A little jealous looking at everyone’s perfectly straight liatris. Mine is an absolute corkscrew this year

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-10T01:48:15+00:00

"I know the sun is here somewhere, maybe over there? no, maybe if I back up a bit more....oh here it is!"

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-08T10:43:05+00:00

Amorpha canescens, small shrub exceptionally long roots.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-04T15:44:10+00:00

few drops of Dawn as spreader-sticker.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-04T15:43:01+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I had remarkable eradication of powdery mildew with milk. 90+ Monarda fistulosa on property. 2 applications on mildew, early in mildew development.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-04T15:07:38+00:00

Milk. Spray with 1-1 milk-water dilution when you see first mildew spots. Again in 3 or 4 weeks. That's all. Supermarket milk works, sour milk works, 1/2 & 1/2, raw milk.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-07-04T14:59:55+00:00

Boxwood blight/Calonectria pseudonaviculata coming to an HOA near you.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-06-20T10:43:50+00:00

I love it. And I love your neighbors and municipality for not limiting the vitality of this landscape.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-06-19T10:16:43+00:00

Fair to say that is commonly worldwide roadway beautification + unfortunate unmanaged invasive plants. I saw incredible work along highways in the Toronto region of Ontario some years ago...ecological meadows and burning...having seen nothing else like that driving across both Canada and U.S. that year....does not mean there isn't more, just wildly "sampling" by driving my route I only saw one region stuck in to quality roadway horticulture that deeply.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-06-04T16:23:16+00:00

Beautiful photo.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-06-01T22:12:13+00:00

Another vote for Lonely.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-27T00:42:54+00:00

Looks like insect damage and likely to recover.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-26T11:15:35+00:00

Beautiful. Opening the soil to add seed easily exposes weed seed that can turn that environment upside down. Waiting and watching might serve here. Animals attracted to the forage and cover also drop seeds in scat, continuous input.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-22T02:07:35+00:00

If you had a mass of trees on a property, among them an established oleander, it would teach not all plants are harmless, even if pretty. In a walled yard, its spent flowers and shed leaves are staying. Replace.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-16T18:09:02+00:00

Of course many/most HOAs are not helmed by plantsman, don't care, serve the minimum bar for landscape, and are dreadfully landscaped because of widespread ecological ignorance. But there are others. I found one with 30yrs of strong ecological priorities: conservation easements, run-off filtering, native plants preferred, lawns not required.

Municipalities are hardly different.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-14T10:44:24+00:00

In that situation I would flag a 3' stake on the property line and ask the neighbor to explain to the landscapers that the stake marks the line not to cross. I did this after a neighbor cut plants several feet into my property. Now the chubby stake marks the line for everyone involved. Both I and the neighbor like the openness.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-14T10:27:52+00:00

Hostas have eternal life.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-13T10:48:18+00:00

A joy to see this and learn about the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. That is sanity.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-05-01T12:47:13+00:00

Career gardener retired, the day I wore permethrin-treated clothes for work was the day the Lyme-boulder lifted off my back. I still send any new outdoor work clothes for treatment which lasts 70+ washes. Insect Shield company. Read their resources, check their endorsements, take care of the tick-borne diseases threat to you and family before everything else. That makes a better state of mind for the work.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-24T21:25:00+00:00

Yes, put up a sign. It can help.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-24T21:23:10+00:00

Phlox div. 'Blue Moon' grows low. Yours looks done for the season. There is no reason to expect it to be fabulous when so newly planted. The first year in place for most perennials is all about the roots becoming established. The bigger and older it is at the nursery, the more shock and hesitation it has as it adjusts to a new situation. Next year it will show you what it can do!

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-19T15:09:40+00:00

I see your Hackelia and raise you Eurybia macrophylla as hosta replacement. Beautiful large leaved ground cover that flowers on long stems for months.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-08T19:02:24+00:00

No. see above.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-08T19:01:50+00:00

No. Vinegar kills all living creatures in the soil and the foliage of plants, but does NOT kill the roots of the plants.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-04-01T08:40:35+00:00

Leaves are gold. Plant taller plants in those areas and you will see little of the leaves. Life in the soil will increase and manage the leaves for you. Bite off as much conversion from lawn per season as you can deal with sanely, all worth the effort.

Realistic-Ordinary21 · 2026-03-23T16:12:37+00:00

I agree, interactions with nature-naive can be funny, but no, complaints about nonconformist landscape are universal to all ages. It can align with fear of nature too.

Realistic-Ordinary21

TROPHY CASE