Uncategorized Archives - Page 9 of 29 - The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

A collision of gardening activity

Posted on September 6, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

It is an interesting time of year out in the garden … of course that could be said just about every day … but work with me.

All of the trees, shrubs and perennials are at different points in their life cycle and it is fascinating to watch them all mingle as the cold weather begins to appear in the rear view mirror.

Yeah, I’m that deep.

But enough of me waxing poetic, I’ll let the photos further my point:

Some plants are putting on their best show right now:

Boltonia ‘Pink Beauty’

Helenium autumnale (Sneezeweed)

Others continue to put on a show but are showing signs of wearing down:

Echinacea ‘Fragrant Angel’ (White Coneflower)

Echinacea ‘Fragrant Angel’ (White coneflower)

Blooms on Astilbe ‘Deutschland’

Some have put on a second show, albeit, not as dramatic as the first:

Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (Catmint)

Phlox paniculata ‘David’

Many are just now showing signs of bloom for the first time:

Chelone glabra

Caryopteris ‘Sunshine Blue’ (Bluebeard)

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lime’

Add to the mix the foliage changes starting to appear (as seen in my last post) and you have a cornucopia of garden loveliness.

Don’t you agree? Of course you do.

John

Wordless Wednesday – early morning pics

Posted on August 8, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

Pycnanthemum incanum – Hoary mountain mint

Posted on July 30, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

Some times, I’ll just by a native plant for shits and giggles.

No prior research conducted.

No particular available space in the garden for it.

Some times, it is all in the name … like hoary mountain mint:

I had no idea what this perennial would look like in bloom or even what its ultimate size would be when I purchased a few at a local native plant sale. I was just intrigued by the name and in a mood to experiment.

It has been three years since that purchase and the jury is still out on this plant.

Before we get to my personal experience, some quick tidbits on the hoary mountain mint that I’ve discovered on the ‘net:

Is native to the dry woods of the Eastern U.S.
Size is roughly 3′ x 4′
Blooms from July to September
Survives in zones 4-8
Prefers full sun
Can be an aggressive spreader through rhizomes
Leaves are fragrant when crushed (spearmint) and has been used to flavor teas
Native Americans inhaled their vapors before entering sweat lodges (I have to try that)

For me, it bloomed sporadically for the first time last year in a spot that only received afternoon sun and it didn’t grow taller than a foot or so.

But this year, they were relocated to a full sun spot and “shocker” have performed well.

The blooms first appeared in early June:

And were eventually in full bloom by the last week of June:

On the plus side, the foliage of this plant has an interesting airy quality which contrasts well with larger leaved plants.

It also draws in the bees like mad as there is always something going on with these natives:

But, on the downside, the two plants I have collapsed once in full bloom and I wonder if my soil has something to do with that:

From what I have now learned, post purchase, is that these plants prefer a lean sandy soil and that is the exact opposite of my soil conditions. Or maybe it was simply one of the powerful rains that kicked their ass. Who knows?

But I’m not ready to give up on them yet by any means. There is a lot more experimenting to do.

I dig how the spent blooms look in the fall/winter, and anything that provides a level of winter interest deserves a stay of execution:

Anyone else grow this? Would love to hear your thoughts.

John

Best garden day of the year

Posted on July 22, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

I love early spring when the garden first comes alive and winter moves in to the rear-view mirror.

I love late spring when blooms are in abundance and the weather is super comfortable.

But my “garden lust” kicks into high gear the last week of July … I’m not kidding … it is that specific. I can almost identify the exact day each year when it all comes together deliciously.

And last night was that night.

Here in New Jersey, we have had a scorching hot summer with little rain. It’s been a challenge to keep all of the plants watered and looking presentable. There have been times where I wanted to give up and throw in the trowel.

But this past week, we have been inundated with rain and ironically, it has taken a few days for the plants to bounce back from the powerful winds and pounding rain. But once they did bounce back, things were in fine working order.

All was good as I dashed outside with the camera late yesterday afternoon.

The grasses are all at a substantial size
The fall blooming perennials are just starting to reveal their buds
The summer blooming perennials keep on keeping on
The deciduous shrubs are still holding on to their foliage color before the inevitable late summer decline.

Put that all together and you’ve got fantastic garden vignettes looking all healthy and lush and crap. Yeah buddy!

Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ and Ninebark ‘Summer Wine’

Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’, Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’, Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’ and Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’.

Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’, Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’, Amsonia tabernaemontana, Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’ and assorted others

Panicum ‘Northwind’, Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’, Amsonia tabernaemontana, Northern Sea Oats, Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’ and Miscanthus ‘Variegatus’

More of the same

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

Joe Pye Weed ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’

Viburnum ‘Aurora’, Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ and Althea ‘Lavender Chiffon’

Purple Coneflowers, Achillea ‘Moonwalker’ and Sedum (cultivar unknown)

Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’, Purple Coneflowers and Russian Sage

Panicum ‘Rotstrahlbusch’, Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Achillea ‘Moonwalker’, Sorghastrum ‘Sioux Blue’, Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’, Purple Coneflowers and Russian Sage

Good times indeed.

John

Color contrast and an ornamental grass vignette

Posted on July 13, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

Two quick ones today:

Loving the color contrast between Ninebark ‘Diablo’ and Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’:

And confirming my ornamental grass obsession.

1)Miscanthus ‘Purpurascens’ peaking out from behind the hydrangea.
2)Calamagrostis ‘El Dorado’ in bloom in back right.
3)Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ the monster in the back left:

Ciao

John

Dreaming smaller – an ONG blog update

Posted on July 3, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

No photos today.

No talk of pruning.

No witty banter.

You still with me? Good deal.

A few months ago I made a declaration that I was going to transform my yard into a sea of beautiful plantings and would throw a bash to celebrate my “grand re-opening”. You can read that post here. I even promised that it would be “epic”. I gave myself about a year and a half to pull it off since this was going to be massive and time consuming.

Well guess what? Shit ain’t happening. Not by a long shot.

Deep down, I think I knew I would never meet such a lofty goal, but hoped this blog would force me to work my arse off in order to actually pull it off. The pressure to perform would be enough of a driving force to keep me going throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Turns out is was more of an “epic fail” than anything “epic”.

Why did my big plan not come to fruition? The answer is obvious; good old fashioned lack of time.

With a full time (and then some) job, two young children involved in a variety of activities and a wife that I adore, there just isn’t the necessary amount of time to undertake such a project. And truthfully, that is a good thing. As a husband and father, I would be doing something seriously wrong if I had all that time on my hands.

Which brings me to my real point of discussion for today … this blog.

I’ve been writing the ONG for about two and a half years now, and it has been a blast. I’ve met a number of people both virtually and in person as a result of my garden writing and each and every one has been phenomenal.

I’ve learned a ton about how to write.

I’ve also learned how not to write.

I’ve gained knowledge on how to address plant issues or critter issues.

I’ve even learned how to attain better SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

I’ve taught myself a lot about photography and the use of light, shutter speed, etc.

But I’ve also allowed myself to become caught up in it all a bit too much.

I can only write, take photos and research my analytics before or after work each day or between baseball practice and dance practice on the weekends. That is a lot to cram in during my “down” time.

As a result, I don’t do a good job of responding to reader comments or reading other blogs or catching up on my favorite garden forums.

But worst of all, I find that I tune out my kids and wife too much in order to get it all done. I spend too much time analyzing my blog traffic when I should be playing with the kids or helping my wife research our future vacations. OK, it may not be as extreme as I’m making it out to be, but you get the point.

I’m not ready to give it all up. I enjoy the crafting of a post and the creativity that goes into it. I just need to dial it back a bit. A better balance if you will. After all, gardening is supposed to be a nice relaxing escape and I need to remind myself of that more often.

I can barely keep up with the weeds let alone promise to create some sort of masterpiece I’ve dreamed up in my head.

Thanks for listening and I’ll be back again … “somewhat” soon.

John

Rabbit training, an ugly spirea and beautiful devastation

Posted on June 28, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

Won’t you join me in my latest stroll around the gardens?

It’s taken a lot of patience, scientific study, field observation and pure will, but I’ve finally managed to train the rabbits to only eat weeds. What a time saver. I’d be thrilled to share the secrets to my success with you. Just send a SASE and a check for $99.99 and you can share in the latest gardening breakthrough:

Just wanted to prove that I am capable of taking a non close-up photo in the garden:

Note to self: Kale (Lacinato Hybrid) has a fantastic foliage color and while it tastes fantastic, it would be a phenawesome (I’ve copyrighted this word by the way) landscape plant as well:

Good looking Spirea right there:

Reason #187 to love a Viburnum: The berries extend the interest throughout the summer:

I bought this Salix (Dappled willow) ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ back in the spring and it has friggin EXPLODED in size. I am absolutely in lust with this shrub and would buy a bunch more if the deer wouldn’t destroy it. Luckily, this one is tucked safely away:

Can never get enough:

Isn’t that a cool pattern in the leaf? It’s like that all over both of my Hibiscus plants. Everyone should be as lucky as me to be able to witness such fine artwork. What a joy and pleasure defoliated leaves are:

And finally, this Tsuga canadensis (Canadian Hemlock) ‘Moon Frost’ has become a favorite already with it’s white growing tips. Just enough to make this stand out from other evergreens. I can’t wait to see how this develops over the years:

John

Newly blooming this week

Posted on June 25, 2012 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

I am taking a short hiatus from the “Prune in June” series to simply enjoy what is newly blooming in the garden this week.

I won’t lie to you, there is some serious ugly out in the garden as well. But I’m pretending I never saw it. We’ll address that at a later date when I’m no longer in denial.

For today, let’s pretend everything looks perfect. Thank you for your support.

Here’s what going on:

Physostegia (Obedient plant) ‘cultivar unknown’ has just started to bloom and I am a huge fan. As promised, the deer have stayed away and they have survived after soaking in water for days at a time. They are allowed to stay for the long haul:

The seed heads on Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats) are just starting to appear. While the seedlings of this ornamental grass are popping up all over my gardens, it’s still worth it when the seed heads are back lit later in the season:

Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage) is just starting to bloom a bit and the anticipation of it being in full bloom is killing me:

For now, it is the ultimate “see through” plant; seen here with Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) in the background:

Speaking of purple coneflowers, here are some more; true sign summer has arrived:

Even popping up mysteriously underneath Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’:

Echinacea ‘Fragrant Angel’, nice to see you back again:

I’m going to call Pycnanthemum incanum (Mountain Mint) one of my most underrated perennials. This native plant is the ultimate companion plant as it lends an “airiness” to the garden and pulls in all sorts of awesome creatures from butterflies to wasps:

While not yet in bloom, I am still celebrating the buds that have appeared on Daylily ‘Little Grapette’. I’ve been religiously spraying these with Liquid Fence to fend off the deer and so far so good:

I love these blooms but have only managed to see maybe two to three of these the past two years thanks to the friggin deer. After a few divisions along the way, I’ve got ten of these puppies ready to go. Ain’t the bloom nice?: