Why I Oughta...

Six Plectranthus Silver Shield Plugs From Garden Club Planted Out In The Corner Patio Bed - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Mon, 8 Jun 2026 08:29:00 -0500

Yesterday, I started the posting series about planting out my cut flower plugs with the first eight Didiscus Lacy Blue in the front yard Island Bed. Today, I'm showing the six Plectranthus Silver Shield plugs in the corner bed in our backyard near the patio. These are going where I planted a mix of Dusty Miller and border Dahlias last year, but in a newly expanded bed.

These plugs also came from Garden Club and because I ordered them for too-early of a delivery, I had to pot them up into something larger. Of all the varieties that came from Garden Club, these Silver Shields did BY FAR the best. All eight of them were happy two months later.

Overall, I've been really happy with the Garden Club plug order - from the greenhouses they came in to the vibrancy of the tiny plants. A positive experience.

I'm trying something different with these: no rabbit cages. Instead, I'm applying Liquid Fence. *Fingers Crossed* that it'll work. Or, that these taste bad. Below is a photo of the small plants in their new homes.

Here's a look (below) of the new growth these have put on in the past few weeks. Lovely.

8 Didiscus + 6 Silver Shields = 14 accent plants in the ground. Good start.

8 Didiscus Lacy Blue Flower Plugs Planted In The Island Bed - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sun, 7 Jun 2026 08:12:00 -0500

Earlier this year, I bought a bunch of cut flower plugs from Garden Club and they arrived earlier than I really needed them. Lesson learned for next year: Have them delivered later in the Spring. Of that set of plugs, eight of them are a new (to me) flower: Didiscus Lacy Blue. Of the plugs that arrived, these seemed to do the best with my "up-potting" as all eight have navigated the past two months and have put on some new foliage.

After managing them for weeks, I finally got around to planting them after all the threat of frost was gone. In the second-to-last-week of May (the same day I put in a bunch of Dahlias), I planted these eight small plants. They went in the south part of the Island Bed.

I spaced them about a foot apart and protected them with a ring of chicken wire to keep the rabbits away from them - until they can put on some mass. I planted them in a mix of compost, garden soil and municipal biosolids. Then, I watered them in good.

This bed now has A LOT of small things starting - Vinca, Coleus, Ajuga, some dahlias and now these Didiscus. It is also hard to water because of the sidewalk and driveway. There's lots of overspray. But, I'll get the sprinkler dialed-in and hopefully keep everything alive.

#8 on my 2026 to-do list is to:

Experiment with other cut flowers. Plant them in the ground (in the garden beds) and add some variety to my arrangements.

These are a start.

15 More Dahlias Planted - 32 Total (So Far) - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sat, 6 Jun 2026 07:42:00 -0500

I started planting dahlias in May and posted the first seventeen a few days ago. In that post, I showed the locations and talked about how most of them (14 of the 17) were new to me varieties with just three legacy dahlias (Melina Fleur, Ivanetti and Sweet Nathalie).

Today, I'm showing the next round of dahlias that went in the ground. These were planted in the second to last week of May - the day after the first seventeen went in. I planted them in three spots: Pizza Oven West, IB2DWs and the back of the Island Bed. Here's the updated planting map with the latest 15 tubers in blue.

Here is a breakdown of what is planted in each of the three beds:

Pizza Oven West

18. Burlesca

19. St. Martin

20. Wizard of Oz

21. Rip City

22. Creme de Casis

23. Melina Fleur

Below is a look at these six. The Melina Fleur is still in the container. But, all of them are protected by rabbit cages. For now.

IB2DWs

24. Tsuki Yori No Shisha

25. Peaches N' Cream

26. Kelsey Annie Joy

27. Peaches N' Cream

28. Great Silence

29. Jowie Winnie

These six are planted in two clusters. One of two and one of four. The first two are closer to the Bald Cypress. The other four are down near the sidewalk.

Island Bed

30. Ivanetti

31. Burlesca

32. Melina Fleur

These last three are in the island bed. One of them is currently protected by a trash can from the Dollar Tree (more on that later), but the other two are in rabbit cages.

Of these fifteen (15), there are just three legacy dahlias (Melina Fluer x2 , Ivanetti and Wizard of Oz). That means of the 32, just seven are legacy (Melina Fluer x 3, Ivanetti x 2, Sweet Nathalie and Wizard of Oz) and 25 are trialing or new to me.

I have more to get in the ground, but I'm going to wait a beat to see what gets scooped up by my family and friends before planting in the final spots. Because...I'm running out of room.

I've hit my 2026 goal of "going big on dahlias". Last year, I planted 23 total with 6 of them being border dahlias, so 17 cut flower tubers. I'm +15 in 2026 (so far).

Another Six Ajuga Plugs Added For Groundcover By All Golds - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 09:21:00 -0500

Just yesterday, I posted details and photos of six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' groundcover plugs that I planted along the sidewalk out front and talked about how those got my total up to 30 for the year. My previous high-planting mark was from that epic Fall planting spring in 2023. Today, I'm showing photos of six more Ajuga plugs going in - bringing my total this year to 36. Matching my high.

I previously put in six in front of some of the Hakonechloa All Golds in the back. Today, I extended that row with six more.

Here, below is a photo showing the first six and then the empty space in front of the All Golds just beyond:

Here, below is another look. The previously planted six on the left. The empty space calling out for groundcover to the right:

This six pack of healthy plugs from the Good folks at Menards:

They went in easy-peasy. Below are two photos showing the results. First is a look at the new six followed by a view of all twelve.

I'll add more - if I see the trays - to the rest of the All Golds bed and then move to other parts of the garden.

Six More (30 Total To Date) Ajuga Plugs Added - Island Bed - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Thu, 4 Jun 2026 08:53:00 -0500

Over the past month, I've posted a number of posts about adding groundcover plugs to the garden. The latest was a post about six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs that I put into the front yard Island Bed at the very edge of the sidewalk. Those joined three existing ones from 2025. They weren't the most healthy plugs, but they went in anyway.

