Garden Travel Experiences

Don’t wait until June to visit Crystal Bridges – Visit Now.

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:29:21 GMT

Everyone is talking about the grand reopening in June.
More space. More galleries. More excitement.

But waiting means missing something special. Here are eight reasons why I think now is one of the best times to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

It’s free – which expands your freedom.

Yes, parking and admission here are always free. That’s easy to take for granted since most Bentonville area museums do not charge admission. But that free admission means you don’t have to think about your budget and time in the same way as if you were paying a $20-40 entry fee. You can stop in to join a tour or fill time between appointments by visiting one gallery.

2. Quiet times give you space.

Last week I stood in front of Dr. Compton's Letter Rack by David Esterly, taking in the many details of one of my favorite works and appreciating that Thomas Hart Benton’s Buffalo River was placed beside it. I noticed more about the architecture creating the galleries. Staff in every area were happy to take time to answer questions or offer a different perspective on a painting. The feeling is spacious, relaxed and contemplative - and couldn’t we all benefit from that?

3. Winter reveals views.

The sky is bluer and views open while the leaves are off the trees in winter. The Crystal Bridges trails and the many pieces of outdoor art are easier to see. So is the architecture, revealing how Moshe Safdie nestled the museum into a valley or the dramatic angles and textures of the new Heartland Whole Health Institute building.

4. Visit the new buildings.

The Crystal Bridges campus has evolved. One way to experience The Alice Walton School of Medicine and the Heartland Whole Health Institute and their art on display is to visit the coffee shop in each. The front desk can guide you; the websites have hours.

5. Take a tour.

There are at least six different guided tours offered on the Crystal Bridges campus, and most are free. You can meet a friend for a tour before catching up over lunch or coffee. Touring now is an opportune time to learn more about art and architecture before friends and family visit this summer or ask questions when media attention spotlights Crystal Bridges Museum even more this year.

6. The gift shop is open and well stocked.

Looking for a perfect, unique gift? Museum gift shops are often overlooked, yet hold a variety of options, including jewelry, home décor, and children’s books.

7. The good stuff is on display now.

Yes, Crystal Bridges will have a grand reopening in early June with much more. And a lot more people. Last week I saw a John Singer Sargent painting I do not remember seeing before and several new works on display. Some redesigned galleries are already open.

8. Witness the transformation.

As a tour guide for the Bachman-Wilson House, I have heard people say they wish that they had paid more attention when it was a construction site so they could appreciate and understand the house even more. Visiting Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art now immerses you in its transformation.

In my opinion, waiting for the grand reopening to return to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is denying yourself this unique opportunity.

Visit now.
Then return this summer for a different experience.

Maria Sibylla Merian at Philbrook Museum: A Botanical Illustrator Worth the Trip to Tulsa

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:45:15 GMT

An exhibit on Maria Sibylla Merian is currently on display at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Drawn from a private collection, the works are well worth seeing. So is Philbrook itself—a 1920s historic estate built during Tulsa’s oil boom and now home to a museum surrounded by beautiful gardens. Art, architecture, and gardens together in one place? Definitely my jam.

Who is Maria Sibylla Merian? Well, if anyone asks me who my favorite artist is, who is one of my sheroes, it’s Merian.

She was a botanical illustrator, scientist, explorer. She was also fearless, curious, groundbreaking, and well-traveled. She was a single mother. She was open to other cultures and deduced her own opinions. She sold everything and brought her daughter with her to another continent at age 52.

Oh, and she lived from 1647 to 1717.

She researched and documented the life cycle of butterflies and moths at a time when most people believed that insects spontaneously rose from mud or dung or rotting meat. Her drawings paired insects with the plants that they fed on - groundbreaking for her time.

But let’s skip to age 52, in 1699, when she boarded a ship for Surinam (northern South America) with her 21-year-old daughter Dorothea. They went into the jungle to study and paint plants and insects and the relationships between flora and fauna. She fell ill in 1701 (2 years later) and returned to Amsterdam, yet her 1705 book Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensis included 60 full-plate engravings.

Researching this reminded me of two museum visits from Fall 2023.

I loved the Flower Power exhibit at the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny , a quick walk from Monet’s Garden. Pictured is The Marias (2000) by Kapwani Kiwanga, part of a group exploring “flowers of revolt”. This art depicts the Peacock Flower in two stages of its growth. Native to South America, this plant was used by enslaved women to abort children rather than have them born into a life their mother knew too well. Kiwanga based this art on accounts Merian collected from female slaves in Surinam. Merian documented forced labor, suffering, and the botanical knowledge of the enslaved African and indigenous people in Surinam (a Dutch colony) in her 1705 book.

I joined a small behind-the-scenes archive tour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, presented by the Garden Conservancy . Among the many treasures from the 1600s to 1900s was this illustration from Tulipmania times. The artist was Jacob Marrel, the stepfather of Maria Sibyll Merian. He taught her painting and drawing. Merian’s daughters Johanna and Dorothea were also accomplished artists. Peter the Great invited Dorothea and her artist husband to Russia to work for him in 1717. She helped create the natural history collection for what became the Kunstkamera , Russia’s first public museum.

This was a delight to research this morning, online and in travel journals. I truly got lost down the rabbit hole while researching this online and in my travel journals. Then I came across AI-generated images of Merian as flawless, stunning young woman with flowing hair and a plunging neckline in the jungle.

History suggests otherwise.

In the mid 1700s artists, limited by few and confusing portraits of her, created idealized drawings of her at a younger age for later editions of her books.

Oh, will we ever change?

Add Tulsa to a road trip this spring to experience this exhibition, which runs Sept. 20, 2025 – May 31, 2026. The Philbrook, housed in a 1920s Italianate villa with formal gardens, was already high on my destination bucket list. You can take U.S. Route 66 , which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026.

And if this post leaves you curious — even slightly enlightened — then it has done its work.

A Bay Tree on the Windowsill

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:38:51 GMT

“Add a couple bay leaves,” suggested a friend.

I had been moaning that I had looked everywhere I could think and could not find Bruce’s pinto bean recipe. Soak the beans overnight, add onions, ham, cumin, salt, and pepper into the Crock Pot. I found a similar, delicious recipe, but it was not the recipe.

And Bruce’s recipe did not include bay leaves.

But Kris said every bean recipe should have a bay leaf. And there is a bay tree on my windowsill. OK—at about 14 inches tall, tree may be a bit of an exaggeration.

Bay leaves are commonly used in Mediterranean, French, and Spanish cooking, adding a subtle, savory flavor. Bay is also traditionally recommended to help with upset tummies, flatulence, and digestion. Ah—so that is why you toss bay into pots of beans. I hadn’t heard that before. Nor did I know bay leaves are sometimes boiled into custards.

During my snowed-in week, I made two pots of soup and a pot of beans, snapping off a leaf or two of bay and harvesting from the vase of sage and rosemary for the soups. My bay has adjusted well to indoor life and has plenty of leaves to share. Fresh bay leaves are a bit stronger than dried—one book describes the fresh flavor as “more eucalyptus-y.” I’ve always thought of bay as very mild.

Although they are evergreen trees in the Mediterranean, bay (Laurus nobilis) takes well to pruning and can be grown in a container. I plan to keep mine a manageable two feet tall and happily invite it into my kitchen every winter.

If you see a bay plant, I recommend buying one. None of my books recommend growing them from seed, and it can take a year or more to grow one from a cutting.

6 reasons to start your vacation at the local visitor center

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 16:40:06 GMT

1. The locals know which destinations suit your interests

The people who work and volunteer are proud of their town and happy to have you discover all it has to offer. Once you start talking, they will light up as they give suggestions on what would interest you. Yes, there may be an abundance of breweries in an area, but a visitor center singled out the one that was also a cut flower farm to me.

2. Free parking while you get your bearings

It takes a moment to figure out what is what in a new town. Many visitor centers offer free parking while you plan your visit with helpful staff and volunteers.

3. Restrooms and coffee

... welcome finds on a road trip.

4. Warnings and options

When I mentioned that I wanted to experience the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home in the Hendersonville (NC) Welcome Center, they warned me that weather had shut a segment down. They suggested another route where I enjoyed an outdoor lunch, art galleries, and a scenic drive home. Visitor centerscan also point out festivals and events to either enjoy or navigate around.

5. Gift shop

A visitor center gift shop often carries postcards, local products, shirts, books, and other keepsakes to remember your trip. I seek out stickers to label my travel journals with the destinations inside.Photo in text here

6. Extras, like tours, films, displays, a selfie station...

The Historic Athens (GA) Welcome Centerincludes a display garden, a historic house museum, and city tours. The Sheboygan (WI) Visitors Centernot only has an extensive gift shop and educational displays on nature and history, but they also have NOAA's Science On a Sphere® exhibit(pictured above).

Remember, staycations count too!

There are reasons people travel to your town. Why not visit your local visitor center and find out why?

Note: Some “visitor centers” in tourist towns are really sales offices, pushing discount hotels and attraction tickets. That’s not what I’m talkingabout. State rest stops are helpful, but local visitor centers offer something more personal—a warm welcome from people who genuinely want to share what makes their town special.

Why I Sketch

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:54:03 GMT

Travel Sketching: A Secret Tool for Authentic Travel Writing

Sketching is a way to experience and capture moments, emotions and a location.

Over a decade ago, I packed a sketchbook for my first trip to Europe, knowing I’d be traveling part of the time with a friend who paints. The experience and results of sketching in a garden, on a balcony with coffee and croissants, and on a bench in a crowded plazaturned out to be surprisingly pleasant.

I carry two books when I travel now: a slim journal for notes and a watercolor sketchbook. I return from trips with many photos and few sketches, truly enjoying both. For me, photography often becomes more about framing the next shot than connecting with the place itself. Sketching is slower, immersing in the shapes, shadows, sounds, and people.

Since that trip, my sketchbook and art supplies have become travel essentials–even if I am running errands.My purse holds a tiny watercolor palette, blank watercolor postcards, and favorite pens. There’s a compact art kit tucked in my car console, and a few more ready to slip into a tote on my way out the door.

So, why keep art supplies at the ready?

Sitting still in a space is time to truly observe. While drawing a scene, I am in that space.I notice sounds, overhear conversations, and witness how people use a space and what delights them. A sketchbook gives me a license to be there, to be looking at everything.

I like getting up early in the morning, when commuters are coming into work in a city or people are searching for shells on the beach, when only the coffee shops and breakfast places are open on the town square. Sketching is a quietness at the beginning of the day, a moment of meditation. It’s even better with a cup of coffee.

I often travel and dine alone. Sketching is a way to fill time while waiting for dinner or resting on a bench. Sometimes I impress myself. Sometimes I absolutely cringe when I look at a sketch. They all stay in the sketchbook. Even the bad sketches (and some are soooo bad) teach me something and give me time to observe the space.

I love to talk with people AND I can get to the point where I need solitude to recharge. I love to talk with people AND I hesitate to start conversations. Finding a quiet corner to sketch is a way to find a bit of solitude when I need it, have a legit reason to back away from the crowd, and bring people to me to start conversations. Sounds weird, but these don’t contradict to me. I seem to get the results I need.

I don’t have to commit a huge block of time. If I sit for 10 minutes and get the main lines and notes down, I can take a photo and finish or add color later. My sketchbook –my rules.

I have always gotten a happy text after mailing a postcard to a friend, which is why a few stamps stay in my art kits. Everyone loves a note in their mailbox. Even the craziest quick sketches get a positive response.

Dipping a paintbrush in a creek or fountain can help bring the space onto the page, as do writing notes about the experience, a ticket stub, part of a brochure, etc. -Sketching proves I have been there. There are travel posts written by AI or people who never visited in person, and the ethics and accuracy are subjects of rants and debates. But my sketches are obviously mine –my style, my notes, my focus on that day. Including sketches on posts and socials over time adds a personal touch that is only me –imperfect, reflecting my interests.

Compliments! People feel about sketching the way I feel about singing. If you have a bit of talent and the courage to do it in public, you have my respect. Graciously accept sketching compliments with a smile –they are sincere.

I hope this encourages you to pack a sketchbook and a few pens and find a moment to sketch on your next trip, even if that trip is to the farmer’s market. Add a few notes to your sketches and this book becomes a keepsake or, even better, a part of your life. It will be imperfect. You will have sketches that don’t work out. Even those create valuable experiences.

All the sketches in this post are mine. Well, almost. Curious,I asked ChatGPT to “create a sketchbook page with handwritten notes for Botanica, in Wichita, KS, looking like it is in a portrait A5 sketchbook and adding a bit of watercolor and an urban sketching style for interest.” Here is the result. AI will get better and better. But it will never be me. It will never be you.

On an equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west. Learn how the sun's path influences your garden.

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:51:59 GMT

September 22 is the Autumn Equinox — a day when the sun rises due east and sets due west. For gardeners, this isn’t just trivia: it explains why our plants thrive (or struggle) as the seasons shift.

This is a science, with a series of calculations and variables that explain everything. I don’t think that level of detail is important here, so I am going to explain this short, sweet, and simplistic. If you are super Type A or demand precision, you may want to stop reading now before I frustrate you. Honestly, my parents’ birthdays are within a day of the equinoxes (Happy Birthday Mom!), so that is how I remember them. I turn to a computer for a precise date when I need it.

The date hovers a bit, because a year is 365.2422 days, with leap years that almost correct that. So the fall equinox is September 22-23 and the spring equinox is March 20-21.

On an equinox, everyone on the planet enjoys 12 hours between sunrise, which is due east, and sunset, which is due west. The sun pretty much treats us all equally on an equinox.

Because the Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5 degrees, in summer the sunrise and sunset move further north. The amount of daylight changes, varying with how far you live from the equator. Is this true in both hemispheres? Yes, but keep in mind that December holiday parties in Australia happen on their long summer days, maybe on the beach.

One year I was in England during the summer solstice in late June, when the sun seems to be as far north as it travels. The sun was up before 5 a.m. In summer, London has about 17 hours of daylight. Miami, closer to the equator, gets about 14 hours of sun in late June. Things change in winter, when Miami may have 10-1/2 hours of sunlight while London has less than 8 (sunset before 4 p.m. – yikes!)

So what does all this mean to a gardener?

