Why I Oughta...

Backyard Ginkgo Tree - Five Years Of Growth - October 2026

2026-10-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

Five years ago this month, I planted a very small caliper (with a trunk 'injury') Ginkgo tree in our backyard along the southside about half-way back. The tree went in the ground in October 2021. The trunk was basically cracked wide-open (look at the photos in this post), but I wrapped it up, supported it with a bamboo pole and hoped for the best.

In the five years since (growing seasons: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026), the tree has survived. And, put on some growth. When it went in the ground, it was about waist-high. Here, below, is what it looks like in the garden today:

That's a little hard to read in terms of where the tree starts/stops. So, here, below, is an annotated version showing the tip of the tree:

I took out the tape measure and the apical meristem (leader) now reaches 96". So, this is an eight-foot-tall Ginkgo tree. And, the trunk has thickened-up and is no longer pencil-thin. I've NOT pruned this at all, leaving the lowest branches along the trunk. Based on some Bonsai videos, they call those "thickeners", so I've adopted a similar approach with small caliper landscape trees: leave the lowest limbs to help 'thicken' up the trunk.

The other Ginkgo that is planted IB2DWs (which was the replacement) also suffered a setback (from a football that clipped off the leader), but it has recovered. I'll get some photos of that before it drops its leaves this Fall.

Sweet Nathalie Dahlias - Great Silence, Milena Fleur And Other Dahlias - October 2026

2026-10-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

In what is probably the final week of my dahlia blooms, I have one plant that is (finally) producing its initial blooms: Sweet Nathalie.

Last year, I saw my first Sweet Nathalie bloom in early September and talked about how it is a 'slow to bloom'. This year, the blooms came in mid-October. Five or six weeks later than 2025.

But, what do they look like? They're pretty great:

Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlia Bloom - Blush Pink

Sweet Nathalie is billed as a dahlia that compares with one of the dahlias that everyone loves: Cafe au Lait. Here's what Longfield says about Sweet Nathalie:

If you love the colors of Cafe au Lait, this dahlia is a must-have. Sweet Nathalie walks a similar line between buff and blush pink, but its flowers are about half the size of Cafe au Lait and the shape and color are more consistent.

What's interesting about that (for me) is that Sweet Nathalie is my second slowest-to-bloom dahlia. The one that is the furthest behind? Cafe au Lait. Which...hasn't produced actual, open blooms for me YET. YET!! The season is basically over.

Here, below, are a couple of other photos showing what else I snipped-off: Great Silence Ivanetti, Milena Fleur, Blue Wish. The usuals:

I put them all in a jar and put them on the counter for my latest arrangement:

If you look at the photo below, you can see another Peaches n Cream bloom (on a pretty short stem), too:

Conifer Garden at Sports Field In Wisconsin - October 2026

2026-10-19T09:12:00.000-05:00

I was recently up in Racine Wisconsin where I spent some time at a (pretty nice) youth sports field complex. They have a beer garden - which feels *very Wisconsin*. And, the fields were nice. Grass was cut short and nicely groomed. But, over by the bathrooms was a collection of conifers that were worth documenting. Someone planted a number of things in a little cluster and over the years they've matured into a really nice-looking conifer collection.

One of the standouts is this large, columnar Weeping White Spruce. It is an almost-perfect specimen. Shooting straight up in the air. Narrow. And really quite nice:

Planted in the beds around the Weeping White Spruce, they had two pairs of other weeping confirs. Two of them are (I'm pretty sure) Weeping Norway Spruces that they haven't really trained upwards. The reach about five or six feet tall, then begin to cascade down and all around. Interesting to see them grow up and out. And, what happens if you don't train them beyond their initial height. They had a similar pair of blue-needed weeping trees. Same habit. Same lack of training. So, they sort-of ramble around the beds.

Here are a couple of photos showing the weeping/contorted conifers.

One of the things that I'll be putting on my 2027 to-do list is to look into training the Weeping Norway Spruces that are IB2DWs. They've reached the peak of the training posts that I have on-hand, which means we need to install something taller.

How To Prevent Your Mums From Flopping? Wire Them Up - October 2026

2026-10-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

Tired of those Mums that you bought for your front porch keep splaying wide open and flopping over, revealing an empty crown? That's what happens when the tips of the flower stems get weighted down with the blooms, as they open up and grow. That is...if you keep them alive until then. Mums are hard to make work, but when they do, they're beautiful.

So, you likely know all the tips by now: soak the root ball in water. Water from the bottom-up. Don't buy them too early in the season.

Here's the best tip I can give you in terms of something you can do to keep them looking good:

Wire them up.

Wrap a wire or string around the stems to corral them together. And, keep the crown of the mums together and the stems upright.

Here, below are a couple of photos of the Mums we brought home for our front porch this weekend. I used padded garden wire around the stems:

I also placed the nursery pot into a garden trug that is full of water, to soak up. Watering from the bottom - via the roots.

I've shared this tip for securing your front porch Fall decor mums over the years.

Here's my "wire up your Mums" post from 2025.

Here's my "You should wire up your Mums to keep them from flopping" post from 2024.

And, here's a post from 2017, when I seem to have first posted about wiring up your mums.

