jmarkowski, Author at The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Foliage love

Posted on February 7, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Foliage .

Listen, I like flowers as much as the next guy … um I mean … as the next gardener who is male … never mind. I dig flowers and I am damn proud of it. But, my true love, the one that gives me reason to get my hands dirty and full of nasty blisters is none other than … the foliage.

I am consumed with foliage and it’s different textures, different colors, different shapes and how it changes from season to season. To me, that is the essence of gardening. I am by no means an expert, but I do get annoyed when I see garden design decisions being based solely on flower color. While I see bloom color being a factor in the overall decision making process, it is typically a factor for a short period of time (albeit a strong one) and then is gone. The plant shape, size, texture and foliage color are so much more impactful on the overall scheme of the design.

With that in mind, I thought I would share some of my favorite foliage photos. As I reviewed these, I got all sorts of fired up and “en fuego”, so take a deep breath and get ready to be dazzled.

When you think hydrangea you immediately think about the impressive blooms. But the foliage color and shape is phenomenal both pre and post bloom:

The phenomenal color of the Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ (St. John’s wort) enhanced after a rainfall:

Hibiscus blooms are prolific, but how can you not like the color, shape and texture of it’s leaves:

Hibiscus ‘Kopper King’

Newly emerging foliage often takes on a unique look that allows it to stand out in the spring. Like with this Ninebark ‘Diablo’:

Ninebark ‘Diablo’

Some times, the simple act of foliage filling in quickly in the spring, with a promise of what is to come is enough for me:

Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (Catmint)

Geranium blooms are all that, but I’ve come to appreciate the lacy foliage and find it to be a great contrast perennial, especially when placed next to other perennials with more bold foliage:

Speaking of bold foliage, I finally came to grasp the concept of utilizing this concept (preferably in small doses). I have two Yucca ‘Golden Sword’ located in my front bed and they have acted as a true focal point, even into the winter:

I have long been obsessed with using yellow/chartreuse foliage color. I have tried real hard to not overdo it. These dwarf spireas provide a nice punch of color along my front entry and I honestly find the blooms take away from the shrub. I will often cut black the blooms in an effort to keep the foliage pristine:

I have a ton of Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ under my shade trees and they will change foliage color from spring to fall as the trees fill in and the amount of shade increases:

And then there are those plants where the foliage is really all it has to offer and damn do they look good:

Hosta ‘Guacamole’

Sedum ‘Red Carpet’

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t include my absolute favorite foliage type of all, the ornamental grass:

Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’

ONG

This little blog turns 1 today

Posted on February 4, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

It has officially been one year since I started this blog. I honestly never thought I would stick with it this long or that people, other than my family, would even read it. My initial intention was to use the blog as a chance to share my garden photographs with friends and family. That was it. A chance to show them that all of the time spent in the garden actually resulted in something that was worthy of a photograph or two, or three.

Well, for me, it has grown to be much more than that.

Looking back, there were some posts that were atrocious, like this one. Some others that were creative but still a bit odd, like this one. And some that were admittedly a bit whiny like this one. But overall, I am happy with the direction the blog went as it was an accurate portrayal of what I was feeling at that time. I’ve tried my best to be honest about my many shortcomings yet share my excitement for all things foliage and flowers. Being able to write about my passion on a daily basis and to actually have people enjoy reading it, has blown me away. I still get just as fired up today to read your comments as I did when I first started.

Looking ahead, I plan on treating my gardens as more of a scientific laboratory this year with the hope that I can experiment in different ways and share those results with you. Sort of like what I did when I planted a few Hibiscus plants last summer. I also hope to visit more local gardens and share those photos with you. I have already mapped out a few potential interviews with some people in the business that will hopefully offer a glimpse into the world of gardening/horticulture in an interesting and unique way.

I’ve babbled enough, thank you for reading this blog and feeding my narcissistic ways. It has been an amazing creative outlet for me and I will continue to ride the wave wherever it may go.

Gracias
ONG

Dreaming of spring

Posted on February 3, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Spring .

Dear readers,

Please oblige my attempt to cure my seasonal affect disorder.

Thanking you in advance,
ONG

Campanula glomerata ‘Joan Elliott’ (Bellflower)

Peony ‘Bowl of Beauty’

Physocarpus ‘Summer Wine’ (Ninebark)

Amsonia Tabernaemontana (Eastern bluestar)

Leucojum aestivum (Summer Snowflake)

Tulip ‘I don’t know the type’

Narcissus (Daffodil)

Wordless Winter Wednesday

Posted on February 2, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Winter interest .

Winter sucked just a little less today

Posted on January 31, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Winter interest .

I woke up this morning looking like this:

I am so done with the snow. You can’t even enjoy “playing” in it since it is like 10 feet deep. Even the dog is like, “Um, nah, I’m good, I’ll hold it for a while.” I don’t want to hear about a time to rest from gardening, enjoy the different seasons, blah, blah friggin blah. I AM DONE.

I must admit, however, there were three things that did occur today to lighten the mood just a bit.

First, my garden blog pal, who I worship like no other, Allan Becker, sent me a personal email including a blog post from last winter that highlighted a number of winter worthy shrubs. Check it out here. I am a monstrous fan of the Cornus ‘Arctic Fire’.

Second, that kick ass wife of my mine whipped up another stellar dinner. Today it was spaghetti squash with meat sauce. You can find a very similar recipe here. In case you haven’t tried it, the spaghetti squash is baked and the strands of the squash can be removed to replace the actual spaghetti. Bellissimo!

And last but surely not least, my daughter made me a picture as she is also fed up with this weather and is ready for spring:

She knows the way to my heart.

John

Monsanto, Whole Foods and a side of Roundup with your alfalfa

Posted on January 28, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Health .

I had been prepared to write a blog post entry today about one of my favorite ground covers. It was to be nice, light reading for a Friday afternoon. But I couldn’t bring myself to complete it because of something that is eating away at me.

I will not claim to be an expert in all things organic, various farming practices, or even genetically engineered crops. But I have shopped at Whole Foods, eaten Stonyfield yogurt and know all about the beast that is Monsanto. If you haven’t already, watch the film Food, Inc. I promise you will never look at food the same way again. And I promise you will become infuriated with the practices of Monsanto … and the FDA … and the USDA.

I can voice my disgust all I want to my friends and family or post an article on Facebook and Twitter but it isn’t enough. I am pissed at myself for not getting more involved and taking a stand. It may be as simple as refusing to shop at Whole Foods or refusing to eat a certain yogurt, but it is a start. I am determined to change my ways and I hope you feel the same after reading the articles below:

http://www.counterpunch.org/cummins01282011.html

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/kiss_your_organics_goodbye/

http://www.naturalnews.com/031138_Monsanto_Roundup.html

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thank you
John

How I’ve learned to enjoy insect destruction

Posted on January 25, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

Last spring, I purchased a few Swamp Milkweed plants (Asclepias Incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’) at my local native plant sale. I knew these were native to my region and therefore could handle my poor soil conditions. I also liked the white blooms and knew exactly where I could place them in my garden beds:

Soon after these were planted in the ground however, the evil aphids arrived. The first reaction I had was to destroy the little f’ers but also stuck with my strong belief in not using any chemicals whatsoever when treating plant issues. I knew I could attempt to hose off the aphids but something told me to just let it be. I’m glad I did.

Within days of the aphid parade, the lady bugs showed up and started to chow down on the aphids:

I loved watching it all go down and to my surprise, didn’t care about how the plants looked as a result. I am your typical OCD gardener when it comes to design so this was a nice development in my maturity as a gardener. And it only got more interesting from there.

I knew the swamp milkweed would attract butterflies and all sorts of other creatures, but admittedly, did not know that it was the sole host plant for the monarch caterpillar/butterfly. In early August, I snapped these shots in a manic state of excitement:

Hot damn! Sweet! I didn’t give a rat’s behind that all of my plants were getting completely destroyed and stripped of all their foliage:

About a week or so later, I found two beautifully sculpted chrysalis:

And two weeks after that:

All I could think of at that moment was how sad it would be if someone were to sacrifice this incredible exhibit of nature at it’s best just to make their plants “look pretty”. This may be the greatest lesson I’ve learned over the years and I urge you to do the same.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Take a look at the photo below. This is the same previously destroyed plant from above, in early Fall. The foliage came back like gangbusters. Man, I can’t get enough of this stuff:

Keep it real
ONG

What John ate – pot roast edition

Posted on January 24, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

I’d like to introduce you to a new series of posts I will be “peppering in” (pun intended) going forward. “What John ate” will outline what my “Ina Garten in training” wife made for the family that day.