If you are not certain where due east and west are in your garden, observe the sunrise and sunset on September 22.
In the Northern Hemisphere, days are getting shorter at a rapid pace, until winter solstice on December 21, when the sun will rise furthest southeast and set furthest southwest. At this time, the midday sun will be lowest in the sky. This is why our homes’ eaves are designed as they are, to provide shade from a higher summer midday sun while letting warming winter light into our windows.
In the winter, our north walls get no direct sun, so it is easy to think North=Cold. Wrong. In the summer the sunset is northwest, so the hottest part of the day has sun shining on my north walls. I have hydrangeas against my north wall, but July-August I need to make sure they are well watered to handle the baking sun.
When you plant a tree, realize that shade patterns change with the seasons.
One time I emerged from a camping tent after a morning frost. The tents under evergreen pines that created a warming effect had no frost, while more exposed tents had a layer of frost on them. Deciduous trees provide little protection in winter, but cooling shade in summer. And that is just how a tree canopy can create a microclimate. Now mix in winds and planting zones and architectural details and a million other things and you realize that getting to know your garden will take at least one full year. You can see that as challenge/delay or as discovery/wonder. This is one reason all gardeners kill plants. It is part of the discovery.

I’m sorry if it feels like your head will explode. Having a garden means you will grow with it, always learning.

Step 1 is easy: Take a few minutes to walk outside and figure out where N-S-E-W are tomorrow. According to studies, less than half the population can point north from their home.

Sending you flowers – and a free flower growing and arranging class

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Thu, 22 May 2025 22:27:34 GMT

Note: This post was originally written as a Love Note from the Garden. Sign up for these free, weekly emails at the bottom of this page.

This antique vase holds about every flower type I can harvest from my garden as I enter its third growing season - peony, baptisia, dianthus, coral bells, honeysuckle, and a few more. I am loving the pink, red, orange, yellow, blue, and white joyfully jumbled together. This week’s surprise: garlic buds are long-lasting in arrangements, contributing line and height.

If you love to bring flowers indoors, you may enjoy this free flower growing and arranging class . Erin at Floret Farms (you may recognize her book ) offers a free online workshop every quarter. This is the Summer 2025 workshop; a recent one was on seed starting. Those on the Floret Farm email list stay updated about their workshops.

I like her arrangements, even if some seem so big and bold that I'd have to have my own flower farm to design at that scale. Keep an open mind we can learn about design from any good designer, any scale, any format. Design inspiration can be found and appreciated in fashion, interior design, architecture, cars, perfume bottles - almost everywhere you look. I can totally justify watching a Dior runway show on YouTube - especially this one in Toji gardens of Kyoto or this one in the Drummond Castle Gardens in Scotland.

I e njoyed a few in-person flower arranging lessons from Lucy Hunter, author of The Flower Hunter books ( here and here ). One thing she said as she was pulling flowers out of my design is "leave enough space between flowers for a bee to fly through". I like that gem of wisdom and think about it every time I play with flower arranging.

Why I would not plant a tomato (or pepper) in March in my NW Arkansas garden.

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 22:53:20 GMT

It is late March in Northwest Arkansas, with temps in the 70s, sunny skies and spring fever hitting hard. Plants are in front of stores and garden centers are buzzing. Everyone wants to plant NOW.

Although I have seen many peppers and tomato plants for sale, I would not buy one or plant it in March.

As beautiful it is today, next week will have three mornings at 40 degrees or below. Yes, that is above freezing, but many tropical plants will die at higher temperatures. Tomatoes should be planted when evening temperatures reliably stay above 50 degrees. Studies say even if the tomato plant looks OK, growth can be stunted when planted before the soil warms up.

Yes, it is hard to resist. Here are a few things to do instead.

Watch for Blackberry Winter. It’s a thing – practically every year. When the blackberries bloom in early spring, a late cold snap or a frost hits. The average last frost date in Benton County, AR, is April 19 and my blackberries have not bloomed yet, so there is a good chance April will have some chilly nights.

Be a rebel - buy the tomato anyway and plant it. You are not risking your children’s inheritance and getting your hands dirty is therapy, so if you want to do it, do it. The biggest commitment is the space in your garden, which could be producing greens and vegetables in April instead.

Plant cooler season vegetables now and harvest those until you plant the tomatoes (and peppers) later. There are radish seeds that can be harvested in only 24 days, baby spinach that can be harvested in 28 days, and lettuce and spinach plants for sale, so you could get a crop in before planting your tomatoes. Win/win. I must admit, when spring fever hits hard I sometimes buy a six-pack of lettuce for instant gratification. Lettuce in greens, burgundies, and with speckles look so pretty in a freshly prepared garden bed.

March is a good time to plant potatoes. onions, or fruit plants like strawberries and blueberries. There’s plenty of food crops you can be planting now.

Are you upgrading your big pots on the front porch? Move the old containers to a sunny side yard and plant potatoes, strawberries, or herbs in them.

Use this time to build raised planting beds and enrich your soil.

Mark your calendar for the 2025 Benton County Master Gardener Plant Sale on Friday, May 2 (8 am – 5 pm), and Saturday, May 3 (8 am – 1 pm) at 2602 SW D Street, Bentonville (behind Helping Hands Thrift Store). The Benton County Master Gardeners are growing many varieties of tomatoes that will be ready for you when the soil is. Seriously – my new Clyde’s Garden Planner from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed ($5.50, free shipping!) suggests tomato plants go into the ground in early May. Buy them at the plant sale and you are good to go. You can also chat with Master Gardeners while you shop and find perennials, herbs, other vegetables, and more there. Friday morning has the best selection by far.

May your tomato crop be stellar!

Helleborus and Eudora Welty’s House & Garden

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 22:11:18 GMT

Jackson, Mississippi

How a curious plant led me down a rabbit hole (or at least had me pulling a half-dozen books off my shelves) and a sketchbook grounded me in a historic garden.

I visited Eudora Welty’s garden in Jackson, MS, on March 6, when her Camellia Garden was in full glory. Other blooms included Quince, Leucojum, Spiraea, and a small Narcissus. In 1925, Eudora moved with her parents into this home they built across the street from Belhaven University as a teenager and stayed in this family home for the rest of her long life.

I walked through the museum but, with limited time, chose to sit in the garden and sketch rather than tour her home. Settling in an arbor with my sketchbook, I can immerse myself in the garden, taking in the details, listening to birds, feeling the breeze or sunshine. A quick photo cannot offer nearly as much information or memory.

A woman in the gift shop told me that all the plants in the garden were ones that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty (1909–2001) and her mother had grown. One plant that felt a bit out of place to me was Helleborus. I hadn’t thought of it as a historic garden plant, but there it was. Unfortunately, I can't recall which variety I saw in Welty’s garden. No Helleborus were in the plant lists in a book about her garden, but the Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) was listed “in Welty prose”.

Curiosity about this plant’s presence led me to a 1961 column by Katharine White (1892–1977), the longtime New Yorker editor (starting in 1925, quite the accomplishment!) and garden writer. She described how her Christmas Rose in Maine “may be putting out its blossoms in the snowdrift that buries it.” In the same paragraph, she praised Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-85) as a gifted garden writer, landscape architect and horticulturist.

Lenten Roses in a different garden.

Lawrence wrote extensively about Helleborus niger and mentioned Helleborus angustifolia (Corsican hellebore) in her 1942 book A Southern Garden. After moving to Charlotte, NC, Lawrence admitted in her 1961 book Gardens in Winter that she “was never able to grow it (Helleborus niger) in my Raleigh garden.” However, she successfully grew Lenten Roses (Helleborus orientalis) in Charlotte later, which had been sent to her by a friend in Ohio. She added, “None of the other Helleborus species have prospered with me, though I have tried all I could get hold of.”

Perhaps this is why the Lenten Rose is the most familiar Hellebore to me—it thrives in Southern gardens. It seems Helleborus was grown by plant collectors in the 19 ^th century, with Christmas Rose becoming popular in American gardens in the first half of the 20 ^th century and more varieties, especially Lenten Rose, later (no doubt with the surge of mail order catalogs). Deer resistant, evergreen, shade loving and winter blooming, Hellebores have a lot to offer. With today’s stunning new varieties, Lenten Rose feels like a relatively recent garden plant to me.

A fun discovery as I went down this rabbit hole was how these three very accomplished women connected through writing and gardening. All three women—Eudora Welty, Elizabeth Lawrence, and Katharine White—were avid readers and correspondents, sharing letters and reading each other’s books and columns. Luckily, those books, columns and letters are still available for us to read.

Related books:

Links to bookshop.org, where books ship to you and profits go to local bookstores. Some books are not currently in print, but used copies can be found.

One Writer's Garden: Eudora Welty's Home Place

Susan Haltom and Jane Roy Brown, Photography by Langdon Clay

Tell about Night Flowers: Eudora Welty's Gardening Letters, 1940-1949

Julia Eichelberger (Editor)

Onward and Upward in the Garden

Katharine S. White

A Southern Garden

Elizabeth Lawrence

Gardens in Winter

Elizabeth Lawrence

Two Gardeners: A Friendship in Letters

Katharine S. White & Elizabeth Lawrence (edited by Emily Herring Wilson)

Related gardens:

Eudora Welty House & Garden, Jackson, MS, eudoraweltyhouse.com

Elizabeth Lawrence House & Gardens and Wing Haven Gardens (2 historic gardens on the same street), Charlotte, NC, winghavengardens.org

Fennel: Food, Foliage and Butterflies

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:48:39 GMT

I recently picked up a couple of fennel bulbs in the grocery store—not quite sure what I would do with them, but completely enchanted by the idea of trying something new. Honestly, this isn’t unusual for me. I often shop in garden centers the same way—choosing things that delight me without a clear plan in mind.

Cooking with Fennel

Fennel seems to be more common in European kitchens than in the United States. In her Around My French Table cookbook, Dorie Greenspan suggests adding a fennel bulb, cut into strips, while sautéing onions in her leek and potato soup recipe. Her approach is genius: leave the vegetables in the broth, so every serving feels fresh. It can be enjoyed as-is, pureed and served cold as vichyssoise, pureed into a creamy soup, or topped with croutons. This variety keeps leftovers exciting rather than repetitive.

While I’ve grown fennel before, it’s always been for my beloved swallowtail butterflies rather than the kitchen. That alone makes fennel a worthwhile addition to the garden. But I’ve since learned its foliage can be used in salads, as a garnish, or even in flower arrangements.

Growing Fennel in the Garden

Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ) is a tender perennial and a member of the parsley family. To grow it successfully, plant seeds in succession during spring and fall, as fennel tends to bolt in summer heat. When thinning seedlings, don’t let the pulled plants go to waste—they’re excellent in sandwiches and salads.

Fennel’s versatility extends to ornamental gardening, too. Consider planting it in a flower border where its feathery foliage, especially the bronze fennel, provides striking contrast among flowers and shrubs. Some sources report that fennel doesn’t always play well with other vegetables and can cross-pollinate with dill, so plan your garden layout accordingly. If you’re not growing fennel for seeds, pinch off the blooms to encourage larger bulbs and prevent self-sowing. The blooms themselves make a delightful garnish.

For Butterflies and You

Whether you grow fennel for its fine-textured foliage, culinary uses, or to host swallowtail butterflies, every reason to add it to your garden is a good one. Swallowtail caterpillars devour a lot of foliage to transform into butterflies, so planting multiple fennel plants is a must if you want to share with them. Bronze fennel, with its deep-hued leaves, makes a particularly striking addition to the garden.

Love, Kent Beauty

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 17:05:53 GMT

I know Connie has sung my praises many times, but just look at me. I was put in this vase a few months ago; the water is long gone.

Outside, dried, brown, perennial seedheads are feeding the birds. Azalea flower buds are capped with snow. I am in the warm house, pretty in pink, a reminder for Connie to buy more Ornamental Oregano ( Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ ) in spring, because I am:

A beautiful dried flower,
Fun to add to a flower arrangement. My thin stems fit in even tiny bottles and drape over the sides of bigger containers,
A thick, weed choking, low perennial,
Good for containers,
Able to take full sun (I was cut from a plant that drapes over the street curb),
Deer resistant, and
Very pollinator friendly.

Give me full sun and good drainage and I will give so much back. If you are looking for an herb to cook with, plant a culinary Oregano for better flavor. I can’t do everything!

Love, Kent Beauty

Thank You, Anna Mae

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:55:56 GMT

I stumbled upon these pages in an old cookbook, and they instantly took me back to a cherished memory. Have you ever driven by Searles Prairie on the corner of Hudson Road and Dixieland Road in Rogers? This little patch of nature holds a special story—one that I’m grateful to share.

Years ago, while participating in the same garden club as Anna Mae Searles, she welcomed me into her home and shared her plans to safeguard her land. With a quiet determination, she was preparing to grant a conservation easement to the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. Her passion was evident when she explained that the prairie was home to “prairie pimples” (yes, it’s a thing—look it up!)—quirky natural formations that make the land uniquely beautiful. Anna Mae couldn’t stand the idea of her beloved prairie being bulldozed for development.

Every time I pass by that spot, I feel a surge of gratitude for Anna Mae’s foresight and dedication. In 1988, she took a stand, protecting a rare piece of land. According to a 2012 article in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, this land is “10 acres of wild grasses and wildflowers in Rogers that is believed to be the last tract of virgin prairie in the region. Virgin as in prairie that has never been plowed. That makes Searles Prairie unique.” The article also said Anna Mae had been offered half a million dollars for the land but her vision was for it to be preserved and used as a teaching tool. This piece of land holds even deeper meaning for me. My mother’s last apartment had a balcony that overlooked this natural haven, and those views are a cherished memory.

So, yes, thank you Anna Mae.

The Rose On My Doorstep

connicotti@gmail.com (Connie Cottingham) — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 18:20:32 GMT

The Rose on My Doorstep

My first Black Friday purchase was an order of four roses from Heirloom Roses , which arrived on my doorstep this week. I ordered two ‘ Belinda’s Dream ’ roses, one of the most carefree everblooming roses to grow, for two planting beds I am creating in my back yard now. I also ordered ‘ Quietness ’ because it looked like it would play well with pink or orange flowers in a vase and sounded like one tough cookie.

But the rose that is my new darling is ‘ New Dawn’ , a climbing, blush, fragrant, repeat blooming rose I first remember on a tour of Dora’s garden. Dora grew tons of roses, told me the story of ‘New Dawn’, and was the woman that marched into the Rogers Morning News office with my one-page newsletter, declaring “You need a garden column and you need her to write it!” That was the beginning of my writing career.
‘New Dawn’ rose, a sport of the 'Dr. W. Van Fleet' rose, was the first patented plant . “ Plant Pat. 1 ” was issued in 1931 to Mr. Henry F. Bosenbery, a landscape gardener and owner of Somerset Rose Nursery in New Brunwick, New Jersey.