Mero Star Dinnerplate Dahlia - October 2026

2026-10-17T07:24:00.000-05:00

I've grown Dinnerplate dahlias on purpose. And, this season I grew Dinnerplate Dahlias NOT on purpose. The one in question is Mero Star. NOT, Metro Star. I have two of them in the front yard - one in the Island Bed and one under the Triumph Elm tree by our front porch.

I posted the first photo of one of these blooms at the end of July when they were just starting. And, the petals were dark red, almost purple.

As the season has gone on, the white tips/outline have emerged. These are really lovely when they are on the plant:

Mero Star Dahlia in Bloom

They, however, have very short stems.

Both of the plants are healthy and didn't really have any problems. No virus. No pests (no Spider Mites!!!).

I'm planning on digging up and saving these tubers, but I'm not sure that I'll grow them again. Or, if I do, I won't be growing them for cut flowers. That means they will need to be in spot where the blooms can show-off a little bit. Perhaps down by the sidewalk IB2DWs or around the back patio.

Japanese Aralia - Sun King - Producing Fall Berries - October 2026

2026-10-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

In previous growing seasons, some of the Japanese Aralia Sun Kings have flowered. They send up a shoot of a tight cluster of yellow-ish tight flowers on single stalks. Here is a post from early September of 2025 when I caught what I thought were (just) flowers that emerged (for me) for the first time.

In that post, I included this description:

Sun King’ is a golden-leaved cultivar that features a large rounded clump of golden yellow compound leaves which is topped in summer by 2’ tall spikes of tiny white flowers. Deep reddish-purple to purplish-black inedible berries ripen in fall. Birds love the berries.

(emphasis, mine)

Well...guess what? For the first time, these purplish-black berries arrived. Pretty neat. Here's a look at one of the most-mature Sun Kings that had its flowers turn into berries. A lot like what happens with Viburnum:

Nice little mid-October highlight in an otherwise "beginning to go to sleep" garden that is tired right now.

Locatelli Pecorino Romano For Bar Pizza Making - Pizza Upgrades - October 2026

2026-10-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

If you follow any part of the pizza making (both home-baking and professional) internet on YouTube or TikTok or Instagram or even PizzaMaking Forums, you can't go far without people talking about a few cheeses that people are passionate about: Grande mozzarella. And Locatelli Romano.

So, when I saw some Locatelli nestled-in the cooler next to some more familiar brands, I grabbed it. I've bought a lot of Pecorino Romano over the years. From Angelo Caputos. From Jewel. From Pete's. From various Italian markets. But, none of them (until now) have been Locatelli brand.

For any other pizza makers in the Chicago suburbs: Is this new to our market? I think it is? I certainly haven't seen it at grocery stores until the past month.

For now...Let's call it new (to me): Locatelli Pecorino Romano Cheese. I have found this stuff in two places (so far): Jewel and Standard Market.

Jewel sells a 4 ounce container for $9. And, Standard Market sells a 12 ounce bag for $12.

Here, below, are some photos of each:

Here's how Locatelli describes their Romano:

A must-have in every kitchen and the #1 imported cheese from Italy. Our award winning Pecorino Romano is aged a minimum of 9 months for a rich, nutty flavor and sharp bold taste. Available in wedges, wheels, as well as freshly grated; Locatelli Pecorino Romano is not just for pastas!

Nutty. That's often how people describe another cheese that I've grated over pizza: Grana Padano/a.

There's another page where they compare their Pecorino Romano against parimgiano Reggiano:

Pecorino Romano, on the other hand, is made from 100% sheep’s milk aged for a minimum of 5 months, which is fine for grating and as a table cheese, and aged up to 9 months for a more intense flavor and excellent for grating. The difference in milk type and aging process results in a sharper, saltier, bolder flavor that stands out and brings character to even the simplest dishes.

(Emphasis, mine)

I tried this stuff and the thing that jumped out to me was SALT. Love that.

I salt my sauce. That's the only thing that I add to a can of crushed tomatoes.

And, in my Bar Pizza process, I dust the sauced dough with a grated cheese. Sometimes parm. Sometimes Grana Padana/o. And sometimes Romano.

After trying the Locatelli, I opted to NOT salt my sauce. And, I think it worked out great.

A few other notes about Locatelli: Here's a close-up of the package:

It says: Sole Importer. The Ambriola Company, Inc. West Caldwell, New Jersey.

A quick search reveals the Ambriola Company site. Here's their about page. They're (now) owned by an Italian cheese-making company. Gemini says they're most-well known for their authentic Provolone. Wikipedia says they've acquired other cheeses over the years. When, you look at the Auricchio company history page, they say they acquired Locatelli in 1997. So, that closes the loop.

Priced at $2.26 per ounce in the container and $1.50 per ounce in the bag, it turns out that Standard Market is priced better than Jewel. That's...surprising, isn't it?

