OK, good, we got the positive out of the way. Let’s dig into some negative:

I really love Helenium (Sneezeweed) but it pisses me off to no end. I made sure to cut it back pretty severely in June to ensure that it didn’t get too large and topple over. Well, guess what, the f’er toppled anyway:

Even more frustrating, the one plant I left untouched stayed upright. But that one lost all of it’s leaves on the bottom half of the plant:

The bare legs are hidden from most views but I don’t care, I know what happened and that is all that matters:

Speaking of toppling over, all of my Boltonia are doing it for the second year in a row and yes, I cut them back for size control. Maybe it was the result of all the rain we’ve had … yeah that’s it:

And now they look like a bucket of crap. They get one more year and then I’m done:

I had such high hopes for Panicum ‘Ruby Ribbons’ but it is still super lame in year three. Son of a …

Bittersweet – pleasure alloyed with pain

• The temperature outside could not be more comfortable.

• The humidity is gone.

• The mosquitoes have packed their bags and left.

• The foliage and leaf colors are fantastic:

• NFL football is in full swing:

Caryopteris ‘Sunshine Blue’

Obedient Plant ‘Summer Snow’

I have a few things on my mind today and felt the need to write about them. We’ll return to our normally scheduled gardening program tomorrow. Thank you in advance for allowing me to do so:

• I haven’t done a thing out in the garden since August 27th (you better believe I remember the exact date). Hurricane Irene struck that day and we’ve been drowning in rain ever since. I absolutely love digging in the dirt this time of year with the cooler temps and it’s the perfect time for dividing perennials. The soil, however, is just too wet to do much of anything. Normally, this lack of action would push me over the edge, but it’s hard to complain when you see the devastation Irene left behind for so many people. I’ll just enjoy gazing at my plants from afar and consider myself blessed.
• Yesterday was the start of the NFL season which is sort of like Christmas for me. While I was psyched to have it back, it just didn’t feel like a day of celebration with it falling on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The pre-game ceremonies across the country were emotional, but none can rival the lone trumpeter playing Taps from the crash site in Shanksville, PA. Good luck trying to find the video on-line anywhere. I’m sure the NFL gobbled it up and that’s a shame.

• Speaking of 9/11, I watched just about every TV special out there from beginning to end. I still feel like I need to as a reminder of just how devastating it was. I do the exact same thing every year at this time and will do so until the day I die. What stands out more than anything else is just how close we all became as a nation as the tragedy unfolded. It pales in comparison as to how divided we are today. It shouldn’t take an event like 9/11 to bring us all back together. Not like you want to hear political opinion from a dopey gardener like me, but I’d be in favor of throwing out the Republicans and the Democrats and starting anew. Sorry, I’m done.     
• Bad job by Major League Baseball and Joe Torre for not allowing the Mets to wear their NYPD or FDNY hats for last night’s game. No argument will ever convince me why it should not have been allowed. It was one of the lasting memories from back in 2001 and a fantastic tribute to those “first responders.”   

• I’ll end with a positive. If you told me I could eat only one dish for the rest of my life, I would choose my wife’s chili. It is painfully delicious and I enjoy eating myself sick for two days on it. We had it for dinner yesterday (a tradition each opening Sunday of the NFL season) along with homemade pumpkin cornbread and I’m still salivating over it all. One day I will get the recipe from her and share it with you all and dare you to make it better.     

John

• Plants that do not do well in your soil type (like my clay) can now be used wherever you like
• Plants that may not typically be tall enough for a certain area can now gain a few inches in a container
• You can strategically hide these plants from critters by easily placing them in protected areas

I feel like I’ve opened up endless possibilities with this concept. What? You’ve been doing this for years already? Really, I’m that late to the party? Whatever, I’m still taking credit and will soon label this method with a catchy name and trademark it. Try and stop me.

I can spruce up a boxwood by placing it behind it:

Let’s play on the pink theme and throw it in with a Pennisetum (Fountain Grass):

How ’bout tucked in front of a yellow Arborvitae:

In a container vignette with Cordyline:

Hell, I could put it on an ottoman and let it lean if I want:

Viburnum leaf

More Viburnum leaves

Amelanchier (Serviceberry) ‘Autumn Brilliance’

Itea (Virginia Sweetspire) ‘Henry’s Garnet’

Malus (Crabapple) ‘Prairie Fire’

Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass)

Amsonia tabernaemontana (Eastern bluestar)

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

John

I don’t want to garden any more. I’m done.

What is supposed to be a nice relaxing “hobby” or diversion from real life is making me insane. I never stop analyzing how things look and what I love one day, I’m ready to uproot and move the next. Maybe it’s time to take up knitting or scrap booking or even stamp collecting as my new pastime.

And who gets this crazy over gardening? It’s not like I’m entering my gardens in contests or growing food that can actually be eaten by my family. It’s mostly ornamentals that are just supposed to look nice together. An extension of the home if you will. Instead, I treat it like it’s more important than the troubled economy. I should just be happy that anything grows successfully at all considering my poor growing conditions. If a few plants look nice together, be happy and move on. Not this schmuck.

