The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Monthly Archives: August 2013

Tale of two plants – Butterfly Weed and Swamp Milkweed

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

I have tried countless times to keep Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) alive in my garden and have failed each and every time … until a few weeks ago.

This spring I had purchased a few of these butterfly loving perennials and stuck them in the ground in an inconspicuous place, just to see if I could get them to grow with one last attempt. If they didn’t thrive, so be it. I finally came to grips with the fact that they prefer a dry soil and that is exactly the opposite of what I have to offer in my yard.

As expected, these plants virtually disappeared within weeks of being planted to the point that I even forgot that they even existed. But then one day, a few weeks ago, I noticed a sweet pop of orange out of the corner of my eye. I immediately ran over and when I realized that two of the Butterfly Weed plants had miraculously recovered, I fell to my knees and thanked the Lord for presenting me with such a miracle:

I didn’t even care that the orange color looked completely out of place when compared to other nearby flowers. This was one of those surprises that gardeners get all giddy over.

Because I had failed with this plant so many times in the past, I had no idea that they formed seed pods and was equally excited to discover these just the other day:

Now I am way anxious to watch these open up and disperse to their heart’s content and hopefully, I’ll find some more of these next spring. This is what keeps gardening so damn interesting for me.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) which started off with a bang after planting a bunch this spring:

As anticipated, they were a magnet for all sorts of creatures. I would just stand there for minutes on end and watch the visitors stop by and hang out and drink the magical nectar.

But once the blooms dried up, things got nasty.

The aphids have absolutely taken over and dirtied up the joint.

I considered the options on how to remove them but settled on doing nothing. If that is how nature wanted it, who am I to get in the way? Plus, we are talking a complete aphid inundation so they are beyond hope. My plan now is to leave them be (luckily they are out of plain view) and see if they end up doing any permanent damage. From all accounts, they should be just fine so I am not all that worried.

Another learning experience and another reason why … gardening is so damn interesting to me.

Have a great long weekend.

Introducing a new blog series – “I Have to Friggin Move That”

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

I never shut off “garden analysis mode”. Never.

I am evaluating when I take the dog out for a walk.

I am studying when I take the garbage to the curb.

I am projecting plant growth three years into the future as I throw the football with my son.

I am mentally relocating shrubs while burning the chicken on the grill.

The entire exercise is more of a curse than a blessing. While it keeps my mind active and stokes the creative fire, I can never shut it off. I am thinking about the hideous state of my Sneezeweed plants as I type this sentence (more on that in an upcoming post – Grrrrrrr).

But what I have discovered over the last three years while authoring this blog, is that this type of affliction makes for good post fodder. I feel better as I pour my heart out and hopefully, you can relate in some way, leave me a kind comment to let me know I’m not alone and we can all sleep well at night. Win/Win … actually, Win/Win/Win/Win.

With that in mind, I’d like to introduce a new blog series that ideally, will accomplish what I just outlined in the previous paragraph. I am calling it “I Have to Friggin Move That”. It may be the simple relocation of an ornamental grass to a more strategic locale or the moving of an overgrown conifer or even the violent upheaval of a bunch of perennials that are making it difficult for me to concentrate on anything else.

You get the idea.

So now I will provide you with the first story in a series that will not only force me to take the appropriate corrective actions so I have blog material, but will also stimulate gardening conversation. That is always a good thing.

Please take a close look at the two shrubs in the middle of the photo below:

Actually, here is a closer shot of said shrubs that will drive home my point in a much more obvious way:

The shrub on the left is a Viburnum ‘Aurora’ and the shrub on the right is Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’. I see these two shrubs each and every day as I walk up my front walkway. They have been together for a few months now, ever since I relocated the Viburnum to a deer-free zone back in the Spring. I was only getting two to three blooms on this gem of a deciduous shrub each April as the deer were nipping off the buds in Summer/Fall.

I have been brutally unhappy with this pairing as they are too similar in leaf shape, color and overall size. Because of that, they look really bad situated next to each other. Like really bad. Like a good gardener would never dream of that combo bad. On top of that, I am way down on ‘Endless Summer’ as the blooms are always weak and the shrub itself fails to impress year after year. I have been moving that Hydrangea in my mind for too long and I needed to take action for my own sanity.

