2018 Garden Recap: Flowers

Now that the outdoor growing season has officially ended here in Chicago, I thought it was time to look back and see how things went. It was definitely a mixed year weather-wise, but for the most part everything looked pretty good all summer. Except for the weed infestation that took a while to get under control! … Continue reading 2018 Garden Recap: Flowers

Welcoming Pollinators to the Garden

Every year I wonder if any pollinator friends will visit my gardens.  I usually can count on the bees arriving early, but how about butterflies, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths? I've tried to plant mostly pollinator friendly flowers and over the years I've seen a steady improvement in the number of pollinators in my yard.  Bee … Continue reading Welcoming Pollinators to the Garden

The Bee Balm Is Very Happy

Sometimes you just pick the wrong place to plant a plant.  That happened to me with a bright red Bee Balm (Monarda variety unknown). As I wrote about before (Time For the Yarrow To Go), this particular Bee Balm had been planted underneath a newly planted River Birch which is now almost 20 years old.  As … Continue reading The Bee Balm Is Very Happy

After Vacation

After a wonderful beach vacation and some college tours, we're finally back home. As expected, the weather has been crazy while we were gone. The temperatures were just about average, but rainfall was almost double the normal amount. Included in this total was a single storm that dumped almost 2 inches of rain in under … Continue reading After Vacation

Before Vacation

It's always tough to go leave the garden and go on vacation.  It seems like something (or everything) is ready to just burst out in color or ripen just in time to go away. Or the weather can you throw you a curve ball and get crazy hot/cold or dry/wet. Very unpredictable. I assumed this year … Continue reading Before Vacation

Time for the Yarrow to Go

I posted before about the problems I was having with my yarrow and I've finally decided it's time to go.   It's been a garden invader for years and especially this year, just downright ugly. So I pulled it out. This left an ugly gaping hole, but by next spring it'll have something new in … Continue reading Time for the Yarrow to Go

Daylilies: Part 2

Some close ups of the daylilies in my yard. I'm still working on the identification part, so if I have something wrong, or you know what I can't find yet, please let me know! I realized that part of my identification problem was thinking that the daylily was the wrong color. For example, the Catherine … Continue reading Daylilies: Part 2

Japanese Beetles

If you have rose bushes, you probably have Japanese Beetles.  Mine arrived after my Knock-Out Roses roses finished their first bloom and are really making a mess of the plants.  Most years I just let it go, but these are new, 3rd year plants and are finally looking great so I'd like them to stay … Continue reading Japanese Beetles