We had nothing but rain from Saturday night into late afternoon on Sunday, so the option to get out in the garden and get my “digging on” wasn’t going to fly. My soil is compacted enough so I didn’t need to make it any worse by stomping all over it while it was water logged. That is what we call a responsible gardener my friends.
But it was the weekend and I had some time on my hands so I NEEDED to do something plant related. So the focus was going to be on my deck and the containers that reside or will reside there.
First task was to address the Weigela ‘Wine and Roses’ I had dumped into a container last Fall. The “dump” was the result of my latest plant relocation strategy (with the term “strategy” used loosely) which led to the Weigela not having a proper home. When all else fails, dump it into a container and hope for the best.
Well, that isn’t entirely true.
First off, I did determine that the shrub could survive the Winter in a container, knowing that the rule of thumb is to subtract two zones off of one’s own plant zone (mine being zone 6) to see if a plant will survive. A little math of 6 – 2 = 4 tells me that this shrub would need to survive down to zone 4 and lo and behold, it does just that.
Secondly, as a design experiment I thought ‘Wine and Roses’ may look OK in a container with some trailing plants at its feet.
I hit the deck with pruners in hand and went to work on the Weigela. There was some serious dieback on the shrub as all of the new growth was from the base of the plant. No problem, I’ll just cut off the dead wood … and boom: 
Not too bad, eh? The foliage color is terrific, similar to what I saw when I severely pruned back a W&R Weigela a few years back. However, the bloom count looks pretty low as you can see in the pic but that’s OK, I still view this a foliage first shrub.
I underplanted the Weigela with a few yellow/chartreuse Sweet Potato Vine plants so I hope once those take off, this little combo will look alright.
The only other unknown is whether or not the W&R will take on a pleasing shape in a container. It looks a little awkward right now but only time will tell.
The next item wasn’t a task, but an opportunity to enjoy the Salix (Dappled Willow) ‘Hakuro Nishiki’ I recently relocated after tossing a slowly dying Arborvitae. I friggin love this shrub and enjoy the foliage color when looking out the back door onto my deck: 
Good times … assuming I can keep its size under control … but that is a story for another day.
The last task was to start planting some of the tomato/pepper/basil plants I bought last week. I am super fortunate to live right around the corner from Cross Country Nurseries which is a renowned seller of all things peppers/tomatoes/etc. I spent a good hour there last week roaming their greenhouses educating myself on their crazy amount of plant varieties. I vow to successfully grow tomatoes this year and now was the time to start that process and start it right.
As you know, I have a deer problem so keeping them away from any plant is a challenge. Growing tomatoes on the deck allows me to eliminate that issue. Now I just have to keep up with the watering and fertilization. Easier said than done.
I planted two cherry tomato plants – Sweet 100 and Isis Candy – and a pepper plant – Aji Habanero – in containers and now the fun begins:
I got so amped up, that I planted the rest of the tomatoes, peppers and basil in my raised garden bed, wet earth be damned:
So the herbs have been joined by tomatoes, peppers and basil. Sounds damn tasty to me! Now I just need to get on protecting them all from the deer and the jumpy f’n pesky and hungry rabbits.
Work is never done … but we love it, right?
Right?
Right?
John
Here is an example of why I love gardening so much.
Back in late Fall of 2011, I purchased three Astilbe ‘Amethyst’ plants online at a ridiculous discount. They were something like $1.99 a plant and for that price, I’ll give anything a try.
So in late October, the three little plugs (as opposed to the Three Little Pigs, hmmmm I may have a children’s book idea here) went into the dirt and I basically forgot about them.
Fast forward to Spring 2012 and I was thrilled to see that they had all survived the Winter: 
I have very little shade on my property so I cherish the opportunity to squeeze in some shade loving plants. I was super psyched to see that these puppies were good to go and I couldn’t wait to see how they would treat me in the near future.
Within a few weeks, I was fortunate to get me some blooms and hot damn, I loved the color:
To get blooms that soon was a bonus as I had no expectations of having any until maybe the following year.
Then one day I stumbled across this view and realized how the ‘Amethyst’ blooms contrasted nicely with the blooms of Nepeta (Catmint) ‘Walker’s Low’:
That combo never crossed my mind but falls under the always growing category of “Awesome plant combinations I never intended”. Some times it is better to be lucky.
I never prune off the blooms on my Astilbes as they remain somewhat interesting from Summer into Fall and into Winter:
Let’s fast forward a bit more to say, last week. Here are those same three Astilbe ‘Amethyst’:
They have filled in beautifully and I couldn’t be more proud of my $1.99 decision. The foliage is tremendous and lush and that alone makes me a happy dude.
