Why I Oughta...

I know that Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses are very (as they say) basic.  You'll find them in plenty of landscapes around Northern Illinois.  But that's for good reason:  they are really strong performers.  Across multiple seasons.  They stay upright and proud to provide winter interest, but they also put on a show as they grow in early Summer.  In fact...I'd say that right now (mid-June) really *is* PEAK Karl Foerster grass season.  They've grown up for the season and have put out their flowers on the tips that are light green.  But, the blades of the grass - in particular their color - are the real stars of the show.   Here's a few looks at various Karl Foerster grasses around the yard right now below.  First, some of the grasses planted right off our patio.  These were planted last Fall and were divisions. Next up are the three that are in the mulch island between our front walk and our driveway.  These, too, were divided last year ( and this Spring ). Here,

During the flurry of posts about the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale, I seem to have missed posting the details of this small, unique hosta that we bought and planted in our backyard.  Above, you can see the listing for the Hacksaw Pocket Hosta.  It is described as: "Vigorous, small green hosta with thin rippled leaves that have a serrated edge".  It stays small - just 6-9" tall, but when mature will get up to 2' across.   Below is the plant tag for the Hacksaw Hosta.  You can tell that this one was pretty small in the container.  We planted it in the backyard, near the Everillo sedges and Crested Surf ferns .  One month in, this hosta has put on some new growth.  I'll keep babying it for the season and then hope it will just go on autopilot like the rest of our more-mature hostas.  

The blooming of our floribunda roses (Disneyland Roses) has begun for the season with their first flush of pinkish-orangish blooms on all three plants that are in our sideyard.  These are in full sun, but have mostly been watered naturally (not irrigated) and have thrived in their current location. The last time I posted about these was when I applied a granular fertilizer in mid-May .  (note to self: it is time to apply again.) Below is a photo of the rear-most two Disneyland Roses with a pair of pre-espalier Sugar Tyme Crabapple trees planted between them.   And, here's the other one - located closer to the front porch - below.  I'm also including one of the divided Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grasses that I put over here last Fall in the photo (on the right).  This one is the largest one side-to-side.  Here's what they looked like last June .   If history is any guide, these will have multiple flushes of blooms all the way through the growing season.  Here's the bloo

I've had a few versions of allium around our garden in both of our houses. All the way back in 2011 (eek!  That's 11 years ago), we had a few Allium bulbs that I stuck in the ground in Elmhurst .  When we moved to Downers, one of the first things I did (in our first Fall) was to put down some Purple Sensation bulbs .  During our second Fall bulb planting season, I added even more .  Then, in 2020, I added a different kind of Allium - Summer Beauty Ornamental Onion Allium that grow in clumps .  These were called for in our plan in a couple of sections, but they were new to me.  Then...that same Summer (2020), I quickly added eight more to our backyard .   Last Summer, I added a different variety - Serendipity - to our front yard IB2DWs .  Three of them were planted, but just two have come back this year.   And, last Fall, things got a little nuts with Allium bulb planting.  I put in some Pinball Wizard bulbs .  I put in some Drumstick Allium bulbs  behind the Astilbes in back. 

Earlier this Spring, I received a few comments on a post from last year where I talked about after some hemming-and-hawing, I brought home and planted a special tree: a Japanese White Pine - Pinus Parviflora 'Glauca Nana' .  Below are a couple of them - that are similar:   "I saw this tree and I'm intrigued.  How is your's doing?" I replied back in the comments with my thoughts (more on that below), but I thought this might deserve a full post.  First....about the tree.  It has a siren call.  You can't NOT notice it amongst the pallets upon pallets of Arborvitae and Boxwoods.  And, I have to admit...I saw the exact same thing that the two commentors had - at the Big Box Orange nursery this Spring.  Here's the beauty that was calling me to bring it home from back in May: So, I won't waste time.  My tree didn't make it.  My Japanese White Pine - Glauca Nana - went brown in Winter and got worse as time went on.  When Spring came, it was crispy, ha

#6 on my 2022 to-do list included the need for providing a more robust structure or trellis system for our one-year-old Cascade Hops vine that was planted last year.  Last year, I used a small, metal ornamental trellis that allowed the vine to get up about three or four feet off the ground .  This year, I was planning on providing a true, stand-alone trellis.  But...the growth of this vine thought otherwise.   Why?  Because it grew like crazy and by the time I was getting around to thinking about which trellis to buy, it was too late.   But, my 2022 to-do list still stood.  What could I do?  I decided to take the same route I took with the Belgian Fence frame:  attach some deck screws to the fence and wire up a grid on the fence to provide for the vine to grow up.   I put in a dozen or so screws and wrapped green, outdoor wire around them in a box-shape and some cross-wires to make various ways for the vine to grow.   How'd it go?  The Cascade Hops vine quickly found the trellis w

Last month, I ran through the success rate of some Bressingham Blue bare root hostas from Longfield Gardens.  I planted 18 and now have ten that have come back for year two.  55% success rate .  In addition to those blue hostas, I also planted nine Frances Williams bare root hostas at the same time.  These were planted in late April 2021 and were clustered around the Northern Red Oak tree (tree swing tree) in our backyard.   Last Fall, these Frances Williams hostas had emerged and were small, but mighty .  We recently had our mulch done and it seems that what started as nine hostas is now six plants.  You can see them below: I'm going to leave these as-is for this growing season, but if they bulk up by Fall, I think I need to dig up and transplant a few of them - as they're planted too close together.  The one that "looks" the best is the three-leaved one tucked in right by the trunk of the tree (in the shade).  It has the nicest coloring/margins and the largest leav