Goodbye, garden...

Well, much sooner than anticipated I am moving my garden again. But don't cry for me, my new space has much better possibilities. As a matter of fact, that make me shudder with anticipation! I have always prefered jewel-box, intimate spaces and I can really rock this one out- and get some attention for it!
So tomorrow I dig, here are some requiem photos...

Huh?

Shoes with toes, I am not 100% against them and it scares me.
I saw a pair of shoes on "What not to Wear" that had monkeys on them, I mean, they threw them away- but I need shoes with monkeys on them. I really do. So I'm looking for them and I came up with shoes with their own toes...
oh well...

discount days

Ok, the garden center I pass on my way home has perennials at 50% so I bought a Knifophia 'red hot poker' and a Clematis tanguitica. I also bought a giant fluffy Rosemary that I am going to pledge to keep alive indoors.
I have been looking for a Clematis tanguitica for a while, surprised to find 2 on some on a limestone path in the middle of nowhere. I remember the blooms being more greenish than in these photos. Hm. So the new house is yellow and this will look lovely growing on the back fence we have not yet put in. I have a Sweet Autumn Clematis sitting in a pot on the side of the driveway that I plan on planting on the old timey laundry line that still exists on the side of the house. What else can I hang from the laundry line that would look cute?

what exactly is a city?

Ok, we haven't lasted long in this tiny little town and we're moving on to "town"- or what they call town around here. It's still tiny.
Any way, we got a cute little cottage that needs and overhaul- Team Thomsen style and thet needs a garden real bad. I'll post pictures this week, it's adorable!
It's also lie, close to stuff, which I am ashamed to say tickles me. I am a heartbeat away from a yoga studio and European cheese shop...
excited!

storm report

this from the national weather center...
0905 PM TSTM WND GST 2 E KOUTS 41.32N 86.99W
08/15/2007 E100 MPH PORTER IN NWS STORM SURVEY

EXTENSIVE GROUND SURVEY CONCLUDED THAT A NEARLY
CONTINUOUS SWATH OF DAMAGING WINDS OCCURRED FROM NEAR
LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS SOUTHEASTWARD TO SOUTHEAST OF
KOUTS. THE MOST INTENSE DAMAGE WAS IN THE VICINITY OF
KOUTS WHERE SOME STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE CONSISTENT
WITH EF-2 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WAS NOTED WITH
WINDS LIKELY IN EXCESS OF 100 MPH. BASED ON RADAR
DAMAGING WINDS LIKELY BEGAN IN PORTER COUNTY AROUND 905
PM AND ENDED AROUND 935 PM CDT.




total mess...

Oh, I'm livin' in Wisconsin, if only in my mind...

When my 2 worlds collide- Star Wars and gardening

Holy crap. A Louisiana Iris named 'Princess Leia'.

Damn!

What to wear when you're planting mums and kale...

Fall footwear from Dr. Scholl's- They are made out of that same goofy lightweight platic Crocs are... but I find these kinda stylish!

They have another style that's a little more, um, big? that I might have to get. These would look nice with tights at work. Like I'll get a chance to wear tights at work...

ha!

My baby just cares... for Nandina

Help me my husband wants to plant Nandina.

And God help me he wants it in the front yard.

He sees it on all those HGTV shows in warmer climates where it looks pretty and Zen and is rather invasive.

Here it looks like someone hit it with a baseball bat most of the year. If it would survive in our zone, it would HAVE to be a back yard plant.

Design principles 101

Rule # 429- Don't plant your Eryingium in your Echinops...

Or like in this painting... mix it with Cardoon to really confuse me.

Not that I don't like them all together, just like, not in the same hole... a little fluff (like Chocolate Eupatorium!) in between, please...

I actually had a spiky garden when we lived in Bucktown many moons ago, it had Echinops, Eryingium and Cardoon (with resonable fillers like Agastache 'blue fortune' and Calamintha variegata) and I edged it in a milion blue wine bottles stuck upside down in the ground. Lovely when the sun hit it. That was when Dan sold wine- I don't remember much else about that summer...

If you had to pick an absolute favorite....

If you had to pick one plant to be your favorite, with no qualifiers like.... favorite herb or favorite shade plant or favorite annual...

what would it be? I've long thought mine would be Lavender. But... I love Setcreasea more than anyone should. I don't give it full credit because it's an annual... I'm loving variegated Japanese Iris more and more every day...

What would your hands down, never-could-change-you-mind, planted around your grave, favorite plant be?

a plant I'd forgotten all about!

Shiso! It's a Perilla- and you know how Magilla Perilla grows! Yikes!

I saw some growing in my fabulous boss' back yard and I nearly fell over. It was sold to her husband as, "um, yeah... that's Coleus..." at a farmer's market for a dollar a flat. A bargain?

It's a componet in sushi making, subtle tasting as it is. It's really beautiful- prettier than any Basil out there. A lot more invasive though...

Just don't let it go to seed and we'll be ok...

A song I sing when drunk

I learned this song when I was briefly a "docent" at the Morton Arboretum... what? I never told you that I worked there? Um yeah, short and full of glory. I fell into the DuPage river up to my waist on my first tour. Ruined my new Vans.

Anywhooooo- I leaned this song. I'll sing it to you someday after a few cocktails...

Know, Know Your Oaks”Sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat." The hand motions for the song are in parenthesis.

Know, know, know your oaks (tap your temple with your finger)

This is how they grow—

(palms up, arms out to side)Red Oaks

(hands straight up in the air)White Oaks

(hands still up high, but at your sides)

Pin Oaks (hands straight out to your sides),

Bur Oaks (hands twisted around in strange, uncomfortable position)

And acorns down below, hey!

Arboriculture, hahahahaa... joke time

Oh god help me...

Two tall trees are growing in the woods. A small tree begins to grow up between them. One turns to the other and says, "It that a son of a beech, or a son of a birch?" The other says he cannot tell. When a woodpecker lands on the small tree, the first big tree says, "Woodpecker, you're the tree expert. Can you tell if that is a son of a beech or a son of a birch?" The woodpecker takes a taste of the small tree and replies, "It is neither a son of a beech nor a son of a birch. That, gentlemen, is the best piece of ash I have ever had my pecker in."

I have at last fallen, like a mighty Oak...

Everyone asks me, "Gee, Amanda, do you have a MySpace page?" and they just assume I do because I'm some sort of narcissistic hipster or something.

But I figure that having a blog is narcissistic enough right?

But Sunday was rainy and I was bored and I figured there must be something to all this MySpace hubub, right?

probably not but go ahead and check it out anyway...

voles vs. shrews

whatever. My Pendarvis (Welsh for he who bites toes in the night) has killed 2 of them. Is that talent or what? I'm all mammal friendly and stuff, don't get me wrong. I mean, I did post something evil about rabbits but I have also rescued a baby with a little white dollop on his head from the tractor earlier this summer... I'm not heartless.

But voles/shrews? Go Penny!

dude, this chart doesn't even help with the forensics of whatever it is that he's killing...

Holy Loamy soil! Jackpot!

All the plants I've always wanted to grow and couldn't, Lupines, Iris, Pardoncanda... yay! They never worked in my Chicago clay soil...

That being said, my Willows are miserable and I killed a Butterbur- I haven't killed anything in sooooooooo long and then to kill one of those???

Lupines!

You know whats even grosser? bagworms!

So then there's bagworms on the evergreens. And they will give you nightmares. Seriously, I sent out a flyer at work and one customer called and said it gave her nightmares.

Mission accomplished!

They look a lot like pine cones- that's a perfect camouflage. That's their gross lil' nest. The they crawl out and do some real damage. I was at someones house where there were so many that you could actually hear them chomping away.... ewwwwwwwwww. They are doing some serious damage around here.

I hope they don't get in my ears.

Rose Rosette Virus

I love roses- and I want others to love roses! I truly believe they are one of the easiest things to grow with the best of payoffs... however, things like rose rosette come along and goof up my good public relations...

I first learned of this virus last year and then I saw 2 cases total last summer.

This year I have seen about 30 cases- from customers' yards to multiflora roses in ditches and roadsides. It seems to not like Knockouts- thank Baby Jesus.

This virus is passed from rose to rose by a mites that can travel miles so gooooood luck preventing it. It's super catchy. I can tell you it's fatal, it's just a matter of time- I don't care what anyone else says.

It's characterized by a kind of red stunting of new growth - it's pretty easy to pick out- however when Japanese beetles have eaten this new growth then you're really screwed because then it's hard to pick up on indeed.

The most important part is to get the hell rid of the thing once you dig it out. Burn it if you can. Bag it immediately after digging it so the mites don't get a free fling around town...

ick. mites. I need a bath now.

Update: yeah, I've seen it on Konckouts now. Look out world...

Containers from the days of yore...

Here are some old photos I found whilest playing around with Geni...

They are from my container slinging days at JH&G...

Just because it's something...

It's hot out, I think I'll leave it out.

Here are some random photos I at some point downloaded onto my iPod. I have no idea where I go them but they are truly lovely to look at...

Massacre in Nishiki town!

Damn rabbits.

It looks like someone took pruners to the poor thing.

I pulled this Nishiki Willow out of the dumpster at JH&G and gave it a quick prune and it came back so nicely! Lots of new, pinky coral leaves on the top and a lot of new growth at the bottom. I love Willows, I can't help it.

I have it in a bed where it plays off a Lysimachia 'Alexander' and a Fallopia japonica variegata, since they all have the same leaf color scheme of creamy white and green with a touch of blush.

Apparently rabbits don't care about my matchy matchiness.

I have sprinkled my Bull's Blood Beets with tons of Cayenne pepper and still they are getting mowed down to the ground. I'm now on a Cayenne/black pepper mix. What's a city girl to do? I have always laughed at people that were at their wit's end with rabbits and snarkily commented that they should get a dog. Well guess what. That isn't working. Nothing is....

