There was a lot of “action” out in the garden today (and who said gardening was boring and slow?) and I felt like a member of the paparazzi trying to snap off pics before my subjects realized what was going on. I hid behind cars, layed under shrubs, hung out of windows and even paid off neighbors so I could set up camp on their property.

All in the name of getting the “money” shot.

So here are what I consider to be my best photos of said “subjects” (I’ve taken my best guess on what each subject is, feel free to correct me where needed, no offense will be taken).

It was difficult and draining work but all of your subsequent bidding on the pics will make it all worth it.

And yes, I accept Paypal.

Coneflower ‘Fragrant Angel’ was a favorite stop for the Spicebush Swallowtail: 

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail enjoying the purple coneflowers:

And also digging the Clethra (Summersweet) ‘Hummingbird’:

 A Black Swallowtail:

A bee in a Rose of Sharon flower that was covered in pollen all over its body like it just went on a nasty coke binge:

A Yellow jacket wasp (as I’ve learned they are not truly “bees”) that appeared to be trying its damndest to open this bud:

The bees are also insane for the Clethra (Summersweet) blooms right now:

I followed that same bee to this Veronica (Speedwell) bloom:

 And finally, another shot of an extremely busy Hummingmoth, which loves him some Bee Balm:

 Ready to pay top dollar, right?

John

There has been poison ivy growing within the bowels of my Russian Sage for three years now and I’ve yet to do a thing about it. Scratch that, I think there is poison ivy growing there but I haven’t confirmed it. But I can’t take my chances reaching in there and making contact with the evil being to then require steroids to survive the oozing rash the next day.

So other than bringing in a backhoe to rip it all out, I am paralyzed by indecision. I’m hoping one day I’ll just get frustrated enough and throw caution to the wind and jump into this mess with a hazmat suit on and pull it all out, itchiness be damned.

Next we approach the back deck and all it takes is one perennial on its death bed to set me off again:       

This horrifying looking Bee Balm greets you as you walk up the steps of the deck. Welcome to my home and my collection of dead looking things. What is so frustrating is that the other two Bee Balms nearby look great so this one is a mystery. I did scratch the soil near the base of the plant and could see new growth so it isn’t beyond hope and it will most likely be OK, but in the short term, homie is pissed off.

Speaking of “pissed off”, I had such high hopes for my Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’ when it was planted a few years ago. White flowers in early spring, berries for the birds in summer, orange/gold foliage in fall (hence the name) and even an interesting multi-trunk for winter interest. What I missed in the sales pitch was the bare legs it would have almost all year round:     

Yes the flowers are great:

And the autumn color is solid:

But those bare legs leave a lot to be desired. I have done some reading and further research to determine if this is the nature of this tree/shrub and it appears it is to some degree, but typically not this bad. I am willing to wait it out a bit, but it sticks out like a sore thumb as I enter my driveway each and every day.

Son of a …

And finally, let’s talk dull and green:    

This bed is right at the entrance to my front walkway and nothing says “this dude is boring” like this painfully uninteresting spot.

In spring, there was a lot more color and interest: 

But as of now, it fails miserably. How I let this happen is a mystery but I am so determined to change it and to change it soon. Maybe I just need to focus on colorful annuals each year or maybe we’re talking overhaul here. Only time will tell.

And there you have it.

Quite the spoonful of negativity, eh? It makes me feel better to have it out in the open and hopefully forces me to take action in the interest of this blog.

My apologies in advance if I brought you down with me.

John     

Two big “projects” have been completed and I am enjoying kicking back and enjoying the fruits of my (and maybe some others) labor.

This area under the only mature tree on my property has been a mess since we moved in to the house back in 2004:

So there was no better time than now to take action. Lots of weed pulling, weed digging, cardboard laying, limb trimming and mulching later, and we have this:

The kids playground area has admittedly been ignored for two years now (Yes, I am a selfish SOB) and I am embarrassed to actually show you how bad it got:

Well, Dad has made it OK to slide down the slide again and dammit, the kids better take advantage before it falls into disarray again:

So now I’ll kick back on the deck and simply stare at these two wonders … and pray I can maintain them this way.

John

A quick tour around the garden and some subsequent thoughts:

Back to the container attempts again.

This time I’m trying a variegated Weigela with some purple petunias at the base. Kind of digging how it will potentially look once the Weigela starts to gain some size:

Picked up these dahlias real cheap, loving the dark foliage color and the bright blooms. Not normally my color scheme or style but I’m all about branching out and trying new things in my old age:

Yes, I’m cheating by using a knockout rose, but my daughter sees pink roses and thinks I’m a star. She’ll never know the difference:

The foliage looks fantastic on this Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ but dammit the blooms are severely lacking:

I swore I would never buy another Arborvitae but got suckered in by the variegated-like foliage on ‘Sherwood Frost’. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one to see how it performs:

Along those same lines, loving my ‘Moon Frost’ Hemlock and its white new growth. Lights up this spot when shaded in the afternoon:

Remember my ‘Endless Summer’ issue mentioned before, no issues on this one:

They are fleeting, but the red berries on this Viburnum ‘Shoshoni’ are a nice bonus I’ve been afforded the past three years now:

‘Fragrant Angel’ Coneflowers about to bloom:

And hot damn, do I love Amsonia. That texture is off the charts and I have been steadily adding more and more throughout the yard:

Enjoy the weekend!

