LpAngelRob

Thanks, this was quite helpful!

We're just starting the rose adventure... which has been, well, interesting. All the ones I've planted tend to get a wild case of transplant shock the first year, dropping all their leaves, turning yellow, then blooming a little bit. Fortunately, the one climber out back came back this spring after an average Chicago winter, and that's all I really cared about.

Any ideas on easing the transition from pot to ground? I thought I kept them well watered, in addition to an assist from a very, very rainy June, but they're still pretty scraggly. I figure it would make for a good blog post here, too.

Thanks!
Robert

I'll usually get fixated on a particular plant. This year it was a baptisia cultivar.

I haven't gotten around to designing around that plant (yet) but I'll usually build out from there.

This comes at an opportune time... I'm lucky enough to live in a place with deep, rich, black soil that can support just about anything (making it through a Chicago winter is another story).

But if I'm starting with a plot of land that currently produces crabgrass like there's no tomorrow, isn't tilling (or, more likely, assault and battery with a cultivating fork) better than, say, chemical options to prep the space?

I also am a fan of the TV show, so I wouldn't at all mind getting a book of his projects.