I have cuter ideas than you

water plants a la kiss my aster!

There's a cute vintage chip and dip set with water lettuce and water hyacinth and a vintage opalescent baking dish with 2 water hyancinth.

My how pretty my invasive-in-other-zones friends are!

MOTHRA!

Check out this giant moth!

I need to figure out what the hell is was...

I wish I was in the land of Cotton?

I have purchased 3 lovely ornamental Cotton plants from the fabulous Ted's Greenhouse. I can hardly find any info on growing it or what it looks like or anything, even less on the dark foliaged version that one of the 3 is...

I will take photos when it looks like something, right now it's in the saddest, thirstiest container ever...

so here's a picture of Dixie to tide you over...

Buddleia Smackdown!

Compact Buddleia? What's the point?

As a recent city gardener, I just don't get it. Why would you want a smaller Buddleia? Even in my cramped Chicago yard I had 2 of the real deal, big ol

gangly Buddleia...

I just accidentally bought a 'purple emperor' Buddleia, planted it... and then realized it was a shrimp. I wanted a 'purple knight' but they didn't over winter at work, where I got the stuff.

I was looking for a giant, fence top peaking monster of a plant and this lil' guy isn't going to get tall enough to ride the rides at the county fair. Although, truthfully, different sources report different sizes for the 'emperor'... some up to 6'... the tag siad 4x4 and that blows.

Back he goes...

The Saxifrage Society

I love this web site. One look at these (all my favorites, at leat the ones I recognize) to know I have to join The Saxifrage Society! Gimme those big leaves, baby!

I was looking for more info on my new Peltiphyllum peltata... which I am not going to find because now they call it Darmera peltata. Still, lucky me!

Bumper sticker of the year

If I can only have one bumper sticker- and whoa, that's tough for me- this is the one I choose for this year....

Cheap and cute

I'm so ever-lovin' sick of Crocs...

That being said, I want these cheapies from Payless...

Different is good!

Witty garden wear

This shirt rocks.

Wolfgang- The other white meat

A windowbox into my soul...

Damn! Isn't this fine?

I can't wait to see what it looks like in a month if this is it new!

Pendarvis- growing up...

Victory! or damn close to it..

I made a bet with myself that I'd have the 3 giant clumps of ditch lilies (I inherited them when I move in here) OUT before they bloomed. Well, I have gotten 2 giant clumps out and I have one to go. This pile I knew I only had minutes to get out if I was going to win this bet with myself.

I dunno- you tell me...

From this picture, did I technically win or not?

Before and after...finally!

Ok, so it's been more than a month since I blogged. But you know how it is for landscapers this time of year... right?

Ok, so here's the before and after pictures of the front of the house. Keep in mind, it's only mid-June and I've been working like a mule that has been lowered into a coal mine in a bucket to work 22 hour days hauling things 3x my own weight in the dark and then it's too difficult to get me back out of the coal mine so I'm just going to end up shot, skinned and eaten.

I need lots more cocoa shell mulch and a shit load of rain. But I'm on to something!



I've been looking for the word that best explains how I want my gardens to look and how I want them to make me feel. When I really allow my self to think about it, it's what I crave in my interior decorating style as well. It's like, established? Ancient? Layered? Cozy? Plain ol' interesting? I know I like things busy, and a little cluttered. But I wouldn't say "patchwork" or "messy"... I give up for today...

Before...

After...

Before shots...

After all, this is a gardening blog.

Here is the new back yard. The turf is awful. I'd say about 60% grass in the nice spots and the other 40% is Chickweed and Creeping Charlie and bare spots.

My work is cut out for me.And yes, there's ditchlilies...

I'm making beds with what little time a girl in landscaping has in May and I have plants on their way...

let's watch the progress...

Keep in mind I've already committed to the Porter County Garden Walk next year, and I don't bother doing stuff if I'm not going to come off looking like a genious...

Rapping Squirrel

Check out some poetry...

Just the way I like it...

One girl's ZZ Top truck is another girl's Sanford and Son...

My Uncle is loaning me this truck to see if I can handle it. Naturally I though, "Of course I can!" but having driven it I'm have serious second thoughts.

I LOVE old trucks though... and I see such possibilities in this one...

Imagine it glossy green restored with yellow hubcaps and brakes that don't make me soil my pants!

HOT!

(notice the crank in front? My Uncle Dan has a fabulous sense of humor!)

Weed preventer

I am teaching our puppy, Pendarvis, how to search and destroy dandelions. He finds them, rips them out, gives them a little shake and then eats them.

Good boy, Pen!

What now?

I'm backed up on things to blog about.
I have moved from Chicago to tiny Kouts, Indiana.
I have had my wisdom teeth out.
I'm about to create a kick ass garden.


The middle one is weighing me down a little. Give me another week to recover.