Garden Grunt

Apple trees can really be a space hog…..with their 25ft wide arching branches..their general need to have a partner.  Who has the yard big enough!?!  I don’t.

I want this miniature, columnar Apple tree so I can have Apple crisp till the day is dead.

I came along these lil Apple trees at the Independent Garden Center show this last weekend in Chicago.  Really makes me wanna take a bite out of them!

Have you seen these before?

kk

Sometimes you just don’t want to talk to your neighbors.  Or maybe you’d prefer to sun yourself in your itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini without fear of peeping eyes.

Here are three plants that bring instant privacy to your outdoor space: (if you can’t see the video link, please click here)

If you are desperate for instant gratification, I would suggest purchasing a larger specimen of ornamental grass. However, if you have some patience, you can purchase 1 gallon containers costing anywhere from $7-12.  The grass shown in the video is a 5 gallon Maiden Grass standing approximately 5ft tall, costing approximately $30 at TimberPine Nursery

Here are my top 5 ornamental grasses that would work well for privacy:

1.  Maiden Grass

2.  Karl Foerster Reed Grass

3. Silver Feather Grass

4.  Huron Sunrise Grass

5. Zebra or Porcupine Grass

Two vertical evergreens that work well in the Iowa climate are the Hetz Juniper and the Skyrocket Juniper.  Both handle the winters well and can adapt to the clay soils, versus the pyramidal Arborvitae that struggles here.  (so much so that I don’t ever use them).

Happy privacy planting.

kk

I didn’t really like the Ninebarks at first.  I thought their growth characteristics were too…..too waunky if you will.  But…through some constant nudging of  my husband Jay, we now have not 1, not 2 but FOUR Ninebarks.

I believe my issues lie with the Diablo Ninebark, whereas the Summer Wine Ninebark and most recent addition, Center Glow Ninebark show more promise, in my eyes….take a listen…

Please go to my website to see video from garden segment on WHOtv.

Which one is YOUR favorite?

Happy Planting!

kk

p.s. TimberPine is running a sale on Ninebarks through end of July. 15% off their regular retail price!  Give em a call!

Yearly I’ll have customers request pathways during our design consultation.

“Where do you want the path?” I’ll ask.

“From the deck to the patio.” they’ll say.

or “Oh…from the frontyard to the backyard”.

“Really? Do you walk this way quite a bit?” I’ll ask.

“Well…sometimes” they’ll answer.

Here’s my suggestion~wear a tread in the lawn first.

AND THEN install a pathway.

But sometimes you really don’t need a pathway.  Sometimes a pathway dictates where you “think” you need to go…

versus going wherever you want to.

I would much rather choose my path than have it made for me.

Happy Planting…..and tromping through your yard

kk

My husband and I started with a problem~an intersection and some….other stuff.

And the problem got a lil prettier after we had TimberPine plant some Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries….you’ll see the full process here.

And now…we’ve filled the one pocket near the patio in with some flower power

There is Flame Grass to the left that will spread nicely to fill that corner and bring some red fall color.

Summer Wine Ninebark brings in the burgundy color to the back.   The red double Knockout Shrub Rose will rock it till fall while East Friesland Salvia blooms up to 3 times this season.

I’m just really anxious for the Salvia to get going….and for that intersection to diminish a wee bit.

Happy Planting!

Katie

So….if you can remember back that far….I once had a dream to create a living wall.  Today it’s a few plants from completion and I’m not sure I like it.   What do you think?

Some of you are thinking that I don’t have enough room for the plants to grow…keep those thoughts to yourself…I’m not replanting.

I’m not sure I like the sporadic placement of plants, but that too I’ll have to live with.  I really wanted to integrate vegetables AND flowers in the planters.   We’ll see how the peppers, basils, sage and cilantro take amongst the rest.   I’m just not sure about this yet.

kk

Remember when my imagination got the best of me and I conned Jay into creating a living wall without even knowing what he was building?  Remember when you all were reading that post and scratching your heads trying to figure out just what I was thinking?

Well looky now……

We finally got the gutters cut (that was an ungodly task) and screwed them into their casings.

I threw in a few herbs to give you an even better visual.

I’m wondering if I should plant them at a slight angle outward versus upright.  What do you think?

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll attach these living wall capsules to the deck

….and let the planting begin!

kk

Last week Jay and I hired our employer TimberPine to help get our Fort Knox off to a good start.  We really wanted large specimen trees that could create the barrier we were craving.  That being said, they were so large that we couldn’t handle them without a machine.  We were blessed to have gotten foreman Leroy Hall and his crew to plant our Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries.

Here’s how TimberPine does it:

A tracked skidloader augers the hole

Omar ensures the hole is dug to the depth of the tree's rootball

Leroy transports the tree from the truck to the hole

Omar looks for guidance from me to ensure he's got the right "face" forward

The crew works the same scenario for the remaining two trees and then return to each to backfill.

And water them in.

A look back at all three trees

And finally, an overview of phase one to our Fort Knox:

Previously I wrote about the initial steps I took to plan out these planting beds.  The Autumn Brilliance Serviceberries will plat a BIG role in Fort Knox.  We chose them for a couple reasons:

• It reached the ideal height and width (roughly 25ft tall and 15ft wide) that would provide privacy for the patio and deck
• They have a nice white spring bloom and awesome red/orange fall color
• AND…frankly we liked them because they already had some growth on them, versus starting at a smaller size.

I’m anxious to start filling in the gaps.  I believe the next insert will be some Flame Grass.  Any other suggestions?

Happy Planting!

kk

Have you seen all the craze?  I have..and I’m stoked about it.

Living Walls

Stroll your eyes over this…and let the imagination begin:

photo courtesy of The Green Head

photo courtesy by Olive Loaf Design

I LOVE the idea of throwing some green up on your walls and wanted to apply the practice to my own landscape…..but in a slightly different manner.

See this shot looking south off my deck? Never mind the crap…but I’m seeing potential.  You probably can’t see it.  And neither did my husband.  But with the power of persuasion and….well…pure stubbornness…

…..my vision starts to come alive!

This isn’t finished yet.  This is us testing the first prototype.  We went on to make two more.

I’m getting the feeling you’re still frowning, wondering just what the heck I’m trying make Jay create.  He’s still out of the loop too..but that’s the fun part.

And as I mentioned, we’re not finished yet.  But this is going to be awesome…I can just feel it!

The next step is to stain them, install the rain gutters (yes, I said rain gutters), attach them to the railing, put the soil in and plant them….hopefully in the next week or so.

Got any ideas of what I can plant in them?  Or are you still thinking it’s going to look pretty crazy.  You just wait.  You’ll want one..or three yourself!

Happy Planting!

kk

I started a series two weeks ago called Friday Favs.  It was the first of the series and I forgot to post last Friday…off to a great start here Grunt.

So today..I’m hitting ya with TWO FRIDAY FAVS…..hold onto your seats Grunts.

Limelight Hydrangea

Limelight Hydrangea contrasts well with the foliage of the Ninebark

Alternative to typical hedges

Hydrangeas make great cut flower bouquets. Photo courtesy of Dayton Nursery

And something new within the last year or so…the Limelight Hydrangea Tree.  Taking the shrub and grafting it to a dwarf tree cultivar.  I’ve got one of these at the front in our front landscape and love it!

Limelight Hydrangea Tree

I like the Limelight Hydrangea because it only reaches roughly 4-5ft tall and wide, the blooms last FOREVER (about 2 months strong) and the overall structure of the shrub is much stronger than the older versions of Hydrangeas.  In my own garden, I’m using the Limelights to create  a little privacy for my patio.

My SECOND FAVORITE is the Japanese Forest Grass.

fall color

What fascinates me about the Japanese Forest Grass is the overflowing nature of its foliage and the blend of fall colors.  The best part?  This spicy grass thrives in the shade!  Who ever said you can’t bring color to the dreary parts of the garden!?!

What’s sprouting in your shade garden?

Happy Planting!