Mirella Ball Dahlia (Pretty Sure) Identification - October 2026

2026-10-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

There's a ball dahlia that is growing in the front yard Island Bed that is a variety that I didn't plant. At least...I didn't THINK that I planted it. Of the 42 dahlia tubers that I stuck in the garden (all over the front and back yards), I didn't plant any orange ones. But, I'm growing something that is certainly orange. And yellow. According to the dahlia-planting map, I stuck a Burlesca dahlia tuber into the front yard island bed. And, this, below, is what is blooming off that tuber:

That's NOT Burlesca. My Burlesca dahlias are pink. Not orange.

I'm pretty sure it is Mirella - a ball dahlia variety. Here's what Longfield Gardens shows as Mirella. They don't describe it, but the photos seem to line up.

I bought the Burlesca tubers from Longfield. Looking through the rest of their 'orange' varieties, the Mirella is the only one that looks *close* to what I'm growing. Thus....Dahlia Detective Jake is coming to the conclusion that we're looking at Mirella.

I'll (try to) save this tuber this Winter and see if it multiples. I'm not in love with the colors of this one, but I really like the size. It is smaller than Ivanetti and larger than Burlesca. A nice in-between size.

Peaches 'N Cream, Saint Martin, Ivanetti, Mirella, Milena Fleur and More - Arrangement of Dahlias - October 2026

2026-10-13T08:19:00.000-05:00

Just about every morning...if I wanted to...I could go out and cut an armful of dahlia blooms and bring them into put in a jar on the counter. Here, below, is a look at what I sniped off the dahlia plants around the garden on a recent morning. Includes (of course) Saint Martin waterlily dahlias, a Tsuki Yori No Shisha (Semi-Cactus) Dahlia white blooms (which...I'll have you know are "fimbriated" dahlias), Ivanetti balls, Milena Fleur (formal) decorative, a few (what I think are) Mirella ball dahlias, Blue Wish dahlias, Great Silence (decorative) and the standout: a single Peaches-n-cream dahlia bloom. Here are a few photos of the flowers as cut off the stems:

And, here, below, are those same flowers tucked into a recycled pickle jar on the counter. I'm now close to 25 arrangements that I posted about this growing season.

Dahlia arrangement with Peaches-n-cream, Ivanetti, Saint Martin, Blue Wish, Milena Fleur, Mirella and more....

While the dahlias have been a success this year, I've been underwhelmed by the other cut flowers that I grew. More on those in future posts.

Firewood Deliver - Birch, Cherry and Oak Kiln-Dried Face Cords - October 2026

2026-10-12T10:03:00.000-05:00

The wood-burning fireplace season is rapidly approaching. Don't tell the dahlias that, but it is a reality that I'm actively preparing for around here. And, that starts and ends with our annual firewood delivery. This year, we once again had three face cords of kiln-dried firewood delivered: One each of Birch, Cherry and Oak hardwoods.

Since 2021, I've been buying our firewood from The Grove in Sugar Grove. Their prices are fair and their wood has been clean, dry and nicely split.

They dumped the load on our driveway and we got busy moving it back to the racks. Filling the racks on the screened porch (one of each wood), the sideyard racks and the little side stoop that is under cover on the side of our house.

Here are a few photos of the delivery and the full racks (for consumption check-in purposes, of course).

The racks on the side of the house are full. Left is Oak. Right is Cherry. I need to get the wood that is currently on top of the racks indoors/under cover, but I left it there for now:

On the side stoop, the rack is full of Birch. And, the left side is Birch. Middle stack is Oak. Down the stairs is a mix of all three.

And, here are the three racks inside the screened porch. Birch on the left. On the right has Oak on top and Cherry on the bottom.

This past year, I burned through about 98% of the wood. Between the fireplaces and the pizza oven, we used it all. Here is a post from August (two months ago) showing how little firewood was remaining.

Vintage Memorial Stadium Postcard - University of Illinois - Football Game - Fighting Illini - October 2026

2026-10-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

I'm a postcard guy. Sending postcards to people is something that I find joy in doing when we are traveling. I send them to my Mom, Nat's Grampy, my friend Matt and others. They're harder and harder to come by these days as people just don't send postcards like they used to - from travel destinations or ordinary places.

I've been thinking about creating my OWN postcards to send. I try to send hand-written notes to people from time-to-time, but those are on my own personalized correspondence cards. A post card, from a place, is different. I've long wanted to send postcards from Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. But, alas, they don't exist. I've also thought about Downers Grove ones. And, University of Illinois ones.

That lead me to Ebay. Where, you can find vintage postcards from all of those places: Twin Lakes, Downers Grove and the University of Illinois.

Fumbling around on Ebay recently, I came across this vintage postcard (pasted below) of the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium (home of my Fighting Illini Football team, of course) and I was struck by a couple of things that I think are worth calling out.

First...have a look at the photo on the postcard. This is NOT my photo, but rather a copy that I pulled from this Ebay listing CKPostcards. Here's the front showing (what appears to be) the Illini on offense, wearing the traditional O-B-O uniform (orange pants, blue jerseys, orange helmets) playing an opponent in all white on a sunny, Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Illinois:

What jumps out to you?

The end zones, right?

The orange and white diamonds (squares?) across the end zones. How adorable. Are they real? Or, were they added after the photo was taken? There are shadows on the end zones from the goal posts, so that sort-of indicates that they looked like this?

What else do I see?

