The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Author Archives: jmarkowski

Tour of the Garden – 9/13/17

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Northern Sea Oats ‘River Mist’

I’ve had zero reseeding issues with this NSO and it looks particularly killer this time of year.

 

Clethra (Summersweet)

This deciduous shrub has been a savior for me. The deer have ignored it. The wet soil doesn’t bother it one bit. The suckering has been minimal and I’m OK with it if it picks up in the future.

While the blooms were fantastic back a few weeks, I’ve come to appreciate the foliage color more and more. As it lightens in color now that September has arrived, it provides a great contrast to so many other nearby plants.

 

 

 

Flowers

Stonecrop (Sedum) ‘Autumn Fire’

 

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

 

New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

 

Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea)

 

Sonecrop (Sedum) ‘Matrona’ (Yes, the deer nibble. Why only a little bit I’ll never know. Maybe it’s a rabbit?)

 

Obedient Plant (Physostegia) ‘Vivid’

 

Fading

Veronica in front of Obedient Plant ‘Vivid’.

 

Allium ‘Mt Sinai’

 

One last show

I cut back the Catmint (Nepeta) ‘Walker’s Low’ one last time a few weeks back and the reward has been just enough new flowers to keep things interesting.

 

Subtle autumn

The slightest foliage color change on the Mountain Mint.

 

Same goes for Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’.

 

One leaf at a time on the Viburnum carlesii.

 

Yes, it never bloomed but the foliage color on Hydrangea ‘Lady in Red’ is still solid. Especially next to the dark-leaved Ninebark ‘Diablo’.

 

Not so subtle autumn

You’ll continue to see Amsonia hubrichtii and Itea ‘Little Henry’ from me on a weekly basis throughout the fall.

 

And Amsonia and Panicum (Switch Grass) as well.

 

The Viburnum ‘All That Glitters’ is in like the hardcore autumn phase.

 

 

Ornamental Grasses

I’ll allow the photos to tell the story.

 

 

 

 

 

Tour of the Garden – 9/6/17

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Front walkway

It takes this deep into the season for the front bed to truly shine as the grasses emerge, fall foliage color subtly appears and late summer blooms arrive.

 

A step back from the same scene …

 

… and another step back.

 

 

Physostegia (Obedient Plant) ‘Vivid’

This mass started as only 7 small plants over a year ago. It has filled in at an insane level. I like.

 

 

 

Green

I love me all different shades of green. I find this section of the garden soothing. Who’s with me?

 

 

Paralysis by analysis

I have stared at this scene for weeks now. I like it but I don’t. While it’s full and a good mix of flowers, foliage, texture, etc, something is amiss. I’m close to figuring it out but would appreciate your input.

 

 

Secret weapon

This section of the garden is going to be the best in a few years. You can’t see it now but trust me, there is a lot going on here and it’s all awesome. I can’t wait to share it when it explodes in awesomeness.

 

 

Seed heads

The seed heads on the Baptisia transformed to dark black this week. I like.

 

 

 

Leave it alone

This combo hasn’t been touched for three years now. That must be a record for me.

 

 

Delicious foliage color

Panicum and Amsonia. But you knew that already because I talk about it every week.

 

 

 

Turkey foot

Here is why Andropogon (Big Bluestem) is also known as turkeyfoot. You’re welcome.

 

 

Viburnum berries

The berries on the Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’ continue to explode. More than I’ve had in ten years of its existence. I like.

 

 

 

Uncle

Fine, I’ll admit it. I don’t know what this white blooming plant is. I just know that I never planted it. It has fleshy stems that multiple like mad from year to year. Help a gardener out won’t you?

 

 

 

What the hell is that?

There are a bunch of Northern Sea Oats growing underneath this Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’. It has created this bizarre mash-up that looks even stranger as the Itea develops its fall color.

 

 

Finally

The Chelone lyonii (Turtlehead) ‘Hot Lips’ typically look like crap by now. All of the flowers turn black and become an eye sore. Not this year so far. I like.

 

 

 

Do as I say …

For those of you who bought my book, I specifically pointed out that Lady’s Mantle requires some extra attention once the blooms stop and the weather turns hot and dry in summer. I should probably follow my own advice next year.

 

 

The late August garden

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The latest and greatest:

The signs of autumn are becoming less and less subtle. The Itea ‘Little Henry’ in the front are half green/half scarlet red. The Amsonia hubrichtii is revealing orange hues throughout. The Panicum in the upper left is now showing signs of its yellow fall color and even the blooms on Joe Pye Weed are transitioning to a richer and darker pink.

