What's Waking Up? March 23, 2016

Here in Noblesville, Indiana I've got lots of sleepy plants just barely waking up for Spring. Here's a photo tour of what's going on... if you just glance at my yard from the sidewalk you'd miss it, but if you get down on your knees you can definitely see things happening. I'm "that guy" walking around my yard with my iPhone taking pictures of mulch...

Hosta 'Blue Mouse Ears' survived the winter after being planted later in the season last year (September). Can you see the eyes? No? It took me a little while to find them myself. Ok, I'll admit I dug down a bit to spot them and then covered them back up again to keep them warm.

'Wee One' dwarf lavender with new green on old pale blue stems

Lots of new and thick looking culms growing from my 'Green Panda' bamboo Fargesia rufa

Hosta 'Patriot' going strong, still a good 2 weeks ahead of last year

'Annabelle' hydrangea waking up with green coming out of plump buds. They will form new growth and bloom on new wood this summer - but I am trying something different this year by leaving more old growth above ground instead of cutting them down to the ground completely.

Purple cone flower 'Prairie Splendor' by the utility boxes - this is the one that had a disease or something last year, it never formed real blooms and it got all wonky looking. I was kinda hoping it would come back normal this year if the disease died off over the winter. On second thought, based on photos, it looks like this one has Aster Yellows disease and I should rip it out before it spreads to anything else. Sorry little guy!

Shasta daisy Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky' coming back after being transplanted in July

Dead Head Shasta Daisy to Encourage More Flowers

If your Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) are spent with wilting brown blooms, you can encourage re-blooming by removing the 'dead' flowers, also known as deadheading. You can go ahead and cut off the old flowers and it will encourage new ones to grow for a longer blooming period in the summer.

Cut them off as soon as they look bad - it's a judgement call and it's up to you just how spent they should be

If you see new buds forming, you want to cut above those to keep them. If you don't see any new buds, you can cut right above the top leaf (I go right above the top 'full' leaf and remove those tiny baby leaves right next to the flower).

I cut above the first big leaf and remove those puny tiny leaves closest to the flower. If you see buds, always cut above the new buds

You are the weakest link, goodbye!

Say Hello: 4th of July New Additions

Welcome home new additions! I got a back seat full of plants coming home from my parents' house. Lots of new fun for the shade garden in the side yard, and some Shasta daisies to help hide the utility boxes in the front. I got up at 7am today and did 3 hours of yard work - whew!

Ostrich fern - Matteuccia struthiopteris

Ostrich fern - Matteuccia struthiopteris

Got a clump with 2 heads from my dad. I put them in my side yard in the place where a Hosta died last Fall. It's a little floppy, and I don't like that it touches the house, but hopefully when it puts up new fronds they are more upright. When a few more of these come in, it will definitely make the side yard look more like a nice forest floor.

Shasta Daisy - Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky'

Shasta Daisy - Leucanthemum × superbum 'Becky'

Got 2 clumps from my dad to take home with me. I planted them on the neighbor's side of the utility box with their permission (they pretty much said I could do whatever I want). They are nice and tall and don't require staking. They spent the night in a garbage bag so hopefully they root in before the weather gets too hot. It should be upper 70's low 80's all week, so I think they've got a shot.

Japanese forest grass - Hakonechloa macra

Japanese forest grass - Hakonechloa macra

This little sprig doesn't look like much now, but hopefully by next year it will be a nice 3 foot wide bushy bamboo-ish grassy clump. I want to use Japanese forest grass in several places around my side yards, and it all starts with this bunch I got from my dad. It's not much to look at now, but it's alive!

European wild ginger - Asarum europaeum

European wild ginger - Asarum europaeum

I'm really excited to see what this European wild ginger does in a couple years. I got this clump from my parents' house. It was all over their side yard - I guess it pops up all over the place - here's hoping it naturalizes and mixes in well. So far my side yard plants are all neatly plopped down, and I'm trying to get used to the idea of them touching and overlapping and blending in to create an overall lush bed.


Shenandoah Switch Grass - Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Shenandoah Switch Grass - Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah'

Got this for $1 from Lowe's sale table, looked like shit, fungus on leaves, only 4 stems, planted in part shade to hopefully hide electric meter. It's worth a shot for only a buck! I won't get too attached until I see that it's growing again. It probably should be planted in full sun, but if I can get it rooted and up to 3 feet it'll do wonders for hiding the meter. It's a little more out in the open right by the garage so not really deep shade. 

Cut a tiny piece off the larger of the two Karl Foerster for the back side and moved the iris to block the shorter Comcast box

Moved some more Siberian iris to the backyard for full sun rehab

Side yard looking much more lush with the fern. Just need a few coral bells to mix in. Thinking about hiding the AC with a boxwood.

Other side of the wet shade garden, hoping to add some astilbe next year