Why I Oughta...

Last Fall, I didn't plant as many Fall bulbs as I have planted in previous seasons.  But, I did plant some:  12 Gladiator Allium bulbs were added to the front porch bed.  Right in front of the existing boxwoods in the front porch bed .  In terms of layers, this means that we're looking at (from back to front currently):  porch, hydrangea, boxwood, mid-size allium bulbs. These get anywhere from 36" to 60" tall (depending on the info source).   I planted all twelve of these in mid-October.  And, just like some of the other Allium bulbs - including these Christophii which are showing early foliage emergence this year - these Gladiators are starting to peek through for the first time.   Looking back at this post showing where I planted the Gladiators , it appears that I dug six holes and tucked two bulbs in per hole.   Here are a few photos showing the tips peeking through the mulch this week (below):  Right now, I don't count twelve plants, but I *am* seeing that p

Spring seems like the season of biosolids-application posts and today is no different.  Last week, I posted a series of photos showing my use of biosolids in the parkway.  And, then I talked about how I was going to use biosolids in a vertical-mulching application to try to help remedy by clay soil problem by our front porch.  In that post, I referenced how I added organic material to the stump grindings to help the Triumph Elm tree thrive.   As another step towards helping these stump grindings  breakdown, I threw five gallons of biosolids on top of them - right next to the new tree - where some tulips are coming up.  You can see that in the photo below.  I didn't work them in the ground, but, as I keep up with the 'vertical mulching', I'll likely add even more surface biosolids like this batch below. The combination of organic material (and nitrogen) are going to be critical to making this bed a desirable place for plants and shrubs in 2023.  At least....that's w

We have our first bloom of the year:  an inherited (and...I'm pretty SURE naturalized) Snow Crocus.  The purple petals stand out against the brown mulch and other decaying matter in the far back of our yard.  You'll notice some green tips in the photo below.  What are those?  Pretty sure they're Wild Onions.  But, I'm not letting those rain on my parade here.  Snow Crocus (Crocus sieberi) is here for just a brief bit - a Spring Ephemeral. I haven't posted about this Snow Crocus on the blog, but I know it has been here since we moved in to Downers Grove.  Not sure how it got here, but glad it is here.   This U of I extension explainer is a pretty good read on Snow Crocuses .  From Ryan Pankau who writes the Garden Scoop Blog says that Snow Crocus is the first sign of Spring in his yard.  And, he talks about how they arrived: So, how did this beauty of spring wind up randomly dispersed across our yard? They have come to occupy my yard (and many others in North Ameri

A few days ago, I yanked out the chicken-wire cages that held a heavy leaf blanket on top of our three Disneyland Roses.  Those leaves were there to help insulate the crown of the roses from the harsh Winter conditions.  With the warmer temperatures (and...shorter periods of sub-freezing temps) here, it was time to let the roses breath a bit.  I still have to clean up all the leaf litter (see below), but for now, these Disneyland Roses are on their course for 2023.   I removed the cages around mid-March last year , so I went about a week earlier this year.   I'll start feeding these in April and then hit them every month to keep them happy. 

The planting bed that is out front of our porch has been something that has been on my mind for years.  Specifically...the growing conditions.  Between a few things going on out there, I think it might be time (this year) to take an even more aggressive stance at improving the soil across this foundation planting bed.  Last year (2022), one of the items on my annual to-do list was to think about how we improve the conditions up there and I suppose that I did that (a little) and gave myself a partial grade of complete.   The way I was thinking about this problem was across a couple of fronts:  hydrophobic mulch and the root mat from the Norway Maple .   Starting last Spring, I went about trying to fix the hydrophobic mulch issue - including the addition of some nitrogen in the form of alfalfa cubes and raked it in .  Then, in the Fall, I attempted to do even more.  First...with the removal and grinding of the Norway Maple tree, I'm hoping that the root mat issue continues to recede

This is day three and post number three of spreading municipal biosolids on our parkway turf in early March - as both a slow-release fertilizer and a soil amendment.    Over the weekend, I started by picking up and dumping about 12 gallons of granular (or close to granular) biosolids from the Downers Grove Sanitary District on our parkway .  They have a station across town where you can scoop-up and take-home your own batches of biosolids.  I say (close to granular) because it has more of a topsoil consistency than a true granular fertilizer or commercial biosolids product like Milorganite.   Yesterday, I posted a photo showing the application of even more biosolids to the parkway section across our driveway .   Today is showing the addition of 12-or-so more gallons to the main parkway.  My first application went down by the street.  This one was dumped closer to the sidewalk.  See below for photos showing the material dumped out followed by photos showing it after being raked in.  Pos

A few days ago, I shared some photos of the initial application of municipal biosolids to our parkway - the part of the parkway that is closest to the driveway.  I mentioned that I would need a few more trips of 10-12 gallons of material to finish the parkway.  This past weekend, I made a stop at the biosolids station and filled up my 2+ buckets.  I brought the material home and spread it on the smaller section of parkway that is on the other side of the driveway.  This is the IB2DWs parkway area.  See below for a look at the material after I raked it in: This section of grass is particularly rough to deal with and be successful with grass.  It is not-so-great soil that also sees A LOT of road debris and gets filled up with those tiny Locust leaves each Fall.  My neighbor's section is irrigated (I think), so his does better than mine.   Looking at these photos - including another one below - I'm thinking that I could put a second application on top of this one to try to help i