Why I Oughta...

We were at the Menards in Bolingbrook and wandered out to where they keep the bags of lawn fertilizer.  I was hoping to pick up a few bags of fertilizer and pre-emergent that I could put down late this Winter/early this Spring.  As I've talked about over the years, I've evolved in my approach to feeding our lawn.  When I started....I was all synthetic.  I used the four-step program - all synthetics and some with weed/feed combined.   Then...my eyes were opened (thanks to YouTube) on organics.  Specifically Milorganite.  I started to use biosolids.  And, I stopped early Spring feedings.  And, did a late season (Thanksgiving) feeding.  And 'spoon fed' during the warm months and all of those things that people talk about online.    Starting last year, I've kind of swung back on the synthetic --> organic spectrum.  But, only half-way.  I'll post about what I'm doing with the first application in another post.  That's NOT what this post is about. It is abo

Earlier this year, in one of their ordinary monthly email broadcasts, the Morton Arboretum turned me on to something wild.  At least...wild to me.  Who am I?  A tree bud enthusiast.  Turns out, there are lots of us.  And some really special ones.   The newsletter referenced a former Arboretum employee with the title of 'naturalist' named May Theilgaard Watts .  And,  these incredible, illustrated vintage posters in the Arboretum collection that May T. Watts created.  First...a look at the posters below.   All of these are sourced from ACORN - Sterling Morton's Library that includes online images.   Some May T Watts archives in ACORN can be found here .   Fascinating stuff in there.  I've only scratched the VERY thin surface.  Have a look at these beauties.  Source ...again... from ACORN .  The ACORN listing here states these were created in the 1940's.   Hard to believe that I've never heard of Ms. Watts.  Can't be more interested in learning more about her

It is well established (in our house) that the best (or at least...my favorite) attraction in the entire Vacation Kingdom is in Epcot called Living with the Land .  What's that?   You haven't been on it? Well...let me tell you about it.  Or...actually...let ChatGPT tell you about it.  I asked her this: Can you describe the attraction at Disney's Epcot center that is called Living with the Land? Why would someone call it their favorite ride at disney? Here's what she said: Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride attraction located in the Land Pavilion at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The ride takes guests on a journey through various indoor and outdoor agricultural environments, showcasing different methods of sustainable farming and food production. During the ride, guests can observe a variety of farming techniques, including hydroponics, aquaculture, and integrated pest management. There are also several dioramas that show different ecos

I've been TRYING to do more with tropicals outside over the years.  One of them that I've had the MOST success with - in multiple years - are what I call "Elephant Ears".  Colocasia.  I've grown them in containers a few times and even had some pretty big (or so I thought!) ones like this one in 2021 .   The folks at The Growing Place sent out an email that included some new/interesting plants for 2023 and it included a look at a Colocasia .  But...not just any.  This one is "gigantea".  It is also know as the 'Thailand Giant'.   Below is a photo showing this giant elephant ear off via The Growing Place ( Source ): That sure is...something.   Pretty big.  Walters Garden has this to say : To say that this plant will dwarf any plant you already own would be putting it mildly! ‘Thailand Giant’ is much larger than C. gigantea. Its glaucous green leaves can measure a whopping 5' long x 4' wide each. Full grown plants typically reach 9ft tall,

Yesterday, I posted an inspiration photo of a mass planting of sculpted boxwoods planted in a three-tiered system and talked about how I could use them under the pair of Lindens in our backyard.   I haven't really done a mass (greater than 10) planting of shrubs, but I've been nosing back through the archives of Deb Silver's Dirt Simple blog for inspiration and notice that she's a big believer (and user) of mass plantings of evergreen shrubs.  Like in this post where she features A LOT of boxwoods in various beds and talks this way about their use : A restricted palette of plants, and a massed planting can be both both classical and contemporary in feeling. I really like that idea of using a mass planting with a limited number of plants and colors to be both classical and contemporary at the same time.   I've failed to put my desired garden style into words overall - I'm not a cottage gardener.  I'm not a Japanese Gardener.  I'm not a minimal gardener. 

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the Green Gem boxwoods in our backyard and talked about how evergreens were going to be a point of focus for anything I add this year in the backyard.  Back at the end January, I put out a list of some potential projects/priorities that included adding some structure via evergeen shrubs at the base on the pair of Lindens in our backyard.  I've posted about this idea before and talked about adding boxwoods here .   But, I'm now thinking what it could look like if I planted them in pattern that is something a bit more interesting.  And, perhaps more formal.   I've been sitting on this photo from Deborah Silver for months now.  See below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Deborah Silver (@deborahsilver) And, here's a screenshot of the three-deep sculpted boxwood hedge on the corner: What's NOT to love about this, right?  Of course, the skill involved here in shaping these is world-class, but let's for

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a photo and details of a singular Boxwood - Green Mountain - that I planted under our tree swing Oak Tree and talked about how it was turning a bright almost-orange color in what they call "Winter Bronzing".  In that post , I included some references that called out Green Mountain as a particular cultivar that was noted for NOT bronzing and maintaining green color all year long.  I came to the conclusion that I wasn't quite sure this was, indeed, a Green Mountain boxwood .  The shape - which is indeterminate at this point - is going to be the real tell.  Green Mountain is pyramidal vs more globe-shaped.  As it matures, that's going to be something to watch.   At the same (Fall 2021) that I planted the Green Mountain boxwood, I also planted three tiny Green Gem boxwoods on the other side of the yard .  Green Gem is a dwarf cultivar that grows in a small globe-like shape that gets just a couple of feet tall and wide.  (note... the Missou