Planting Choices

October 20, 2011 · Filed under My Garden, Plant Selections

It’s really sad that since fall is such an ideal time to plant that it’s truly hard to find good plant selections. In our area, we were still having close to 90 degree days, yet the selections at nurseries and big box stores were looking picked over.

The choices are to buy early and baby the plants or wait until cool weather actually hits and visit multiple nurseries. Being a true plant fanatic, I of course look for any excuse to visit different nurseries!

Then there is the dilemma of what to do if you actually have planter baskets that have gotten their second wind and look really stunning. Do you actually make yourself rip them out….

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Fall: Ideal for Planting

October 1, 2011 · Filed under Gardening Info

While most of us experience spring fever and get very excited about our gardens and planting after a long drab winter, fall is actually a very good time to plant. You’ll be tempted to take a break from gardening, especially after the heat of summer, but if you can get re-energized, you’ll reap many rewards from fall planting and gardening.

By planting in fall, you give plants’ root systems a chance to get established during cooler daytime temperatures and without the impending stress of our hot summers. Root systems will continue developing as long as the soil is 45 to 50 degrees even if a plant has gone into dormancy as far as leaf and bloom development. An added plus, plants put in during fall start their root growth sooner in the spring, resulting in stronger and better-performing plants.

It’s ideal to start planting as soon before frost as possible once the summer heat diminishes. Unlike in spring, it’s not necessary to fertilize plants when planting in the fall. It’s great to plant any trees, shrubs or perennials you plan to add to your garden during the fall. Once you’ve taken care of those, explore plants with fall/winter interest.

 

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New Plants: Dramatic and Splashy Colors

May 31, 2011 · Filed under Garden Developments, My Garden

Left two photos, my garden; right photos, courtesy of Proven Winners and Ball Horticulture

When I read about Ball Horticulture’s introduction of the first black petunia, I knew I had to have it. Marketed as the first black petunia, ‘Black Velvet’ is being called a must-have plant for 2011, and Ball is supporting it with the slogan “Everything Goes With Black.” It certainly lends a dramatic touch to containers and in the garden.

Its sister introduction, ‘Phantom’ does the color combination for you, featuring a striking yellow star pattern in the center that makes the bloom pop and create a “wow” effect.

‘Phantom’ is one of a number of new bi-colored flower introductions this year. One of Proven Winners introductions this year–‘Blackberry Punch’ has a dramatic black throat on a grape petal.

So far, I have ‘Black Velvet,’ ‘Blackberry Punch’ and ‘Phantom’. I’m still on the lookout for a new shorter form of Verbena bonariensis called ‘Lollipop.’ At two feet, it will fit into more places in my garden.

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Heirloom Plants

May 25, 2011 · Filed under My Garden

Each year, I have daylilies from my aunts’ yard that bloom in my yard, giving me a special link to family members who are no longer with us and reminding me that I truly inherited my love of gardening. My brother dug them from my aunts’ yard and distributed them to loved ones and friends. Now, we all enjoy them each year and know that their plants have a treasured place in our yards and hearts. My aunts were formal gardeners with designated beds for iris, daylilies and roses. I’m more of a cottage gardener like my maternal grandmother, growing a pinch of this and a pinch of that. But their daylilies fit right in, blooming each year with a special place in my garden.

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Thwarting Weeds

March 1, 2011 · Filed under Gardening Tips · Tagged

Weeds are the bane of every gardener. Although I’m always late to mulch (because who is ever really done planting?), I do use a special technique when building a new bed or reworking an existing bed. I add thick layers of newspaper in place of weed barrier cloth prior to mulching. It helps kill off the weeds and is economical and effective. Also, every other year or so, I add an inch of cow manure on top of the soil around your plants. Called top dressing, this technique adds nutrients to your soil and keeps your plants lush and healthy.

