a couple of weeks ago , I mentioned that online pizza OG Adam Kuban was who recommended these via the instructions that SlowRise sent out related to Adam's Bar Pizza online class.   I've long been a user of 6-in-1 tomatoes, which are billed as "ground tomatoes" , but unfortunately, our local Mariano's (Kroger) stopped carrying them in 28 ounce cans.  They, occasionally get the gigantic, food-service-size cans, but I'm not equipped to deal with that volume of crushed tomatoes.  The guys over at Zeppe&

I've done this before on the blog - where I put out a plan for future tree planting locations - mostly as a way to guide my planning, but also marking down a place for when I buy a tree on impulse and provide it a place to grow.  For this post, I wanted to specifically think about trees as they relate to the patio area and rear of the house.  I've identified five spots to plant trees that you can see in the plan below. I'll quickly mention each of these - but note, they're NOT in priority order.  But, they each are likely deserving of a specific tree type/variety/caliper.  So, let's consider this a macro list (for now). 1.  Backyard - focal on southside.  Across from large Oak.   This is what I think needs to be a substantial tree - something on the order of 2" caliper.  And, likely a shade tree. 2.  Outside of Kitchen window, patio shade tree.   This one, too, should be a more mature tree.  It is in a vulnerable position in terms of being out in the open, but

Over the course of my gardening history, I think I've only bought ONE "plant of the year".  Back in 2013, I bought a single Blue Indigo (Baptisia Australis) from Luurs Nursery based on the sign calling it out as "Perennial Of The Year in 2010"  and planted it in front of our fence in Elmhurst.  I always liked that plant and thought that I should have bought more (see yesterday's post about mistakes ).   But, that might change this year.  I came across the 2021 Hosta of the Year from Proven Winners named Shadowland Wheee Hosta .  Walter's Garden bills this as the third Hosta of the Year (the 2021 version) and somehow they've already called next year's (2022) Hosta of the Year (Hosta Shadowland Diamond Lake).  Here's what it looks like: Source via Proven Winners . This year's winner (Whee) is described : Extremely ruffled, cream colored margins extend from the tip of each green leaf all the way down the petiole to the crown. This ruffled m

I came across this video from Erin, the Impatient Gardener where she (and Alexandra from the "middle sized garden") talk about five gardening mistakes . And...the first one on their list - Buying just ONE of a plant - really hits home hard for me.   Why does it hit home hard?  Let me count the ways. One , two , three .  For starters.  In all three instances there, I *should* have both more.  Lesson learned. Go watch the whole video .  

Before I headed down the path too far this Winter, I wanted to start to get my arms around a DRAFT 2021 To-Do list for the yard and garden.  Posting a couple of my 'priority areas' the past few days has forced me to begin to figure out where I want to spend my time and attention.  I'm planning on getting to a full/final 2021 list in the coming weeks, but for now, I thought I could work up a draft to see where I am in terms of my current thinking and what I would need to do to fill in some of the spots. Here's where I am - as of early February.  Just 15 items so far.  I know there are plenty more bouncing around in my head and once the snow melts and I walk the property, selecting the remaining ten will be tough. 1.  Priority Area 1 - calls for 15 #1 containers of shade perennials. 2.  Priority Area 2 - calls for A LOT of new perennials.   3.  Planting a mass of Lemon Coral Sedum like a carpet .  Somewhere.  4.  Creating a Block I topiary .   5.  Stain the patio contai

Yesterday, I published the first of my 2021 garden/yard priority areas .  Today, is my second one - with the hope that this exercise helps me contain my enthusiasm and force me to focus on adding things that matter.  Like a lot of you, I find myself in a daze when Spring comes and I add things to my cart that I don't really need just because they're, well, there.   Priority Area #1 for 2021 calls for 15 plants (8 Allium, 7 ferns), so that part ALONE is a substantial investment.  Priority Area #2 calls for even more.  41 plants.  Yeah...41.  This one might take two years to swing in terms of getting the plantings right.  But, lets start by looking at the area in question.  This is in between Priority Area #2 from last year AND the trio (at the time) of tiny Canadian Hemlock trees I planted along the north side of the fence line.  Here, below, is a look at this area: You can see that this area calls for: 10 Lenten Rose 9 Guacamole Hosta 7 Bottle Rocket Spiked Ligularia 8 Hadspe

Looking back on my 2020 gardening season, one of the things that was a success was determining some of the 'priority areas' in the yard that I wanted to address.  Last year, I picked three areas ( Area 1 , Area 2 , Area 3 ) and that forced me to be selective in the materials we bought and what I added around the yard.   In terms of success, I feel like I moved things forward in Area 1 and Area 2 quite a bit.  Area 3, not so much .  That seems like an area to revisit, but before I do that, I'm going to lay down a little marker on a 2021 Priority Area - let's call this one 2021 Area #1:  Behind The South White Oak Tree.  (That's the big dot on the far right of the plan you see below.) The planting area that is called for in the plan is quite simple.  Just 15 total plants of two varieties: 7 Ostrich Ferns 8 Summer Beauty Ornamental Onions (Alliums) We have a series of BOTH of those plants already in our yard currently, so adding these will be a natural extension of the