 

The blooms on Pennisetum ‘Desert Plains’ recently emerged in full force.

 

A smorgasbord of ornamental grass blooms. It’s tough to identify them all individually but included here are Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’, Karl Foerster grass and Indian Grass.

And now here they all are individually.

I took a few steps back for this picture of Indian Grass to show just how prolific it is as a focal point at the end of my driveway.

 

Red for days on Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’.

 

Those Karl Foerster blooms still soaking up the sun like champs.

 

Lobelia siphilitica (Cardinal flower) still popping up everywhere, including smack dab in the middle of this ornamental grass.

 

Have I mentioned Amsonia in every post so far this year? Here’s another one.

 

You know I attempted (key word here) to remove all of my Northern Sea Oats. While it continues to stick around, there’s no denying that it is stunning in the right light.

 

I’ll take the blush/pink faded blooms of this Hydrangea over the bright white blooms any day. Quintessential late summer color.

 

There are very few berries on Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’ that have been missed by the birds.

 

Boltonia in full bloom, fortunately being held up by the neighboring Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’.

 

 

Vernonia noveboracensis (New York Ironweed) while blooming, has been devoured by some critter so it’s a bit ugly right now. Yuck.

 

Butterfly chasing adventure of the week: Common Buckeye.

 

Tour of the Garden – 8/24/17

Posted on by Posted in My garden, Ornamental grass .

The Grasses

What else would I lead with at this time of year? Duh. I’m well aware that my last post featured Flame Grass, but I couldn’t resist featuring it yet again. Those silvery blooms blowing in the wind bring the garden to life. Once that green foliage color turns every imaginable shade of orange, it will be sensory overload.

 

Can you say focal point? Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) is killer right now. While I love it massed for maximum effect, it can hold its own on its own. While the flowers or inflorescence are a show-stopper, give me the sturdy blue stems any day of the week. Even on a Monday.

 

Ho-hum, another Panicum ‘Northwind’ pic.

 

The red is really shining through on Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’. These grasses are incredibly fool-proof and have been for over a decade now.

 

Multiple grasses are anchoring this garden scene. I’ll say it again, as ubiquitous as it may be, the upright and tan blooms of Karl Foerster grass add so much to the late summer garden. Massed or dotted throughout the garden, it doesn’t matter. It works and I won’t stop using it any time soon.

 

Just a different Instagram filter for a different vibe.

 

Fine, you win

I cut it down to the ground in early spring. I cut it back again in June. I chopped off a ton of the branches after they were infested with Japanese beetles.

It doesn’t matter. This Salix ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ (Dappled Willow) just keeps growing and growing. If I’m being honest, I’m bored with it but I can’t imagine trying to remove it.

Oh well.

 

Not looking good

All of my Achillea (Yarrow) ‘Moonwalker’ look like this or worse. The funny thing is they thrived earlier in the summer like never before.

 

I told myself I wouldn’t dabble in red-blooming Lobelias any longer. They have never escaped the jaws of the deer or the rabbits. Just when all 5 were starting to look great while blooming together, this happened. I even sprayed the bastards with Deer Off the night before.

I’m done.

 

You know I love me some Sneezeweed ‘Mariachi Series’. But for the first time since I’ve planted them, they are toppling over. It may have been due to a recent deluge of rain so I’ll do my best to remain patient.

 

Still chasing

Yes, still awkwardly running after each and every Monarch butterfly.

 

Autumn has arrived

This is the Viburnum that I ceremoniously moved to a new location in the garden a few weeks back. I’m sure the red leaves are due to the stress I put on it and not the fact that fall has come a few weeks to early. Either way, that color is solid and I have big hopes for the future as it matures.

But even better is the sign of all of those berries. This is a Viburnum dentatum ‘All That Glitters’ which requires ‘All That Glows’ as a pollinator. I have both planted close to each other and I’m assuming this is the result of that pollination. They should turn purple in color in the coming weeks.

 

All of my Itea (Virginia Sweetspire) turn red prematurely in August. This is the dwarf cultivar ‘Little Henry’ which I’m allowing to sucker like mad in a very wet part of the garden.

 

While it may be slight, you can start to see the color transformation in the foliage of the Amsonia.

Amsonia tabernaemontana

Amsonia hubrichtii

 

The Red Twig Dogwood just displayed its red stems for the first time this week. And for those curious, the leaf damage was from Japanese beetles a few weeks back.

 

Ready to shine

The Eupatorium ‘Wayside’ (Hardy Ageratum) are starting to bloom.

But have they ever taken over.

So many of you warned me of this and it is coming to fruition. It may be OK this year, but I see a problem with the years to come. I’ll need to jump on this soon to prevent a total takeover.

 

Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ is rounding into form and they are all inundated with bees.

 

Helenium (Sneezweed) has popped up all over my garden where I least expected it and I’m good with that. That is until it falls over when the many flowers emerge at once.

 

They may not “shine” but Chelone lyonii (Turtlehead) ‘Hot Lips’ adds a nice dash of color in late summer.

 

My continuing use of annuals

I’ve added Heliotrope …

… and Persian Shield

… and I must admit I might be coming around even more on using annuals. As many of you know, I’ve rarely used annuals in the garden outside of containers but finally embraced them this year. I’m getting the “fill-in” functionality and long bursts of color. While I prefer to grow over time with my plants, I may be finally crossing the dark side.

 

I love you, but don’t know where to go with you

I am like totally in love with Aralia ‘Sun King’.

Look at that foliage.

Problem is I have no room for it in my garden. All of my shaded areas are accounted for and even if I made room, I worry about the deer destroying it.

So for now, I’m digging it in a container, shaded on my front porch, and will do my best to overwinter it in the container.

 

 

Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass)

Posted on by Posted in Ornamental grass .

My kids are pulling together all of their school supplies.

They’re also panicking with the current status of their summer reading assignments.

There are exhibition NFL games playing on TV.

Grocery stores are peddling all of their overrated pumpkin products.

Horrific TV shows are being pimped by the big networks.

Fall is coming and there’s nothing we can do about it.

I’m the biggest fan of summer there is and I’m in no rush to wish it away, but the reality is once September 1st arrives and the kids are hopping on and off of the bus each day, autumn has arrived. Summer gets ripped off by almost a month and I hate it.

End of rant.

From a “glass hall full perspective”, my garden may look its best in the fall. And that is all because of my large collection of ornamental grasses. Most OG’s reach their peak in September and October as their mix of stunning foliage color and uniquely colored blooms announce their presence with a fluorish.

If you ask me which grass in my garden stands out more than any other, I’d choose Miscanthus Purpurascens or Flame Grass.

Miscanthus purpurascens

The photo above doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story. From August through November it puts on one mother of a show.

Here it is current day, with its bright green foliage just starting to show hints of yellow and orange (ignore the blooms in the pic, those are from Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ in the background).

Miscanthus purpurascens

 

I have a bunch of these grasses all over my garden. Most in full sun, but a few in partial shade and they’ve all been thriving for years now. In the photo below (middle of the bed and to the right), you can see how that bright green plays well in a mixed bed with other grasses, shrubs and perennials.

 

The blooms start to emerge anywhere from mid-August to early September here in zone 6B New Jersey. They start off red-tinged and quickly transform to a bright white.

Miscanthus purpurascens

At that same time, you can see how the foliage color really transforms into a delicious mix of green/orange/yellow.

I like to play off of the Miscanthus Purpurascens blooms with the blooms of other grasses like Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ below.

 

Or with Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’.

 

When this grass is backlit by the sun, it’s magical.

Miscanthus purpurascens

 

I’ve also come to appreciate how the flowers provide a very cool backdrop to the spent blooms of the Bee Balm or Coneflowers.

 

Did I mention the Miscanthus Purpurascens foliage is kind of killer?

Miscanthus purpurascens

 

Even as the late summer/fall progresses, the foliage remains stellar, eventually changing to all orange/tan.

Miscanthus purpurascens

 

One foggy and mystical-like morning last October, I took the following three photos. This alone made it worth adding Miscanthus Purpurascens to my garden.

 

 

I know. I won’t even try to be humble here. Those pics are amazing and I’m amazing for taking them.

Even as we move into the dark days of November, Flame Grass still makes a big impact in the garden with the blooms persevering and providing a fantastic contrast to all of the “brown” that has taken over.

Miscanthus purpurascens

The specifics:

SIZE: 4-5′ x 3-4′

ZONE: 4-9

EXPOSURE: Full sun to partial shade

BLOOM: August to November

SOIL: Consistent moisture required

GRASS TYPE: Warm season

NATIVE: Japan

MAINTENANCE: Cut to ground in late winter or early spring as with most ornamental grasses.

DRAWBACKS:

  1. Miscanthus sinensis, in general, is identified as invasive in many states. I’ve had no issues with rampant self-seeding to date.
  2. This Miscanthus is clump forming so there may be a need to keep it in bounds through division every few years.

 

 

 

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – August 2017

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, My garden .

It’s good to be back after a week’s vacation down south with the family. If you care to read about our 13-hour car ride to South Carolina, you can check it out here:

A 13-hour car ride with the family  

Or if you share my obsession with people watching in the ocean, check this out:

The ocean is the great equalizer

I was also super excited to read this review of my book:

John Markowski’s book finds a place in my garden

No more self-promotion, I swear.

In terms of the garden, things are looking eh; a little worn out and beaten up from all of the rain this past week.

I’ve missed Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for a months running but fortunately remembered it for today. Before diving into my garden pics, here are a few other GBBD posts from some of my friends around the country.

May Dreams Gardens

Hayefield

The Outlaw Gardener

The Rainy Day Gardener

On to my humble lot:

A little Lobelia love

Lobelia cardinalis ‘Black Truffle’

 

Lobelia gerardii ‘Vedrariensis’

 

Lobelia siphilitica

Grasses flower too

Micanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass) in front. Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ in back.

 

Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’

 

Panicum ‘Northwind’

 

Blooms of Molinia ‘Cordoba’

Still going strong

Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’

 

Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Phantom’

 

Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan)

 

Allium ‘Mt. Sinai’

Newly emerging

Helenium (Sneezeweed) ‘Mariachi Series’

 

Boltonia (False Aster) ‘Pink Beauty’

 

Rose of Sharon through the lens of an ornamental grass

 

Sedum (Stonecrop) ‘Autumn Fire’

Fading

Monarda (Bee Balm)

 

Echinacea (Coneflower) ‘Fragrant Angel’

 

Astilbe and Echinacea (Coneflower) ‘Sunset’

 

Veronica (Speedwell) ‘Royal Candles’

 

Perovskia (Russian Sage)

Hydrangeas

 

 

Tour of the Garden – 8/3/17

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‘Karl Foerster’ ornamental grass makes everything else look better

With Ninebark ‘Diablo’:

 

With Rudbeckia:

 

With Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’:

 

As a backdrop to Lobelia siphilitica:

 

Layers are good

Pink Clethra (Summersweet) shrub, Joe Pye Weed ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’:

 

Joe Pye Weed ‘Baby Joe’ and a lot of other stuff:

 

Grass on grass

Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ amd Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’:

 

Instagram filters are cool

I really dig the muted vibe. A 70’s feel, no?

 

Keep the weeds?

I believe this is Bull Thistle and I didn’t intentionally let it grow. I missed it along the way.

But now I wonder if I should keep it for the bees or will it bite me in the butt and reseed and spread like mad.

Help.

 

Letting them be

I like to get right in the face of the butterfly when taking photos. I can tell they get annoyed so I decided to hide around the corner and take their pics this go-around.

 

First signs

The ‘Mariachi Series’ Sneezweed have put out their first blooms: 

 

That Lobelia ‘Black Truffle’ sure is purty:

 

Unplanned strategy

Could the scent of the Bee Balm be keeping the deer away from this Hydrangea?

 

Patience

The “Carex within the Ajuga” plan is finally coming to fruition:

 

An excerpt from my gardening routine

Posted on by Posted in Comedy, My garden .

It’s very rare that I’m blessed with large chunks of time to tend to my garden. The more likely scenario is that I’ve got a half-hour before heading to work in the morning. Or 15 minutes between conference calls. Or 7 minutes before the family emerges outside and insists that we depart for vacation.

Those tiny pockets of time are crucial in terms of prioritizing what needs to get done. I’m not above setting a schedule for the week where I identify my potential “gardening available time” or GAT as it’s known in my household. Each GAT is assigned one or two must-do tasks (logged in Excel of course), knowing that I must also eradicate a few weeds along the way.

No f’n around with this gardening stuff.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled the results of one of my recent GAT sessions. This one ended up with a duration of 17 minutes and I like to think it’s a realistic representation of how these sessions typically proceed.

Enjoy.

As with everything in my life, it all starts with coffee. It doesn’t have to be morning coffee only. I enjoy and take advantage of its caffeine prowess throughout the day.

As I finish my last cup, I start to get myself pumped up. A few grunts here and a few air punches there and I’m primed to go. By the time I’m done, I have my game-face on.