That brought my groundcover planting total to 24 total planted for the year. Today, I added six more Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs to that same Island bed. Five along the final edge in the front and one 'up the driveway'.

This brings the total to thirty groundcover plants added (to date). #20 on my to-do list is to "Keep Going on Groundcover". Thirty in the Spring is a good number. My previous annual high-planting mark for Groundcover plants was that epic Fall 2023 season when I added 36. I'm right there and it is just Spring.

Adding this 'living mulch' down in the Island bed serves multiple purposes - adds something that is borderline 'step-able' with tri-color foliage. But, it also (I hope) will aid in retaining the mulch from trickling onto the sidewalk.

Below are some photos (annotated) of this latest six-pack planting. The green oval highlights the three Ajuga that went in last year and seem to have done a great job. The yellow circle shows the one 'up the driveway' planting.

Here, below, is an annotated photo showing the sidewalk edge. The teal circles are two of the previous six that went in and the yellow show the new ones. This latest batch were (seemingly) healthier than the previous (leggy) six-pack:

I'll continue to hunt for groundcover - in particular I'm thinking about a "stream" of groundcover like sedges that runs throughout some more traditional planting. I've written about him before, but that idea of a 'stream' of sedges was something that jumped out to me in this recent reel from Austin Eischeid. Just watch the first 30 seconds of this recent Instagram post and you'll hear Austin talk about the 'stream' idea.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (@lewisginter)

I can think of multiple places to try out the idea of a 'stream' in the garden.

Austin Eischeid is who turned me on to Shredded Umbrella Plant up at Roy Diblik's Northwind Perennial Farm where he gave a talk and planted his own shade garden. That connection to Roy Diblik is how I initially came across his work. (also...that's a good reminder to buy a few more Shredded Umbrella plants on my next visit....)

Importantly (for me), Austin is a Midwest (similar Zone to my 5b/6a) garden designer and while our styles aren't exactly a perfect match, I really admire the scale and ambition he has and how he's been able to build relationships with some significant figures in the naturalistic garden movement like Roy and even Piet Oudolf. If they "see" something in Austin and have nurtured him along the way, that's a pretty big endorsement, right?

You can see much more of Austin's work on his website. And, give him a follow on Instagram.

Or...if you can...get out and experience one of his gardens in person. They are in Chicago, Virginia, Ohio and Iowa. Details here.

First 17 Dahlias Planted (14 New To Me) - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 08:13:00 -0500

Dahlia season has begun here. With the initial planting of seventeen dahlias. That was day one of planting the tubers that I started out in the garden. I made this annotated map to show (mostly myself) where everything is planted because I'm growing many new (to me) varieties for the first time and have a much more diverse lineup than in previous seasons.

Note: this post is going live in early June, but I planted these on May 20th. Last year, I planted them in the first week of June, so this is almost three weeks earlier.

Here, below is that map. So far, I've put six in the "Pizza Oven West" bed, seven along the side of the house in the "South Sun Wall" bed and four "Under the Elm". You can see them numbered in red:

Pizza Oven East

1. Crichton Honey

2. Cafe Au Lait

3. Creme de Cognac

4. Blue Wish

5. Milena Fleur

6. Jowie Winnie

Here (below) is a photo below of these plantings. Note that I put EVERY SINGLE DAHLIA inside of a (temporary) chicken wire starting ring. Five of the six here are new this year.

South Sun Wall

7. Cafe Au Lait

8. Ivanetti

9. Melina Fleur

10. Burlesca

11. Brown Sugar

12. Crichton Honey

13. Kelsey Annie Joy'

Here (below) are two photos of this southside cut flower bed where I have grown dahlias over the years. This year, I planted them much tighter than previously and packed in seven. Here, too, five of the seven are new to me. Similarly, each of these are protected from those (dang) rabbits. As they put on more size, I'll remove the cages and replace them with supports.

Under The Elm

14. Brown Sugar

15. Sweet Nathalie

16. Metro Star

17. Bell's Palermo

The last of day one planting went into the bed under the Triumph Elm tree. I grew dahlias here last year that were productive. This area gets good sun and I end up watering it when I do the front porch beds. Photo below showing the four here that feature only one legacy dahlia (Sweet Nathalie) and three new (to me ones).

Of the seventeen, just three are legacy tubers (Melina Fleur, Ivanetti and Sweet Nathalie) with the other fourteen being brand new ones.

I have a bunch more to get into the ground and I'll fill in as best that I can to maximize how many cut flowers we can grow. Below is another annotated look at the planting guide. The teal circles show the locations of where I think I can safely plant more dahlia tubers including the Pizza Oven West, IB2DWs, Island bed and maybe one or two more along the South Sun Wall bed:

Also, of note...I sprinkled some basic 10-10-10 granules on each of them (both in the hole and on top), so that goes towards checking-off part of my 2026 to-do item on dahlias when I said this:

6. Go (even) big(ger) on dahlias. Cut flower farming to the max. Start them indoors, feed them. Spray them. And, make a lot of arrangements.

Feed them. And, 17 is a good start on 'going big'. Last year, I planted 23 dahlias, but that included six Border Dahlias (Pablo Gallery), so it was really more like 17 larger ones - a total that I've hit with just day one of planting. We're certainly "going big" this year.

36 (More) Titan Blue Lavender Halo Vinca Bedding Plants Added to Island Bed - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 09:54:00 -0500

Yesterday, I showed photos of the 76 Titan Blue Lavender Halo Vinca annuals that I added to our front porch bed where I hope they'll grow into a carpet of color. In service of the notion of 'repetition', I opted to plant the same annuals down in the island bed to try to carry that same color further forward and bring those two plantings together visually.

I went with 36 vinca down there. Below are a few photos showing how the 36 Titan Blue Lavender Vinca are planted in between the Red Wizard Sun Coleus and the existing Ajuga groundcover that abuts the sidewalk. First up are side-views:

And, here below is the curb-view:

Last year, I didn't have luck with the flowering annuals in this bed, so I'm hoping that these Titan Vinca will fare better.

76 Titan Lavender Blue Halo Vinca Planted in Front Porch Bed - Bedding Annuals for Color - June 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 09:19:00 -0500

Last year, I planted a new (to me) annual bedding plant in our front porch beds: Madagascar Vinca. 64 plugs. They worked really well and filled in the front of the border with a carpet of pink color by the end of July. I mentioned in that post that ten-or-so died immediately, so the total was closer to 54 plants that filled-in the bed. They were pink - which was a result of just *having* to choose something.

This year, I found flats of purple Vinca at Wannemakers. Titan Lavender Blue Halo. Here, below, is a photo of the plant tag and one of the flats:

Here's what Ball Seed says about Titan Lavender Blue Halo Vinca:

Big, bold and better branching vincas! Titan is up to 2 weeks faster to flower than open-pollinated vincas, with superior branching and big flowers in all the top-selling colours. The most uniform F1 vinca series on the market shows off flowers that are up to 50% larger than O.P. types in cooler temperatures.

Faster to flower. Better branching, big flowers. Say less, Titan Vinca.

Earlier this Spring - in April - I undertook a front yard bed extension project. Something that I SHOULD have done in the Fall. But, I didn't. I did it in Spring - in the end of March. I used my 'lazy method' of extending the beds with cardboard (to smother turf), piled on with municipal biosolids, leaf litter and composted manure. Along the front porch bed, I extended the bed OUTWARD, shaped it with a better curve and connected it (in a very small way) to the Saratoga Ginkgo bed.

I ended up planting 76 vinca in the bed from the front stoop to the edge of the bed. See below for a north-to-south view from our front walk:

And, here below are some wider views of the 76 vinca annuals. Mostly posting so I can do a later-season comparison for coverage and grow-in:

Here, below, is a look at that little strip of 'extension' that (now) connects the front porch bed to the Saratoga Ginkgo bed:

#10 on my annual to-do list is to "Keeping going with annuals as bedding plants", so adding these 76, in addition to the White Polka Dot plants in the backyard, the Stardust Coleus and the red Coleus in the Island bed get me to my largest annual planting total ever, I think.

And, I'm not done with these Vinca.

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia Tubers - Starting Late - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sun, 31 May 2026 08:33:00 -0500

A few of the tubers that I ordered turned out to be not viable. And, they were sold out of a like-for-like variety, so they offered up a replacement based on their current, in-stock inventory. I went with something I've never grown, but is pretty well-known: Cafe Au Lait dahlias. See below for the tuber and the package that they arrived in recently:

I haven't (in the past few seasons) grown any Dinnerplate Dahlias, so this will be a new (to me) experience in terms of size and staking. Here's what Longfield Gardens says about C-A-L:

Cafe au Lait is the variety that launched today's dahlia mania. These big, romantic blooms are must-have for anyone who loves flowers. Cafe au Lait's blossoms are wonderfully variable in hue depending on weather conditions and time of year. You can expect flowers ranging from creamy yellow and bone through blush pink and rose. They are a fabulous cut flower, and like peonies, it takes just a few stems to make an impressive arrangement.

They grow up to 48" tall, so that's taller than my preference in terms of height. That means greater staking needs, something that I need to get serious about in the next few weeks as I plant the dahlia tubers up in the ground around the garden.

These will have been potted-up three-plus weeks later than some of the other tubers that I started indoors. I still am putting this in a container before putting it in the ground. Something to watch this season to see if these stay behind for the rest of the growing season or if they'll naturally catch up.

Seven Autumn Ferns Added To The Stumpery - May 202

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:44:00 -0500

Number 19 on my 2026 to-do list was to upgrade the stumpery. That means improving the hard features (like fountain, stumps, bench, etc), but also the plantings. I wrote in the list:

The thing that I need to add here are even more Autumn Ferns. See #15. I have some Autumn Ferns and LOVE them. More is better.

#15 is "Stay focused by using the concept of Repetition vs. new." Those two items - repetiton + Stumpery plantings collided when I found a bunch of quart-sized Autumn Ferns at the nursery. They were nice-sized and healthy looking:

I ended up buying seven of them for the Stumpery.

I spaced them out behind the front row of All Gold Hakonechloa grasses and inter-planted with some of the existing Crested Surf Japanese Painted Ferns. This area was mostly blank.

There are two small Autumn Ferns that came back around here, so these seven make it nine for this area. See below for the seven new ferns planted in the bed. The stumps for the Stumpery are on the right of this photo:

I planted these to the left in front of that bench because I'm envisioning a little "path" from the lawn to this seating area walking right past the stumps (on your right) and these ferms (on your left).

The All Golds are screaming for some groundcover in front of them, aren't they?

Six More Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' Plugs In Island Bed Along Sidewalk - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Fri, 29 May 2026 10:30:00 -0500

More groundcover (or living mulch) is something I've been working-on for a couple of growing seasons. This month, I put in six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs in the [kitchen curved] bed in the backyard and six Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow' in the backyard near the colony of Hellebores on the northside. This week, I put in six more Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' plugs in the front of the Island Bed in our front yard down along the sidewalk. This brings my 2026 groundcover planting total to 24.

Here, below, is a look at the six new plugs that are to the left of the three existing ones that went in last year in August.

Here are the three existing groudcover plants last Fall.

One of the challenges down by the sidewalk is retaining the mulch, so I'm hoping these plugs will grow-in and provide a 'living mulch' mat that stretches the front of the bed along the sidewalk.

You can see the six new ones in this photo of the red coleus annuals:

These weren't the healthiest of plugs, so I think we might lose a few of them before they can even get established. That's ok, but I need to do a better job of picking out the trays of Ajuga.

These six bring my total to 24 groundcover plants with a few more to come.

Epimedium Spine Tingler Jester Hat Flowers - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:25:00 -0500

The little colony of Epimedium - which I have hoped would take off, but never have....is once again flowering with their little yellow "jester hat" flowers. They are pretty neat. They flowered like this in 2024 (and maybe last year?).

Below are a couple photos showing this groundcover in bloom in the shade.

I was hoping they'd fill-in some of this space, but they mostly just persist, in their existing footprint. Maybe I haven't planted them close-enough together? Nothing a little "stream" of sedges can't fix, right?

Three More Sun King Aralias Planted - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Wed, 27 May 2026 09:05:00 -0500

Over the years, I've added two sets of Sun King Aralias to our backyard. First, were six as part of a garden edit in the 'nook' garden in 2024. Last year, I planted three more on the opposite side of the garden. In service of reptition and planting what works in the garden, I bought three more at this year's Morton Arboretum Plant sale. See below for the tag/sign at the sale:

When I brought them home, they were already good-sized plants. See below for a look at the box of plants the day of the sale in my garage. Compare the Sun Kings to the All Gold grasses right next to them:

This Spring, the existing Sun Kings suffered some late-frost damage, so I held back on introducing these to the garden for weeks. But, the time finally arrived. They were getting big and drying out.

One of the things that I've been talking about over the years is what I've described as a 'hosta replacement' project on the northside. I took this opportunity to remove three hostas (and planted them back against the fence (for now) and stuck the three in a somewhat crowded area.

You can see them below along with the small Emperor 1 Japanese Maple in the chicken-wire cage:

Here, below, is a more top-down view showing the three Sun Kings planted on a diagonal.

I'll look to pull out even more of these hostas here and clean up this area.

Confetti White Polka Dot Plants As Bedding Annuals in Backyard Shade - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Tue, 26 May 2026 08:50:00 -0500

Last year, I planted ten small white Polka Dot Plants (Hypoestes) in be-twix the Boxwoods underneath the Linden Espalier. I sort-of bought them on a whim and stuck them in there because they do well in shade. By August, I was declaring them a [gardening win] because of how they brightened up a dark space in the garden and were mostly care-free.

At Wannemakers recently, I picked up a full flat of Confetti White Hypoestes Polka Dot plants. That's 40 annuals. See below for the flat and plant tag.

I wanted to use these as bedding plants (on my 2026 list) and talked about how planting these in a couple of spots in the backyard can help bring that notion of repetition - (which...ahem...improves garden legibility).

I haven't planted all forty just yet, but here's how I've started with them below.

I started with seventeen (17) under the Lindens.

Along the southside, I planted two little pockets of bright white. One of five and one of seven. Twelve more and 29 out of 40 so far.

Then, over on the northside, I planted four more right in front of some hostas and around the Emperor 1 (the small one). That gets me to 29+4 = 33.

The seven remaining ones I'd like to put in the far back. But, that means that I have to be better about watering things back there. I need to get motivated to add them and maybe a few other things so I'll be dedicated to watering more around the firepit - which is a spot that I've failed at watering over the years.

Between the bedding coleus and now these white Polka Dot Plants, I'm doing more annuals than I've done most seasons. That's a good thing.

Moondust Coleus Planted As Bedding Plant - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Mon, 25 May 2026 08:29:00 -0500

Last year, I planted three Inferno Coleus in the corner patio bed and as they grew up (and out), I really loved them. I called them a [garden win] specifically. This year, I found some small quarts at Wannemakers of a new (to me) variety - Talavera Moondust Coleus. See below for a few photos showing the tag and the speckled foliage. It is easy to see why this one jumped off the bench, right?

Here is how Ball Seed describes Talavera Moondust Coleus:

Sun-tolerant varieties maintain color and foliage patterns in both sun and shade conditions. These late-flowering selections are tidy, non-bolting plants in the garden.

Sun-tolerant. Check.

Maintains color and foliage pattern in sun. Check.

Late-flowering. Check.

Non-bolting. Check.

What's not to love?

Below is a photo of the back of the plant tag where they mention it is 'well-branching' and 'stunning' and 'rich'.

Select Seeds adds these details in their product listing:

Unsurpassed in flower trials, this new coleus impresses all with its rich, non-fading coloring, reluctance to form flowers, and unstoppable show in warm-season gardens. Heat and humidity, can do!

New to market - that's cool. Won't fade, reluctant to flower and can handle the heat. Love all of that.

Here, below, is how the three small (for now) plants are sitting in their new home in the backyard patio corner bed:

Yesterday, I posted some photos showing the sixteen red-foliage coleus in the front island bed. These Moondust variety are already larger and way, way more interesting. But, I only need three here vs. the mass planting.

I have a couple more coleus plants to post about that I bought and will find a home for in containers.

Wizard Sun Velvet Red Coleus Planted in Island Bed - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sun, 24 May 2026 08:10:00 -0500

One of the [garden wins] that I hung on the scoreboard last year was planting coleus as a bedding plant in the garden. Both in the front yard (island bed) and in the back (corner patio bed). Last year, I planted twelve Versa Gold Coleus as bedding annuals up front in the Island bed and they filled-in and put on a great foliage show all season. I was pretty good about dead-heading them and pinching off the flowers to keep the growth focused on the foliage.

I put on my 2026 to-do list to use more annuals (again) including coleus and talked about repetition via annuals. More on that soon.

But, for the Island bed, I picked up sixteen (16) small Wizard Red Velvet Red Coleus plants:

Wizard Red Sun Coleus is described by Ball Seed as:

Compact, mid-sized foliage plant with upright habit is ideal for mixed containers, planters, baskets and landscapes. Easy-care plants are late flowering, extending their landscape value.

These are likely to be a bit smaller than last year, but the part that I really like is that they are 'late flowering' - meaning they'll focus on their foliage for a long bit of the growing season.

I took all sixteen and planted them into the bed in an alternating pattern right in front of the three Seslarias (I think that's what they are?) and the Medusa Alliums (and Garden Ghost Artemesia).

Below are a couple of photos showing the 16 plugs planted. They're very small to start.

I left room in front of them for more annuals - going to match the Vinca that I'm putting into the front porch bed to bring some of that much desired repetition to help improve garden legibility.

Am I Putting Too Much Salt In My Pizza Dough? Pizza Making Lessons - April 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sat, 23 May 2026 10:43:00 -0500

I'm always on the hunt for a pizza-making edge. A tip. A tweak. A recommendation. Over the years, I've collected them from forums, social posts and a lot of YouTube videos. But, I've also been getting them in the past few years from email newsletters. One of those newsletters arrives from a dude that I started following on YouTube named Charlie Anderson. I mentioned him in this post from last year when I rounded up a number of pizza-related tips and lessons.

He is prolific when it comes to pizza and the Web. He has his YouTube channel. And he seems to have begun to offer online classes recently. Oh, and he runs an actual pizza place. In real life.

So, he knows theory and practice. Check out this feature on the What's Good Dough channel that profiles him and the efficiencies he's brought to life in his own store. Neat stuff.

The tip for this post came from Charlie in a recent email he sent out.

I can't seem to link to it, so I'm pasting a screenshot of his note about salt below. This is just the 'above the fold' part, but the email was much longer:

Down near the bottom, he shared this:

What I landed on: I use just enough salt that the dough doesn't taste bland on its own - usually somewhere between 2 and 2.5%.

So, if you've been using 3% or higher because you saw it in a recipe somewhere, it's worth experimenting with pulling that back. Make the same dough you always make, drop the salt to 2.2%, and give it a taste. I think you'll be surprised!

He's reducing salt and getting results he prefers.

I've actually gone the OTHER WAY with salt. I (probably) over-salt my dough. I'm going to give this a shot on my next bar pie doughs and see if I get a reaction from anyone.

Like I said above, if you are interested in things like salt quantities, you can sign up for his classes here.

Six More Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' Plugs Planted - Backyard - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Fri, 22 May 2026 08:22:00 -0500

Last week, I posted some photos of six Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' groundcover plugs in the kitchen curved bed in our backyard. Those were #7-12 of groundcover plugs put in this year with the first six being Ajuga 'Burgundy Glow' on the other side of the yard. Today, I planted six more Chocolate Chip a little further back and right in front of some of the All Gold grasses. Below are a few photos showing the process.

In front of these grasses is a little bit more blank space than I'd prefer. A perfect spot for a low, creeping living mulch.

The pack of plugs is tidy and healthy in their little nursery carrying container:

I've learned over the years that while Ajuga spreads out, it doesn't grow massive. It is a 'good neighbor'. That's why I planted the six pretty close together.

This puts me at 18 groundcover plugs planted for the year. And, my second 'upgrade' to the Stumpery - with the first one being the addition of three All Golds yesterday. Both groundcover and stumpery are on my 2026 to-do list.

That last photo above makes me think I need to go back and get another tray (or two) of these plugs and keep extending the Ajuga to the West along the front of those other All Golds.

Adding more would increase my total from 18 - which...by the way appears to be 50% total my high-water mark of 36 groundcover plants added in 2023.

Three More All Gold Grasses Planted - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Thu, 21 May 2026 08:09:00 -0500

I bought three All Gold Hakonechloa Japanese Forest Grasses at this year's Morton Arboretum annual plant sale. I didn't buy much this year, but I wanted to add to the grasses that I already had in the garden. Here, below, is a look at the three grasses in their one-gallon pots:

About half-way back on the southside is the line of these grasses that sit on one of the curves. I found a couple of gaps in the line and decided to fill them in with these new grasses.

The color difference between the old and new ones is distinct. The new ones are far more green than gold.

Tree Planted: Alpenglow Korean Maple - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Wed, 20 May 2026 08:17:00 -0500

Yesterday, I posted a 'Getting to Know' post about a new (to me) Korean Maple: Alpenglow Korean Maple. This is an Iseli Nursery introduction that is part of their Jack Frost Collection that is cold-hardy down below most Japanese Maples.

#21 on my 2026 to-do list was to add another ornamental tree, so adding this Alpenglow Korean Maple checks that box.

This Alpenglow (with "merlot" foliage) is the first tree that have planted this year.

In 2024, I posted about adding a third Emperor 1 and included a drawing that highlighted the back-and-forth (and across the lawn) pattern for planting red-foliage ornamental maples in the backyard. One of those spots that I called out in 2024 is where this tree is set to be planted.

On the northside and sort-of tucked in *behind* the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree is a bed that was part of a previous "Garden Edit". It is where this tree is going. See below for the spot:

A little bit further back is a clump of River Birch that we inherited. After a few happy seasons, this tree suffered some decline and has died back. See below for the naked skeleton of this River Birch that will have to get out of there. The Alpenglow tree is (in my mind) taking the spot of the River Birch.

The small tree sort-of "peeks" out from behind the larger Tree Swing tree and currently has naked feet that *should* be filled-in with some grasses this Summer.

2026 is (now) our tenth tree-planting season.

This is the first tree documented of the year.

Overall, I've planted 109 trees on our property.

With this new tree, we have 75 of 109 alive. 68.8% success rate. But, I know there are a few "LOST" trees that I haven't counted yet (Arctic Jade and another small Oak in the back and the Belgian Fence apple trees and a hemlock and likely more...)

109 trees planted/10 growing seasons = 10.9 trees on average planted each season
75 trees alive/10 growing seasons = 7.5 trees on average survive each season.