The student section is on the West side. So is the home team. And, that Block I? Is it real? Or, painted on the photo? Either way, it is awesome. But, could it be "really there"?

I found this other Vintage Memorial Stadium postcard on Ebay. It shows a similar orange Block I in the student section, but it also has the Marching Illini on the field, when they would be doing a card stunt, right? But, I'm thinking this indicates that the postcard at the top - with the Block I and the orange-and-white diamonds in the end zone is real. Right? Here, below, is the other one:

Here's the back of that postcard. Note the "1965" written in the bottom corner:

What else jumps out in the original postcard? Here, below, is it again:

Also....The goalposts are white and quaint.

The Illini have way, way, way more guys on the bench than their opponent. I count about 30 guys on the bench for the away team. Means they traveled with 40ish players?

For those of you who know/don't know, I was a punter (backup punter) on the Fighting Illini football team in the 1990's when I was an undergraduate student in Champaign. Here's a 'those were the days' post with one of the team photos from the Coach Ron Turner years that I'm in.

In this postcard: The coaches/other people on the away side sideline? They're all on a knee. Is that so the fans can "see" the game? If so, that's wild.

The track is around the field, still there.

The west side stands of Memorial Stadium? They look the exact same today. That's neat.

Here's the back of the original postcard (diamonds in the end zones):

But...back to the end zones.

Did the end zones ever look like that at Memorial Stadium?

Here's what they look like today, below. Orange with blue 1LL1NO1S (Ahem....we know that everybody hates that custom font):

Memorial Stadium celebrated it's 100th anniversary a few years ago. The University produced this video about the football palace: A House of Brick: 100 Years of Memorial Stadium. In it, we find some clues about the history of the end zones inside Memorial Stadium. (Now...Gies Memorial Stadium).

The University Athletic Department has a page up for the Dedication Game. Here's a photo that came up during the rededication of Memorial Stadium in 2024 of the original dedication game. What do we see? Blank (unpainted) end zones.

Here's a screenshot from the video when they talked about dedicating the stadium. This is 1924. It appears that originally, the end zones were, well...blank. So was mid-field. Empty.

What else happened at that first, dedication game in 1924? Oh...only the greatest performance by a player in the history of college football. Our own Red Grange. Here's another screenshot from the video showing Red Grange entering the end zone (a blank, unpainted end zone):

What did Red Grange do that day?

Oh, he just scored four touchdowns in the first 12 minutes of the game. He also later ran for a 5th "tuddy". And...threw for a sixth touchdown. (Like Al Bundy).

Is that all?

No. He also had two interceptions.

And this was against the Michigan Wolverines, who were world beaters then.

I've posted A LOT about Memorial Stadium and the Fighting Illini football team over the years.

2007: I covered the Memorial Stadium renovation (new suites, new north end zone, etc)

2010: 100 years of Homecoming at Illinois

2011: Paint the Stadium in Stripes at a Fighting Illini game

2015: Snapple bottle cap had a trivia fact about the Bears playing in Memorial Stadium during Soldier Field renovations.

2016: We met a cosplaying Red Grange. Love this. They should bring it back to Grange Grove.

2018: We went to Homecoming. It was not well attended.

2019: Homecoming + a former-player field pass

2025: We went down for Fox's Big Noon Kickoff two times

2025: We saw the Illini take on Rutgers

2026: The largest scoreboard in College Football

All of that happened inside of Memorial Stadium. A brick and stone palace of College Football (With a terrible south horseshoe).

And, based on my little bit of research, that also means that Memorial Stadium started with blank (unpainted) end zones in 1924. And, we have orange end zones with blue ILLINOIS across them (Along with a State of Illinois outline with Block I at mid-field) today, in 2026.

I can't believe it, but I'm heading down a DEEP, DEEP Memorial Stadium end zone rabbit hole. To try to figure out if those diamond end zones were actually a thing. I''ll create a post with what I find.

Dahlia Cut Flowers In October - Arrangement With Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Accent - October 2026

2026-10-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

The dahlias are going wild. Warmer days and cooler nights right now. Before...the inevitable frost that is on the horizon. (Hopefully not too soon, though).

This week, I documented my 20-something arrangement of the season. This post shows another one.

Including:

Great Silence, Milena Fleur, Ivanetti, Blue Wish, Saint Martin, Crichton Honey, Wizard of Oz dahlias. And, a single spray of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus peeking out the top.

Here it is on a couple of sides of the jar on our counter:

Here, below, is how they looked as I cut them. The lighting in the mornings makes the colors pop.

Wizard of Oz (the pale pink one on the bottom right) changes a bit as the season goes on in terms of petal-holding. Earlier in the Summer, every Wizard of Oz that I'd cut would drop petals almost immediately. Now? They stay on much longer. Wonder what is driving that behavior? I really like Wizard of Oz, but if it isn't going to hold petals, why grow it? I guess I just told myself why: late season beauties that hold their petals are worth the growing space.

Vintage LED Christmas Lights at Menards - Mini, Reflector, C7, C9 Bulbs - October 2026

2026-10-09T09:28:00.000-05:00

If you head to Menards these days, you'll see some Halloween stuff up (inflatables, their Spooky Village buildings and the other Halloween house decor), but you'll also see a big section of the Menards Enchanted Forest Christmas set-up out and ready to be shopped.

Before I get into the post, let me credential-ize myself.

I've covered Menards Christmas setup (Enchanted Forest) and when it shows up over the years. Via, what people call "Christmas Creep" - when a store sets up Christmas early.

Here is my post from 2025 when it was up in September.
Here is early October 2015, when the Menards Christmas Enchanted Forest (and blowmolds) were up.
Here is September 2016, when the Menards Christmas Enchanted Forest was up.
Here is September 2017, when the Menards Christmas Enchanted Forest was up.
Here is October 1, 2019, when the Menards Christmas Enchanted Forest was up.

I've also posted about the various Christmas Village buildings that Menards sells, including when they used to carry Lemax (now they carry their own house-brand that isn't as nice, imho).

When they say: Does he know ball Menards Christmas?

That...I know ~~ball~~ Menards Christmas.

So, when I say that I was excited by something at Menards for Christmas, I think it is something worth paying attention to if you're into Christmas.

What caught my eye?

Their setup of Christmas lights.

Specifically...they have a line of house-branded lights. Vintage lights.

Yes...Vintage. Enchanted Forest Vintage Christmas Lights. Here's one of the boxes:

And, it isn't just mini lights. They have a whole series. See below for my photo of the light display showing the various kinds: Mini, reflector, C7, C9s and more:

Vintage LED Christmas Lights at Menards

They have transparent and ceramic multi-color C7s and C9s in the Vintage series:

They have white and colored globes in the Vintage Christmas lights series:

And, they have a couple of kinds of reflector lights:

Aren't these pretty awesome?

You can find them on Menards.com. Here is the listing for the Enchanted Forest 20 Light Frosted reflectors:

And, here is their listing for their Vintage LED multi-color mini string Christmas lights:

Here is how Menards describes them:

The Vintage new LED technology gives you the same beloved look of the traditional incandescent bulbs with the benefits of LEDs.... The mini bulbs look just like the traditional incandescent bulbs of your childhood, but with all the perks of LEDs. Warm yourself up some hot cocoa and bring on the nostalgia, these lights will have you reminiscing about your past Christmases with fond memories. These lights will sparkle and shine to enhance all of your holiday indoor or outdoor decorating displays!

Do we need new lights? No. But, should we buy them? Probably.

Great Silence Decorative Dahlia - October 2026

2026-10-08T09:18:17.084-05:00

One of the new (to me) dahlias that I grew this year was Great Silence Decorative Dahlia. I grew them from tubers that I bought from Longfield Gardens. After starting them indoors in nursery pots, I planted them out in two different spots: IB2DWs (down closer to the sidewalk) and in the back of the Island Bed in the front yard.

Those locations seem to have determined the success of the plants. With the Great Silence in the Island Bed doing much better, being more productive and all-around happier.

But, before I show the photos of the plants, let's look at the blooms.

Here, below, is a photo of a Great Silence Decorative Dahlia (on the left) next to my first dahlia love: Milena Fleur (on the right). They're similar. But, different.

Great Silence Decorative Dahlia on the left. Milena Fleur Formal Decorative Dahlia on the right.

Great Silence has a loose-r, less-focused center and more broadly-exposed petals surrounding that center. The colors are pink, peach and gold. Milena Fleur share similar pink, but are more blended in colors with a more-yellow center.

Milena Fleur is listed as a "formal decorative", so perhaps that's the difference?

Now, back to the plants and their location.

I've described IB2DWs as (somewhat) hard-to-grow. Especially down by the sidewalk and close the driveway. A mixture of gravel (left-over from the driveway construction), the bed being planted ON TOP OF a large drywell (mandated by the Village) and lack of organic material makes the bed down the driveway a challenge.

Over the years, I've converted the area from turf grass to a garden bed. Using my lazy method of cardboard and municipal biosolids. In Spring 2024, the full IB2DWs bed received its first real mulch cap.

I planted the dahlias in a mix of compost and biosolids, but that is only a small hole in the ground. Last month, I dumped some compost around them from our tumbler. But...that's only bucket-fulls. Every little bit of organic material helps, right?

The Great Silence dahlia that is planted IB2DWs is doing the BEST of all of the dahlias over there. But, it isn't thriving. It was hit with some spider mites. And, I probably waited too long to deal with them. So, it was set back. But, it has recovered. Here, below, is the plant as it sits right now, in early October:

Great Silence Decorative Dahlia

Compare it with the very same Great Silence dahlia plant that is in the back of the front yard Island Bed:

Great Silence Decorative Dahlia

Much fuller. More bush-like. And, dozens of stems. Long stems. This plant might be putting off the longest stems of any dahlia that I'm growing.

Last year, in mid-October, I posted about the same thing with the Wizard of Oz dahlias. Island bed = "popping off". IB2DWs petering-out in October.

Seems like something I can do to help is to continue to invest in the soil IB2DWs. This winter might warrant a couple of trips to the mulch pit to pick up loads of biosolids. And composted manure. And...maybe some wood chips to top it off.

Planting 5 Sicilian Honey Garlic Bulbs - Allium Siculum - October 2025

2026-10-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

#13 on my 2026 to-do list was to do something that I used to do regularly: plant some Fall bulbs.

Here's how I described it when I drafted my list:

13. Plant fall bulbs. For my first few gardening seasons, I was pretty good about planting fall bulbs. Alliums and tulips, mostly. But, I got away from it. Get back to it this Fall. And…Try a bulb lawn in front. Yes…a bulb lawn. Or, at least a patch of bulb lawn as an experiment.

When I posted my mid-Summer check-in on my list, I marked this Incomplete.

Since then, I planted 95 crocus corms. And 14 dwarf daffodil bulbs. And six bulbs of (gifted) hardneck garlic.

One of the plants that I took note of this season and told myself (self...you should plant more of these) were the Sicilian Honey Garlic (alliums) that I have in a few places in the backyard. It looks like I planted 15 of these bulbs in 2021. And, mostly forgot about them. Here it is in bloom in 2023.

I found a five pack of bulbs - labeled Allium Siculum at Menards. I grabbed one. Should have grabbed more.

Longfield Gardens has a post up about the plant that is worth the read.

I opted to put these five bulbs in the pizza oven bed. Three, in betwix the Lady's Mantle in the front of the bed.

And the other two tucked in between the Summer Beauty Allium around the tree swing tree (Northern Red Oak):

Planting Fall bulbs? Check. And check.

20th and 21st Dahlia Arrangement (At Least) of 2026 -

2026-10-06T08:55:00.000-05:00

Below are photos of two arrangements that I made this week after snipping off some dahlia blooms from around the garden beds. These two mark the 20th and 21st cut flower arrangement of the growing season (that I've documented¹). These feature Ivanetti, Milena Fleur, Messenger To the Moon, Wizard of Oz, Blue Wish, that unknown orange ball one, a couple (Not) Rip City and....(of course) Saint Martin Waterlily dahlias:

The one on the left is in a blue glass Ball mason jar. On the right is in a thrifted vase.

The first one of the season was all the way back in July. (Not) Rip City, Blue Wish, Saint Martin, that bubblegum cactus/semi-cactus one. The most recent one was from last week that featured Crichton Honey, Brown Sugar, Milena Fleur and...Saint Martin. You can see the other 20 from this year here at my [Dahlia arrangement] tag.

Going "big" with dahlias in 2026 was one of my priorities. Seems like 20+ arrangements hits that mark.

^{1. [There are certainly arrangements that I made and gave away that I didn't photograph. Often, I would be out in the front yard using my snips to take off blooms and end up handing out a handful of stems to a neighbor who was out walking their dog. Also, there were certainly arrangements that Nat brought to a friend's house that I forgot to photograph. Nevertheless, 21 documented this year is pretty good, right?]↩}

Disneyland Roses - In Bloom - Early October 2026

2026-10-05T09:19:08.521-05:00

The Disneyland Roses (Floribunda roses) always take a back seat to the dahlias later in the growing season. The roses come out of the gate strong, but they end of being sort-of forgotten starting in August and everything after. But, that doesn't mean they don't stop producing blooms. Here are a couple of photos showing what is probably the last flush of blooms on the thorny stems.

These blooms continue to be really enchanting. Almost peony-like at times. They look best when they're a little bit more OPEN like this one below:

I fed these throughout the season with a 3-1 systemic granular. The last time I fed them was in early September. They'll go to sleep in the next few weeks.

Here, below, is another one that is just opening. The colors in the Fall are bright.

And, here below, is one that is fully-open. The yellow center is showing. This will hold its petals for another week, then drop them.

Last year (2025), these bloomed all the way until Thanksgiving. YES! Thanksgiving. We'll see what happens in 2026.

Late Arriving Cafe Au Lait Dahlia - Still No Blooms - Early October 2026

2026-10-04T09:45:00.000-05:00

Two days ago, I described the Saint Martin Waterlily Dahlia plants as my most productive dahlias of the season. Today, I'm showing an update on my LEAST productive dahlia: Cafe au Lait.

I didn't intend to grow Cafe au Lait this year. Some of the tubers that I ordered from Longfield Gardens weren't viable, so they send a pair of Cafe au Lait tubers as a replacement.

They arrived three weeks after every other dahlia tuber was started (and had produced new growth), so these started behind from the beginning.

I planted two. One in the Pizza Oven West bed. And one in the sideyard. The Pizza Oven West dahlia died. Suddenly. One of those things.

The one in the sideyard started slow. And, kept growing slowly. All Summer.

I was knee-high in August.

Now, a the beginning of October, it still hasn't bloomed. But, it has put on a bunch of foliage in the past few weeks. Cafe au Lait has unique leaves - see below for a photo of it growing in the sideyard bed:

Maybe this thing has been busy all Summer focusing on tuber growth. And, when I dig it up, I'll be surprised by a massive, new clump of tubers. Or, it was just slow-to-warm-up.

Will I get a bloom this year? I think so. But, just one or two before the frost arrives, I suspect.

Either way, despite the reputation, this isn't one that I'm fired up about growing next year.

Limelight Hydrangea Grown From Cutting - 4 Years Later - October 2026

2026-10-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

Four years ago - in September 2022, I did my first (ever) cutting of an existing Limelight Hydrangea and attempted to grow a new shrub in a nursery container.

In mid-September 2022, I cut off a green tip, trimmed back the leaves and stuck it in some compost.

A couple weeks later, it grew some new leaves.

Back then, I was trying to grow a number of things from cuttings and seeds (like Oak trees). I would overwinter them by digging them into the ground and mulching them in. Then, in Spring, I dug out the nursery pots and nurtured them along the season.

A year later - in October 2023 - the Limelight cutting was growing upright. It had two branches and was probably 12" tall. It was also root-bound in the pint-sized nursery pot, so I up-potted it to a one-gallon nursery pot.

Two years in (October 2024), the cutting (now in that one-gallon nursery pot) flowered for the first time. But, the plant was also probably not in enough soil, because it kept drying out. I pruned it back a little bit to help it survive.

At some point (I don't seem to have posted about it), I planted it next to the two existing Limelight Hydrangeas along the side of the front porch.

And now, four years after starting this shrub from a cutting, it is now...a real shrub.

When I posted about the new Ajuga Burgundy Glow plugs that I planted last week, I included a mention of the shrub. But, here, below is a photo of it - with blooms on the tips of the stems:

The success of this makes me want to get back into cuttings. Something for my 2027 to-do list, right?

Looking at the [2027 to-do list] tag, I already have the beginnings of a task list:

Montana Sedges As Ground Cover in Shade - October 2026

2026-10-02T09:36:00.000-05:00

I added seven Montana Sedge plugs along the flagstone path in our backyard that connects the rear yard with the sideyard on the southside of our house. There were already a handful of Montana Sedges there, so these seven were adding to the existing colony. I posted a photo of them a month later (in August of 2026) and they all seemed to have handled their transplanting.

Now, 100 days later, in early October, they're doing their Montana Sedge thing: Glossy green sprays of groundcover. Here, below, are a couple of photos showing the old and new sedges. The mature (larger) ones are from previous seasons, but the smaller ones are catching up quickly:

You know what this makes me think?

More along this very path. But, also...just more in general?

The first place that comes to mind is the backyard stoops. Under the Spring Grove Ginko trees. Also, the island bed. And, along the boardwalk.

Another (Loose) Mixed Dahlia Arrangement - October 2026

2026-10-01T08:51:52.360-05:00

I planted a pair of Saint Martin Waterlily dahlia tubers this season and they've been (BY FAR) the most prolific dahlia that I've ever grown. They have thrown off blooms since (at least) July and are still loaded with blooms on the tips of thin, but fairly strong stems. But, those stems are different than most of the rest of my dahlias. Most dahlia stems (in my experience) are hallow. Like straws. But, Saint Martin stems are far more thin. And, if they're straw-like, the straw is super small.

These also have smaller and different texture leaves on the flower stems than most of my other dahlias. We've had some rain this week, so that means when the dahlia plants are full of blooms (and buds), they tend to get weighed down. Saint Martin is almost folding in half in parts.

That lead me to cut a bunch of them while they're opened. I also grabbed some Crichton Honey, Brown Sugar, a lone Blue Wish dahlia bloom and a couple Wizard of Oz ball dahlia light pink blooms. A single shoot of Silver Dollar Eucalyptus down the middle. Here, below, are a couple of photos of this more-loosely-styled arrangement:

I haven't counted how many arrangements that I've made this season, but it is has to be the most I've ever put together. A week ago, I posted a pair of dahlia arrangements that are totally different than this one.

Holiday Wreath Making - Magnolia and Seeded Eucalyptus Inspiration - September 2026

2026-09-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

Last year, I made my first wreath. A winter wreath. That hung on our front door. I used a grapevine wreath as the chassis. And, used the 'pre-make piles' of materials process. The material included Magnolia leaves and Silver Dollar Eucalyptus from Trader Joe's. And some foraged evergreen material including Cypress branches and springs of Green Velvet Boxwoods. It turned out pretty good. And, even survived the Winter. My original post went up in December. And, I posted a photo of the wreath all the way into March (at the end of the season) and it held up.

Despite today being the last day of September, I'm already thinking about Winter containers, cut evergreen arrangements, Christmas crafts (like pinecones on a stick) and...wreath making.

I have been poking around on floral wholesalers to see what it takes to buy eucalyptus (including Silver Dollar, Seeded and even red tinted stems) and Magnolia bunches in bulk. I spent some time on FiftyFlowers site and found some things that I like. They (seem to??) offer free shipping on orders, but they have minimum quantities that might make it unworkable for me.

For instance, here's their Red Tinted Baby Eucalpytus stems that go for $35 per bunch. 5 bunch minimum. $175 for 5 bunches. 5-8 stems in each bunch. $5 to $7 per stem. That seems high to me, but I've never bought it.

Here's their Magnolia branches. Minimum buy is 8 bunches. Each bunch has 5 stems. That's 40 stems. And, they want $235. That's just $5 per branch, which I think is pretty good. Funny how I think the same price per stem is a better deal with Magnolia vs the eucalpytus.

In addition to offering stems wholesale, they also offer fresh garland and wreaths. I poked around with some of their wreaths and found some (potential) inspiration for this year's front door wreath. The one that jumped out to me was this Magnolia leaf and Seeded Eucalpytus wreath. They offer it in 20" and 30" versions. They want $350 for the 30" one. WOWSA.

Here is the photo (this is not my photo, it is from FiftyFlowers site here) of the wreath:

Magnolia and Seeded Eucalpytus Holiday Wreath (Via Source)

That calls for a lot more Magnolia leaves than I used last year and no conifer evergreens, which is interesting. I know that Trader Joe's sells the Seeded Eucalyptus and have used it in the past. So, sourcing that is easy. The Magnolia leaves is harder - at the scale required for a wreath like this.

But...there's also...garland. Magnolia leaf garland?

Looks like I'll have to dig a little further to see if I can source Magnolia in a more cost-effective way. A quick search turned up this Quality Growers listing for Eucalyptus for $15 per bunch. $3 per stem. But, when I add 8 bunches to the cart, they want $40 in shipping. $160 for 8 or $20 per bunch. $4 per stem.

Fifty Flowers: 8 bunches. 40 stems. $235. $5 processing fee. $240 total. $240/40 = $6 per stem.

Quality Growers: 8 bunches. 40 stems. $120 plus $40 shipping. $160 total. $160/40 = $4 per stem.

50% less. Seems like a better deal. But, now...to read reviews and see if the quality is similar.

Anemone Lucky Charm Full of Late September Flowers - September 2026

2026-09-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

The biggest perennial star of the garden RIGHT NOW is (by a long-way) Anemone Lucky Charm. It is planted (now) in two spots of the backyard (after I transplanted a couple of patches earlier this year). Here, below is what the flowers look like right now: full of pink flowers with yellow centers and covering a lot of ground:

I bought these from Northwind Perennial Farm a few years ago. I'll grab a clump of this colony and try to do a Fall transplant of this to a few other spots of the garden. You know...in the name of REPETITION. Right? Not to mention, they're pretty lovely to see in bloom this late in the season.

Here's a VERY SIMILAR post from right around one-year ago showing the same flowers.

I also need to replace the Garden Ghost Artemesia up front in the Island Bed. Might this be a better performer?

Couple (More) Dahlia Arrangements - Ivanetti, Crichton Honey, Messenger of the Moon, Saint Martin, Milena Fleur, Rip CIty, Brown Sugar - September 2026

2026-09-28T11:32:57.892-05:00

Dahlia cutting season is moving quickly these days. After waiting to cut anything for a while due to trying to cut them for the girls' Homecoming corsages, we're now flush with blooms. On a recent morning, I went out and snip'd off a number of blooms. That will BOTH drive more blooms to arrive, but it also has the secondary benefit of removing some of the weight on the tips of the stems.

Below are a pair of cut dahlia stem arrangements. These are cut from the front Island Bed, IB2DWs, sideyard and both sides of the pizza oven bed. They feature Brown Sugar, Milena Fleur, Crichton Honey, Rip City (not Rip City), Wizard of Oz, Tsuki Yori No Shisha (Messenger of the Moon)

Notably, Tsuki Yori No Shisha is a fimbriated dahlia. My only one (that I can confirm). But, perhaps the (NOT) Rip City dahlia is fimbriated, too?

Counting down the days until our first frost. Hoping for a late October arrival.

Planting A Fall Container With Kale, Eucalyptus and Branches - September 2026

2026-09-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

We're officially in Fall. Calendar-wise, at least.

We have football on the tv. The temperatures are dropping. And, the stores already have their Christmas stuff out.

So, it was time to transition our front porch container into Fall.

One of my annual to-do list goals (#16) is to do 'better containers'.

Our Wintertime container is done by a porch professional: Churchill Garden Design. And Elise Churchill (of Churchill Garden Design) does a GREAT job. MUCH, MUCH better than I could ever do with these containers. Here's our 2025 version featuring evergreens. We've had her do a Fall container before and it looks so good. Here is her 2024 version that featured some kales, an ivy, some mums and I think some hot pepper plants. Like I said...she has such a good eye and a nice touch with porch containers.

Using her Winter 2025 container as inspiration and recycling some of the things that were in that very Christmas container last year, I put together a Fall container with two types of kale, two types of eucalyptus and a bunch of different branches.

Here it is below:

I put in seven kales. Five across the front and one on each side. Alternating between two varieties: Nagoya White Kale (with creamy white centers) and Nagoya Rose Kale (with purple centers). You can see the containers and tags for each of them below:

The branches are a mix of red(ish) dogwood twigs, some white painted branches and some branches from our backyard that I spray painted in a black metallic paint that I had on-hand.

I *really* cribbed from her Christmas container as inspiration for this Fall one.

Here, below, is a comparison of the two. My Fall container on top, the professional, Churchill Garden Design version on the bottom:

Or, as Pam from The Office might say:

This *has to* count toward my goal of 'doing better containers', right? #16 on the list? I think so. Maybe not hanging the 'mission accomplished' banner, but I feel like I got this one right.