This is really a two-part log; the first set of photos here were taken about a month ago, when my May Night salvia had finished its first flush. The bright blue blossoms had mostly faded, so I cut them off just above where new blooms were emerging, to encourage the plant to create more flower […]
I just wanted to share this lovely little coaster that Ana Constantinescu made for me. I gave her a flower from the hellebore that was the first plant I added to our garden here — I planted it right after we bought the house, even though I knew we’d be heading into many months of
Garden Log 6/17/22 Read More »
The tornado that came vaguely close to us didn’t do too much damage at our place the other night, but it did blow down a trellis that wasn’t secured to the wall (I’m not sure how to secure a trellis to a stucco garage wall, but I suppose I should figure that out), and in
Garden Log 6/15/22 Read More »
This weekend has been a lot of weeding, planting natives from the recent native plant sale, and then carefully mulching around the new plants, so I don’t accidentally pull them thinking they’re unwanted weeds. When I’m really not sure I’m going to be able to tell the little plants apart, I leave the plant tags
Garden Log 6/12/22 Read More »
Went to the West Cook Wild Ones sale to pick up my pre-ordered native plants. It’s turned into a big production, but they tell me they always need more volunteers, so locals, if you’re interested in learning more about native gardening, this is a great group to join. (https://westcook.wildones.org) One of my tasks in the
Garden Log 6/11/22 Read More »
Stopped by City Escape, and my main note is that I strongly recommend going in with a PLAN and a tight hold on your credit card, because you could easily spend a ridiculous amount of money very quickly on their extensive collection of gorgeous garden decor. But if you’re looking for a slightly more unusual
Garden Log 6/10/22 Read More »
It’s sort of funny that I only have to do ONE thing to these Blaze climbing roses, which is prune them in early spring (when the forsythia bloom), and I just was so busy with work at that point, that I just couldn’t cope with even that one thing, but thankfully, Beth Uhen’s husband, Everol
Did a little transitioning of planters from spring to summer yesterday — I pulled some fading stock and replaced it with lush trailing petunias, and I added a tropical to the main planter, bougainvillea. People in our zone often don’t realize they can include tropicals in planters, but they work really well — you just
Pruning for a better view — although this was actually about two weeks ago, I’m a little behind on posting these. This was a pretty simple garden task, but very satisfying — my burning bush that I haven’t had the wherewithal to remove quite yet (my husband is resisting, it’s an ongoing conversation), had grown
It’s long past the optimal time for pruning roses (“when the forsythia bloom”), but when roses have grown such that they’re reaching over the top of the redbud tree to get some sun, and they’re also threatening to thwap you in the face when you walk by, optimal must give way to necessity. And roses
Garden Log 5/31/22 Read More »