But wait, we have more.
There are tons of buds that have formed these past few days and soon enough, we will have a massive explosion of color:
Be sure to tune in and enjoy said explosion of color with me.
Have a great weekend!
John
I’m digging the darker bloom color on Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ as compared to my ‘Tabernaemontana’:
I may just plant nothing but blue/purple flowers from here on out. Just THE best color, especially backlit by the sun in early evening:
I love Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’ and its foliage color this time of year. I can actually do without the blooms and may remove them to maintain that foliage hue. Who’s with me? Also, I stared at this configuration of 5 for a long time wondering if I should move them around into a different type of grouping. I suck.:
Is there anything more reliable than Nepeta (Catmint)? ‘Walker’s Low’ is about to bloom and will soon lead to big time bee singing. Good times (except for my wimpy children who complain every day on our walk to the bus. Get over it already you brats):
Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ … love it … but you know what I just learned? The common name “St. John’s Wort” comes from the fact that it was typically harvested on St John’s Day (June 24) which is a celebration of John the Baptist’s birth. Don’t say I never taught yous nothin:
I found myself busy with work, baseball, softball and life in general and didn’t even realize the following happened:
Viburnum ‘Shoshoni’ exploded in bloom and I’m loving it from every angle:
Amsonia ‘Tabernaemontana’ about to bloom:
Campanula ‘Joan Elliot’ blooming as well:
A new introduction to the ONG family, Geranium ‘Espresso’ showing first blooms since planted last year:
The peony buds literally formed overnight and I will be guarding them 24/7 from the soon to approach deer:
Iberis (Candytuft) ‘Snowflake’ flanked by Lamium (Dead Nettle) ‘Purple Dragon’:
And the Salvia ‘May Night’, Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ keep on keepin on:


Some of my greatest childhood memories are of staying home from school sick (some real, some … not so much … sorry Mom) and watching the Price is Right. If my memory serves me correctly, it came on every weekday for an hour at 11:00 A.M.on CBS.
I can remember watching the “Showcase Showdown” while eating my SpaghettiO’s and at the tender age of 8, yelling at the contestants for their weak efforts. I could have easily won both showcases with my vast knowledge of pricing Caribbean vacations or Hoover vacuums. I was that good.
One of the games that sticks in my memory bank more than others is the “Race Game”. The contestant had to place four price tags on various products and properly match the price tag to that product. When done, said contestant had to pull a giant lever to see how many he or she got right. You know what, let me stop you there … just watch this heavenly clip from circa 1980 and you’ll get the gist of the game:
Good stuff, right? Was Bob Barker so dreamy that he turned all women into insane jumpy groupies? Even as a kid this question gnawed at me. Who were these loonies?
What does all of this have to do with gardening? A whole hell of a lot actually and here’s why.
Like most gardeners, I like to “tinker” with where I locate my plants. OK, maybe tinker isn’t the right term. Maybe it is more like “annual overhaul”. I am not kidding. It is that bad.
Somewhere in the deep reaches of my gardening subconscious is this belief that there is a perfect garden plan that I am THIS close to discovering. Now I know that this isn’t attainable, but deep down there is a part of me who truly believes this garden “nirvana” exists. It is what drives to me to tinker day in and day out and keeps me up at night in deep thought.
As I move one shrub to a new locale and replace that one with three newly purchased perennials or dispose of other poorly performing perennials and move in some new ornamental grasses, I imagine pulling that giant lever and Bob Barker rewarding me with a brand new Datsun. On to the Big Wheel for me:
Of course the reality is that I never come close to winning and the crowd boos me off the stage. Even Don Pardo laughs at me as I bow my head in shame. Maybe Card Sharks is more my speed.
Quick interlude, if you’ve kept up with me so far, congratulations! That couldn’t have been easy and I appreciate the perseverance.
If you are OK with reading more of my rambling and watching me attempt to tie this all together, please read on as I share my recent inner thoughts when I tackled yet another mini overhaul:
“I’ve got spring color on both sides here with the Ajuga and Creeping Phlox. I need color that will last in the summer but also be left alone by the rabbits and the occassional deer. I also need foliage that will contrast well with the neighboring boxwood. No problem, out goes the Iris divisions that are constantly mowed down by the rabbits and in goes some Yarrow ‘Grapefruit’. God I hope the drainage will be sufficient. I could always move them if not.”
“I love me some Carex and they are solid performers but this is a spot begging for some color since they are surrounded by boxwoods so …”
“Let’s put in some ‘May Night’ Salvia. I’ll have to stay on top of the deadheading to keep the steady flow of blooms but I’m up for the challenge. Or am I? Will these look messy on their own without the foliage hidden as it breaks down in the summer?”
“I don’t like how the foundation planting looks here. I’ll be damned if I remember how I came up with this so-called plan. The boxwoods in the back aren’t lined up and just look out of whack. And that ‘El Dorado’ ornamental grass just isn’t working.”
“No problem. We’ll just move one of the boxwoods over a bit so they both anchor the foundation. Now, what to place in between now that we have such a large space to fill?”
“Wait a minute. Just look around the corner at that ‘Aurora’ Viburnum. She gets munched by the deer each Fall/Winter so there are so few blooms in Spring. But, if I place her against the foundation, she is safe from the deer. Plus, the blue/green foliage and larger leaves is a nice contrast with the boxwoods. And the sweet smelling blooms are more likely to make their way into the house.”
“Speaking of deer, this Euonymus at the corner of that same front porch also takes a beating from the deer and high winds so why not relocate this too while we’re at it.”
“This will work. I needed something to replace the Arborvitae at the base of the back deck that succombed to bagworm last summer. She looks a little weak but she’ll recover.” 
“While we’re at it, this back deck area is in need of a serious overhaul. Hmmmm, I have an idea. One of the two Caryopteris ‘Sunshine Blue’ I have at the end of my driveway died so it looks silly now with only one at the entranceway to the backyard.” 
“So she now has a new home by the back deck.”
“OK, I like where we are going with this back deck bed. But I need to tie both sides of the deck bed together without making them look exactly alike. I do like the Lady’s Mantle edging the one side, so …” 
“Let’s do the same on the other side.”
“Alright, maybe we are on to something here. Although I’ve said that the past 5 years and each and every year I change this area completely. No time for pity, need to move on.” 
“The other arborvitae at the base of the back deck bit the dust after Hurricane Sandy and it’s been sitting in limbo ever since. Today we move on from it.”
“That wonderful Dappled Willow …”
“Just needs to take a few steps back and were good to go.”
It’s not time to pull the lever to see if I got it right as there is much more to move around. We should have that all done in the next few weeks.
Then Bob Barker will tell me if I got it all right.
Until then …
John
I took the leap this past week and finally purchased my first DSLR camera. I had been doing research for quite a while and settled on the Nikon D5200. Holy crap there is a lot to learn, but I am going to have a ton of fun playing around with it.
I had taken a camera lesson a little over a year ago with my homie Tony Granata, so I know enough about aperture and shutter speed to be dangerous, but now I am ready to put that knowledge to use. I have another lesson scheduled with Tony in the near future and I’m banking on him educating me even more on my camera’s capabilities. Good friggin times!
I did venture out a bit this weekend with the new camera and I’m happy with the results. I won’t lie, I mainly used the “auto” function with a bit of experimentation on the sports and landscape modes but soon enough I’ll be utulizing all of the options.
The camera came with an 18-105mm lens which already blows away what I had to work with on the old camera. Of course, I am already yearning for some other lenses so I can zoom in on my birds, but we’ll take it slow for now.
On to the pics:
The first chance to break out the new camera was at my daughter’s softball game and it couldn’t have been a nicer day:
The “sports” mode is fantastic and I didn’t have to adjust for lighting at all:
Next stop was my son’s baseball game but I ended up being too nervous to even take the camera out. Yes, I’m that annoying parent who takes it all too seriously.
Speaking of taking it seriously, my son was in the backyard after his game practicing his pitching (I swear I didn’t push him) so I had some time to take some photos of his form:
Back in the house and I used the “portrait” function on my favorite subject. I like the results a lot as the skin color is way better than what I would get on the old camera:
Later that afternoon it was on to the plants.
First off, Geranium ‘Espresso’ with some newly formed buds:
A shot of my front bed and I can already appreciate how all of the plants are in focus which was virtually impossible in the past:
A field of dandelions (aka my entire lawn):
Trying to capture the Summer Snowflakes backlit by the sun:
That is all I got for now but you can be assured there will be some serious photography coming your way each and every day now.
I gotz the itch and it ain’t stoppin any time soon.
John
Is there a more encouraging sign in spring than the emergence of the peony stems?
These tough as nails performers come back year after year without fail; and that’s saying something when you have conditions like mine.
Soon, we’ll see these:
Turn into these:
Unless you’re like me and the deer decide to chow down one night on every single one of the buds on three different plants:
That WILL not happen this year.
Guaranteed.