Why I Oughta...

What's better than *some* sedum groundcover?  MORE sedum ground cover is, well...the answer we have on hand.  As part of #FallPlanting, I added three quart-sized Stonecrop groundcover plants to the front yard.  I put two down by the sidewalk IB2DWs (extended) and one on the southside by the patch of Angelina Sedum close to the front porch. For keeping track of to-do's and what-have-you, I'm saying these 2 plants go toward 3 goals:   #2 (IB2DWs extended), #3 (plant and improve front porch bed) and #17 (keep going with Groundcover).  This is a variegated sedum - you can see the sign above.  And, it was jumping off the nursery bench to me at the end-of-season sale at The Growing Place.  Here's what Gardenia has to say (screenshot below): Below is a look at the one in the front porch bed: And here's one of two down by the sidewalk: I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

Last month, I posted details of my 3rd Ajuga variety:  Burgundy Glow.  I found one at Lowe's and tucked it into the IB2DWs bed near the driveway .  In that post , I looked at the tri-color foliage and how it is a little bit slower-grower than 'Chocolate Chip'.  Well...it tuns out that I'm (now) planting a second one.  That was a gift of sorts. Back earlier this Summer, the kids made Fairy Gardens.  One of the plants that one of the girls bought - but LEFT IN THE CONTAINER - is an Ajuga Burgundy Glow.  Here below are a few photos - including how this thing had roots coming out the bottom big-time: I carefully peeled the container away and decided to stick it into the backyard - right off the patio, by the screened porch door - hoping it will fill in the space and hug the patio.  See below for the size: More groundcover.  More, indeed.   I'm posting this in November 2023, but I did this dividing and transplanting in mid-October 2023.

At some point in (I think) 2022, I bought and planted a Japanese Anemone x Hybrid 'Pamina' from Northwind Perennial Farm up in Wisconsin and planted it in a spot on the northside of our backyard.  Turns out, I'm pretty certain that it was the WRONG SPOT.  For this plant.  Too much shade.  You can see the sign at the top of this post that calls for "Part Sun".  It goes on to say:   Beautiful, easy to grow plants, flowering late in the season in a burst of bright pink.  Lovely in a partially shaded site.  Divide in Spring.  This plant does great with grasses and interplanted with Stachys 'Hummelo'. "Partially shaded" site is/was my problem, I think.   What do I have to look forward to - if it succeeds?  From Bluestone Pernnials comes these details - including that it is a "RHS Award of Garden Merit Winner : One of the most compact Anemone, the elegant bright rose-pink blossoms of broad overlapping petals surround whorls of bright yellow stamen

Originally planted in a container (pre-bonsai), then first transplanted into the ground in April of 2022 only to be moved up to the Kitchen window curved bed in May of 2022 , my first Bird's Nest Spruce (dwarf) has not lived a good life.  Then...it was gnawed at by the dang rabbits and fought for life the past two growing seasons. Today?  It has been overtaken by the Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are planted behind this small spruce shrub.  See below for a look at the leaves of the hydrangeas and the spruce, evergreen shrub: That means that this dwarf conifer is looking for its fourth spot in three years.  I dug it up and transplanted it over to the northside of the lot, behind some hostas (that need to be removed) and in front of the Hops vine that is trellis'd up the fence.  See below for the current state of my first Bird's Nest Spruce dwarf conifer: I'm posting this in early November, but I moved this shrub back in early/mid October of 2023. 

The star of our garden are the All Gold Hakonechloa Japanese Forest Grasses .  I have two colonies of them - one in front and one in back.  I have a dozen places where I could use more, but they are always very expensive and rarely go on sale.  So...I thought they might be a good candidate for Fall Division.   I selected one to test this Fall - in the front IB2DWs bed.  And only chose one because I haven't divided these before.  They've been really hard to get established, so I didn't want to put too many of them at risk.  But...if this works this year, I'll divide a few in the Spring and then even more come Fall 2024. Here's the before - I was targeting the largest one in the back. And, here's the after -below.  My process for this was to first tie-up the grass blades, so I could get a good shot at digging out the clump.  Below is the grass all tied-up. I opted to divide it FIRST into half.  Then, I took one of the halves and divided that again.  Leaving me wit

A couple of seasons ago (Summer 2021), I planted three Allium Serendipity in the IB2DWs bed after being influenced by Erin the Impatient Gardener .  I've had Allium Summer Beauty in the garden since the beginning and Serendipity felt like a nice improvement - at the time.  I mostly just ignored them.  Until this Summer.   When I noticed that they were, indeed, an improvement over Summer Beauty. Why? They bloomed a little bit later.  And for MUCH LONGER .   Fall is the season for dividing perennials, so I picked up my shovel and got busy. Here's the before - two nice-sized clumps of Allium Serendipity: I took those two and made five total plants.  Why five?  A hedge, of course.  I split one in two - in the hopes that those two larger clumps had a better chance of survival.  If I killed the smaller clumps by dividing them too late, or not watering them in enough, or having them heave this Winter...at least I still had what I started with:  two clumps.   I put three of the Allium

I posted the details and a photo of planting a Matcha Ball Ash Leaf Spirea shrub in the front porch beds in mid-October .  When I planted that one, I also...planted a second one:  but in back.  I decided to tuck it in the 'kitchen window curved bed', sort-of by where my bird-feeding pole lives.   That bed has some good foliage and good texture contrasts going on - the Amsonia, Oakleaf Hydrangeas and Astilbes create a nice combination.  This small-size (dare I saw dwarf) fern-like shrub adds a pop of color (yellow/chartreuse) and some lightness of foliage to this spot. The shrub is already showing some buds on the limbs - that I presume are set of next year.  But..you never can tell what kind of stress these nursery plants go through that might alter their normal growth cycle.   I planted this in mid-October, but posting it in early November 2023.