You often hear people say “Cooking is simply the ability to follow a recipe. If you can read, you can cook.” That may be true to some extent, but I have been witness to the fact that it goes much deeper than that. I am a horrendous cook (most likely due to my inability to multi-task, what was I saying?) but I know good food. And I know when someone goes beyond just following a recipe line by line. That would be my wife and today’s dinner was a perfect example of that.
Today was a pot roast and I had my first inkling that it was going to be off the cuff, when my wife asked me to pick up the meat and some onions and she would “wing the rest.” And she did.

First, the meat was seared to give it a nice crust on the outside (excuse the photos, I’m a first time food photographer):

Then the vegetables – celery, onions, carrots and parsnips – were sauteed to up the flavor. By the way, I have become a monstrous root vegetable fan and parsnips might be at the top of that list:

While I cannot cook a lick, I am a smart and responsible gardener (or so I am told) and know that the scraps need to go right into the compost heap:

The roast was to be cooked in a slow cooker and here is what the necessary liquid consisted of (again, it was all on a whim and not from one recipe – color me impressed).

The liquids were first cooked together in the same pan as the meat so the bits of meat left in the pan would further enhance the flavor.

In it all went and I have to admit I totally dug the difference in colors, which is not all that different from observing beautiful color combinations with plants. Uh oh, my worlds are colliding.

Hours later it was all done and the house smelled heavenly (my apologies to any vegetarians/vegans, although you probably left already):

All that was left was to strain the remaining juices and thicken it with flour and boom, the gravy/sauce was complete. Time to eat:

Now I know it was good because the kids ate it, even if they insisted on calling it “meatloaf”. Whatever, as long as they weren’t eating grilled cheese or chicken nuggets again. Top it off with a fire, football and a bottle of wine and you have yourself the prototypical Sunday winter dinner. Good f’n times.

My next step is to get my wife to write her own food blog. Yes, there are thousands of them out there, but I am completely sincere when I say that I am spoiled by what I eat every night. This is done by someone who works all day, is home to get the kids off the bus and out of school, helps them with their homework and runs a mean household. I think that makes for a good read and it WILL HAPPEN sooner than later. Bank on it!

ONG

Gardening with children

Posted on January 21, 2011 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

I am super anxious for the spring to arrive to see if the kids still have any level of interest in joining me outdoors. We made some serious progress last year as I realized I needed to tailor the gardening experience differently with each of the little ones.

My eight year old son has become somewhat of a “foodie”, thanks to my wife’s incredibly diverse and damn delicious cooking (I am going to call her out and push for her to start a blog in a future post). Common sense, which can be a bit of a reach for me some times, told me to focus on the edibles with him and we did just that.

He couldn’t have been more pumped up when we went blueberry and peach picking last summer:

While he enjoyed eating the fruit right off the branch, I think the little dude has a future as a chef. He not only loved the fruit salad my wife put together, but he also got the presentation and commented on the “nice color” combo.

I finally took the plunge last year and decided to grow all of my edibles on the back deck in containers, where not only could I control the quality of the soil but could also hide them from the lurking deer.

I grew 3 different types of lettuce, kale, spinach, peppers and two different varieties of tomatoes. The lettuce was by far the greatest success story as it produced endlessly for us into the summer and we ate some serious amount of salad:

The greatest part of it all though, was seeing my son pull the lettuce leaves right out of the container and eat them right on the spot. I think I hear Johnson and Wales calling.

Now my five year old daughter couldn’t be more different from my son. She is fruit and vegetable averse and she would literally kill you if you forced her to eat them. Hopefully that will change over time and from the constant exposure to fresh produce she will have to withstand.

On the other hand, she is all girl (and a damn cute one if I don’t say so myself) and loves princesses, flowers, butterflies and birds. She has an imagination and playfulness beyond words so I know what I need to tap into:

My little charming one would often tell me “Daddy, I love the flowers I see outside my playroom.” Well she better be ready to get her gloves because this is the year she’ll get her pruning on.

Last year, I took each of the kids through the growing process from beginning to end: