The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Another trip to “The Garden at Federal Twist”

Posted on by Posted in Local, Public Garden .

I hate my garden.

I need more height in my garden.

My garden needs to be more fun and loose.

My garden needs more chaos.

I need to take advantage of self-seeding plants.

I need more mature trees.

I need more seating in my garden.

I need more meandering paths.

I need more plants with lingering seedheads.

All of these thoughts raced through my head after I left The Garden at Federal Twist this past Saturday. This was my third visit to this local garden (literally 5 miles away from my own home) in the past year and I’ve enjoyed chatting with its owner, James Golden, a number of times as well.

To read the history of the garden, click here.

This is my ideal garden and the greatest by far, that I’ve ever seen in person. I’m already anxious to make a return visit in the fall. Massing of giant perennials, ornamental grasses, water features, paths leading to private seating areas, sculptures = heaven on earth. If I don’t walk away with ideas and inspiration, I’m a bleeping idiot.

Here are the pics. Where I can, I’ve identified the plants based on James’ feedback and from scouring his website:
          

 
Filipendula rubra in the background
Iris ensata
Ligularia japonica
Button Bush
Rattlesnake master

And possibly my favorite pic with the tree framing the entire garden below:

A true gem and inspiration.

I vow to create my own mini version of this garden somewhere in my garden in the near future as a shout-out.

Thank you James.

Podcast – Amanda Thomsen (“Kiss My Aster”)

Posted on by Posted in Podcasts .

Another podcast is in the books, as I chatted with Amanda Thomsen, author of the ever popular blog “Kiss My Aster”. This one was absolutely one of my favorites to date as we talked underrated plants, a love for the classic rose, her wonderfully unique book “Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You” and the origin behind it and why we shouldn’t judge any garden or gardener. Amanda oozes personality as I’m sure many of you already know and I wouldn’t want to challenge her in “Plant Jeopardy” any time soon.    

To listen to the podcast, click here

To purchase her book and read the endless positive reviews, click here

To check out her blog, click here

To follow her always entertaining Facebook Page, click here

What plant is this?

Posted on by Posted in Perennials .

Quick one tonight.

Need your help in identifying what plant this is:

Little background … I live on 2+ acres that backs up to woods that is loaded with wild flowers/growth:

Every once in a while I find new plants I’ve never seen in this sweeping area before and that includes the plant above. I could probably research and figure it out, but is more lazy fun to have you all tell me.

Thank you in advance for your answers.

One last thing, how awesome is this birthday letter I received from my wife’s 96 year old grandmother:

Definitely one I will cherish forever.

Put down the shovel a-hole

Posted on by Posted in Garden memoir .

Last week I was in Charlotte for a few days for my “day job” and upon leaving the airport and heading to our destination, my companion and I were complaining about all of the construction, wondering if there were plans for it to end at some point. If I had to guess, 95% of the airports around the world are in deep construction at this exact moment and it makes traveling a nightmare in this era of blindly following GPS directions. At some point, isn’t there a benefit to enjoying the fruits of your labor/construction work?

And of course you now know where I am going to go with this.

I swear to you, as we were heading into the office, I thought about my own garden and the perpetual “construction zone” that it is. I know, priorities. With such limited time to get things done outside, I give myself very little time to just sit back and enjoy all the plants have to offer. There is always more work to be done.

“Oh nice, you’re blooming, let me take a quick pic, put it on the blog and then move on.”

“I should deadhead you for additional blooms but my time is better spent creating this new border.”

“Not now ornamental grass, I see your blades are starting to turn red and it looks great and all, but I got some weeding to do.”

Will I change? Probably not. I still have an unrealistic vision of some day creating my own mini Longwood Gardens, but at least for today, I can send the workers home and kick back and enjoy the moment.                  
Phlox in bloom and not a sign of powdery mildew … yet:

Achillea ‘Pink Grapefruit’ blooming and the deer and rabbits don’t give a crap:

The first Purple Coneflower of the year, marking the true start of summer:

Helenium (Sneezeweed) ‘Short n Sassy’ has been a given for two years now and I need to thank her more often:

I swear I never planted this and it is popping up everywhere. It fits in OK so who am I to f with nature:

Half of my yard is covered in various Monarda (Bee Balm), I love them, they smell great and this is the one closest to blooming:

I am slowly becoming a hardcore collector of Allium and here come some blooms:

By late summer, this Indian Grass (Sorghastrum) ‘Sioux Blue’ will most likely be toppled over so why not enjoy it now when it still has so much promise:  

There is a few day period when the blooms on Karl Foerster are an actual pinkish hue, before turning beige/tan/buff and today is one of those days:

When reseeding is cool:

Always something going on when you get in the mix:

Perfect example of forgetting and moving on:

And then putting in the effort for hope of future reblooming:

Starting to look messy:

Nice and tidy and about the foliage again:

Longwood Gardens

Posted on by Posted in Public Garden .

Yours truly will be turning 42 on Monday (I know, I know, I don’t look a day over 28) and in celebration of this momentous event, my wife and children arranged for us to take the hour and a half drive to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania today.

Great idea family.

We arrived around noon and could not have asked for better weather. We purchased tickets, hit the head and were off into the boundless world of plants.

First it was the “Rose Arbor”:

 

Then the never ending “Flower Garden Walk”:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

The “Square Fountain” garden:

 

Another fountain:

 

Back on to “Flower Garden Walk”:

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

The “Large and Small Lake”:

 

 

The “Italian Water Garden”:

 

After a ton of walking, crouching down, and even a bit of skipping, we arrived at the new “Meadow Garden”. Photos are not sufficient enough to describe just how majestic this garden is. Here I am trying to soak it all in and figure out our next steps:

 

Then we consulted with the kids after they scoped things out:

 

Ultimately we decided against walking the entire 86 acres (lazy kids) and banked on doing so with our next visit (ideally in the fall, sans the young ones, when I’m sure this meadow will be off the charts). As a result, the following photos are all taken from a distance:

 
 
 

 

Of course, we couldn’t pass up the tree houses along the way:

 
 

 

And then into the Conservatory:

 
 
 

 

And finally, a quick peek into the “Topiary Garden”:

 
 

When all was said and done, I cried a cry of jealousy for mature trees:

 

After our Longwood Garden tour, my wife located a fantastic restaurant – Four Dogs Tavern – and we dined al fresco with a few adult beverages.

Kind of the perfect day.

Viburnum ‘Emerald Luster’

Time to move on from the Daylily

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems .

Oh joy, they are back again:

A few years ago I wrote about my frustration with the daylily and now I can safely say, without hesitation, that “frustration” has officially evolved into “repulsion”. While I only own 3-4 different cultivars, I think I can comfortably say I don’t like any of them.

While there is some value in the fact that they reliably return year after year, could grow on my gravel driveway or on the sidewalk without issue and provide a shot of color in the summer, I throw up a little in my mouth each time I see them in bloom at McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts or at each and every one of my local gas stations.

Life is too short to be lazy and grow ugly plants. It is time for a proper divorce.

To prove just how serious I am, here are 5 things I would rather do than be forced to live amongst these garish creations while in bloom:

1)Listen to this song on a loop for 24 hours straight

2)Eat a tomato sandwich with extra mayo.

3)Go on a cross country road trip with this guy

4)Get a New York Yankees tattoo on my forehead

5)Grow an entire bed of only Yuccas and Hostas

Carry on.

A kick butt Father’s Day

Posted on by Posted in Family .

Phenomenal Father’s Day here today. Low 80’s, sunny and not the least bit humid.

After today, I can confirm that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

Events in chronological order:

Breakfast in bed – Lemon ricotta pancakes, double thick bacon, pineapple/strawberry mix, black coffee.

Me personally running baseball/softball practice in the front yard – Impressive showing by both children.

Strawberry picking at a local farm – Impossible for me to describe just how good they are

Dinner – Filet mignon with blue cheese butter, corn on the cob, mozz and tomato salad

Dessert – Angel food cake, fresh strawberries and freshly made whipping cream

Walk – 2 mile family walk at dusk that capped off a perfect day.

And somewhere in between all of those activities, I managed to get out in the garden, pick some weeds, plan some future plant moves and purchases, find a bunch of infant rabbits living inside of a Barberry, get filled with plant related anger and take some photos.

Enjoy the pics.

Possibly my new favorite shrub – Physocarpus ‘Amber Jubilee’ – in a container on the deck for now. How about that foliage color:

Still managing to keep the lettuce and kale going even as the temperature starts to trend higher:

We’ve got tomatoes:

I love the subsequent red seed capsules on the Physocarpus ‘Diablo’ more than the flowers:

I have found that Veronica likes my conditions more than I ever imagined so I have placed them all over the garden for much needed color at this point in the gardening season:

A new Monarda cultivar this year, ‘Pardon My Purple’, is performing well to date:

Maybe a bit boring, but Itea ‘Little Henry’ has proven to thrive just as ‘Henry’s Garnet’ has for so many years:

Astilbe love continues:

Still not sure about the color combo above, but for most of the year, it won’t be a concern. Have to let this one marinate for a while before I decide to keep it or not.

The first coneflower has appeared:

Um, what exactly do these “dots” represent? Maybe it is a secret message/code I am supposed to crack:

Rabbits didn’t get the memo that ornamental grasses are off limits:

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there from a dad who has never felt more appreciative of all that he has in his entire lifetime.

Starting to resemble a “garden”

Posted on by Posted in My garden .

I ignore the garden for a few days and just like that the grasses double their growth, new blooms emerge out of nowhere and the perennials continue to fill in nicely.

I need to stay away more often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye to my childhood home

Posted on by Posted in Family .

Today we said goodbye to the only childhood home I ever knew (1973-2014) in bucolic Midland Park, New Jersey as my parents are moving out in the next week.

That little Cape Cod holds a host of memories for me, my wife/fiancee/girlfriend (FYI – all one in the same) and my weepy, nostalgic children. I left home 18 years ago and left behind memories that made me into the solid citizen I am today but I always knew I would be back to this humble abode often while my parents still lived there. To finally say goodbye today wasn’t easy and I can’t imagine the emotions my parents have bottled up inside having raised three children in this home.

My kids have had numerous sleepovers at “Mimi and Pop’s” over the years (always better when it was without my wife and me) so this was obviously tough on them as well. I kid you not, the kids made us take over 100 photos of them in and around the house today as they just couldn’t let go. They were also consumed with the amazing smell the house has. Don’t ask, all I know is that they have clothes they brought with them that they insist they will never wash again.

 

And you knew they were deeply affected when they had no issues hanging so closely together.

Yes, my son is honestly going to miss the stove (maybe we should start therapy for him now).

We took one last walk down the “path” near my parent’s house. Little back story here – this is where the kids went to smoke when we were young, where “makeout” sessions were all the rage on summer nights and where I may or may not have seen my first Playboy. It was creepy and exciting all at the same time. The ideal hangout for a young dude.

It may sound ridiculous, but so much of my younger years were spent collecting, splitting open, throwing and avoiding stepping barefoot on acorns. And I don’t know if I’ve seen one since I left home.

As the day wound down, I did my best to capture some final images that represented some of the more obscure memories I had from the grand old late 70’s and early 80’s. Like this railing around the front patio of the home. I used to kick field goals with a Nerf football from the street below and imagine this was the goalpost. This is also where I first discovered my fear of heights as all of the “double dares” in the world wouldn’t get me to walk across on the other side of the railing.

But I won’t bore you with all of my personal memories. Just know that I couldn’t have signed up for a better upbringing from two parents who taught me all about unconditional love, respect, self discipline and simply being a good person. I like to think I am a stellar husband having watched one for some many years. I cherish the late night talks I had with my Mom and her support when my supposed girlfriend dumped me in 5th grade. My parents never missed a game or even a practice and that kind of thing stays with you for an eternity.

I’m sorry Missy and Ali for forcing you to play hallway football and I’ll never forget our endless games of Clue, Careers and swimming in the Minervini’s pool. We became monstrous Rangers fans in this house and knew the wonders of an oscillating fan, Shop Rite iced tea and Air Supply. Good f’n times.

I’ll miss the house and the town for sure, but I also look forward to having my parents that much closer to us now so we can build new memories together without hopping on Route 287.

Oh, I’ll also painfully miss the garden we put together a few years ago and hope the new owners will keep it going, especially the fantastic mass of Baptisia.

 

Thank you Mick and John and goodbye 15 Oak Ave.

I was going to end there, but after I got home today, and went through some old boxes of memories my parents dumped on gave me, I found a few things I had to share with you all.

I knew from an early age I wanted to be a writer and damn did I have a flair for the dramatic and the classic cliffhanger.

To this day, I am not a huge fan of the rhododendron and it is good to know that my disdain started at a young age. Check out my palpable lack of enthusiasm in the photo below.

And finally, I want to give my 7th grade teacher a big “F you” for discounting my leaf report grade so heavily based on one friggin word.

Funny stuff.