John

And here we are as of today:

Other worldly right? I kid you not, I stared at my work for hours on end, and photographed it like a newborn child. Curved beds are a thing of beauty and may they never go out of style or lose appeal. They warm my heart.

There is nothing better than a newly dug or expanded garden bed (assuming it is curved). New opportunities to plant and create and dream big. Even if we are only talking about a 4 to 5 foot extension. The possibilities are endless and the mind is ready to be stimulated.

What to add in front of my purple coneflowers and russian sage:

What groundcovers to contrast with my blooming Yarrow:

Maybe some new Carex to mix in with the other ornamental grass I already have in this bed:

The kind of stuff that keeps me visiting garden centers during my lunch breaks at work.

The kind of stuff that has me drawing diagrams while I’m watching TV at night.

The kind of stuff that makes me believe that I am an artist.

And to top it all off, the path from my driveway through this new bed and into my backyard is lined with stepping stones that I saved from my great aunt’s property before it was destroyed by the new owners:



Not too bad, eh? The foliage color is terrific, similar to what I saw when I severely pruned back a W&R Weigela a few years back. However, the bloom count looks pretty low as you can see in the pic but that’s OK, I still view this a foliage first shrub.

I underplanted the Weigela with a few yellow/chartreuse Sweet Potato Vine plants so I hope once those take off, this little combo will look alright.

The only other unknown is whether or not the W&R will take on a pleasing shape in a container. It looks a little awkward right now but only time will tell.

The next item wasn’t a task, but an opportunity to enjoy the Salix (Dappled Willow) ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ I recently relocated after tossing a slowly dying Arborvitae. I friggin love this shrub and enjoy the foliage color when looking out the back door onto my deck:

Good times … assuming I can keep its size under control … but that is a story for another day.

The last task was to start planting some of the tomato/pepper/basil plants I bought last week. I am super fortunate to live right around the corner from Cross Country Nurseries which is a renowned seller of all things peppers/tomatoes/etc. I spent a good hour there last week roaming their greenhouses educating myself on their crazy amount of plant varieties. I vow to successfully grow tomatoes this year and now was the time to start that process and start it right.

As you know, I have a deer problem so keeping them away from any plant is a challenge. Growing tomatoes on the deck allows me to eliminate that issue. Now I just have to keep up with the watering and fertilization. Easier said than done.

I planted two cherry tomato plants – Sweet 100 and Isis Candy – and a pepper plant – Aji Habanero – in containers and now the fun begins:

I got so amped up, that I planted the rest of the tomatoes, peppers and basil in my raised garden bed, wet earth be damned:

So the herbs have been joined by tomatoes, peppers and basil. Sounds damn tasty to me! Now I just need to get on protecting them all from the deer and the jumpy f’n pesky and hungry rabbits.

Work is never done … but we love it, right?

Right?

Right?

John

I may just plant nothing but blue/purple flowers from here on out. Just THE best color, especially backlit by the sun in early evening:

I love Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ and its foliage color this time of year. I can actually do without the blooms and may remove them to maintain that foliage hue. Who’s with me? Also, I stared at this configuration of 5 for a long time wondering if I should move them around into a different type of grouping. I suck.:

Is there anything more reliable than Nepeta (Catmint)? ‘Walker’s Low’ is about to bloom and will soon lead to big time bee singing. Good times (except for my wimpy children who complain every day on our walk to the bus. Get over it already you brats):

Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ … love it … but you know what I just learned? The common name “St. John’s Wort” comes from the fact that it was typically harvested on St John’s Day (June 24) which is a celebration of John the Baptist’s birth. Don’t say I never taught yous nothin: 

“I love me some Carex and they are solid performers but this is a spot begging for some color since they are surrounded by boxwoods so …”

“Let’s put in some ‘May Night’ Salvia. I’ll have to stay on top of the deadheading to keep the steady flow of blooms but I’m up for the challenge. Or am I? Will these look messy on their own without the foliage hidden as it breaks down in the summer?”

“Wait a minute. Just look around the corner at that ‘Aurora’ Viburnum. She gets munched by the deer each Fall/Winter so there are so few blooms in Spring. But, if I place her against the foundation, she is safe from the deer. Plus, the blue/green foliage and larger leaves is a nice contrast with the boxwoods. And the sweet smelling blooms are more likely to make their way into the house.”

“Speaking of deer, this Euonymus at the corner of that same front porch also takes a beating from the deer and high winds so why not relocate this too while we’re at it.”

“While we’re at it, this back deck area is in need of a serious overhaul. Hmmmm, I have an idea. One of the two Caryopteris ‘Sunshine Blue’ I have at the end of my driveway died so it looks silly now with only one at the entranceway to the backyard.” 

“OK, I like where we are going with this back deck bed. But I need to tie both sides of the deck bed together without making them look exactly alike. I do like the Lady’s Mantle edging the one side, so …” 

“Let’s do the same on the other side.”

“That wonderful Dappled Willow …”

Is there a more encouraging sign in spring than the emergence of the peony stems?

These tough as nails performers come back year after year without fail; and that’s saying something when you have conditions like mine.

Soon, we’ll see these:

Turn into these: