The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Filling in nicely

Posted on July 26, 2013 by jmarkowski 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’

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 July 24, 2013 by jmarkowski 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:

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

Posted on July 22, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

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 July 19, 2013 by jmarkowski 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

MLB All-Star FanFest

Posted on July 16, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in Baseball .

As I mentioned in a previous post, my son and I went to the MLB All-Star FanFest yesterday. It was an amazing time and my son still hasn’t stopped smiling.

So please forgive me today for a truly non-gardening post.

Birthday gift

Ready to take advantage of all they have to offer

Former Mets pitcher Sid Fernandez

Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry

Former Met 2B and current 3B coach Tim Teufel

One of my favorite players from my younger years, Fred Lynn

Howard Johnson (aka HoJo), a fave Met from the 1986 World Series champion team

The infamous Met closer from back in the day, Jesse Orosco

My personal fave pic, Jack with New York sports radio personality “Mad Dog” Russo

A Cal Ripken spotting

“The Wizard”, Ozzie Smith

New York sportswriter, author and radio host, Mike Lupica

Sweet Jose Reyes shoes

Jack with his hero, David Wright

Couldn’t get close enough to see him in person, so watched David Wright on the big screen

One last pic from an incredible day

Back to gardening tomorrow, pinky swear.

John

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – July

Posted on July 15, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in Blooms .

We just returned from a ten day vacation down south and my son and I are off to the MLB All Star Game Fanfest in New York City, so I am not really capable of full sentences at this point.

I’ll be back in full swing in just a few days.

Until then, here are some current pics from the garden as much has changed in only a week and a half:

“Prune in June” – Sneezeweed

Posted on July 14, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .

Quick one today as I continue with my 2nd year of doing the “Prune in June” series.

I cut back one Sneezeweed (Helenium) by 1/2 in mid June last year hoping it would bloom without falling over. Here is that plant a few weeks later:

After further review, this was due to really poor drainage in this spot more than anything else.

Another Sneezeweed that was cut back by 1/2 bloomed at a much smaller height and did manage to stay upright.

A third plant was left untouched but had sufficient support when it bloomed at close to four feet tall.

Now we fast forward to 2013.

The Sneeezeweed that was located in poor drainage has been moved to a new spot, chowed down multiple times by a family of rabbits and will not be part of this pruning experiment.

The other two have been cut back by 1/2 a few weeks later than last year:

Now we kick back and wait.

John

“Prune in June” – Boltonia

Posted on July 12, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .

Here in zone 6B New Jersey, Boltonia typically blooms in late August/September and any blooms that time of year cannot be understated. They have a fantastic flower color and can be statuesque if situated in the right spot where they can be supported by other plants.

Unfortunately, I have struggled to get these perennials to NOT topple over once in full bloom:

Last year, I finally took things into my own hands and cut them back by 1/2 in early June. By the time they started blooming in September, they were about a foot shorter than normal at 2 1/2 feet:

The results were a marked improvement from prior years but I still think I can do better and keep them even more upright.

So this year, I waited two weeks longer before cutting the three Boltonia back by 1/2:

Now we wait and see if this will make a difference at all.

Have a great weekend.

John

“Prune in June” is back – Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’

Posted on July 10, 2013 by jmarkowski Posted in How-to, Perennials, Pruning .

Last June, I started my “Prune in June” series covering perennials I cut or pinched back in June to control the ultimate height and/or look of said perennials. June has come and gone already, but I logged my cutting back of these same perennials to once again closely analyze the results.

Today, we are talking Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ but my guess is this same approach can be applied to other upright Sedum cultivars.

As a recap, here is what a pinched plant looked like by late Summer:

And a photo of an unpinched one:

A pinched plant in October:

And again, an un-pinched plant at that same time:

As you can see, the pinched plant bloomed later (by about 1 – 2 weeks) and provided extended color deeper into the Fall. That works for me.

The number of blooms on each stem was also greater on the pinched back plant which gave the Sedum a “fuller” look. Again, a win.

So for 2013, I pinched back each and every bud on each and every Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ plant. Here is how they looked pre-pinching:

And how they now look post-pinching:

As I did last year, I’ll be tracking the results throughout the Summer/Fall. This is life changing info we all need and I am here to provide just that for you.

You are most welcome.

John