And I finally friggin did it:

The Hydrangea was moved to a location where it will have one last chance to show me that it is worth keeping and I moved an Arborvitae ‘Sherwood Frost’ a few feet from its prior location. The Viburnum and the Arborvitae will now have sufficient room to grow and there is a nice contrast in texture between the two new bedfellows:

I have lost the love for Arborvitaes over the past few years but this one caught my eye with its variegated foliage and white “frost” on the new growth. I especially look forward to seeing how it performs in the Winter:

The entire work effort took about ten minutes but it was oh so worth it.

Check another one off. I’ll be able to sleep just a little bit better tonight knowing this is officially off of the mental to-do list.

Stages of bloom

Posted on by Posted in Blooms .
Initial bloom on the Turtleheads:
Chelone glabra (White Turtlehead)

 

Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ (Pink Turtlehead)
Maturing/changing blooms as we head into September:
Hydrangea ‘Little Lime’

Northern Sea Oats

Panicum ‘Northwind’ (Switch Grass)
And the first “bloom” (OK, maybe a stretch) in four years on my Meyer Lemon Tree: 

Good times.

Summer ain’t over yet

Posted on by Posted in Blooms .
Even at the tender age of 41, I still get that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as the new school year approaches. I can remember the emotions like it was yesterday. 
No more lazy days of summer. 

No more homework free nights.

Time to purchase the Trapper Keeper and other school supplies. 

Time to up the quality of your “school clothes” (and don’t forget to scuff your new sneakers so it isn’t so obvious that they are brand new).
Anxiety and excitement all at the same time.  
With two kids in school, I relive those same feelings right along with them and I feel bad and jealous that they have to go through this rite of youth. And to this day, one aspect of this return to school still bothers me … 
WE STILL HAVE ONE MONTH OF SUMMER LEFT!
No matter how warm it still may be, summer officially ends the day the kids get on that yellow bus. And that sucks. As much as I love the Fall and all it has to offer, don’t short change my Summer. All of the catalogs are displaying Fall/Winter clothing and I understand why, but c’mawn already. I would even be OK if they pushed football games back by a few weeks so baseball (the summer classic) could finish up their season and not be pushed aside for all things Autumn. 
With all of these heartfelt emotions bubbling to the surface today, I made the mistake of walking outside and visiting my plant friends. And wouldn’t you know it, those SOB’s are acting as if Summer is in the friggin rear view mirror. Not you guys too!
Look at this nonsense:           
Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet

Viburnum ‘Shoshoni’

Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’

Viburnum ‘Aurora’

For real, you couldn’t have waited a few more weeks? There is plenty of time in late September and all of October to get all Fall foliage-y and stuff. Enough already.

Luckily, we still have some who are acting much more weather and seasonally appropriate:

Variegated Weigela and Petunia

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

And it wasn’t only foliage changes occurring way ahead of my preferred schedule. Viburnum berries could hold off for at least a few weeks and be just fine:

Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’

Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’

And Miscanthus blooms before September is simply a travesty:

Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass)

Even the deer seemed out of whack. They didn’t move a bit as I approached them:

It was in the low 90’s and humid today and I loved every minute of it. It is Summer and this is what Summer is. Autumn will be here in due time and we’ll enjoy it when it arrives.

But for now, back the hell off and wait your turn.

Why my mad photography skills are a curse

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

I consider myself to be a pretty decent amateur photographer. Through trial and error and a lesson with a local pro, I’ve come a long way over the past four to five years. You would think there would be nothing but positives with this development, but you would be wrong.

Allow me to explain.

Most of my “stellar” photography originates within the walls of my property. While I am starting to branch out a bit with my nieces and nephews as the subjects and there is talk (started and ended by me) that I could photograph a wedding and not embarrass myself, let’s face it, it’s all about those green things that stick out of the ground and do not move around so much.

My friends and family have had to suffer through years of blog posts, endless plant photos, confusing Latin references and bizarre rants just so they can say they’ve “read the blog” when we get together. It is bordering on comical to watch the dance when a friend will say “How’s the ONG blog thing doing?” or “I read your blog, like all the time” or “You really blog a lot, huh, that is umm, cool.” I can imagine the pre-game plan of action before people arrive at our house:

“Quick, bring up a recent post of his on your phone.”

“OK, here’s one on butterfly weed or something like that.”

“Great, remember a specific photo and remember to use the word ‘native’ in some way.”
“Got it.”

But here’s the deal, I have zero expectations when it comes to any friends or family reading the blog. If you are not an avid gardener, why would you ever want to read this nonsense? I can assure you if someone I knew wrote a blog about cars, or polish pottery or even soccer (wink wink Alex) I wouldn’t indulge for one minute. In this day and age, we ain’t got time to read what we don’t care about.

But a gardening blog presents a challenge I never considered before I started this venture. The photos, if executed well of course, create a belief that the garden is always in a state of blooming bliss and there couldn’t possibly be a weed to be found. So even non-readers who simply breeze through the photos get a sense that this garden must be mighty impressive:

And even more misleading are the “macro” pics (extreme close-ups of the flowers), which lead the uninformed reader to believe that the blooms are much more prolific and larger than they truly are:

So your peeps scan the blog, see the pretty pics and start to assume that when they finally make their way to your homestead, it is going to be a garden wonderland. Upon arrival, with big expectations in tow, they are almost immediately let down:

Not exactly awe inspiring is it? My photography tricks/strategic angles are exposed and the sum is definitely not the total of the macro parts. Call me paranoid, or neurotic, but I can see the let down in all of my visitors faces. To themselves they mutter “This dude spends countless hours gardening and writing about it and this is the end result? Color me not so impressed.”

Just this past Friday, my garden was featured on the Fine Gardening “Garden Photo of the Day” blog (shameless plug alert) and while I was thrilled and fortunate to be included – you can view it here – I immediately felt the pressure to justify the photos. While the praise rolled in from family members and friends, I wondered if they asked themselves “Is that really his garden?”. How easily I turned a positive into a negative.

Now having said all this, I think there are four potential solutions to my “over promise/under deliver” problem:

1 – Cut back on the photograpy quality – maybe time for a camera downgrade? Could I get it to a point where the real thing is better than the pics?

2 – Stop inviting people over – this is an easy one. We may end up alone, but I’ll be in a better place.

3 – Quit my job and spend day and night fine tuning the garden – think my wife will take a second job and maybe a third?

4 – Pay a professional handsomely and have it done right – worthwile investment for peace of mind, right?

What do you think? Which option is best? Any other suggestions?

Until I figure this all out, I’ll continue to suffer through the ups and downs of a gardener. I’ll also need to start a campaign to let the non-gardener folk know how difficult this really is. But that is an entirely different topic for another day …

Evening photos

Plant combos

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Here are some plant vignettes I am enjoying this fine evening:

Geranium maculatum ‘Espresso’ and Tsuga canadensis (Hemlock) ‘Moon Frost’



Boxwood and Heuchera

Astilbe and Physocarpus (Ninebark) ‘Diablo’



Coneflower ‘Fragrant Angel’ and Hydrangea ‘Lady in Red”



Miscanthus ‘Super Stripe’ and Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’

Coneflower ‘Sunrise’ in front and Lobelia siphilitica (Blue Lobelia) in background 

Blooms of Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ and Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’ 

Sedum ‘Matrona’ and Sorghastrum (Indian Grass) ‘Sioux Blue’

Phlox and Dwarf Barberry

Amsonia ‘tabernaemontana’ and Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Northwind’

Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’

Blooms, who needs blooms and a terrifying addition to the garden

Posted on by Posted in Blooms .

I spent some serious time weeding this weekend and in fact, I can’t feel the tips of my fingers as I type this. My fingernails are permanently dirt filled and my hands are painful to the touch with mini thorns and other sharp plant particles sticking out of them.

But hot damn if it wasn’t worth it.

There are still some frighteningly weedy areas I have hidden from plain view, but overall, we’re lookin mighty weed-free right now. I took a whole bunch of “before” and “after” weeding pics and originally that was the inspiration behind my post for tonight. Except it was really boring, lacking color and not so pleasing to the eye. So instead, I did one of my late afternoon tours of the yard and snapped off some photos of new activity, chock full of eye candy. I also added, with the help of my daughter, a new “focal point” to the garden that puts a smile on the face … and friggin terrifies at the same time. More on that later.

The Lobelia siphilitica (Great blue lobelia) are in full bloom and I’m digging the blue color this late in the summer:

This sneezeweed (cultivar unknown) has been blooming non-stop for 3-4 weeks now and I love the color. And most importantly, all living creatures have ignored them. I need to find me more of these:

My small Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lime’ is coming along nicely and that bloom color is to f’n die for:

Speaking of Hydrangea, this Hydrangea ‘Lady in Red’ did not provide a single bloom this year (to be discussed at a later date) but that leaf color is worth it alone. Maybe I’ll cut off the blooms in subsequent years to highlight the foliage:

I can discuss this ornamental grass – Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Northwind’ – all day and night and now that it is blooming … swoon …

Remember that focal point? Here he/she/it is:

Nice looking fellow, eh? Actually, not really. I find it secretly evil. We have all jumped out of our drawers in terror inside the house when we view this being through the back window. I am banking on a few phone calls from neighbors informing us there is a fully denimed burglar near the house. My only hope is that this creature will scare the hell out of the deer who emerge out of the back woods:

Will be sure to report out more on Project Scarecrow.

A little Joe Pye Weed love

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’ (Joe Pye Weed to you common folk) is absolutely my most reliable, statuesque, critter-welcoming and long lasting bloomer when compared to all other perennials in my garden. No matter where I stand in my yard, the mass of Joseph Pye is visible and begs to be ogled.

Don’t believe me? Check these out:

It is literally a butterfly and bee magnet:

Steady pink blooms standing at about six feet tall and NEVER topples over:

With purple/red stems that add additional interest:

The only possible negative is that these mid summer blooming perennials are late to emerge in the spring so they leave quite a hole. But guess what? That falls on us genius gardeners to identify a way to account for said hole in a smart and creative way.
You up for the challenge?

Even More Ornamental Grass Talk

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

Yes, I know that I have a decent ornamental grass collection, but after I pulled out pad and paper to fully document it all, I realized just how big it has become. And you know what, I am pretty damn proud of them, warts and all.

So here is yet another post highlighting some of my OG’s.

Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats) ‘River Mist’ was just a wee little thing when I planted it in spring of 2012 and she has progressed nicely, standing at about 18″ today:

The variegation on this grass is fantastic:

As are the “oats”:

While it is still too soon to make a full blown judgment on this one, I like what I’ve seen so far. Of course that all could change if the reseeding is as rampant as it is with the “standard version”.

This next grass was planted early this spring, but I am already in love. Check out the color on this one:

I mean REALLY check out the color on this one:

How friggin awesome is that? This is Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Cheyenne Sky’ and while it is only about 10″ high, it is already making quite a statement.

A very similar looking Panicum (Switch Grass), this is ‘Ruby Ribbons’:

A closer shot of the foliage:

I’ve actually had this one for over 4 years now and it has yet to thrive. It has also been nibbled down quite a bit by either the rabbits or the deer so I relocated it, fingers crossed, to a more sheltered spot. The reputation on this one is that it is one of the best red switch grasses so we’ll wait it out a bit more.

Miscanthus ‘Strictus’, after 2 years, is at about 5 feet tall and has held up beautifully the past two fall/winter seasons, even in a completely unsheltered location:

And that leaf variegation is kick butt:

The real test will be when it gets closer to its maximum size of 8 to 9 feet and will it hold up well to adverse conditions?

And finally for today, we have Miscanthus ‘Cabaret’:

Again, another grass with great variegation that is truly visible from a great distance which is why I have it located a good distance from the house:

This OG has held up through the winter and while it has a way to go in terms of growth, all signs point to a winner.

As always, I would hove to hear your thoughts on your experience with any of these grasses.