The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Author Archives: jmarkowski

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.

Our Trip to The Lake – 2013

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A water snake chomping down on a fish and ready to feast on my leg.

I am an overprotective parent to an embarrassing degree.

Looking for “bugs” is a great distraction.

Campfire? Really? How about a baseball game instead?

Those statements above are teasers for this post about our annual trip to Chester, CT where we stay in a cozy cottage on a lake that has been owned by the family for over 40 years. We look forward to it each and every summer; a chance to “escape” and convene with nature; our version of camping and teaching the kids about the great outdoors:  

But if we are being honest with ourselves, it is really none of those things. And that is where our story begins.

As we navigated the always traffic-filled Rt. 95 on our way to “The Lake” early last week, we kept replaying a conversation my wife had with a family member the night before. As said family was enjoying their time in The Lake the weekend before, they were greeted by an angry snake who emerged out of the water ready to take them all down, right after he finished destroying the giant fish he already had between his giant sharp teeth.

I’m pretty sure this is exactly how he looked.

I knew that the kids loved swimming in the lake and floating freely on rafts and that they required my presence in order to do so. Normally, I’m good with that and don’t mind the nibbling fish at my feet or stomping some weeds growing out of the lake floor, but this was going to test my resolve.

Sure enough, we arrive at the cottage and the kids have their bathing suits on before we can even drop our suitcases. I didn’t even have time to assess the location to determine the most likely spot where I would be attacked by the anaconda.

In we went, woo hoo, and I did my best to seem confident and enjoying the hell out of myself. The kids were not aware of Snakegate 2013 so I had to remain calm:    

I am their father and protector so a little snake wasn’t going to do me in. I’ve encounter snakes on my home turf all the time and don’t even flinch. Why should a “Snake in a Lake” (How good of a movie title is that? Sequel to “Snakes on a Plane”?) be any different. Time to put my big boy pants on … and I did just that:

We were all going to be alright.

*Post mortem – We never did see the snake, the kids eventually learned of it and weren’t freaked a bit and I found drinking a few beers before entering the lake each day worked like a charm*

After the kids were worn out from swimming, they wanted to move on to other lake activities like taking out the canoe:

Or the paddle boat:

That’s what you do when all of those things are at your disposal, right? Actually, you would be wrong. I wouldn’t take them out in any vessel. Mean SOB, right? Nope, I’m just terrified that we will tip over and life jackets be damned, would be stranded for days. Sensing a theme here? 
Overprotective – check
Paranoid – check
Scared of Mother Nature – check
Well, that last one isn’t really true, just a bit wary of things in and around bodies of water. 
One of my strongest parenting skills is ignore and distract. If you pretend not to hear children while they are babbling nonsensically, then they never really said anything. Try it, it works well.
So I never heard, “Can we take the canoe down to the swamp?”. Nope, I ignored it and moved into distract mode with “Let’s be all nature-y and stuff and observe all the wonderful insects and critters this lake has to offer”:          

And while we’re at it, how about the wonderful flowers we’ve been provided, free of charge:

That worked for like 35 seconds, but they did forget about canoeing. Nice.
Mornings on the lake are absolutely stunning and you really can lose yourself just sitting on the porch and watching all of the lake activity. It’s as if nothing else exists. And what screams lakeside relaxation more than a drive to go hunt down gourmet coffee? As you can see, we are teaching our son well (yes, it is decaf): 

And while we are talking all things lakeside, what better way to get out in the elements, smell those familiar smells and be at one with nature than … a baseball game? Didn’t see that coming did you?

My son added even more autographs to his growing collection and we had an awesome time with perfect weather. We even got to see some pretty kick butt fireworks. I love lakes!

On our final morning, we made it into town for the Sunday Market and I am proud to say that our kids get “eating local” and “growing your own” so maybe I’m not all that bad of a parent:

So even if we don’t do all the stereotypical things while at the “Lake House” and even if we drive 45 minutes to hunt down the best lobster sandwich:

It is all about family and togetherness and enjoying vacation time to do the things we love to do. We cherish our moments at The Lake each summer and have made some incredible memories, including me dancing around in the water thinking there is a snake circling me as prey.

John

Checking out more of my ornamental grasses

Posted on by Posted in Ornamental grass .

As the calendar swiftly moves from July to August, so does my attention move from the faded blooms on many of the perennials to the building excitement with most of the ornamental grasses. This is the time of year when the “warm season” grasses typically hit their stride and start to leave a serious impression. I am about OG’s all the time come August 1st and that will carry me through until December, weather permitting.

I shared the state of some of my ornamental grasses with you last week and to carry that exercise out further, here are some additional grasses as they look out in my garden as of today:

Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass) is showing the first signs of that tremendous orange foliage color which is a sight to behold in a few more weeks:

While it still has yet to reach even 3 feet in height since I planted it three years ago, Miscanthus ‘Super Stripe’ still has that fantastic variegated foliage that contrasts so well with so many other shrubs/perennials. Now if it could also bloom with some sort of consistency, we may be on to something here:

What is there to say about Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Northwind’? It has to be #1 or #2 on my ornamental grass list. The foliage always remains upright and tight, the foliage color of green/blue allows it to stand out from the other grasses and it holds up all winter without falling over. Whew … Is it hot in here or is it just this Switch Grass:

Let me preface my comments on the following OG with this; Northern Sea Oats reseeds like mad and can become a nuisance real quickly. Be very wary before adding these.

Having said that, they are pretty sweet looking im bloom with thier interesting “oats” and I have all of mine in one location where I let them seed to their heart’s content and it doesn’t impact any other plants:

That is it for today but I’m pretty sure I’ll have a third installment in the not so distant future. My ornamental grass collection is beyond what I even thought it was but during this time of year, it couldn’t be more exciting.

New additions to the family

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It is with incredible joy and unhinged excitement that I would like to introduce you all to the following new members of my extended family.

Allium ‘Mt Sinai’

She might smell real bad, but what an overachiever already with her wonderful blooms:

Bergenia ‘Rosi Klose’

It was a tough road making it to my garden, but we’re confident she will recover quickly and provide us with entertainment (being evergreen and all) throughout the winter:

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed)

We never thought he would make it after disappearing for weeks on end this spring, but he is a tough one and we couldn’t be prouder.

Achillea (Yarrow) ‘Pink Grapefruit’

She looked so great early on with her bright pink blooms, but after a few weeks, not so much. A true underachiever already; color us concerned.

Juniper ‘Gold Cone’

It is tough to find conifers that are deer resistant and can handle poor drainage, so we welcome this guy with a little bit of fear. But he seems tough and hopefully we’ve located him in an OK spot. That foliage color is so handsome ain’t it:

As Fall approaches, we’ll be sure to welcome even more to our family and we cannot wait to introduce them all to you.

God Bless

A lunch of a lifetime, a surprise bloomer, chillin with the critters and so much more

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Family .
Some random garden tales for this evening: 
I’ve tried for years to successfully grow tomatoes (yes, you read that right) as I’ve had to battle the deer, the rabbits and god awful, brutally draining soil. I eventually settled on growing them in containers on my deck (only once has a deer made the trip there) but even then, I have failed miserably. Keeping up with the watering has been the biggest challenge, especially with summer vacations “in the way”.
This year I vowed to make it work and so far so friggin awesome! I have a few containers loaded with cherry tomatoes and some others varieties, but the favorite by far has been the ‘Isis Candy’ cherry tomato: 

Now here’s the funny part.

I do not eat tomatoes. Never have and most likely, never will.

Don’t know why, but I am simply not a fan. But there is a huge tomato fan in my house and that is the driving force behind my wanting to pull off this seemingly easy task. My wife could live off of them and the fact that I have forced her to purchase them from local farmer’s markets is a joke.

But have no fear, that will be no longer be necessary …

This weekend, we harvested a bunch of the Isis Candy tomatoes and my wife’s reaction after the first bite was something like “these kick some serious ass”. Holla!

But there’s more … yes, more tomatoes. I’m like a real gardener or something.

Next we grabbed a Carolina Gold tomato off the vine:      

And ba-bam, we have lunch for my lady:

Now I just need to learn how to make my own cheese and we can become completely self-sufficient. Ha, even I found that funny.

One of the coolest things a gardener can discover is a plant that pops up in a completely unexpected place. That happened weeks ago when I discovered this Phlox ‘David’ growing under an ornamental grass and now she has bloomed beautifully:        

Clethra ‘Ruby Spice’ is in full bloom, smells fantastic and is a wonderland for the bees:

It has taken a few years to get to this point, but this deciduous shrub is finally taking a nice shape and good thing, as it sits right below where I grill on the deck:

My newly planted Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) has drawn in the butterflies, bees and the fast moving Hummingmoth so I spend most of my day hanging out there:

And finally, there are certain plants that go unnoticed as the season changes from spring to summer and my Cornus (Red Twig Dogwood) ‘Arctic Fire’ is a perfect example. This shrub shines in the fall/winter with its eye catching red stems, but I am digging how it looks now:  

Anything green and healthy works for me but I guess if I am being honest, I am most pumped for the fact that it has reached its full size after three years. I am expecting some serious winter interest this year, even better than it looked last year while much smaller in stature:  

And there you have it.

Back to the grind and the work week, but at least I have tomatoes.

John

Filling in nicely

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .
I looked back at my posts for this day from prior years and found a common thread. This is the time of year when most of my shrubs and perennials have reached their peak or those that are on the decline have been sufficiently hidden. It is the time of year when I can actually say that I’m proud of my garden. I’m sure by morning I’ll change my mind, but as I type these words, I’m in a good place. 
Here are a few samples of how things look as we approach the end of July:   

Astilbe, Ninebark ‘Diablo’, Catmint and Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ 

Joe Pye Weed backed by Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ 

l
Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’, Panicum ‘Northwind’ and Joe Pye Weed 

Too many too list but Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ anchors it all

Coneflower, Astilbe, Ninebark ‘Diablo’, Catmint, Viburnum and some others

Indian Grass ‘Sioux Blue’, Sedum ‘Matrona’ 

Have a great weekend!

Some ornamental grass reviews

Posted on by Posted in Ornamental grass .

Let’s talk ornamental grasses today, shall we?

Good, glad you are game. Onward.

By far the most consistent ornamental grass for me in terms of size, shape, bloom and winter non toppling over-ness, Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ is again kicking some serious booty, even in July:

You are looking at the best part of Calamagrostis (Feather Reed Grass) ‘El Dorado’:

But upon closer inspection, not all that great:

I have a bunch of these located all over the property and really none of them are impressing. The best looking one is in half shade so maybe that is the answer. More to come.

I know they are everywhere and similar to ‘El Dorado’ in terms of being rather “blah” (snobby horticultural term in case you haven’t heard it before) but I still like looking at the blooms on my ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reed Grasses from my deck, especially when backlit by the sun in late afternoon: 

Another grass I’ve soured on of late is Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’. The overall shape is weak and the bloom count has been small the past two years or so:

Maybe it is time to divide and that will improve things. Sounds like a nice Fall task to me. 
You’ve heard me discuss it numerous times in the past, but I’ll say it again – Panicum (Switch Grass) ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ really kicks ass. The one that I divided this Spring is already blooming:

And another division from two years ago keeps on keeping on:

Still loving Purple Fountain Grass in containers, especially now that the ladies are blooming: ï»¿

Aren’t you two beauties (AKA Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’) holding up wonderfully:

And finally, you are looking at my new favorite resting place, now adorned with two Blue Dune Lyme Grass in containers:

There are plenty other grasses to review but we will give those some time to develop a bit further this Summer.
Hope you enjoyed. 
John


Hunting down the butterflies and others

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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

Talking “ugly”

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .
When I returned home from vacation last week, I was pleasantly surprised that everything in the garden held up well. Of course, we were fortunate enough to have extensive rain over that 10 day period, but all things considered, I was digging my garden.
Until I didn’t  …
I like to take a gentlemanly stroll through the yard each evening and reconnect with my plants. It is a means of relaxation and a quick assessment of what needs to be worked on (answer = everything) in the near future. Some nights however, turn dark quickly as I get frustrated with “what isn’t working”.  When that hits, I want to set all of my plants on fire and start over. Yes, it’s irrational, but it happens and there isn’t anything I can do to fight it off.
Let’s take last night as an example. 
I make a right turn out of my garage and immediately I am drawn to this mess on my right:          

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