The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Author Archives: jmarkowski

“Plant Combinations” from Fine Gardening magazine

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A funny thing happened last night after I posted yesterday’s rant about my frustration with gardening. In the mailbox, was a special issue from Fine Gardening magazine that could not have been timed any better:

While on Twitter recently, I had read a tweet where the magazine was looking to send copies of Plant Combinations to garden bloggers for their review. I jumped all over it as I have been a loyal reader of their magazine for years and the title alone fired me all up. The funny thing is, it has been chaotic at home of late and I completely forgot that this issue was on it’s way.

As soon as I had some time to sit down and read through it, I was immediately taken with the angle they took. It is all about using commonly known and readily available plants in combinations that are creative and unique. These consistent performers (purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, yucca) often aren’t trendy enough for some gardeners but the issue shows you how to reimagine them in an original way. My mind is still spinning as a result and I’m ready to start moving plants around again to try and mimic what is in this magazine. One that comes to mind is matching Yucca ‘Golden Sword’ with geraniums.    

Also, I was super psyched to see a bunch of photos of plantings that include brown sedges (Carex). I have talked about my love of these in the past and I now feel vindicated. Take a look at these and I guarantee you’ll be with me on it. Pinkie swear.

Between reading all of your comments last night and diving into this magazine, my bipolar gardening personality is swinging back in a better direction. If you can’t find this issue in stores, click here to buy it on-line. It is absolutely worth the price.

John                    

Garden Photo of the Day

I need to meet with a garden psychologist

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I don’t want to garden any more. I’m done.

What is supposed to be a nice relaxing “hobby” or diversion from real life is making me insane. I never stop analyzing how things look and what I love one day, I’m ready to uproot and move the next. Maybe it’s time to take up knitting or scrap booking or even stamp collecting as my new pastime.

And who gets this crazy over gardening? It’s not like I’m entering my gardens in contests or growing food that can actually be eaten by my family. It’s mostly ornamentals that are just supposed to look nice together. An extension of the home if you will. Instead, I treat it like it’s more important than the troubled economy. I should just be happy that anything grows successfully at all considering my poor growing conditions. If a few plants look nice together, be happy and move on. Not this schmuck.

Little background – I worked like mad to get my garden beds to look “complete” the past few weeks. This included weeding, mulching and filling in any open spots that were available. I planned it out well and chose plants that would work where they were to be placed. I got it all done and was happy … for like 3 minutes. As I walked around the yard like an inspector the past week or so, clipboard in hand, I began to question everything I had put together. What I thought looked good together only a week ago, now seemed “eh”. Here’s a sampling of my deranged thought process:

I love Purple Coneflowers and Russian Sage. Great combo with the contrasting bloom colors and flower shapes:

But when I take a step back and look at the bed as a whole, it seems distracting. Too many contrasting colors and textures. I really need to cut down on the number of different plants I use and focus more on increasing the number of plants used together:

Tradescantia (Spiderwort) ‘Sweet Kate’ really works considering my growing conditions:

But not when placed so close to daylillies with similar foliage:

Here is a combo of Spirea ‘Goldmound’ and Calamagrostis (Feather Reed Grass) ‘Karl Foerster’. Doesn’t inspire me all that much:
But just a month or two ago, I liked the combo when the spirea was a much more vivid yellow. Do I accept that it looked OK then but doesn’t do much as the summer rolls on? Find another pairing? Everything can’t look perfect all the time, right?:

I like the pairing of Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ and Physocarpus (Ninebark) ‘Diablo’ … but wouldn’t it look even better with blue blooms? Time to up the acidity:

OK fine, I like Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ and don’t plan on changing it any time soon. But this is the exception rather than the norm:

Who in their right mind would add this purple leaved annual to a red container? It pains me to look at this. What the hell was my thought process when planning this (Bowing my head in shame):   

This Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) is growing like mad but it’s hiding the Itea (Virginia Sweetspire) ‘Henry’s Garnet’ behind it. I’ve read milkweed doesn’t take to transplanting very well but this is eating away at me like mad:  

I continue to struggle with what to match up with this. What colors and textures work well with dead plants? Would love your thoughts. Ideally, it would frame the deadness of this plant and really let it shine:

Bitch session complete and I feel better.

John

Wordless Wednesday – Vacation

Tree-mendous suggestions

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When I first started garden blogging, like many, I had no idea what I was doing. I never had the intention to really keep up with it. At best, I thought it would be a chance to show off some photos of my plants with my friends and family.

Then one day I received a complimentary email from a woman who is the nursery manager at my local garden center – Rutgers Nursery. You mean people I don’t know actually read my nonsense? Sweet! That note gave me the confidence to keep on writing and taking photos and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve always wanted to share that story with you all and today made the most sense. Why? Because Leslie recently recommended two new trees she knew would fit my conditions and so I had them planted by the nursery. I am so super psyched with them already and again, thankful for her wonderful feedback.

By the way, before I forget, Leslie blogs for Rutgers Nursery here and also blogs on her own here. I highly recommend that you check them both out.

On to my trees:

Amelanchier grandiflora (Serviceberry) ‘Autumn Brilliance’:

I had an area on the side of my driveway begging for some height that also had to be able to deal with clay soil that can remain wet at times and is also browsed by the deer. The tree also had to fit into this bed that contains mostly native plants. So far, so awesome:

I’ll need to dig up some of the grass to incorporate the tree into the bed but no biggie. I love the fact that this tree (or large shrub if you wish) is multi-trunked as it just feels right based on it’s location:

I look forward to the white blooms in April (click on the photo for the origin of this photo):

But most importantly, I cannot wait for the fall color (hence the cultivar name):

From what I’ve read and researched, the purple/black berries that mature in the summer on this tree will be devoured by the birds. A dream come true!

Crataegus viridis (Hawthorn) ‘Winter King’:

I have had a tough time photographing this tree just right but it has already changed the look and feel of the front of my home. Before this tree was installed, there was this eyesore that I’ve threatened to remove for two years now:

This Hawthorn will also bloom white but a little bit later in spring which works well with the other trees in my yard and their bloom times (click on photo for the original location of the pic):

And in the name of “multi-seasonal interest” the tree will deliver berries that should persist late into winter:
I’ve also learned that the bark on this Hawthorn will peel over time to expose an orange color similar to that of a River Birch. Hot damn I’m happy!  
Thank you again Leslie for the suggestions and as always, they were installed to perfection. 
John

Reunited (with the garden) … and it feels so good

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We just returned from our annual week’s vacation at the family cottage on a lake in Connecticut … but I’m holding off on THAT post for now. I love my kids and all, but I need a break from them. Instead, today’s post is all about what I returned home to out in the garden.

The second I stepped out of the car upon arriving home, I attacked the task of watering full throttle. It was a super dry week and all of the plants were begging for a beverage or two. After their thirst was quenched, I had some time to check out how things had progressed since I had left. Here’s what I discovered:

Phlox paniculata ‘David’ is in full bloom and smells amazing:

I was even smart enough to cover up it’s ugly legs (I had a joke in here originally about the cover up of legs but no matter how hard I tried, it came off creepy):

I recently relocated a few Caryopteris (Bluebeard) ‘Sunshine Blue’ to a more prominent location but did so in the dry summer heat. I was happy to see they haven’t wilted under the conditions:

I am anxious for the late summer blooms that were hidden the past few years:

For whatever reason, no plant reseeds worse that this one as I have seedlings all over the yard. I need to remember to not let the seeds mature this fall:

I love Lobelia siphilitica (Blue cardinal flower) and the blooms are so close:

I smelled the blooms of the Clethra (Summersweet) ‘Hummingbird’ before I actually noticed it in full bloom and I friggin love it:

As do the bees:

I planted a few Physostegia (Obedient plant) ‘Summer Snow’ last fall and they are thriving; some times it’s so damn easy:

I know I’m a broken record, but I love me some Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) ‘Gateway’. It is so imposing, in a good way:

Yeah for me, I actually successfully grew some annuals from seed, and they are still alive:

Oh yeah, the ornamental grasses still are rockin and rollin:

Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’

Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats) 

Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ 

Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’

But the absolute coolest thing, was finding these three little guys nestled in an arborvitae. I made sure to disrupt as little as possible:

It’s always fun to get away from the garden for a while and then return to see what has transpired. Good times indeed.

The vacation post will be delivered soon along with a post on two new trees I just had added.
Garden on my friends!
John “ONG” 

Wordless … umm … Thursday

A different view

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In preparation for my son’s birthday bash this past weekend, I spent my early mornings (I’m talking like 5:00 AM) weeding and cleaning up the garden beds. Out with the old (boring blackeyed susan’s, dying and wimpy joe pye weed ‘chocolate’) and in with the new (tough as nails bee balm, moisture loving spiderwort).

I have a tendency to spend all my time planting and transplanting while ignoring the weeds and under performing plants but I was determined to finally “clean up”. Task somewhat accomplished with some work still remaining.

Today I wanted to take a step back and show you a better view of the gardens as a whole now that they are sort of presentable. No close-up bloom pics or rain drop covered foliage. I have a ways to go but I’m happy to be thinking “big picture”:

Summer birthday bash

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It was a weekend full of birthdays and we are still recovering from all of the festivities. In fact, I’m too tired to even put it into words. Hopefully the photos tell the story:

It isn’t always fun and blooms

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A strange feeling overtakes me when I get a lot of props from the readers of this blog. The more you say “beautiful photo John” or “your gardens are gorgeous” or “you may be the coolest individual alive John” I get an overwhelming feeling of guilt. While I appreciate all the great feedback, I feel the need to offset the great photos with some of the not so great looking ones. It’s a sort of cosmic balance that serves as a reminder that for every beautiful blooming perennial, there is another one that didn’t survive the winter or fried in the heat of summer or slowly succumbed to powdery mildew.

A lot of beginning gardeners I talk to who read gardening blogs or read gardening magazines get very frustrated when they cannot successfully grow plants and make them look like they do in print. They immediately call themselves a “brown thumb” and give up. Well I’m here today to tell you it’s OK. I’ve been an obsessed gardener for close to fifteen years now and I still suck at it. Seriously, I still make the same mistakes or ignore the same good advice year after year. The reality is that the idea of “low maintenance” doesn’t really exist. You have to be willing to put in some time and effort. It takes time, patience and a lot of trial and error. But that is what makes it so enjoyable. You will never be an expert and have your entire lifetime to learn.

Taking photos and putting them in a blog is a great way to fool an audience. At the right angle, your blooms can look just right and you can crop out the dying branches or weeds. It’s easy as hell to make yourself believe you are a kick ass gardener. Today, I’ll first show you the “nice” photo of a plant and then follow it up with a “reality check” photo. And it’s all because I am such a caring and empathetic individual:

Wonderful blooms on a Geranium ‘Brookside’:

What it looks like after the blooms quickly fade:

What it can look like if you’re not lazy like me and cut it back immediately after bloom:

Nepeta (Catmint) blooms are a thing of beauty and draw in so many bees and butterflies:

Just realize you need to cut it back at some point or else they will look all ratty and crap as they do now because I ignored my own advice:   

Phlox ‘David’ is an all time fave for me:

And without fail, the foliage declines at the same time the blooms appear and I want to throw the f’er to the curb:  

Astilbes are a great combo of blooms and foliage in shade:

Just remember it loves and needs consistent water or it will quickly fry: 

Daylilly blooms are always phenomenal:

Just get ready to deadleaf the foliage on a daily basis or it will completely detract from the blooms: 

Northern Sea Oats are reliable as can be and the seedheads add an incredible level of interest summer into fall and even into winter:

Oh yeah, they also reseed like crazy and can take over a garden bed in the spring. Glad I remembered to cut off the seedheads before the winter set in:   

That initial flush of bloom on Daylily ‘Happy Returns’ is impressive:

Speaking of impressive, how impressive is this ugliness, post bloom?:  
Ahhh, I feel much better now. The secret is out of the bag and I can go about my business without any additional guilt. 
Have a great weekend and garden your ass off without fear!
John   

Blueberry time at Solebury Orchards

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I friggin love blueberries.

I eat them like they are M&M’s.

There is absolutely nothing better than downing these by the handful this time of year. The problem is, I have been tremendously unsuccessful at trying to grow them myself – be it in the ground or in a container – and do not have the time to put in the effort to amend my soil as needed. So I rely on my local orchards for my blueberry fix.

My favorite local joint for fresh off the branch/vine fruit is Solebury Orchards in Solebury, PA. It is a quick trip over the bridge from New Jersey and it isn’t like some of the other chain-like orchards in the area. We visited over the 4th of July weekend in hunt of the blueberry:

As we entered the blueberry locale, I vowed to make it down each and every row so I could locate every perfectly ripe, blueberry:

The truth is, it seemed a bit early for a lot of the fruit so we had to choose wisely and really search the shrubs like true blueberry detectives:

While my daughter wouldn’t eat a blueberry if her life depended on it, my son seems to be a fan:

The grounds at Solebury Orchards are rustic and charming and a place you want to hang for a while:

The kids are obsessed with the cider doughnuts that are sold in the store right behind them and were barely patient enough to pose for this shot:

The only disappointment was that we were not allowed to pick any raspberries but we’ll be back soon to devour those as well:

We had two cartons full by the time we left and admittedly, some of the blueberries were not really ripe enough. That didn’t stop me from eating them:

Best of all, my wife (the Chef D’excellence that she is) made lemon blueberry pancakes the next morning and they were ridiculously good:

One of these years, I’ll put in the time and effort to grow my own blueberries, but for now, I’ll hit up Solebury Orchards and let them do all the hard work.

Cheers!
John