Here's the full accounting:

2017 (9 planted. 5 Dead. 6 total (including 2 replacements) of the original annual total alive now):
1. Flowering Pear in backyard on north side.
2. ~~Flowering Pear in front yard by garage~~. (LOST and replaced)
~~3. Japanese flowering cherry.~~ Lost in 2023. Could be the Walnut tree that took it.
4 and 5: 2 Lindens that I espalier'd and placed by the south fence line near our kitchen windows.
6. A Dawn Redwood from Earth Day 2017 ~~(LOST and~~ replaced)
7. Nat's Saucer Magnolia in our front yard
~~8. A Corkscrew Willow all the way in the back (LOST)~~
~~9. A Crimson King Norway Maple near the trampoline~~

2018 (17 planted. 6 Dead):
~~10. Another flowering pear from Earth Day 2018~~
~~11. Red Maple Sun Valley tree from Earth Day 2018.~~
~~12. Weeping Cedar tree - our first evergreen. (LOST)~~
~~13. The weeping flowering cherry tree that the Babe planted for Earth Day 2018.~~
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. These Frans Fontaine Hornbeams.
22. A replacement Chanticleer Pear tree (3" caliper) out front by our garage
~~23. Our second evergreen - a short Fraser Fir Christmas Tree out by the trampoline. (LOST)~~
~~24. This Canadian Hemlock~~ ~~that is the first of nine that our landscape plan calls for in the backyard.~~ (LOST)
25. Our replanted/replacement Dawn Redwood. Same spot as the first.
26. This teeny-tiny Bald Cypress that I planted in the front yard, in between our driveway and our neighbor to the north.

2019 (9 planted. 5 Dead):

27, ~~28, 29. A set of three small Canadian Hemlock Trees in our far backyard. (Two Lost)~~

30, 31, ~~32. This second set of three small Canadian Hemlocks along the north fence line. (One Lost)~~
33. My new Weeping White Spruce that will only grow about 4' wide placed near the fence line alongside the espalier'd Lindens.
~~34. A NEW Dwarf Alberta Spruce planted near the south fence line. Our first "dwarf" tree.~~
35. T~~his new Hakuro Nishiki Willow (Dappled Willow) tree planted close to the flowering cherry on the southside.~~ LOST - October 2020.

2020 (17 planted and 6 Dead):

36. A small Chanticleer flowering pear on Earth Day 2020 outside our screened porch.

~~37. A very thin Lombardy Poplar tree - columnar form - in the way back wood chip area.  LOST - July 2020.~~
~~38, 39, 40~~, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45.  These apple trees in a Belgian Fence espalier.
46. A small Northern Red Oak tree - our first Oak tree planted.
47.  A 'decapitated' Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud that I planted on a whim.
~~48. A replacement (from the nursery) Lavender Twist Redbud planted close to the brother.~~
49. A tall(ish) London Plane tree that suffered some transplant and frost shock, but seemed to recover.

50. Our second contorted tree - this one inspired by Disneyland Paris: a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick tree.

51. Our third contorted tree - but one that checks A LOT of boxes. Deciduous conifer. Weeping. Contorted. Japanese. Planted behind the front Maple - the Horstmann's Recursive Weeping Contorted Larch. LOST - Aug 2020.

52. Via the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale - a columnar tree from Japan - the Red Fox Katsura Tree that I planted as an understory tree to the dying Chanticleer Pear Tree next to our driveway.

2021 (16 planted and 13 alive):

~~53. A tiny bareroot Shagbark Hickory from the Benet Academy Environmental Club planted in the backyard.~~ LOST - May 2023

~~54. Our first Japanese Maple - a dwarf Tamukeyama Maple planted in the south backyard bed.~~ LOST - May 2023

55. A large Weeping Nootka Falsecypress from Wannemaker's planted in the new bed on the northside.

56. A long-sought-after Emperor I Japanese Maple - our second Japanese Maple - that is now planted on the border near our new-to-be-created fire pit area in the backyard.

57. A Harvest Gold Hargozam Crabapple tree in our Belgian Fence (replacement)

58. Another Harvest Gold Hargozam Crabpple tree in the middle of our Belgian Fence.

~~59. A dwarf Japanese White Pine - Pinus Parviflora Nana (or perhaps something else)~~. LOST 2022.

60. and 61. A pair of Malus 'Sutyzam' (Sugar Tyme) Crabapple trees on the southside of our house in pre-espalier form.

62. A tiny, injured (cracked in half) Ginko tree that arrived via online nursery.

63. A short Chinquapin Oak tree from a fundraiser planted in our backyard.

64. A second, tiny Ginko tree - this was a replacement for #62 - planted 'ib2dw'.

65. A small - and ALL Green - Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) planted in front of the back Yews.

66. 67. 68. A trio of London Planetree 'Bloodgood' trees that are planted along the fence that I'm going to attempt to pleach.

2022 (9 planted and 6 alive):

69. 70. 71. 72. ~~73. 74.~~ Six Green Giant Thujas trees planted as an upright evergreen layer in the backyard. Thuja standishii plicata. TWO LOST. May 2023.

75. A small Saratoga Ginko tree planted in our front yard by the front walk.

~~76. A London Planetree Exclamation planted in our parkway. A bandit tree of sorts.~~ LOST in 2025.

77. The largest tree - 3.5" caliper - we've ever planted. A Triumph Elm - Ulmus 'Morton Glossy' as a replacement for the large Norway Maple tree in our front yard.

2023 (21 planted1 and 14 alive):

78. ~~Small, Columnar Scotch Pine from Home Depot in early Spring 2023. Lost in October of 2023.~~
79 and 80. Dwarf "witches broom" Ginkgo trees - Spring Grove - planted on either side of our back stoop.
81. A (very small) Acer palmatum Emperor 1 Japanese Maple planted in the kitchen window bed by the row of Astilbes.
82. A low-grafted Waterfall Japanese Maple tree - Acer palmatum dissectum 'Waterfall'.
~~83. A small, but upright red lace-leaf Japanese Maple - Unknown variety planted amongst the hostas on the north side understory bed.~~ LOST - May 2024.
84. The first of three trees from Mr. Maple - a one-gallon Acer palmatum 'Firefly' that is planted in the Understory garden in back.
~~85. The second of three trees from Mr. Maple - another one-gallon Japanese Maple: Acer palmatum 'First Ghost' back by the firepit.~~
~~86. The third tree from Mr. Maple - an upright green dissectum Japanese maple that I planted near the failing (in decline) Japanese Cherry Tree.~~
87. ~~Silver Maple Volunteer Seedling in Kitchen Window Border, behind the Astilbes.~~ REMOVED
~~88. A high-grafted (5#) Acer palmatum Inaba Shadire planted by the wine barrel water spitter in the backyard.~~
89. This two-year-old Northern Catalpa volunteer that is on the corner of our patio.
90 and 91: A pair of Kousa Dogwood Trees planted to espalier against garage sidewall.

92. A dwarf conifer tree: Baby Blue Spruce - planted IB2DWs near the sidewalk.
93. A Weeping Norway Spruce 'Pendula' planted IB2DWs - west of the Bald Cypress.
94. A second Weeping Norway Spruce - in my new "Conifer Garden". IB2DWs extended.
95. A narrow, upright conifer tree - Montrose Charm White Spruce in the 'Conifer Garden' IB2DWs.
96. The 2nd Baby Blue Spruce tree planted IB2DWs in the new 'Conifer Garden' closer to the Bald Cypress.
97. A 3rd Baby Blue Spruce tree planted in back by the Lindens - viewable from the Kitchen.
98. I'm calling it a tree (not a shrub) - a Royal Purple Smoke Tree planted IB2Dws.

2024 (5 planted and 5 alive):

99. A third Emperor 1 Japanese Maple - from the Morton Arboretum Plant Sale. Planted in the understory garden where a previous JM was pulled.

100. My Centennial Tree: A Northern Glow Korean Maple tree. Planted in a new island bed in our front yard. My 11th Japanese Maple overall.

101. A dwarf Ginko - Spring Grove Ginkgo. The third of these small trees, but the first in our front yard. Planted in the Island Bed near the sidewalk.

102. A semi-dwarf, upright conifer: Oregon Green Austrian Pine. Planted in the front yard - between the porch bed and the Saucer Magnolia - along the south property line. Full Sun.

103. A small, container-grown Skylands Oriental Spruce planted in the (expanded) front-yard Island Bed.

2025 (5 planted and 5 alive):

104. A small caliper Black Tupelo tree in the parkway. Replaced lost London Planetree.

105, 106, 107. Three small two-gallon Wichita Blue Juniper trees. In the new bed west of the pizza oven.

108. An Arctic Jade Korean Maple (hybrid) planted in the backyard, amongst some Japanese-inspired garden plantings.

2026 (1 planted and 1alive):

109. An Alpenglow Korean Maple from the Jack Frost Collection in the backyard peeking out from behind the Tree Swing tree.

Getting To Know Alpenglow Korean Maple Tree - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Tue, 19 May 2026 07:30:00 -0500

Over the past few years, I have posted a few 'getting to know' posts about Korean Maples starting with Summer 2024 when I posted the first: Northern Glow Korean Maple. Last year, I posted one about the Arctic Jade Korean Maple and then last Fall, I wrote this 'getting to know' post about North Wind Korean Maple.

Today, I came across a fourth Korean Maple: Alpenglow Korean Maple from the Jack Frost Collection at Iseli Nursery. This is Acer x pseudosieboldianum.

I saw this at The Growing Place in Naperville where they have this point-of-sale sign where they label it 'new 2026'.

Here's how Iseli describes Alpenglow:

Alpenglow® is a red-leafed, upright hybrid maple that is hardy down to –30F. In spring, merlot leaves dance on arching branches; translucent veins help them catch the light and glow. The deep red mellows to a burnished bronze in summer and finally turns to blazing orange and red in fall. A refined oval habit and sturdy branching make Alpenglow® a majestic centerpiece that you can rely on for a colorful show year after year.

Sounds lovely, right?

I have a couple of Emperor 1 Japanese Maples in the back that bring that red foliage to some spots in the garden. This being a little bit more upright is right up my alley, too.

I've had mixed luck with Korean Maples with the Northern Glow doing great but the Arctic Jade struggled.

Here is the Jack Frost Collection plant tag from Iseli Nursery that is on this tree:

And here. below, shows the tree standing tall in a three-gallon (or so) nursery pot. This one appears to be container grown with a big, container-shaped root ball vs. a ball & burlap bottom:

What comes next is....you guessed it: a planting post. Because, this tree came home with me from my last trip to The Growing Place.

Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum - Upright Growth - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Mon, 18 May 2026 09:52:00 -0500

Now in their fifth growing season, the pair of Chicago Lustre Arrowwood Viburnum that were planted as two-gallon container-grown shrubs have (finally) become significant in their coverage. Persisting despite rabbit pressure (thanks to some chicken-wire cages), this pair of upright-habit shrubs sit behind the tree-swing Oak tree in the backyard. They were prescribed in this spot by our plan and I've really grown to appreciate them and their utility.

Here they are in their current state below - showing the upright nature and how they received their (arrow-wood) name:

I'm (still) trying to replace some of the Oakwood Hydrangeas with something more rabbit-proof like the tree-form Doublefile Viburnums. But, one of the interesting differences between the Arrowwood and Doublefile is the bloom-time: Doublefiles bloomed weeks ago. Arrowwood is still forming buds.

Rhododendron In Bloom - Backyard Shade - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sun, 17 May 2026 09:45:00 -0500

Back in 2023, I (finally) was fed-up with the pair of rhododendrons that were planted on either side of our back stoop and dug them up and transplanted them back into the far-reaches of the garden and replaced them with some dwarf Spring Grove Ginkgo trees. I've never looked back and have been very happy with that change.

The rhododendrons were planted in the shadow of the Dawn Redwood and (honestly...) mostly forgotten.

Part of my frustration with these shrubs were the lack of blooms and the leggy-nature of the form.

Imagine my surprise when I was in the backyard and caught some purple blooms out of the corner of my eye. There, under the canopy of the Dawn Redwood was one of the rhododendrons with ten-or-so purple blooms. Here is a look at the shrub:

Pretty, pretty, pretty nice, right?

Starting (More) Dahlia Tubers From Bonny Blooms - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Sat, 16 May 2026 09:19:00 -0500

Last week, my set of tubers from Bonny Blooms arrived (finally) and I quickly got to work planting them up in one-gallon nursery containers. I ordered seven total dahlia tubers from Bonny Blooms in November 2025. This was the first time I have ordered from Bonny Blooms and selected four different dahlia varieties: Bell's Palermo (1 tuber), Peaches-N-Cream (2 tubers), Crichton Honey (2 tubers) and Brown Sugar (2 tubers). These all were dahlias that I came across in year-end videos on Dahlia-Tok that growers/flower farmers have raved about in terms of how they look and how prolific bloomers they were in their own fields.

I was getting a little impatient because my order from Bonny Blooms had not arrived, so I went to their site where on the homepage they have a little 'chat' widget in the bottom corner. Based on some advice on a dahlia-growing Facebook group, I pasted my order number in that chat window and inquired about shipping. A day-or-so-later, I received an email saying: your order will ship in May. One day, a shipping notification arrived in my inbox and then a few days later a small box arrived.

Historically, I've bought my tubers from Longfield Gardens - both direct and via their bulk packs at Costco. I've bought a couple of packs of tubers at Menards, too. In both instances, the tubers from Longfield Gardens and from Menards were 'clumps' of tubers around a crown. The tubers tended to be smaller, but there have always been multiple tubers with each order.

Bonny Blooms tubers, on the other hand, came as individual tubers.

You can find out more of the Bonny Blooms story on their site. They're based in Washington state and are a real family farm.

I ordered two Crichton Honey tubers and I received exactly that: two individual tubers. Each of their tubers arrived with the body, a neck and some of the crown. All of them APPEAR to have at least one eye (so that's good). And, a few of them had gone beyond eyes and had sprouted like this one below:

Bonny Blooms packages each of their tubers neatly into this well-labeled bags (compostable), so you know exactly which tuber is which:

Here are a few more tubers from Bonny Blooms showing the eyes and growing sprout from the crown of the tuber:

Here, below, is one of the multiple-tubers they shipped (this is Brown Sugar Dahlia) that isn't as far along as some of the others:

And, here, below is the compostable shipping bag labeled as Brown Sugar dahlia tuber from Bonny Blooms:

I potted these seven 'fancy' (as I'm calling them) tubers like I did with the rest of mine: a coffee filter in the bottom of a one-gallon nursery pot, followed by a handful of potting mix. I nestled the tuber into that base of potting mix, topped it off with more mix, labeled it and watered it in once. I have learned to not water any of my tubers until I see a bunch of top-growth. I'll handle these the same way.

Here they are having been potted-up below.

Now, we wait.

A thought on Bonny Blooms (and perhaps most small-scale/large-scale tuber sellers): The late arrival of tubers was a surprise for me. As a first-time orderer from Bonny Blooms, I only had my experience with Longfield Gardens to compare to when it comes to delivery dates. Longfield Gardens shipped my new tubers the first week of April. Bonny Blooms shipped five weeks later.

Based on what I'm seeing on Dahlia-Tok the past month-or-so, it seems that MANY dahlia growers and tuber sellers take cuttings from their tubers that they started earlier this Spring and get those cuttings to root. Thus, producing EVEN MORE dahlia plants. A cutting that they root in Spring can become a tuber by Fall. Thus, increasing their supply of tubers they can sell the following year.

Is that why Bonny Blooms holds onto their tubers until early May? I'm not sure, but my hunch is that they're taking cuttings from their tubers BEFORE they ship them off. And, that's ok. Just something to know when you order from them next year.

As for whether I'd recommend them: That's to be decided. Let's revisit that question this Fall, once we see how the tubers they sent do out in our garden.

Dahlia Tubers 30-Day Update - May 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Jake Parrilllo) — Fri, 15 May 2026 08:38:00 -0500

In mid-April, I began unwrapping, dividing and potting-up my dahlia tubers. And, I ended up with more than 90 one-gallon nursery pots of tubers. Were all of them viable? I wasn't sure. But, today, I am feeling a higher-degree of confidence in what the viability-rate looks like. By early May, many of them were sprouting, but some still lagged behind and didn't get started. I tried to get a good division that included a body, a neck and some portion of the crown. Turns out, I didn't get it perfect, but did pretty well.

I recently moved the tubers up out of the basement window wells to the screened porch. Below is a look at the layout showing more than 80 viable dahlias. #6 on my 2026 to-do list was to "Go even Bigger on Dahlias". I'd say that I can cross that one off my list:

Some are barely moving like this one below with a tiny bit of green foliage tipping through the potting mix:

While others are more than a foot tall like these:

Last year I 'pinched' off my dahlias and I'm doing that again this year. Once they get their third set of 'true leaves', I have begun to ship off the leader.

I'm not a dahlia tuber seller, but you can't watch anything on Dahlia-Tok without hearing about gall and other viruses. One of the techniques that some professional growers use to keep disease from spreading is by sterilizing their tools. I've adopted that in a small way: with a 10:1 water:bleach mixture that I dunk my snips in to clean them. Followed by a quick dunk in plain water to remove the bleach mixture. Here's my little sterilization jar with my snips in them:

Not all of the tubers have three sets of (true) leaves, but eight of them have achieved that status (so far), so off-with-their-heads. Here, below, are the tips that I "pinched" (snipped) off. Here's hoping for 'bushier' plants this year:

The other thing that happened this week is that with the warmer temperatures, I've begun the hardening-off process on all the tubers. Starting in the morning, I put all the containers out on the patio where they are in full-shade until mid-day. On day one of the process, I left them out in the full shade for two-plus hours. Here they are below in the shade:

Day two, they'll go out again in the morning for that two hours of full-shade followed by about an hour of sun. Then, they'll come back inside. Day three = even longer. Day four = afternoon sun. And, by Day five...I'll let them spend the night outside. They'll end up being planted-in outdoors. Last year, I put them in on June 10th - this year I'll aim for a week or so earlier.