Little background – I worked like mad to get my garden beds to look “complete” the past few weeks. This included weeding, mulching and filling in any open spots that were available. I planned it out well and chose plants that would work where they were to be placed. I got it all done and was happy … for like 3 minutes. As I walked around the yard like an inspector the past week or so, clipboard in hand, I began to question everything I had put together. What I thought looked good together only a week ago, now seemed “eh”. Here’s a sampling of my deranged thought process:

I love Purple Coneflowers and Russian Sage. Great combo with the contrasting bloom colors and flower shapes:

But when I take a step back and look at the bed as a whole, it seems distracting. Too many contrasting colors and textures. I really need to cut down on the number of different plants I use and focus more on increasing the number of plants used together:

But not when placed so close to daylillies with similar foliage:

I like the pairing of Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ and Physocarpus (Ninebark) ‘Diablo’ … but wouldn’t it look even better with blue blooms? Time to up the acidity:

OK fine, I like Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ and don’t plan on changing it any time soon. But this is the exception rather than the norm:

I continue to struggle with what to match up with this. What colors and textures work well with dead plants? Would love your thoughts. Ideally, it would frame the deadness of this plant and really let it shine:

Bitch session complete and I feel better.

John

When I first started garden blogging, like many, I had no idea what I was doing. I never had the intention to really keep up with it. At best, I thought it would be a chance to show off some photos of my plants with my friends and family.

Then one day I received a complimentary email from a woman who is the nursery manager at my local garden center – Rutgers Nursery. You mean people I don’t know actually read my nonsense? Sweet! That note gave me the confidence to keep on writing and taking photos and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve always wanted to share that story with you all and today made the most sense. Why? Because Leslie recently recommended two new trees she knew would fit my conditions and so I had them planted by the nursery. I am so super psyched with them already and again, thankful for her wonderful feedback.

By the way, before I forget, Leslie blogs for Rutgers Nursery here and also blogs on her own here. I highly recommend that you check them both out.

On to my trees:

Amelanchier grandiflora (Serviceberry) ‘Autumn Brilliance’:

I had an area on the side of my driveway begging for some height that also had to be able to deal with clay soil that can remain wet at times and is also browsed by the deer. The tree also had to fit into this bed that contains mostly native plants. So far, so awesome:

I’ll need to dig up some of the grass to incorporate the tree into the bed but no biggie. I love the fact that this tree (or large shrub if you wish) is multi-trunked as it just feels right based on it’s location:

I look forward to the white blooms in April (click on the photo for the origin of this photo):

But most importantly, I cannot wait for the fall color (hence the cultivar name):

From what I’ve read and researched, the purple/black berries that mature in the summer on this tree will be devoured by the birds. A dream come true!

Crataegus viridis (Hawthorn) ‘Winter King’:

I have had a tough time photographing this tree just right but it has already changed the look and feel of the front of my home. Before this tree was installed, there was this eyesore that I’ve threatened to remove for two years now:

This Hawthorn will also bloom white but a little bit later in spring which works well with the other trees in my yard and their bloom times (click on photo for the original location of the pic):

We just returned from our annual week’s vacation at the family cottage on a lake in Connecticut … but I’m holding off on THAT post for now. I love my kids and all, but I need a break from them. Instead, today’s post is all about what I returned home to out in the garden.

The second I stepped out of the car upon arriving home, I attacked the task of watering full throttle. It was a super dry week and all of the plants were begging for a beverage or two. After their thirst was quenched, I had some time to check out how things had progressed since I had left. Here’s what I discovered:

Phlox paniculata ‘David’ is in full bloom and smells amazing:

I was even smart enough to cover up it’s ugly legs (I had a joke in here originally about the cover up of legs but no matter how hard I tried, it came off creepy):

I recently relocated a few Caryopteris (Bluebeard) ‘Sunshine Blue’ to a more prominent location but did so in the dry summer heat. I was happy to see they haven’t wilted under the conditions:

I am anxious for the late summer blooms that were hidden the past few years:

For whatever reason, no plant reseeds worse that this one as I have seedlings all over the yard. I need to remember to not let the seeds mature this fall:

I love Lobelia siphilitica (Blue cardinal flower) and the blooms are so close:

I smelled the blooms of the Clethra (Summersweet) ‘Hummingbird’ before I actually noticed it in full bloom and I friggin love it:

I planted a few Physostegia (Obedient plant) ‘Summer Snow’ last fall and they are thriving; some times it’s so damn easy:

I know I’m a broken record, but I love me some Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’. It is so imposing, in a good way:

Yeah for me, I actually successfully grew some annuals from seed, and they are still alive:

Oh yeah, the ornamental grasses still are rockin and rollin:

Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’

Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats)

Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’

Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’

But the absolute coolest thing, was finding these three little guys nestled in an arborvitae. I made sure to disrupt as little as possible:

It’s always fun to get away from the garden for a while and then return to see what has transpired. Good times indeed.