Once I’m good and fired up, I head out to the garage and step into my favorite boots. Take notice of the length of the laces. I’ve never tied them over the years out of pure laziness and as a result, they’ve slowly torn off over time. I may have mistaken the pieces of lace as a small snake more than once over the years.

Once the footwear is secured, I head over to my collection of garden “stuff” and grab what I deem necessary for the current GAT.

For today, I determined that I’d first put on my trusty gloves and just do a quick walk around the garden before determining what was to be accomplished first. These Atlas Nitrile gloves are the absolute best by the way.

Yes, there are holes emerging at the fingertips, but I’ve used these extensively for three years running. And yes, that is a Fitbit on my wrist. I’ll often purposely forget a tool just so I can walk back to the garage and retrieve it, therefore upping my step totals.

So shoes and gloves are on and now it’s time to determine where we attack first. And I say “attack” because that has to be the mentality when there is limited time. I take a right turn out of the garage and down this path, into the backyard.

Once I’ve traversed the path, I glance to the right to evaluate this section of garden. It’s a somewhat young and developing section and I initially wanted to tweak it a little bit. Fill in some gaps, prune a bit or even relocate a shrub here from elsewhere in the garden. After 13 seconds of reflection, I decide to hold off for now as it quickly slides down the priority list.

We move on.

But first I get a close look at this apple tree and get sad and really angry. Year two and it looks like a pile of hot garbage. But I can’t revel in the anger right now. It needs to be pushed to the subconscious.

Shit, how did I end up here? Now I’m looking at the Northern Sea Oats that have emerged from underneath the Amsonia. I frickin hate NSO.

Again, I can’t let that slow me down today. Just grin and bear it, John.

Finally, I make my way to task number 1. I need to cut back the very spent flowers of the Catmint ‘Walker’s Low’. They line my front walkway and look tired and unappealing in their current state. I can’t have visitors judging me as they walk to my front door.

Time to cut them back severely.

Time to take the walk back to the garage where I not only grab the required tool, but also increase my steps number. 

Yes, this is a battery-powered hedge trimmer because you know I’m evolved like that.

Wait, what is that? Let me put down the trimmer and grab my phone out of my pocket.

Sweet. Where was I?

Oh yeah, the Catmint.

17 seconds later and the job is done.

Clean-up can be completed during the afternoon GAT.

While I’m thrilled that the task can be checked off of the to-do list, it does result in the exposure of the poison ivy that has been plaguing me for years now.

I’ll have to schedule time with my wife so she can attend to pulling these.

While I was chopping down the Catmint, my peripheral vision provided me with my next task. Since I already have the trimmer out, why not cut down the Veronica as well? They are clearly in need of a haircut.

Boom. Done.

Oh how pretty. Look how that Veronica bloom fell perfectly on top of the Sedum ‘Red Carpet’. That’s a great photo, let me grab the phone again. Instagram, here we come.

What’s next?

Look at that, that one phlox I saved from near death in early spring and divided into 5 sections is actually blooming. Damn I’m awesome. I’m like the plant whisperer.

Back on task.

These three weeds need to go. They are destroying the view of this killer combo of Clethra and Panicum ‘Northwind’. This has gone on for too long.

With one single-handed grasp and pull …

… they’re all gone, roots and all.

While I’m ruthless with the weeds, I’m still careful to not remove my nearby struggling New York Ironweed during the carnage.

How much better does this little vignette look now?

One last task before we head back indoors. Time to hand prune these other Veronica plants out back … wait … is that what I think it is? … yes it is … screw these pruners …

MUST … TRACK … DOWN

Tour of the garden – 7/20/17

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

And on the very hot day, he sort of rested

This is where I’ve spent a lot of my time the past week.

Temps have been in the 90’s here in Jersey and it’s been wicked humid. That doesn’t mean I haven’t busted my hump out in the garden though. I’ve been weeding like a mo fo and just before I’m ready to pass out, I head to this rocker in the shade, drink gallons of water and rest up until I’m ready to get back out there again.

Call me crazy, but I love this weather. It’s uncomfortable and the bugs are all up in my business, but this is what separates the hardcore gardeners from the casual gardeners. I love the sweat and the head rushes and the feeling of toughing out; not to mention the post-weeding cold shower avec a tasty cold beverage.

 

Plant recommendation for the week

Molinia ‘Cordoba’ or Moor Grass

It didn’t take long for this ornamental grass to get established as its only been in my garden for 3 years now and it started off as a tiny little plug.

While the grass leaves are only about 2 feet in height, it’s pushing 6′ – 7′ in height while in bloom.

I’m still tinkering with how to best use it in terms of design. I did follow a suggestion of planting it in front of a dark background as seen in the photo above where it is situated in front of a Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ shrub.

From another angle though, you can see how it can easily be lost in the garden shuffle.More to come as I joyously tinker and as the fall color emerges in a few weeks.

 

Filling in nicely

New garden bed and path back in 2010.

And current day where I am now running out of room for a path.

A good problem to have.

 

Never give up

I tried desperately to grow a Red Twig Dogwood in at least 5 different locations in my garden dating back a decade or more. The deer always got it or it simply never thrived.

I tried one in a container and it did OK but I feared it dying over the winter in that container so I knew I had to transplant it elsewhere.

On a whim, I planted it along the foundation of the house and the rest is history. She’s about 5′ to 6′ tall right now and that is after I cut it to the ground in March.

The deer don’t frequent this area that often but they will chew on some of the plants here sporadically.

True story: There is a large gap between the two sidewalk stones right in front of the dogwood and I’ve convinced myself that it messes with the footing of the deer so I haven’t adjusted it for years running now. Crazy? Maybe.

 

Lady in Red, isn’t dancing with me

If you look carefully at the pic below, you can see one flower on this ‘Lady in Red’ hydrangea.

The sad thing is that the one bloom is still more than the last two years combined. In fact, this hydrangea has never bloomed well.

But it takes up space, comes back every year and has decent fall color.

Not significantly bad enough to justify eradication.

Yet.

 

Seed heads are good

You’ve heard me say it a million times (including in my new book). Keep those spent flowers on Baptisia because they add such an interesting element from summer through winter. Here’s how they look right now in the middle of July.

 

 

It’s better to be lucky than good

When these Veronica bloom, they are lit up by the emerging bright green grass (Pennisetum) in the background. I would love to say that I planned it this way but it was truly dumb luck.

 

What do you think?

The combination of Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ and Obedient Plant is an example of another not-planned-combo that has recently emerged in the garden.

I have no clue if I like the mix or not. So I need your input in order to decide how to proceed. Thank you.

 

If you plant it, they will come

That would be Swamp Milkweed.

 

 

Big hopes for the future

I posted this photo of a Purple Prairie Clover on Instagram recently. Very cool IMHO.

In truth, it’s the only one I have on the plant so it only looks great shot in macro. But if this native perennial blooms heavily next year, I am going to be madly in love. Those flowers are killer.

 

Shameless cross-promotion, not the least bit garden related

I recently wrote two new articles for Medium and I would love for you to head over there and check them out:

The Hardest I’ve Ever Laughed

Raising a Child That Is Nothing Like You

Thank you in advance.

 

 

A response to me from 42 hours and 23 minutes in the past

Posted on by Posted in Comedy .

Dear John From What was Originally 3 Hours Ago – 

This is a response to your open letter from two days ago.

First off, the name makes no sense any longer. I can’t keep track of who is who, are you now “John from 42 hours ago”or are we back to being one again? I friggin hate time travel so let’s agree to stop f’n with the universe, OK?

Back to the task at hand.

By now you know that I/we moved that Viburnum.

I’m sorry to disappoint you but it was going to happen even with your efforts to go all Doc Brown on me. You knew this was going to be the outcome all along but I respect your perseverance. What I don’t respect is the cheap shot you took when bringing up “The Azalea Incident”. That was low and I’m still shocked that you went right for the jugular like that.

Need I remind you the success we had moving this Redtwig Dogwood back in the summer of 2012?

            

or this Ninebark back in 2015?


They look rather awesome now, do they not? 

I could go on and on but I won’t.

What happened to your sense of adventure and recklessness? This is us. Don’t listen to all those logical gardener wanna-be’s on Facebook. If we didn’t constantly tinker we’d get nowhere.

By the way, did you happen to notice that it’s been raining since yesterday afternoon? And that it’s been in the low 70’s and overcast all day today? Did you not think I looked ahead at the weather?

Let’s let all of the readers see how she looks right now?

Great right? You know we’ll baby her as much as necessary to get her through the summer. That’s what we do buddy.

So next time you think you want to call me out in front of an audience like this, try sending an email first. I’m not sure how that will work with time travel and all but you get the point.

I hope we can now move on and work together as one again. Let’s use that collective energy to eradicate all of the thistle that is threatening to destroy our 13 years of work.

 

 

All the best

John From Some Other Time or Whatever