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Cottage Gardening

February 19, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

I call my style of gardening cottage and joke that it allows me to buy one of every plant, and that is always tempting. I do, however, try to pull the varied plants together by using a color scheme and by repeating plants and colors throughout my tiny front-yard garden.  I find silver really draws the other colors together and use Blue Fescue and artemesia throughout the bed. Each season does bring a never-ending  experiment of combining annuals, perennials and grasses, always creating new looks. Constant are the colors: lavender, purple, pink, light yellow and a little white. The urn and planter baskets provide areas for seasonal plants. Since my space is so small, I like plants that bloom for a long time, and some of my favorites are coreopsis, salvia, cone flowers, yarrow, reblooming daylilies and allium.

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Peaceful Retreat

August 3, 2010 · Filed under Garden Design

Starting a new garden design business has been very challenging and very interesting. It didn’t help that it was one of the hottest seasons we’ve ever had! Yet all in all, it was fun and quite a learning experience.

I have to say that one of my favorite yards so far was Barbara Woody’s. It was a creative opportunity, and working with Barbara on any project is fun. Plus, it netted me my first publicity:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/16/a-place-of-peace-i/

The very best part though is that the garden is right next door, and I get to visit and enjoy the garden lots!

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Garden Surprises

April 14, 2010 · Filed under Garden

The nesting robin and the Fritillaria meleagris bulb

There are always surprises in the garden…mostly all good. There are occasional unpleasantries, such as the harmless garter snake earlier this spring that decided to spend the day on and in my fountain. But so far, I’ve had two wonderful surprises in my garden this spring. The first was exiting my front door one day to finally see a Fritillary bulb in bloom. Having admired these in books yet never seeing one in person, I planted some in my front garden fall before last. Placing them in the shadow of an urn even though they are bulbs for shady woodland areas was probably one reason these had never materialized. Imagine my surprise when one suddenly appeared. Dainty and delicate, this purple nodding flower was well worth the wait. I am vowing to seek out some more of these bulbs and plant them in the back in a true woodland area.

My other surprise was noticing a robin nesting in the flower basket right outside my window. After having to rudely dissuade the robins from building a nest on my outdoor ceiling fan, I thought they had moved on to a more hospitable host. I managed to take some pictures, only mildly disturbing the nesting robin.

With surprises like these, it’s no wonder that gardeners feel such a pull to play in the dirt.

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Spring Sowing

March 17, 2010 · Filed under Experiments

A few months ago, a friend told me about a method of sowing seeds in milk jugs converted into mini greenhouses. Soon after that, I ran across an article on it. Having a strong track record of buying seeds and never managing to get them planted, I vowed to try this method. Sure enough, it didn’t happen in winter, but early in March, I rummaged through recycle bins to collect milk jugs, purchased some packing tape, gathered my seeds, exacto and scissors and began sowing. Then it was off to the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show, now an annual trip. Imagine my surprise when I returned to find my alyssum seeds had sprouted! If all the seeds do this well and transplant to the garden successfully, this will become another annual tradition.  (For more info on winter sowing, see http:www.wintersown.org/wse01/How_to_Winter_Sow.html)

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Heucheras: You Can’t Have Just One

January 15, 2010 · Filed under Plants

Sugar Plum, new this year.

As a gardener, you probably have a favorite plant at any given moment. Just as with fashion, it changes from time to time.

My hydrangea craze transitioned to heuchera mania once the space in my yard large enough for 4-foot tall shrubs was depleted.

Why heucheras, you ask? And some might even wonder: what are heucheras?

The common name, coral bells, might ring a bell. But either way, today’s varieties are definitely not your grandmother’s heucheras. Similar to hostas, heucheras are shade plants grown primarily for their foliage. But unlike hostas, heucheras do not die to the ground in winter. Their foliage remains above ground, maintaining their color and offering wonderful winter interest.

And just as with fashion, each season brings a new selection to tempt you. Purple, coral, silver, gray, speckled, veiled, ruffled. You wonder what next season’s heucheras will be. Will there be a pink one? Or one with polka dots? If it’s not here this season, maybe next year. With all of the luscious colors available and more entering the market each year, you might find yourself wishing you had more shade in your yard. Be careful, however, heucheras could become your next obsession.

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