See the guy in the photo? That was my grandfather, an estate gardener in New Brunswick about the same time. The woman is my grandmother, cutting flowers in their home garden. I am sure most of their plants are from gathered and shared seeds and cuttings – they were thrifty folks with 5 children during the Depression. Still, I can’t imagine they did not visit Somerset Rose Nursery. My father, who turned 14 years old in 1931, had fond memories of visits to Rutgers Gardens and campus in New Brunswick with his father to look at plants. My grandfather must have chatted with Henry Bosenbery at some time, probably at some length. That makes 'New Dawn' all the more special to me.

All those people are gone now, but ‘New Dawn’ is still easy to find. In 1997 it was voted the most popular rose in the world, It has proven itself in countless gardens for almost a century. And now, it is moving onto the arbor that is the center of my garden.

Lessons learned from my first year in the new kitchen garden

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 22:36:00 GMT

2023 was my first full year in my new home and my kitchen garden on the west side. This is a sketch of my garden plan, with the beds and posts built as my fence was being installed. Overall, I am thrilled with the design and decision. I thought I would share some of the things I learned from doing this.

It was totally worth the money to me.

Emphasis on the ‘to me’. We all have different priorities. I see this house as a 25-year commitment, and this garden and fence as part of my house construction costs. I see years of enjoyment and discovery and fresh veggies from this space. I do not look at cost per harvested vegetable. The compost pile was frightfully expensive, but one of the most important parts to me and already providing soil this lot completely lacked.

Eight-foot posts added so much to this garden.

There are 3 pairs of eight-foot high 4×4 posts in this garden, each pair with a different top design and all with a copper cap. The pair on the corners of the compost pile have holes drilled in the top to install a black chain to support an annual vine (an annual vine can be completely cleared away each year). They each also hold a retractable clothesline.

The pair on two raised beds have hooks to hold the ends of the clotheslines, which have been used a lot this year. Those hooks also can hold twine that stretches up from the bed to support beans or peas.

The pair at the entry supports native honeysuckle vines, evergreen and very attractive to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. The vines have already reached the top of the posts and should fill out next year. Similar posts are outside two windows, holding feeders to bring birds and hummingbirds into view. Another holds a bluebird box that had a nesting pair last year. Four more support an arbor that blocks the view into neighbor’s windows. These posts, which required professionals with the right equipment to install in the compacted fill, were all very much worth adding to the landscape.

I should have checked the weep holes before deciding how high to build the beds along the brick wall.

Honestly, why did the fence builders not mention this? It’s really not a big deal, because soil never covered any weep hole. Because of the lot slope, I could place only an inch or two of soil in one end of the 70’ wall (fine for strawberries and iris), yet several inches of soil in the other end (better for roses, blueberries, and bigger perennials). The four terraced beds were all built at the same height, so the front bed was built higher than it needed to be and now requires me to step over the side and onto a flat stone to reach my spigot.

Four of the 3′ square beds were built in a way that anyone could DIY.

The two beds with eight-foot posts are built around posts placed in the ground. But the others were built with 4x4s and 2x6s and put into place after they were created. Many people, even I, could build these beds themselves. Or you could add raised beds to a fence contract and decide exactly where they would be placed later. Mine were placed on top of flattened moving boxes to smother the Bermuda grass below. The paths between were covered with flattened moving boxes and topped with bark mulch. That was an effective way to kill the Bermuda sod. Weeds in the path can be pulled or spot-sprayed without disturbing vegetables in the raised beds. The mulched paths look attrative and are easier to maintain than mowing and trimming.

Don’t ignore surface drainage, maintenance needs or your neighbors.

The drainage on this side of my lot already flowed along the property line, so I left 2-1/2’ of Bermuda sod along the fence. This (1) let the surface drainage flow as it had without erosion, so my neighbor did not get any additional water (2) gave me enough room to mow that strip with two passes of my mower, (3) let me define the edge of my mulched area and (4) allowed airflow around the wooden fence and space to maintain it and (5) backed up my veggies a bit from anything that my neighbor’s lawn service might spray (they also spoke to their lawn service for me).

The raised beds have 3’, 4’ and 6’ paths around them, enough room to maneuver my wheelbarrow. The large space for the clothesline also created an area for a table and chairs and some large planters (even accommodated the renegade butternut squash that emerged from the compost pile).

Other lessons:

The west side of the house has shade in early summer mornings, much better for gardening than afternoon sun.

Wonderful surprises grow out of compost piles. 2023 brought potatoes and butternut squash.

Raised beds are great places to hold small ornamental plants while you are waiting to find a permanent home for them.

Root vegetables love big containers and raised beds.

Nobody steps on plants in raised beds, including you.

Placing house numbers on the sides of the raised beds help me document what I planted where.

Hanging watering cans on the fence was cute – until the wind loudly banged them around in the middle of the night and they caught water every time it rained. They were replaced with a thrift store mirror.

Stunning, dark leaves on Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 02:54:00 GMT

I met First Editions® Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea when Bailey Nurseries hosted a tour and evening at their headquarters in St. Paul, MN, during the 2023 GardenComm (garden communicators) conference. I had never toured a growing location at that scale before.

Each attendee was given an Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea to take home and trial. But I also was able to take home a larger shrub that was part of the podium garden at the meeting. GardenComm conferences offer garden tours and talks, plus opportunities to try new seeds, plant and tools.

The bigger shrub went into my front bed with a northeastern exposure. The north side is a tricky spot. You would think it would be very shady, but the hottest part of summer is also when the sun rises and sets furthest north. For a few of our hottest weeks, the late afternoon sun hits my hydrangeas and azaleas on the north side. The only tree in my front garden is no help – she and I are about the same height. So, when the temps soar, the hydrangea leaves wilt a bit, perking up overnight and ready to start again the next morning. It is important not to let the poor plants dry out during these challenging few weeks. But that direct sunlight had a benefit. Eclipse® kept its black (actually dark purple) foliage.

The smaller trial shrub was on the covered patio, where I was protecting the little dear from harsh sunlight – in fact, all sunlight. She was happier in the late afternoons, but the foliage was much greener. A total lack of sunlight stopped that vibrant foliage color. This photo shows the two plants together.

This is why so many gardeners move their plants around until they find a plant’s happy place. In Minnesota these plants are grown in full sun, but the Georgia growing facility keeps Eclipse® under shadecloth – providing enough sun to ensure that rich color and enough shade to help it survive summer in the South.

Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea is a deciduous shrub that keeps its dark purple leaves all season long. The blooms are cranberry two-tone clusters. It is suggested to place it near a chartreuse plant to make both sing and that would be stunning. I like the way it stands out near a light concrete planter in my garden. It could really show off a statue. Expect this shrub to mature at 3’-5’ high and wide and do well in Zones 5-9. The brochure in my photos is a standard 8-1/2”x11”.

Would I recommend you try this plant? Absolutely! The foliage is stunning. I have not seen the blooms in person yet but am excited that both the foliage and flowers are recommended for flower arranging.

This plant will be available to the public in 2024. Friends in Georgia, I believe there will be a good supply for you. This plant was bred at Bailey’s Innovations in Athens, GA, a town that loves that Red and Black color combination.

Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea can be ordered online now. Prices vary quite a bit online, but this plant can be found, perhaps in your local garden center this spring.

Fun fact: The state of Arkansas expects 1 to 3 million visitors on April 8, 2024, when the path of the total solar eclipse goes right through the state. That’s a big deal, since the population of Arkansas is 3 million people. Many campgrounds and hotels are already sold out. Although I am not in the path of totality, I look forward to viewing a pretty good show over my garden.

Note : This was originally sent as a Love Note From the Garden: http://mailchi.mp/gardentravelexperiences/eclipse-hydrangea

Note : I was one of many who recieved a test plant, but have not been compensated beyond that. This is a plant I am excited to grow. I have collected many hydrangeas lately (some given to me as trial plants, some traveling from my Georgia garden to Arkansas). I need to create a planting bed on the east side of my house to grow them. I will share info on plants that make my heart sing.

How to shop a plant sale. This works for buying plants at local nurseries too.

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 14:22:00 GMT

With a little thought and preparation you will come home with the best plants for your garden.

1. Know where you need plants. This helps you target one area of a sale instead of distracted wandering (blooming plants are like puppy videos – totally hijacking your focus).

2. Research the plant sale. Some sales post an online list of plants that will be sold. Others may include garden décor or a local artist’s work. Some have a sale within a sale with another group, often a native plant sale. You also can confirm location, hours and parking online.

3. Pack the car the night before : a tarp or plastic to protect the car, a hat to protect you, an umbrella because you will not be daunted by rain, a trug or wagon to help you carry plants, water and an energy bar, wet wipes, small plant book or a charged smartphone for reference, portable charger so nothing stops your research, wish list, notebook. I bring cash and checks too, in case there is a problem with the credit card machines.

4. Bring photos. Many plant sales have horticulturists, Master Gardeners, or seasoned gardeners who are generous with their knowledge. What a bonus! Help them to help you by noting all of the characteristics of an area you are shopping for (is it shady and when, is there a tree nearby, how dry, what plants are thriving there…?). A picture is truly worth a thousand words, so bring a few photos to help explain.

5. While you are reviewing your landscape, look at the plants that were proven performers for you. Can you divide those and fill space with what you know works well? Cha-ching – you just freed up some of that garden sale budget for other plants. If one aster thrives in your garden, then add a different variety this year.

6. Grow your own produce. Tomatoes may be top of mind but can be discouraging to grow. Cherry tomatoes, figs, thornless blackberries, lettuce, and blueberries are much easier. Easiest of all and deer and drought resistant: oregano and many other herbs.

7. Buy three of the same plant that sounds great. It is so easy to grow a ‘collector’s garden’ – a gentle term for those who want to try one of everything. Three or more plants can make an impact in a landscape.

8. Do not leave the plants in the car. If you have to run an errand on the way home, shade them with an old sheet and open the windows a bit. Get them home, remember to water them, and keep the shade lovers in the shade.

9. Spray every new plant with deer repellent if there are any deer near your garden. Deer love to taste test new plants, so spray your plants, whether they stay in a container or are planted.

These tips work at local garden center too. Please do support local garden centers and plant sales this spring.

10 tips to help you enjoy holiday light shows in public gardens

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 19:04:00 GMT

‘Tis the season for holiday light shows in public gardens. Here are a few tips to make sure you have a fun evening among the lights. Happy Holidays!

1 – Buy your tickets early , especially if you want to bring out-of-town guests during the holidays. Tickets do sell out on many days.

2 – Save money and avoid peak crowds by visiting on less popular days.

3 – Check the garden’s website and social media for important information before leaving your house. You can get an overview of everything happening and information about where to park. Weather conditions, power outages or events may close the garden. While you are at it, triple-check the dates and times of your tickets and pull them up on your phone to save time at the entrance.

4 – Take lots of photos , especially since nighttime photography can be challenging. As a volunteer, I would watch people take tons of photos of people standing in front of lights, yet they didn’t notice the great shot of firelight glowing on the faces of a father and daughter roasting marshmallows together or siblings looking at the lights in wonder. A November visit gives you time to get photos onto Christmas cards.

5 – I enjoy the earliest timed tickets in November when sunset is a bit later than late December. This could allow time for me to view some of the plants in twilight and then play with my camera as the sky turns to night.

6 – Dress for comfort and warmth. Temperatures can drop during the evening, so pick the right jacket and bring a warm scarf for you plus a blanket for the kids. Think twice about shoes – navigating dark brick walkways in heels and freezing toes can put a damper on the evening.

7 – Help spread the word about this event by tagging the garden or sharing its location when posting your photos on social media. Holiday light shows are key fundraisers that help to support gardens year-round.

8 – Consider volunteering. It helps to support the garden, allows you to view the lights before or after your shifts, and introduces you to fellow volunteers and happy visitors.

9 – Don’t forget to visit your local public garden during the day too. Winter visits may include festive indoor displays, enhanced views since the deciduous trees have lost their leaves, nature trails, berries, blooms or foliage, plus a gift shop to find unique and often locally made presents.

10 – Gift tickets or a garden membership to young families to introduce them to a public garden that offers so much year-round.Also, renewing or purchasing your membership may give you a discount on tickets.

No Mow May

Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

In late April, clover was in full bloom in our backyard and my biweekly lawn service was scheduled. So I dragged out a few outdoor chairs, the dolly, a planter.. then took pink string and wound it around the circle. When the mowers arrived, I stepped outside and communicated with the leader on the loud mower with sign language: point to my protected clover, thumbs up, hand over heart – “Yay! You saved the patch of clover for my bees. Perfect. Thank you!” This was the second year he mowed around clover so some blooms would remain to feed the bees. Within a week, a new crop of clover flowers was blooming throughout my backyard. I thought mine was a unique request, and it may have been for the guy on the mower, but this is happening more and more on a much bigger scale.

“No Mow May” started in Britain a few years ago. Turns out, lawns mowed every four weeks produce a lot of nectar and flowers, and one of the three most prolific flowers in a British study supporting this is clover. Let the grass grow longer and there may be more diversity of flowers, but less nectar, May is when the bees are emerging and need to feed on nectar. Having a nectar supply available at this time is critical to supporting our bee population. Keep in mind that England is much further north than my garden in Georgia. But what if a patch of our lawns were converted to short meadows, or lawns were mown every two weeks? Could your backyard make a difference?

No Mow May’ is going strong, as reported in Popular Science , Gardens Illustrated and Good Housekeeping. I first heard about it in last month’s tour of Moss Mountain Farm , P. Allan Smith’s home in Arkansas, when the tour guide proudly announced the fields of daffodils that we were looking at in early April were going to have only paths and gathering areas mown during ‘No Mow May’.

Bee Cities , like Madison, WI , where I will be spending a few days touring gardens next month, are adopting Now Mow May legislation. Even some HOAs are relaxing mowing restrictions in May for participants. That is encouraging since I am about to move into a neighborhood with an HOA and Bermuda sod installed in every home (complete with instructions on when to apply the chemicals or a suggestion to hire a lawn service to comply with HOA). I am desperately reading and looking at Pinterest to find ideas for a ‘No Bermuda Yard’ that passes HOA rules. My sister is willing to take my sod to her pasture in exchange for all-I-can-shovel horse manure. First step: fence the backyard.

‘No Mow May’ is a great idea, although ‘May’ not be as universal as it is fun to say. Keep in mind that England is much further north than my garden in Georgia. But what if a patch of our lawns were converted to short meadows, mown every four weeks or so? Could your backyard make a difference?

There are other great ideas to get our gardens (as well as school grounds and more) networked to help insects, pollinators, and birds thrive. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home , cofounded Homegrown National Park® , a “call-to-action to restore biodiversity one person at a time”. Could private gardens really add up to make a difference? I think so – lawns add up to 2% of land in the US, making them the single largest irrigated crop we grow ( beecityusa.com ).

Georgia is the home of ‘Connect to Protect’ which creates gardens in public areas to inspire people to plant native plants in their gardens. The idea is native plantings scattered throughout home and public landscapes allow native insects to find food sources. And the birds we so love need those insects as their food sources, especially when they are feeding their young.

Note: This is the text of a recent Love Note from the Garden .

How to shop a plant sale.

Sun, 27 Mar 2022 20:25:00 GMT

Spring weather is here – and so are plant sales. To celebrate, here are some tips for shopping a plant sale.

Summer can truly be a trial at The Trial Gardens at UGA in Athens, Georgia

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 15:11:00 GMT

www.classiccaladiums.com

Biltmore Concerts in Asheville, NC

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 14:50:00 GMT

This was such an amazing experience! Mike and I had registered for a garden conference, so I started browsing some Asheville websites and found this outdoor concert series at the Biltmore. Score! – the night after our symposium was a Lyle Lovett concert. When I told my best friend, she bought a ticket and drove from Arkansas to meet us there.

The accommodations for Mike and his wheelchair were wonderful. The tickets to the evening concert let you get in early –early enough to wander the gardens (not the house). The musicians warming up in the background added to the anticipation. Then we went to find seats in the accessible section, which was on the library terrace. Oh wow. There were a few rows of seats in the center, but we grabbed a couple chairs and moved under the arbor by the railing. The seats were pretty far from the stage, but also included a panoramic view of the mountains, plus amazing people-watching right above the main entry steps, and the arbor above felt like we practically had a private room. As soon as we set down, a charming young lady took our drink orders, then brought us a menu and offered to go get our dinner order for us. Kris and I danced under the arbor to a few songs, sat at the railing for the rest. Biltmore will not have a 2020 concert series, but I do have a note in my April 2021 calendar to start looking for the concert schedule. I would love to do this again.

March 2022 note: The concerts have not returned for 2020-2022, but I keep hoping they will.

While you are in Asheville, make sure to visit the North Carolina Arboretum too.

Microclimates 101

Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:47:00 GMT

When I was in design school we had a project analyzing a historic landscape in rural, rural North Arkansas. Our landscape architecture class (all 6 of us) drove out to beautiful Boxley Valley, a long, scenic valley with historic homes and churches, woodlands and pastures along the Buffalo National River. When we emerged from our tents the next morning our instructor pointed out the tent near ours that was covered with frost. Ours, under the pines, was not. That lesson on microclimates stuck with me better than most things lectured to me in the classroom.
OK, so you may garden in Zone 7B, but that is a vague guide to tell you what to expect. Within your property are several little climates with varying degrees of moisture, sunlight, wind and more. A gardener learns these subtleties as they spend time in their garden. Heard the old phrase – gardeners move a plant about three times? That is because a plant that is suffering in one area of your garden may thrive about 10 feet away. Part of gardening is this discovery. Understanding your microclimates doesn’t take deep scientific anaysis – it takes observation and getting to know your garden. And every gardener will kill a few plants in the process. And with every plant, with every afternoon in the garden you will understand a little more and become a better gardener.

Create an Arboretum in your garden

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:43:00 GMT

My father retired from the military and finally bought a piece of property when he was about forty years old. Mom artfully designed the interior; the eight acres of pasture was Dad’s domain. He quickly built an orchid greenhouse, subscribed to Organic Gardening magazine and started planting. He had the vision to know trees were an important first step, adding structure to the bare landscape. I was a toddler when we moved into that house and grew up with those trees. When my sister and I played house we would each ‘move in’ under a tree canopy. I would visit her at the birch and then she would come visit me at the pin oak. Forty-five years later Dad’s tree collection is now an arboretum around Mom’s house. Dogwoods and redbuds have had to be replaced, but maples and oaks and many other trees are majestic specimens.

Trees were clustered toward the edges of the large front yard, leaving the center open. This allowed for lawn, light and air, framed a view to and from the house, and created wind and privacy buffers. I thought that showed amazing wisdom and design flair on Dad’s part – turned out he was avoiding the septic field. But the end result is great, so I am copying it in my front yard.

Trees do frame a view and provide shade and privacy, but they do so much more. They are long term, multi-season plants that celebrate changing seasons with foliage color change (even some evergreen conifers), berries and blooms. They add structure to the landscape, creating the ceilings and walls for our ‘outdoor rooms’. They provide habitats for many animals, serving as homes for birds and host plants for butterflies. Some even provide figs, nuts, or apples. Fallen leaves and pine needles from trees can be a great source for mulch or compost (let’s not discuss the fallen sweetgum balls – not everything in nature is sunshine and rainbows).

There are videos on www.arborday.org that show you how to plant a tree. Plant the tree a few inches higher than the surrounding land, because soil will settle and drainage is very important in Georgia. Experts recommend trees be planted in holes that are just deep enough but three times the width of the rootball. Backfill with the original soil, because too many soil amendments can create a bog or discourage roots from expanding beyond the original hole. Mulch well around the tree after planting, but keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk to discourage diseases and pests.

When planting, look at the structure of the tree. Remove any dead or broken branches and prune to stop branches from crossing or rubbing. Every gardener should have a well illustrated pruning book. If not, turn to the Internet, but look at several sites, especially reputable sites like the Cooperative Extension and other sites mentioned here.

If you have several trees you may want to walk through your property with an arborist (your city may have an arborist on staff) to find out what should be done. A certified arborist (find one at www.treesaregood.com ) can help you identify trees, point out problems, and recommend pruning.

When I wrote an article about planting trees for my local paper a lady invited me to her house for tea. After tea she toured me through her property, explaining “I just want you to see what happens when you plant too many trees.” It is easy to get impatient and plant lots of trees. Although one approach to corporate landscaping is to plant many native trees close together to create a woodland, trees that are given enough space can mature into attractive specimens. Consider clustering trees where mature tree branches will intermingle and shade out grass on the mulched area below, leaving open areas between the clusters of trees to bring light and air into your landscape. Your landscape design may improve if you look at the lawn as a smaller, smooth-edged feature within your landscape instead having the trees as little mulched islands within a lawn.

Annuals liven up an area right away, but trees are planted for the future. And, invariably, the future comes. Someone once told me “You can’t start any earlier than now”. Well, you can’t plant a tree any earlier than now. Early February is the best time to plant a tree in Georgia, as the roots will have several months to get established before summer’s heat arrives. And you can’t start that arboretum any sooner than now. Can you plant trees in summer heat? Sure, if you keep them mulched and watered well – at least during their first year.

Coreopsis – and bringing new plants into my garden

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 14:32:00 GMT

So what is so great about these two leading ladies: ‘Iron Lady’ and ‘Sophia’?

They are beautiful here and now. For the price of a Starbucks coffee, I added these showoffs in my garden last spring because I haven’t grown Coreopsis in years. Now they are inspiring me to pull out art supplies, filling a little vase (I’m about to find out how they do as a cut flower), and feeding insects. They quietly grew for a year before this show-stopping bloom. Will they do this again next year? Coreopsis are known to be short-lived perennials so maybe for another year or so. A colony of native species of Coreopsis often reseed.

Other plants that have proven their worth:

Cleome Señorita Rosalita ^® and Señorita Blanca ^® – During the worst summer drought, when the hoses only went to the most cherished plants, these two annuals never stopped blooming while all the other plants in that bed died. I now become a salesperson when I see them in a nursery, convincing anyone who will listen they MUST have these plants.

Epimediums – Deer, drought, deep shade… bring it on. The easiest to find in this area is ‘Pink Champagne’ , a sturdy perennial with delicate early, early spring blooms.

Fanflower – All the annual hanging baskets look good in May. This one also looks good in August and September, in baskets and at the edge of the sidewalk.

Poppies – Last fall I dumped all my outdated Poppy seed packets into a 4’x8’ raised bed. They looked amazing for months and are still blooming, although a bit ragged. I am keeping them there to harvest the seed and am sure to plant again each fall (without having to buy more seed). Plant them where you can enjoy them from the windows because they do not last in a vase.

Fennel, dill, parsley, and butterfly weed – Because they do increase the butterfly population if you let the caterpillars eat the foliage.

Hydrangea paniculata – Hydrangeas in summer that glow in full sun. These are so treasured that they are the first to get deer spray.

Asters – My newest obsession, offering fall blooms and deer resistance. Many are native. These are among the few plants that thrive in the hot, neglected, compacted-clay, brutal full-sun, west-facing bed. Cut the plants back by half in June for compact plants with more branching and more flowers, instead of having them flop everywhere.

Note: This was originally written as a weekly Love Notes From the Garden . Subscribe to these weekly emails below.

Bullington Gardens – Hendersonville, NC

Thu, 20 May 2021 19:24:00 GMT

Visited : April 1-2, 2021 (temperatures dipped at this time, causing some freeze damage to blooming apple trees in the area)

Location : 95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Henderson, NC

Website : bullingtongardens.org

Admission/parking fee : Free admission and parking.

Accessibility : Accessible parking is beside the main building (house). Almost all of the garden is very accessible, but not the sloping woodland nature trail.

Gift shop : None

Coolest (to me) : The impressive older plant specimens, planted decades ago. Discovering little-known plants in the display gardens and Woodland Garden.

Nearby : Take time to go into tree-lined downtown Hendersonville, very pedestrian and full of art galleries, museums, and great places to eat. Do not miss the Hendersonville Visitor Center, where the friendliest people will help find the best area places and activities for you. From downtown, take the winding drive to Jump Off Rock for a panoramic view of several states.

Linda’s Plants & Shrubs (256 Stepp Acres Lane, Hendersonville) is a large garden center with a great view and knowledgeable staff. They grow a large selection of very healthy, full plants. I went home with several perennials, including 3-4 new varieties of ajuga to add to my collection.

Do not miss the Flower Bridge, which I would describe as a North Carolina High Line.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Hendersonville Flat Rock (exit 53 of Interstate 26 West) was a perfect location to head in many directions and the staff could not be better. It is highly rated and, although we didn’t use it, the indoor pool with an accessible chair lift was enticing.

Photo journal:

This garden was started by Bob Bullington, who retired, moved from NYC to Hendersonville, NC, in 1979, and created a nursery and plant collection. Ten years later the land with his house and nursery was given to the county. Bullington Gardens is now an impressive non-profit 501C that works closely with the county’s Cooperative Extension and public schools.

At first the plaza looks like a pleasant place for photos or to sit and chat – and it definitely is…

… then you see the many planting beds, projects, work areas and notebooks of an active school program.

Follow the nature trail through the Native Woodland Garden, maintained by the Western Carolina Botanical Club, to discover Bloodroot, Oconee Bells and more.

I was impressed by the many plants in bloom on the First of April, when I was bundled in a scarf and jacket. I saw many wildflowers, bulbs, flowering almond, Pieris , Helleborus , lungwort…)

The Herb Garden was in its winter state and obviously the Fairy Garden needed to warm up. The popular Fairy Garden opens in June to the delight of many. Warm season plant collections include daylilies and dahlias.

Check the website before visiting. Unlike many public gardens, Bullington Gardens is open Mon-Sat and closed on Sundays.

Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens

Fri, 14 May 2021 02:52:00 GMT

In May 2021 I toured the new Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens for the third time. Each time is even more fascinating as I notice new things and learn more about the collection. This time I toured with current and potential docents and may join this group who get to share the stories of items within. Here is a glimpse of what you can see there.

The museum is open for timed ticket access, requiring preregistration here .

These yellow flowers are details from one of several metal sculptures of Southeastern wildflowers by Trailer McQuilkin. This is one of my favorite displays in the museum. If you think the flowers are detailed, wait until you see the base of the sculptures, which includes insects and bits of wood and, well, things you would find beneath each plant. Look even closer – many make a game of finding the artist’s signature.

Did you know that James Audubon, John James Audubon’s second son, was also an artist? Here is an original work by him, located with other bluejays to see how different artists and media interpret the same natural subject. You can see also that contrast of artists and media in groupings of iris, orchids, the Georgia state bird and flower, and more.

Flora Danica is a collection of ten reference books of scientific illustrations of the flora of the Danish empire. It was ordered by the King of Denmark and published by botanist Christian Oeder in the mid to late 1700s. A comprehensive collection of this Flora Danica encyclopedia is on display at this museum.

In 1790, the Danish Crown Prince Frederik had exact copies of the illustrations meticulously hand painted onto a dinner set as a gift for Catherine II of Russia. She died before the set was complete, so the original set stayed in Denmark. Botanical names of each plant were painted on the underside of each piece. Imagine attending a state dinner party, lasting for hours.

The conversation was bound to include a comparison of illustrations on the plates in front of you and the people around you. I definitely would have picked up my plate and read the plant’s scientific name written below. It would have been a disaster if they had served English peas.

Flora Danica porcelain is still in production today as luxury dinnerware. If I know anyone with a set, I suspect they have a premonition that I would spill my peas on the table and not invite me to dinner.

Finally, imagine this at your bedside, your tea staying warm while a bit of glow from the hot coals inside act as a nightlight.

So many treasures, so many stories to hear and learn. So much to look forward to…

For more information:

State Botanical Garden of Georgia botgarden.uga.edu
2450 S. Milledge Avenue, Athens, GA 30605 706-542-1244

The Piedmont Garden Tour in Athens, Georgia

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 12:45:00 GMT

I love garden tours because they are full of ideas and inspiration. All four gardens in the Piedmont Gardeners Tour this year reflect the owners’ personalities and preferences. How lucky we are that they are sharing their gardens with us on Saturday, April 17, 2021. Details are available on the tour website . Don’t forget to bring a small notebook, sun protection, comfy shoes that can walk on gravel and your water bottle.

Since I will be helping to staff the Brussack garden this Saturday I was able to attend the pre-tour the week before. There are plenty of ideas to glean from these gardens:

Design:

Raised garden beds bring veggies to a level that are easier on the gardener, not only to reach but by concentrating the plantings into easy-to-maintain sizes. Constructing raised beds is a wise investment; my raised beds are almost two decades old.

Notice the look and feel of the many materials, edging, shapes and widths of paths. A curving path with garden art draws you forward to discover what is next. Plants should block some of the views to add curiosity and surprise. Groundcover between stepping stones brings you into the garden. Formal lawns and walks are a wonderful contrast to exuberant plantings.

Add your personality with décor, humor, color, and art. Although all four gardens are great examples of this, they do it differently. Gather inspiration, break out into the inevitable smiles, but for your garden you do you.

We all want to (and often do) try one of each plant, but a grouping of several identical plants makes a statement, especially when they are in bloom.

You are experiencing a moment in time. Last week something else was in full bloom. Next week a storm may take a tree or shred leaves. The unexpected surprises and everchanging nature of gardens add to the experience of gardening.

Notes on a few of the MANY plants:

Azaleas – Azaleas add so much color in April. Notice the differences between native azaleas and Oriental azaleas. Both are beautiful and colorful, but usually the native azaleas are more graceful and taller, a great plant for woodland gardens. If you can’t tell the difference between the two, ask one of the volunteers – that’s what we are there for.

Clematis – These flowering vines are both dramatic and delicate.

Autumn Fern – This plant is named for the russet color of the new foliage that is displayed now. These gardeners cut back the old foliage in late winter to allow the new foliage to show off as it emerges in spring.

Iris – I saw many colors and at least four species of iris. Some are huge, others delicate, some can take wet soil, others can handle drought. They are not only beautiful, but one plant can soon be divided into a mass, then spread about your garden and traded with gardening friends.

Epimedium – OK, I only saw this in the Brussack garden, but the owner is quite the collector. These delicate flowers should be appreciated up close. The plants are among the most tolerant of deer, drought and deep shade. Epimediums are available in species that are great for the garden, but some of the new cultivars are flat-out stellar. They can be pricey, but worth every penny. One of the best and easiest to find is the fairly new Epimedium ‘Pink Champagne’.

Enjoy your visits to these wonderful gardens!

Sideways Farm & Brewery, near Hendersonville, North Carolina

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:35:00 GMT

The Carolina Mountains are rich in breweries, cideries and wineries. The quality of the mountain stream water was a deciding factor for Sierra Nevada to locate its Eastern U.S. brewery and taproom in Mills River, NC. That brewery can draw huge crowds; the architecture and beer are reported to be well worth a trip to their brewery. But we heard of a small brewery west of Hendersonville that is also a CSA and U-pick cut flower farm with beehives and a pen of ducks, chickens, goats, and sheep that moves around to transform overfarmed soil. We visited in very early April, so there were no flowers in bloom yet. That’s OK – the animals were fun to visit.

“See that couple on the chairs over there? They have been here for hours, just watching the animals.” one of the staff explained. The exterior is not polished, it is calming, which is a nice break after enjoying a few tourist stops. Parents can enjoy a beer at a picnic table while kids are kids.

Sideways brews small batch ales, creating artistic labels. Their ingredients often include plants they grow and honey from their and other local hives. We enjoyed our three samples, plus the jun. Elderberry jun was one of four hard jun kombucha they made that was on the tasting menu. Jun is the champagne of fermented drinks, made with honey and fizzier than kombucha. The elderberry jun was a combination of sweet and sour that was better with each sip. Mike kept drinking that while I enjoyed the stout.

The tasting room and U-pick flower farm are open on weekends, often with a food truck so you can plan lunch or dinner. Beer and hard jun kombucha, plus honey and eggs, are available for purchase. Check SidewaysFarm.com for information. Of course, the flower farm is seasonal.

New accessible path to the Middle Oconee River at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 17:16:00 GMT

In late February, 2021, Mike and I visited the new accessible path to an overlook viewing the Middle Oconee River.

Paved pathways through the State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s many display gardens are accessible, even the hillside Shade Garden, built before the ADA Act. A new pedestrian entrance with an elevator provides access from the main parking area, plus an overlook to the Visitor Center, new Center for Art and Nature Porcelain and Decorative Arts Museum, and the lower entry plaza that unites both. A visitor can borrow a scooter or wheelchair while the visitor center is open to discover the buildings and gardens.

But this new path brings accessibility into natural areas and the river that forms one boundary of the 313-acre botanical garden. The path led us from a small parking lot into an open area flanked by tall trees, through grassy lowlands with some standing water (there had been rain earlier that week, but the raised walk was dry), and to an overlook with a view of the Middle Oconee River.

Mike’s scooter comes apart and fits into our trunk – so useful for garden visits and discovering new places. He had spent time in town on the scooter before coming, so it only had enough battery life left to get to the overlook and back from the small parking lot below the Shade Garden, quite a distance. I heartily suggest discovering this feature from the small parking lot at one end of this new trail. I would then move the car to accessible parking near the main pedestrian entrance to enjoy the display gardens and buildings.

Both Mike and I have worked at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia; I recently retired after 16 years there. So as we walked this path we understood how much work had been done over the years to reclaim some of this area from invasive privet and create this lowland habitat. There is still a lot of privet in the area, as can be seen from the network of over five miles of unpaved nature trails that connect to the overlook and small parking lot, but the botanical garden is doing an admirable job reducing privet and other invasives from natural areas. Invasive plants are a very formidable adversary.

One of the most charming features of the small overlook is the number of people who come off the trails here or pass by during their trail runs. Whether you only catch their eye or chat a bit, there is a moment of warmth and friendliness.

A tree is often so much more than a tree.

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 14:15:00 GMT

Let me tell you about a tree with a rich history – in my life too. When I was in third grade (1969) I excitedly told my father about Ginkgo biloba , a tree that was discovered in China that nobody knew existed. It was a beautiful tree with a unique leaf and was proof that there were still many things in this world to be discovered and understood. Well, my dad and I enjoyed being fellow plant geeks and before I knew it we had a Ginkgo planted in our back yard. Whenever I visit my family I stay in that childhood home with that 50 year old Ginkgo tree. Now that house is being sold, but I live with another plant geek. We have leaves from sentimental Gingko trees pressed into our sidewalk, including leaves from my beloved childhood tree. We have Gingkos in the ground and in containers. We have Gingko leaves pressed into books and in artwork decorating our walls, and I have sentimental Gingko jewelry.

There are several messages woven into this story:
– Adults have the power to encourage curiosity and a love of nature and gardening.
– A tree you plant can outlive you and bring memories to those you love and beauty, shade and habitat to people and creatures you will never see.
– Yes, this is the same Ginkgo biloba sold in health food stores. Doesn’t that make you wonder about conservation of native plants and habitats in our region? Could the cure for Alzheimer’s or cancer be in a plant that is found in only one small area?
– Gingkos are really cool trees. They are slow growers, but stately and often used as street trees. You will want a male plant or sterile cultivar to avoid messy, stinky fruit. And this is the time of year that this tree drops its leaves. Just because this tree is historic and dignified doesn’t mean it’s not playful. A few leaves start to drop and then – Whoosh! – in one day every leaf falls from this tree, leaving the most amazing carpet of golden leaves.

Gardening in Dry Shade

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 14:24:00 GMT

Note: This is my Love Note From the Garden sent to subscribers on Feb. 14, 2021.

I am helping a friend expand her garden to create a plaza for outdoor parties. Her garden is almost exclusively shaded by deciduous trees in Zone 7. My first instinct in creating her plant list is to look at gardens: what is doing well in her garden (and saving on her budget by dividing proven perennials), the garden in my mother’s house a few miles down the road, and my own Zone 8 garden

No matter how drought tolerant, new plants need supplemental water through the first year and during extended dry spells. Also, every plant gets a ceremonial “Welcome to my Garden” spritz of deer spray when planted. If not, a deer may pull the plant out to taste test.

There are many wonderful shade plants. Among the toughest and most delightful in my garden are:

Epimedium ‘Pink Champagne’ (Zones 5-8, evergreen, 18” T x 30” W, deer resistant) –This should be by a bench or path, to appreciate the small, elegant blooms close-up.

Ajuga (Bugleweed, Zones 3-10, under 6”) – So many cultivars are available of this low, evergreen groundcover. Since they thrive in my shade garden, I have a collection.

Sarcoccoa hookeriana var. humilis (Himalayan Sweet Box, evergreen, 12” T x 36”W, deer resistant) – I just shared some of this evergreen weedchoking groundcover with friends. Other Sweet Box species available mature into 3’-5’ evergreen shrubs. These Boxwood relatives have tiny fragrant winter blooms and spread by stolons.

Ruscus ‘Elizabeth Lawrence’ (Butcher’s Broom, Zones 7-9, evergreen, 2’ T x W, deer resistant) – This tiny shrub was originally found in Elizabeth Lawrence ’s garden. My plant was given to me by Sam Jones at Piccadilly Farms, Bishop, GA, over a decade ago and is covered with red berries and painfully sharp leaves. I have a three-foot tall Ruscus too, which is tough as nails and painful when touched. I love them, but sometimes love hurts.

Danae racemosa (Poet’s Laurel, Zones 7-9, evergreen,3’ T x 4’ W) – OK, if Ruscus is too tough for you, consider the elegant, soft Poet’s Laurel, three feet tall with red berries and bright green foliage. Mine is growing in a never-saw-a-ray-of-sunshine deep shade. Flower arrangers love the arching branches. Probably the least drought-tolerant on this list, but a mature plant is tough.

Carex oshimensis Evercolor ‘Everillo’ (Japanese Sedge, Zones 5-9, 16”H x 16”T) – There are many golden Carexes, but this one grabs attention in my garden, adding a bright gold, fine textured, grassy foliage.

Daffodils – Great to mix with the plants that sleep through the winter to bring more color into the garden

About time for a native plant, don’t you think? Here are a few:

Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink, Zones 6-9, winter dormancy, 14” T x 14” W, U.S. NATIVE) – I add a couple of these each year to my shade garden and will water them because they are among my very favorites. So I don’t test them as much as the others. This long-lived perennial offers lots of blooms in a vivid Pop Art red/yellow combo that hummingbirds and butterflies love.

Aquilegia canadensis (Columbine, Zones 3b-8 , winter dormancy, up to 3’,U.S. NATIVE) – These may look delicate, but they are tough. They also have a way of reseeding and filling in gaps in the garden. I think it is charming, showing me that nature often does what she darn well pleases.

Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea, Zones 5-9, winter dormancy, large shrub of various sizes, U.S. NATIVE) – The quintessential four-season shrub, offering peeling, sculptura;, bare branches in winter and dramatic bloom clusters and huge green leaves that turn red in fall.

Beard ed Iris – Whaaat? Those are full sun plants. Of course, the iris under the dense, very dry shade of my red maple never blooms. But it does add a fun, upright sword-leaf texture contrast.

Avoid English ivy, Arum and Vinca; these are terribly invasive, and you will regret planting them! A plant can be too tough.

Here a couple resources to discover more dry shade plants:

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s website is a wealth of information, including their article on ProblemSolver Plants for Dry Shade .

Fine Gardening Magazine offers this free 1-1/2 hour webinar on Truly Tough Plants for Dry Shade , with three experts discussing why they like each plant and showing numerous photos in garden settings. All three live in the Northeast but list growing zones for each plant. Just make sure you know your growing zone and are ready to take notes before you start watching.

Notes :

None of these links are affiliate links. I’m just leading you to more information.

Massee Lane Gardens

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:05:00 GMT

The American Camellia Society’s Massee Lane Gardens in Fort Valley, GA, one of only two public gardens maintained by a national plant society. This property already contained a collection of mature specimens when the 150-acre farm was donated to the society by David C. Strother in 1966. Now it also contains the ACS headquarters, a visitor center, an extensive porcelain collection, various display gardens, woodland areas, a pavilion and seating areas overlooking a tranquil pond. The nine acres of developed gardens have views of woodlands, a pond and a pecan orchard on the rest of the property. Millstones are used to accent the paving, grounding you more in the history and the region.

Operations Manager William Khoury toured me and the two Camellia enthusiasts with me through the Camellias. I learned a lot that day. And, thanks to the extensive Camellia plant selection for sale, ‘Spring Festival’ and ‘Wendzalea’ rode home with us in the back seat. We were enchanted by the many blooms when we visited in mid-January, but Massee Lane Gardens is at its peak in February, when they hold the annual Festival of Camellias. This month-long event includes daily tours and exhibits, painting and craft classes, on-site lunch options, wildlife program, children’s activities and more.

I ventured off on my own for a bit, photographing remnants of the old farm and close-ups of Camellia blooms. Then I discovered the Stevens-Taylor Gallery filled with porcelain on display. I especially enjoyed the detailed birds and flowers. Another extensive porcelain exhibit is in a large gallery inside the visitor center and includes a few massive pieces, including a snowy owl. Massee Lane Gardens is home to the largest collection of Edward Marshall Boehm porcelain sculptures on public display in the United States and includes Cybis, Connoisseur, Bronn and other porcelains in their collection.

Massee Lane Gardens is a special place, offering a vast collection of well-labeled Camellias with complementary woodland plants such as ferns and heucheras, and a surprisingly large visitor center and porcelain collection. Part of Massee Lane’s charm is the feeling that the world has slowed down, and it is fine to take time to breathe in the scent of a camellia blossom, sit on a bench, play with different angles in a camera, or take in the details and beauty in a piece of porcelain.

Visited: Friday, January 15, 2021

Location: 100 Massee Lane, Fort Valley, Georgia 31030

Website: https://americancamellias.com/massee-lane-gardens

Great web page for visiting during the February 2021 peak season: https://www.americancamellias.com/news-events/festival-of-camellias-at-massee-lane-gardens-2021

Accessibility: Accessible buildings and parking. Original brick paths were no problem for my friend’s 4-wheel scooter, but could be tiring for someone pushing a wheelchair, especially on a crowded day. The brick paths were built when this was a private collection, so are not promenades. There are asphalt paths that provide easy access to many camellias and a pavilion overlooking the pond.

Both porcelain exhibits are very accessible. The Stevens-Taylor Gallery is close to the visitor center, a quick walk via paved paths, a ramp and a rose garden.

Gift shop: Surprisingly extensive, including books, jewelry, home décor, gifts, tea and more. They have a handy book at the checkout counter that describes and shows each of the many plants that they offer for sale (Oct.-April). The entrance to the gardens and porcelain collection is through the gift shop, where you can pay a low entry fee into the garden (we opted to become members of the Camellia Society for only a couple dollars more).

Standing under blooming camellia trees. I now want a camellia forest on my property with a bright Tiffany Blue bench underneath to contrast with the blooming trees and the carpet of blooms on the ground below (I originally thought of a yoga platform but get real – I am much more likely to use a bench.)

Nearby and lunch ideas: The staff at Massee Lane Gardens recommended The Swanson Restaurant; I like The Perfect Pear for lunch. The two restaurants are a block apart in downtown Perry, GA. Check menus and hours online. Reservations would be a good idea. All around are fun shops. I could spend well over an hour roaming downtown Perry.

Note : Peak Camellia season occurs among the shortest days of the year. I like to fit day trips into daylight hours, which means getting on the road early to allow time for lunch and a stop or two. It takes about 2-1/2 to 3 hours to drive from Athens, GA, an easy day trip. Yes, it is a short drive from I-75, but beware of the route that your phone gives you. If you take the fastest route you will miss so much. Our route through Madison, Forsyth and Musella included views of pastures, farmland, historic homes and town squares. It adds a few minutes but turns the trip into an experience. From Musella to Massee Lane Gardens was enchanting, with an abundance of pecan and peach orchards (Peach County, GA, is aptly named.)

Trivia : Did you know that black, white and green teas are all created from Camellia sinensis leaves? The different teas are the result of different growing, harvesting and processing. Also, these camellias grow well in Georgia. I have two plants in my shade garden and drink tea daily but doubt I will ever try crafting my own tea.

Dividing Solomon’s Seal

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 23:02:00 GMT

It all started with an email from Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., listing Tony Avent’s favorite plants. One of the plants highlighted was Gigantic Hybrid Solomon’s Seal ( Polygonatum x hybridum ‘Giganteum’ .) Honestly, I am not sure if this 30” high plant is the plant I bought when I visited this nursery in 2009 or if my plant is the 36” high Polygonatum infundiflorum ‘Lemon Seoul’ . Both are dramatic, deer-resistant shade plants around hip to waist high. Mine now covers a 3’x4’ area under the pecan tree. Of course, Solomon’s Seal is dormant in January, so that area looks like brown mulch now.

That email also linked to a video that showed how to divide Solomon’s Seal. Easy-peasy. If you plant a root piece with a bud, foliage will emerge next year; if you plant a piece of the root without a bud, give it until next year to see foliage. It took an hour to run outside with a shovel and some labeled plant tags (I am better about labeling my plants now, but still blame the years with plant-tag-flinging, free-range, but so endearing chickens for losing precious information.) Soon I had four of these very handy containers planted and set on the tailgate of my little red truck for friends to pick up.

Many gardeners grow the easier-to-find Variegated Solomon’s Seal , about half the height but with white splashes on the green leaves that brighten a shade garden. I also have a petite Solomon’s Seal that is about 3” tall in my garden and Plant Delights offers one that is 60” tall . Plant Delights also offers this 22-minute video that talks about different Solomon’s Seals. Warning: may cause one to become a collector.

Love Note From the Garden – Christmas Fern

Fri, 25 Dec 2020 23:08:00 GMT

This is the text from a Love Note From the Garden. See the original note at: https://mailchi.mp/6a7bea9a315d/christmas-fern

A fern that is native, deer resistant and evergreen – who wouldn’t want one (or a bunch) in their shade garden?

Yep, that’s me – Christmas fern (P olystichum acrostichoides ) – native to the Eastern United States, thriving in dry to medium moisture in shade. Just don’t plant me in poorly drained sites, because that will rot my roots and kill me. Hey, I even look a bit tough, with leathery evergreen leaves.

If you already have a large Christmas fern, you could divide it into several plants and create a mass planting when the new growth just starts to show.

Creating a one to two foot tall clump, I would look great at the base of native azaleas, or as an evergreen backdrop to colorful coral bells. Tall daffodils can be planted among ferns, popping up as I rejuvenate myself with new spring foliage.

You know what else I can do? Stabilize a shady slope. You see, in winter my evergreen fronds lay a bit flat, holding leaves into place to create a blanket that fights erosion and eventually breaks down to create more soil I’m sure you can think of a spot in your garden for me.

Love,
Christmas Fern

Upcoming online talks feature garden celebrities and new garden books

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 19:19:00 GMT

I am so excited – feels like I just opened a stack of Christmas presents! While researching garden events this morning, I found a treasure trove of virtual events and ended up registering for six webinars (many with garden celebrities), plus three 2020 coffee table gardening books – all for under $100. Half of the events are free.

This afternoon I will be speaking as part of the Georgia Master Gardener Annual meeting. After that, I am all in for learning from others at this conference and these webinars. You can find all of these and more are on my website calendar ( tinyurl.com/garden-events ), but I am sharing direct links for you below.

First, there are three free webinars in the next three days:

Saturday, November 14, 11 a.m. The Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival

Nature’s Cure

Monty Don, Britain’s treasured horticulturist, author, and broadcaster, and Sue Stuart–Smith, prominent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, reflect on the life-affirming capacity of gardening and nature to soothe troubled minds in our disturbing world. Part of The Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival.

Sunday, November 15, 2 p.m.

Rebirth

OK, this one is not gardening, but looks interesting: Is it possible that the arts could not only survive, but emerge from the COVID crisis and recent social unrest stronger than before? Cultural leaders from the US and UK re-imagine the future of their art forms.

Monday, November 16, 7 p.m.

Jared Barnes: Perennials that are huge both in size and in personality

The world is getting smaller! With more globalization, more efficient technology, and more people, small is now the big thing. Gardening is following the trend as breeders and plant companies select miniature models of plants and pixies for the patio. But, in an ever-shrinking world, we horticulturists shouldn’t forget the friendly giants of the landscape. Jared Barnes will share perennials that are huge both in size and in personality and show how to incorporate them into gardens both big and small. This free event is a partnership with the Georgia Perennial Plant Association and the Atlanta History Center.

Second, The Garden Conservancy has a Fall 2020 Literary Series that is amazing; we have watched two episodes already. Not only did I just sign up for all three remaining talks, but I am going for the opportunity to get the corresponding book mailed to me a week ahead at an amazing price.

Note from GC: Webinars will be presented via Zoom. Links will be sent to registered attendees on the morning of each webinar. If you cannot join us for the live webinar, we still encourage you to register! A link to a recording of the webinar will be emailed to registrants in the days following the session.

November 19, 2 p.m. $40 for the book and talk, $15 for just the Zoom talk

Larry Lederman, Garden Portraits: Experiences of Natural Beauty

Garden Portraits: Experiences of Natural Beauty , a painterly collection of sixteen magnificent and diverse landscapes, is the sixth botanical photography book from Larry Lederman, the photographer of the New York Botanical Garden.

December 3, 2 p.m. $28 for the book and talk, $15 for just the Zoom talk

Dan Hinkley, Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens

Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens follows the course of Dan Hinkley’s plant-obsessed life as he developed his latest garden on a high bluff overlooking Puget Sound in Indianola, WA. As he reflects on his property, he also reflects upon the principles of good horticulture gathered from over five decades of gardening.

December 17, 2 p.m. $28 for the book and talk, $15 for just the Zoom talk

Renny Reynolds, Chasing Eden: Design Inspiration from the Gardens at Hortulus Farm

Chasing Eden: Design Inspiration from the Gardens at Hortulus Farm (Timber Press, January 2020) is a lavishly illustrated roadmap to creating a personal Eden. Together with his late partner, Jack Staub, Renny Reynolds created Hortulus Farm Garden and nursery, a 100-acre 18th-century farmstead and nursery in the rolling hills of Bucks County, PA. Hortulus Farm is not only a model of classical gardening and design teners, but also a showcase of how traditions can successfully be broken.

You can also stream their summer series of speakers for free. Thank you, Garden Conservancy!

Third, GardenComm is selling tickets for an on-demand play that you can stream anytime Dec. 3-6.

Betrothal is a 35-minute comedy about two iris growers who meet at a competition under a tent during a rainstorm. Natalie and Joe Carmolli will perform in the play by Lanford Wilson, which will be videoed by Adriana Robinson of Spring Meadow Nursery. Pat Stone, publisher of GreenPrints, will entertain with a musical introduction.

I hope this inspires you. My geeky little heart was racing as I found more and more ways to see gardens and learn about gardening. It felt like presents were dropping from the internet cloud.

OK, my registrations are in, all is on my calendar. Alexa, add popcorn to my shopping list.

Every door prize at this virtual garden conference is a winner – and many are worth more than the registration fee.

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:52:00 GMT

This week I wrote the descriptions for over a dozen door prizes offered as part of the virtual 2020 Georgia Master Gardener Association Conference. This conference includes home garden tours led by Allan Armitage, Mike Dirr and Coach Vince Dooley, plus six live garden talks. Click here for registration and more information about the conference Anyone can attend. Please share with your gardening friends. This conference would be especially interesting to Southeastern U.S. gardeners.

Back to the door prizes… It seemed rather dry to just add promo copy to the descriptions, so I decided to share why I wanted to win each prize (except the books – they are great, but already in our library!), and link to more information and purchase opportunities (because we can each win only one at best.)

Value: $80

More info/buy: http://www.allanarmitage.net/shop

One thousand plus pages of information about perennials, hot off the press with current and tried-and-true varieties and cultivars, at your fingertips. Beware though – you will find yourself looking up a particular plant then lost in the engaging text for a while. Here is a recent review I wrote about this book.

Value: $36

More info/buy: https://www.briegrows.com/shop

Perfect timing! Grains are cool-season… hmmm… crops? ornamentals? BOTH! Learn more with her new book and two packets of wheat seeds – Soft White and Bronze Chief.

The Foodscape Revolution , by Brie Arthur (signed!), plus two seed packets

Value: $34

More info/buy: https://www.briegrows.com/shop

Brie is such an energetic and inspiring speaker that you want to know more about Foodscaping – and you will with her first book. Two packets of Brie’s Soft White wheat seeds will get you out into the garden to plant.

Donated by Brie Arthur.

Seven Steps to an Organic Garden , by Mike Cunningham

Value: $15

More info/buy: https://tinyurl.com/yyqj54yg (book), https://countrygardensfarm.com/

Mike and Judy Cunningham, “The Teaching Farmers”, and their family run a 150-acre farm and CSA with vegetables that are Certified Naturally Grown. Taking a class at their Newnan Farm to learn about cooking, gardening or food preservation is on my bucket list, so I watch their Facebook page to find out when the classes will start again post-COVID.

Hydrangeas for American Gardens , by Michael A. Dirr (signed!)

Value: $45

More info/buy: https://tinyurl.com/y3k3797v

Hydrangeas are signature Southern plants. A Hydrangea collection can include sun and shade plants, native and exotic plants, blooms from spring to fall, plus amazing fall color and winter bark. With this book you can learn more about the hydrangeas in your garden and make plans to expand your collection.

Donated by Mike Dirr.

Manual of Woody Landscape Plants , by Michael Dirr (signed!)

Value: $82

More info/buy: https://tinyurl.com/y3k3797v

Who knows more about woody plants than Mike Dirr? A virtual tour of his garden and his signed iconic reference on your shelf – Score!

Donated by Mike Dirr.

Dooley’s Playbook: The 34 Most Memorable Plays in Georgia Football History , by Vince Dooley (signed!)

Value: $35

More info/buy: https://tinyurl.com/y23pfpdl

Southerners love football and Georgia fans love Vince Dooley. Vince will be touring us through his home garden as part of this virtual conference. Did you know he is quite the gardener, with a hydrangea named for him? You want this SIGNED book because, although it is his most recent of many books, it is already sold out.

Donated by Vince Dooley.

Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia , by Linda Chafin

Value: $33

More info/buy: https://tinyurl.com/y4cjkytr

Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia and Surrounding States is the first field guide devoted exclusively to Georgia’s wildflowers, while also including many plants found in neighboring states. This is a great reference to identify plants or learn more about native plants to add to your landscape.

Value: $29

More info/buy: https://www.brushwoodnursery.com/

Clematis Abilene has rich, pink two-tone blooms. The flowers are up to 6 inches across and very full at maturity, but the plant remains compact and suited to smaller spaces and container culture.

Brushwood Nursery is known nationwide for their Clematis and consistently in the Top 5 in their category at The Garden Watchdog .

Donated by Dan Long, Brushwood Nursery.

Antique Glass Garden Art

Value: $50

These hand-crafted flowers are created from antique glassware, each one a unique design. The winner will have a glass flower shipped to them with instructions on purchasing a metal support locally to install it at just the right height for their garden.

Donated by Carol Martinese.

45-Minute Online Landscape Consultation

Value: $80

More info/buy: https://clifrbroc.wixsite.com/mysite

Cliff Brock was the curator of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s flower garden before spending a year in Oregon and then returning to Newnan, GA. Cliff knows plants so very well and, like many gardeners, has many talents. He is also a composer and pianist, as well as a writer and photographer ( check out his blog here. ) A 45-minute virtual consultation, offering design ideas and giving plant maintenance advice – well, that would be amazing.

Donated by Cliff Brock.

Encore Azaleas Gift Certificate

Value: $40

More info: https://www.encoreazalea.com/gardening/article/encore-azalea-brochure , www.facebook.com/EncoreAzalea

Encore® Azaleas are the bestselling multi-season blooming azalea in the world with over 30 varieties. Won’t it be fun to add a few to your garden?

Donated by Flowerwood Nursery.

Southern Living Plant Collection Gift Certificate

Value: $40

More info: https://southernlivingplants.com/about-us/brochure/ , www.facebook.com/SouthernLivingPlantCollection

The Southern Living Plant Collection by Flowerwood Nursery includes over 60 varieties of trees, shrubs, bulbs, annuals, perennials, and ornamental grasses. You will have fun with this gift certificate!

Donated by Flowerwood Nursery.

BOOK REVIEW – Herbaceous Perennial Plants

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 00:56:00 GMT

This summer Allan Armitage released the 4 ^th edition of “Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes”.

As a garden writer and Master Gardener I am excited about this new edition, a 1,000+ page treatise. I do a lot of internet searches. I also turn to books. Armitage’s writing tells stories and includes friendly growing advice. He gives personality to the plants. This gets personal: instead of providing only facts, it makes me want to bring these endearing or exciting plants into my garden. And when a plant from a garden center or plant sale performs well in my garden, relaxing with this book (yes, one can definitely curl up with this hefty reference book) introduces me to the plant’s relatives and begi ns the quest for a plant collection.

When I write about perennials, “Herbaceous Perennial Plants” is the first book I turn to, to the point that I can twist in my office chair and lay my hands on a copy as a reflex action. This new edition arrives twelve years after the last edition, 31 years after the first edition, and 23 years after the American Horticulture Society named it one of “75 Great American Garden Books in the last 75 Years”. It not only contains numerous new species and cultivars, but updated information resulting from years of growing the now go-to varieties that fill garden centers. It also discusses changing nomenclature and invasive plants.

Herbaceous Perennial Plants

A Treatise on their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes

by Allan Armitage

1090 pages. Stipes Publishing, $79.80 softbound, $89.80 hardbound.

Available at allanarmitage.net and booksellers.

Botanical Garden of the Ozarks – Fayetteville, Arkansas

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 01:56:00 GMT

I grew up and earned my Landscape Architecture degree in Northwest Arkansas, so spending a cool summer morning looking at familiar, much-loved plants with my sister and her oldest son was a treat.

The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks looked like a small garden online, but we three plant geeks had to rush off after an hour and a half to meet people for lunch. The garden was cleaning up from a fundraiser the evening before. Even though tents coming down limited taking overall photos, it did not affect strolling the series of twelve themed backyard gardens set around an accessible circular path. In the center was a lawn that focused on a pavilion/stage. This created a sunny center surrounded by mostly shaded display gardens, which was welcome on a summer morning.

We were able to see many plants and take many photos in the gardens around the building and parking lot before we even entered, so by the time we entered and paid our fee, we were already in the experience. Kudos to the responsible rain garden between bays of parking too.

Once in the garden you could look at the map given to you when you paid the affordable admission and decide where you wanted to spend your time. These gardens seemed small when I saw them on a map, but we spent a full 20 minutes in each garden that most interested us: the Ozark Native Garden, the Sensory Garden, and the Rock and Water Garden. The butterfly house was beautiful, filled with plants that thrived in Zone 7 gardens, and had an abundance of informative signage. Most of the others we were able to move a little faster, and each had its charm. A couple we just weren’t interested in that day. That is perfect – providing something for everyone without trying to be all things to all people. Kids can enjoy the butterfly house, children’s garden and soft great lawn; someone wanting time in nature can find a bench in a display garden to read or sketch. Each display garden was very different, most linked with the Streamside Trail through the trees. I thought there was a great balance of accessible walkways through intensely planted display gardens with natural woodland paths with beautiful large stones serving as footbridges.

Plant people and photographers would love the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. There are many well-signed interesting tree and shrub specimens and large drifts of perennials that sing when they are in bloom (and, I can imagine, when they are showing off fall color).

Visited : Saturday, June 22, 2019

Location : 4703 N. Crossover Road, Fayetteville, AR

Website : www.bgozarks.org 2017 YouTube video

Accessibility : Great hierarchy of paths on a pretty level site lets a wheelchair or stroller around and into the gardens. Short distance from parking to entrance.

Gift shop : Small, same room as where you buy tickets, includes local crafts and signature items.

Note : Started in 1990s. Only butterfly house in Arkansas. Approx. 80,000 visitors/year. Free admission with the AHS Reciprocal Admissions Program

Coolest (to me) : Umbrella magnolias in the woods near the Shade Garden, massive plantings of lilies in bloom everywhere, dragonflies abundant around water garden.

Nearby : Northwest Arkansas is a beautiful area with great small town downtown shopping/ restaurants and hiking in natural areas. Fayetteville, Bentonville and Rogers downtowns are very much alive. Nearby Eureka Springs and Crystal Bridges Museum are both well worth the drive.

The Trial Gardens at UGA, Athens, GA

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 02:18:00 GMT

The Trial Gardens at UGA is open 24/7 on the campus of the University of Georgia. My favorite time to visit, besides the open house days, is on a Sunday morning, when the campus is quiet and I can roam with my camera in the early morning light. Annuals and perennials are trialed en masse , allowing you to compare plants side by side. Recently I have enjoyed the abundance of vivid caladiums and David Austin English Roses. The perennial borders around the edge are great inspiration and the gazebo in the center can be a quiet refuge surrounded by a riot of blooms and butterflies.

These photos were taken in mid-October. One of my favorite discoveries was the Echenbeckia, a cross between Echinacea and Rudbeckia.

Trial Gardens at UGA is not only a destination, but it also hosts plant sales and has a wealth of information on the website about the plants that perform the best there – great information about plants for the Southeastern U.S.

The UGA campus in Athens, Georgia, is also the home of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia , the Founders Garden and Ethnobotanical Garden – a great opportunity to tour four very distinct gardens in one visit.

Philadelphia Flower Show

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 01:23:00 GMT

Every gardener should experience the Philadelphia Flower Show . The show is so eclectic – including landscapes, talks, educational exhibits, plants, flower arranging, front door and balcony vignettes, botanical illustrations, miniature landscapes, plus an abundance of vendors selling plants, garden supplies, flower arranging supplies, books, jewelry, home decor and more.

We visited the Philadelphia Flower Show in 2018, and that year there were three snowstorms during the show. One delayed us a day in the airport, one was 17” that left us stranded for a day in our Doubletree Princeton hotel room, where we went after Philly. No complaints – we needed the rest after so much walking around the show and Philly and we had the best hotel staff ever, including the poor person who went outside to clear snow every time wi-fi went down. The show was wonderful and I would take that trip again in a heartbeat.

My top four tips for a visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show:

1 – Plan for a couple days – it takes at least two visits to see it and our flight delay could have left us with not enough time.

2 – Pay for one of the preview parties in the first few nights – not the super pricey one, but the one with a band and bars. What I saw were 1/3 there for the dancing and partying, 1/3 there on dates and would see the show and dance a bit, and 1/3 of us totally focused on the show, with plenty of room for photography, seeing details, and really absorbing the majesty of the displays while they are very fresh. The people watching, live music, drinks and party atmosphere added energy to the evening.

3 – Stay in a hotel within a few blocks. With the cold and snow, that was a blessing. As soon as we started talking about this trip, I booked a hotel room that would be easy to cancel. Ours was across the street from both the show and the Reading Terminal Market.

4 – See Philadelphia. It is a fantastic city and there is so much to see within walking distance of the show.

The Earth in Her Hands

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 22:12:00 GMT

here is an invitation to spend about 40 minutes

Jamaica Kincaid

Jennifer Jewell is also the host of Cultivating Place , an NPR podcast that blends society, history and gardening. Her calming voice can keep you company and keep you informed as you are weeding, crafting, running errands or organizing a closet.

I have started reading books with my morning coffee instead of looking at a computer screen right off. I often start my reading learning about one or two women, then switching to a chapter or two of another book. I love books that profile inspiring women. If you do too, look also at She and In the Company of Women (which includes women from my town of Athens, GA). These books are too heavy for a hammock, but great for a rocker on the screened-in porch.

Landscape history can be seen in ‘Marie Antoinette’ movie

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 19:52:00 GMT

Note: This is an edited reprint of a newspaper article I wrote in Nov. 2006, shortly after this movie was released.

Four reasons knitters grow lavender in their garden

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 18:44:00 GMT

‘Goodnight Moon’ Iris – endearing name, deer resistant flower

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 01:47:00 GMT

I believe it is totally fine to choose a plant because its name resonates with you. I planted Blue Jacket hyacinths on the grave of my father-in-law, who was on the first ship hit at Pearl Harbor. I sent an assortment of daylilies with names like “Crimson Pirate” to my nephew, a then budding gardener. (My gifts are usually spot-on, but a box of roots did not thrill the young boy. His mother (my sister) did love them for years until something the guy truly did want – dogs – dug them up. Such is life.)

So when I decided to add to my iris collection Goodnight Moon was too sweet of a name to pass up. Now this plant has been divided a couple times, with one rhizome going to friend who raves about it every spring. Last year I moved a few rhizomes into a new bed by our deck and this spring it is reminding me why Goodnight Moon is my favorite iris. As I write this, she stands about three feet tall with at least five blooms. Although each bloom does not last long, they are so huge and numerous that this iris has been a show-stopper for quite some time. And, being an iris, no deer repellent has been needed.

That deer resistant foliage is a great addition to the garden even when the blooms have gone. I think that once you cut back the stem, the linear, upright leaves add an architectural accent to the planting bed. And in a few years you can divide the iris and add that accent throughout your garden.

I would call Lenten Rose a deer-proof perennial

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 12:24:00 GMT

It is risky to call any plant deer proof, but there are a few I would give that tag. One is Lenten Rose ( Helleborus xhybridus or ), which seems like the perfect plant to me. It is evergreen, tolerates part to deep shade, resistant to deer and other pests, and blooms when few other plants bloom. Not just any flower either – sculptural, perfect blooms that entices me to pull out a sketchbook and concentrate on their beauty.

Lenten Rose is hardy from Zones 4-9 and is one of the longest blooming perennials in cultivation, with blooms that last for six weeks or more. To make it even more desirable, it is one of the earliest blooming perennials, with blooms starting as early as January in Georgia and lasting into April. Who couldn’t love a plant that blooms even before the daffodils?

Glossy, bold, leathery foliage is a year-round asset to the shade garden. Leaves are divided into seven to nine segments, falling away from the central stem like an umbrella. These coarse leaves are a great contrast with ferns and bleeding hearts. Although they are evergreen, the leaves can look a little ragged before the new growth emerges. This is just a little winter burn and aging foliage. Trimming off some of the older foliage in January or February not only makes the plants look better; it shows off the blooms better too.

The perfect spot for a Lenten Rose would be in deciduous shade, protected from the wind, in rich soil with plenty of moisture but good drainage. They would like the bank of a creek, along a woodland path. Lenten roses do better planted among hardwoods than pines, because they appreciate winter sun and pine needles accumulating around them can hinder growth. One thing Hellebores cannot take is soggy soil.

These plants are disease and pest resistant and prefer to be left alone. Once established, Lenten roses reseed to form a colony, creating a dramatic woodland groundcover that blooms in various colors. Seedlings can be dug up and moved, but established plants resent being moved or divided and may not bloom the following year.

My first few plants have reseeded to create a colony in my shade garden, with each plant producing slightly different blooms. The blooms come in many colors, including white, pale yellow, pink, maroon, purple and speckled. These are subtle, beautiful, nodding blooms on evergreen plants that are eighteen to twenty-four inches tall.

I love my colony of reseeded Lenten Roses but, oh my, what are available in nurseries now are stunning. The breeders have been working on Lenten Roses and now offer double blooms in bright colors with their faces rising upward, or pale pink fluffy blooms comparable to an English Rose, or blooms that look like they were hand painted in a porcelain factory. Just do a search on Pinterest to be amazed at the variety and beauty. These new Lenten Roses can be pricey – and worth every penny. Once in your garden, they will become your favorite plant, asking little and giving so much.

I suggest you shop for these plants locally, when they are in bloom. Then you know exactly what the bloom will look like and buy a plant that is already at blooming age.

Winter is a good time to start your garden journal

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 12:28:00 GMT

There are books and books out now about organizing but, seriously, organizing my garden too? Yeah, that sounds like work, but do consider these organizing tips that can help you in your garden.

Right now calendars are on sale. Perfect. You don’t have to hang it on the wall – just put the calendar among the files on your desk. Then document things as they happen on the day they happen: planted a holly, first forsythia blooms, deer spray, divided grasses. As you read gardening magazines, you can write a few tips in the calendar to remember when to do things: order bulbs in early September, photograph garden in late summer before perennials die back, etc. As the years go by, the small calendar stack becomes your record. Clever and quick, huh?

I keep a lined journal for the garden classes and symposia I attend. That way I know where to look for ideas from a class, and I can review past notes as I wait for the next class to start. Looking for classes to attend? Check out the calendar on the home page of my website for classes and events in the Southeast.

You may want a garden journal too. Although a lined journal makes sense, I have switched to a sketchpad with a hard back, where I can draw plant bed layouts and ideas, and tape photos, plant tags and clippings from catalogs. It may look a bit eclectic, but I like the creative layout and who sees it besides me?

Speaking of photos, it is good to document your garden in pictures. You will notice things in photos that you have become blind to (if you paint that shed sage instead of dazzling white it may hide in the background), and you have a record of what is growing where (very handy when some of those plants are sleeping under mulch or it is time to plant more daffodil bulbs). I often photograph the plant tag with the photo; it is wise to include plant names in the file name. Pictures can be pasted into your journal or your online photo file can have subfolders: projects, areas of your garden, ideas, years – whatever works for you.

I have some organizing tips too. I like keeping my long-handled tools together in a cart that lets me roll all my tools out to where I am working, then put them all back in one easy trip. Here is a tool cart similar to mine online. Short-handled tools go under this rolling garden seat . All seeds go into one metal tin. Hats hang at the back door on a rack made from a rake. Potting soil and bird seed goes into metal trash cans with a scoop inside and tight-fitting lids.

Yeah, documenting and organizing your garden sounds like work when you are busy living your life. I am a garden writer, so I need to be organized about my gardening. Hey – I have a file drawer by my desk where plant catalogs are alphabetized. Try just one idea; it will prove its ROI. And I will admit – although I have all of these systems, my level of organizing ebbs and flows. That’s what New Year’s resolutions are for.

Eze and Le Jardin D’Eze

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:13:00 GMT

Visited early November 2011

Far above the Mediterranean, between Nice and Monaco, is the historic hilltop village of Eze, once a fortress. Towering above that is a botanical garden filled with cacti and succulents and sculptures of goddesses. Beside each statue is a small poem, in both French and English; many informative signs fill the garden. The stone steps are plentiful, uneven and steep, but the 360 degree view of a historic church and the valley and coastline below is amazing and worth the hike. If your idea of a botanical garden is lots and lots of bright annuals, well, this is not it. This is a celebration of plants that grow on an exposed, dry site balanced by a series of fluid, feminine sculptures by sculptor Jean-Philippe Richard with their own quiet beauty, gentle sentinels looking down on the Cote D’Azur and valley below.

My best friend and I spent two nights at Chateau Eza. In the mornings Kris sat on one side of the breakfast table filled with cappuccinos, French pastries, fruit and cheese, sketching the coastline and I sat on the other side, sketching the statues looking down on us from Le Jardin D’Eze. It was the first time I had sketched in a decade and about the most inspiring spot to start sketching again.

In between the hotel and garden is the wonderful town of Eze, at its best in the early mornings before the tourist buses unload and the narrow stone streets fill with people. Browsing boutiques, gift shops, and art galleries, people-watching with a glass of wine at an outdoor table or a sketchbook at a bench outside the cathedral, photographing perfect vignettes, and enjoying le Jardin d’Eze easily fill a day.

Middleton Place, Charleston, South Carolina

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:06:00 GMT

In 2011 I attended a 2 day retreat in the Inn at Middleton Place , the LEED certified hotel on the grounds. I highly recommend staying in this hotel if you are interested in visiting Middleton Place (as well as Magnolia Plantation and Drayton Hall, right down the road and worth visiting.). A quick stroll down a path through the woods, beside water, then beside the gardens brought us to the restaurant.

After seeing Middleton Place in so many landscape design and history books, this garden was definately on my must-see list! I woke up Sunday morning at 6 am, gathered my camera and notebook and excitedly ran to the garden as soon as it was light enough to see. Guests at the hotel have access to the gardens when it is closed to the public. I had the garden to myself for hours that early March morning, playing with my camera, listening to the birds, and strolling among the sculptures and blooms as if it were my own private garden. It was a magical morning. Spring was just breaking, but many of their famous camellias were in bloom, as well as spring bulbs.

Middleton Place is one of the most famous gardens in the world, featured in landscape history courses and advertised as ‘America’s oldest landscaped gardens.’ It has been under the same family stewardship for over 300 years. One resident was President of the First Continental Congress , another a signer of the Declaration of Independence . The live oaks and camellias are ancient by our standards and the gardens and statuary are wonderful. It is where the first Camellia japonicas were probably introduced by André Michaux in 1786 and was probably one of the places John and William Bartram visited (when they weren’t back in Philly chatting with their buddy Ben Franklin.) Middleton Place is also stunningly beautiful and peaceful.

Deer Resistant Plants in my Georgia Garden

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 01:36:00 GMT

This is adapted from a syndicated column I wrote in 2006 for Morris News.

My garden in Georgia is suffering through a drought. Every weekend I water the dozens of new trees and the vegetable garden in an effort to keep them alive. This brings the deer out of the dry underbrush into my garden at night, where everything seems greener and tastier, a frustrating situation for a gardener.

One line of defense for your landscape is planting deer resistant plants. Deer resistant is a popular term, partially because so many of us have to garden among deer, partially because nobody in their right mind would claim something is deer proof. Daffodils and rosemary are the closest to deer proof I can think of. Even deer resistant plants may not be safe. Often a deer will taste-test, pulling a plant out of the ground and spitting it out if it is distasteful. A new plant, laying on top of the ground often dies before the gardener discovers and saves it. A friend sprays every new plant with deer repellent, because her deer often uproot new plantings in her garden.

Below is a small palette of deer resistant plants, starting with my three favorites in each category:

Annuals

Snapdragons are cool season annuals in Georgia, a deer-resistant alternative to the cool-season pansies they so love.

Marigolds are a recent rediscovery for me. Once too common, now I value their sunny disposition, various forms, pest resistance, drought tolerance and carefree nature. They are among the easiest flowers to grow from seed.

Fan flower (Scaevola) survives our humid summers with absolute grace, creating a mat of fresh green foliage and abundant purple blooms.

Deer have munched on my zinnias, angelonia and coleus, but left the lantana, verbena and shrimp plants.

Perennials

Salvias are not all as drought resistant as I had hoped, but are deer resistant. This fragrant branch of the mint family has many annual and perennial varieties to offer, with summer blooms in blues, purples, white, reds and oranges.

Lenten Roses are among the earliest and longest lasting blooms on evergreen, shade loving plants.

Dianthus include carnations and mat forming evergreen perennials. My new favorite is the deep red perennial Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus ‘Heart Attack’) I found at Plant Delights Nursery.

Also: yarrow (Achillea), Ajuga, Amsonia, Anenome, columbine (Aquilegia), Astilbe, Baptisia, Bergenia, Coreopsis, bleeding heart (Dicentra), foxglove (Digitalis), coneflower (Echinacea). Epimedium, spurge (Euphorbia), Lamium, Lantana, Liatris, bee balm (Monarda, lungwort (Pulmonaria), hens-n-chicks (Sempervivum), goldenrod (Solidago), lamb’s ears (Stachys), Verbena

Bulbs

Daffodils are among the most troubleproof, carefree and enduring flowers available.

Iris in my garden are completely ignored by the deer and multiply like crazy.

Alliums , ornamental onions, can produce dramatic blooms that are especially effective when massed.

Other bulbs in my yard have not been tested by the deer yet, but they have munched on the amaryllis.

Herbs

Most herbs have strong scents, so even if the deer won’t let you grow vegetables, you can have an herb garden.

Rosemary , including creeping rosemary, a great groundcover for a dry slope.

Oregano , which can spread by underground runners to form a mat. Ornamental oreganos have especially attractive blooms.

Basil , a summer annual that comes in so many varieties and flavors, including dark red or variegated leaves.

Also: just about any fragrant herb

Shrubs

Crape Myrtles , the classic summer blooming trees, are now available in a large variety of dwarf forms.

Abelia , including the classic evergreen/semievergreen that matures at about four to five feet tall and wide and my favorite new abelia, ‘Kaleidoscope’. ‘Kaleidoscope’ matures at two to three feet, with a long bloom season, a bright green/chartreuse variegation and pink new growth.

Viburnums provide blooms, plus often offer berries, fall color or evergreen foliage. Among my favorites are ‘Shasta’, with generous amounts of white spring blooms in horizontal layers on a large shrub that looks beautiful in a woodland setting.

Also: butterfly bush (Buddlia), quince (Chaenomeles), Cotoneaster, pineapple guava (Feijoa), Juniper, Tea Olive (Osmanthus). Wax myrtle (myrica), Yucca ( Yucca spp. )

What Makes a Plant Deer Resistant?

Great Dixter, an English garden filled with whimsy and delight

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 14:34:00 GMT

“It feels like walking into a Dr. Seuss book.” A friend pretty much summed up Great Dixter in those few words. Parts of the centuries-old home were listing in different directions, the flowers were dancing among each other, succulents and container plants were artfully, yet playfully, arranged and topiaries rose out of a meadow. Classic design features and familiar plants were not as expected. Great Dixter combines amazing plants and horticulture with whimsy – letting Nature laugh (which always makes a lady more beautiful.)

I thought the most impressive features of Great Dixter were the many containers and succulents in the landscape and the meadows. Here are a few images from my visit.

A Dream Vacation for Garden Geeks – near Charleston, South Carolina

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 18:29:00 GMT

This weekend I am reading up on the gardens I will soon be visiting in England. The adventure starts with a week in Sissinghurst, staying at the Priest’s House on the grounds. We can actually wake up in the morning, pad over to the window, and look out onto the famous White Garden. This stay includes access to Sissinghust grounds before and after hours. From there we will take day trips to nearby historic gardens and charming villages.

But you can have a similar experience by only crossing one state line, not a whole ocean. In March 2011 I attended a retreat at the Inn at Middleton Place . This inn is LEED certified, with each room offering a view of the river. Stroll down a path through the trees and enjoy a delicious breakfast outdoors or in a dining room with a woodland view. Middleton Place is one of the most famous gardens in the world, featured in landscape history courses and advertised as ‘America’s oldest landscaped gardens.’ It has been under the same family stewardship for over 300 years. One resident was President of the First Continental Congress , another a signer of the Declaration of Independence , The live oaks and camellias are ancient by our standards and the gardens and statuary are wonderful. It is where the first Camellia japonicas were probably introduced by André Michaux in 1786 and probably one of the places John and William Bartram visited (when they weren’t back in Philly chatting with Ben Franklin.) Middleton Place is also stunningly beautiful and peaceful.

Grow Your Own Food – with Style!

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:15:00 GMT

What’s trendy in home landscapes right now? It’s not just outdoor living spaces that include kitchens, it’s growing the food to cook in those kitchens. Trendy, topical, healthy, slow food – oh girl, you have got to jump on board. No, no, no – I’m not talking renting a tiller and digging up a rectangle in your front yard for the corn crop (although you could if you want to – and if the neighborhood association will let you). Let me tell you how you can sneak kitchen delicacies into your landscape and raise the most local of local food without converting your backyard into an organic farm.

Herbs are about the easiest to grow plants and look great in the landscape. Two things that keep most herbs happy: plenty of sun and good drainage. Snipping some rosemary, oregano and basil from your container plantings as you are preparing dinner adds more than flavor to your kitchen – it adds class.

Plant a few veggies among your perennials and annuals. You may want to plant one cherry tomato and one slicing tomato. You don’t have to use a classic tomato cage – try a 4×4 post with a finial or strong, ornamental, metal support to support a tomato. Remember you will have to get to your tomato plant to harvest. Sun and air flow are important – it can’t be tucked behind mature shrubs. And don’t forget green peppers, which are attractive, glossy green plants that fit well into a landscape. If you do tuck a few edibles in your landscape, you do need to be careful with chemicals in your garden.

The green industry has been working hard to create vegetables that are colorful, interesting, flavorful – and grow well in containers. There are many, many vegetables now available as both plant and seeds bred to produce in containers and small spaces. Look to your local nursery or Renee’s Garden ( www.reneesgarden.com ) for inspiration.

Look beyond the typical summer season to grow fresh vegetables. Cool season crops can keep the ground productive in spring and fall. Early spring can produce radishes and turnips. A few asparagus plants can provide a bit of asparagus, then tall, ferny foliage in the perennial border throughout the summer.

A tomato plant can provide a wonderful, flavorful summer harvest, but if you plant blueberries you can have an annual harvest for years. Blueberries have it all – delicate spring blooms and colorful fall foliage on a native plant that produces tasty fruit full of antioxidants and vitamins. Blueberries can be mid-size shrubs that produce best when there are three shrubs that include different varieties. I highly recommend planting three blueberries if you have the space, but there are many varieties of patio blueberries available now: blueberries that stay under 3’ tall and produce even if you have only one plant. These blueberries, like ‘Blue Suede’ , which was bred in the South to produce lots of berries over an extended season, grow well in a container on a patio or deck.

OK, rosemary on your chicken and basil on your tomatoes are impressive, but what about lavender flavoring your sugar cookies, edible flowers decorating your plate, home-grown herbal tea (try a $3 pack of Hibiscus ‘Herbal Tea’ seeds from Renee’s Garden), or redbud blooms tossed into a salad? Who says you can’t have your flowers and eat them too?

Freshen and Protect your Plantings with Mulch

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:04:00 GMT

I’m so lucky to have a long asphalt drive under mature pines, because whenever the pine needles fall I can run out with my rake, scoop up fresh mulch and remulch the front beds. Extra mulch is piled up for later use (and becomes the favorite cat napping spot).

Weeding the ground and mulching your plants for winter has oh-so-many benefits. First, just the action of getting beside each plant long enough to weed (and it doesn’t take that much time) gives you the opportunity to notice what is going on with your plants. Are they ready to divide? In Georgia, now would be a fine time to divide perennials. Would cutting off the spent flowers make it more attractive? Would moving this plant to a different spot be wise?

Second, it looks good – really good. If you want your home looking great for a party or the holidays or, even more important, to make you happy, then a fresh layer of mulch is a quick fix. It unifies the landscape, makes a clear definition between lawn and beds and freshens the whole garden. That and a couple flats of annuals can work wonders.

But mulch can also keep your garden healthy. It’s like putting down the winter blanket for your plants, keeping soil temperatures constant for plant roots (which grow year-round in Georgia). Mulch also stops rain from splashing soil onto the plants, eroding soil, or creating that hard crust that can form on top of soil. It discourages weeds from growing and makes them easier to pull when they do grow.

My Spring Bulb Orders

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:15:00 GMT

OK, this was actually written on September 5th for my blog on the Georgia Gardening website , but it is not to late to order those bulbs! Yesterday I drove 1-1/2 hours each way to listen to 1-1/2 hours’ of talks as part of the national Daffodil Society annual meeting – and it was so inspiring and worth it! I have placed 2 of the 3 orders below and was waiting until I attended that meeting to place the third, so I will do that this morning.

I swear waiting for Hurricane Lee to arrive with much-needed rain for my garden is torture! So to distract myself from looking out the window every 30 seconds to see if it is raining yet I decided to place my orders for fall-planted bulbs. They will arrive to my garden when it is time to plant them, sometime in October. So instead of the typical ‘Fall Planted Bulbs’ discussion, today I’ll just chat about the bulbs I ordered and why and a few that I recommend that are already in my garden.

From Brent & Becky’s Bulbs : Brent Heath spoke at the Perennial Plant Association annual meeting in Atlanta this summer, so my order reflects the notes from his inspiring talk. Daffodil ‘Monal’ is an early bloomer that takes the heat, and ‘Katie Heath’ performs well in the South, even in Dallas, TX. I definitely could use early bloomers in my garden. Although I have hundreds of daffodils, my garden seems to start blooming a week later than many others, so this year ‘ February Gold’ is also on my list. When placing orders for daffodils, which are very long lived and deer-resistant, choose early, mid and late bloomers to create a long season of cheerful flowers each spring. I’ve chosen a few Ipheions, which Brent suggests scattering in the lawn, and Aliums, ornamental onions that come in many shapes and colors. Both are inexpensive, which makes it easy to try them out. I rarely order tulips, but ‘ Lilac Wonder ‘ is starred in my notes and too pretty to not order.

From Old House Gardens : This mail-order nursery specializes in heirloom bulbs and this year most the bulbs I chose date to the turn of the 17 ^th Century. The exception is English bluebells , which date back to 1200. I also ordered Spanish bluebells and both like dry summers and shade – that I’ve got! The sternbergia looks like a big yellow crocus that blooms in fall and the sowbread cyclamen (which may not do well south of Athens) has leaves as pretty as its blooms.

From Lushlife Nurseries : I found out about this South Carolina nursery at the Garden Writers annual meeting last week. One of the few treasures in the garden surrounding my 50 year old house is a hymenocallis, a relative of amaryllis with large leaves and white blooms. When I received a small crinum bulb (also related to the amaryllis, rain lilies, and hymenocallis) last week from Lushlife Nurseries I had to find out more. This blog post was a great intro. I couldn’t leave the Lushlife website ( www.jenksfarmer.com ) without ordering ‘Bradley’. You can buy a bulb for yourself or send a gift box to a friend for a few dollars more, which is less expensive than most gifts and will bloom for decades! Expect this order to come quickly; there is no need to hold these bulbs for later planting. I did receive my order quickly, with big, fat bulbs full of promise. Can’t wait to see them grow and bloom!

Favorites that I already have and heartily recommend you order:

From Old House Gardens: A Fall Planted Sampler . Just let them send you bulbs that will do well for your planting zone. It’s a great way to discover something new.

From Brent & Becky’s Bulbs: ‘Fragrant Rose’ daffodil, which is not only beautiful, but really does smell like a rose – a great conversation piece.

From your local garden center: Just about anything that inspires you, especially if the bulbs look fat and healthy and the photo inspires you. Indulge!

Ooh, I hear rumbling. Finally, the rains are coming!!!

The garden did get 1-1/2 inches of rain, much more than the 1/2″ that most of the county received. But the 10 day forecast only shows little chance of rain.

An intro to my story

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:27:00 GMT

Hi, I’m Connie, and I have been gardening for decades. I am a landscape architect, a lifetime master gardener, a garden writer, a garden club member and spend almost every day in a botanical garden. I am also a gardener in the midst of change, emotion, travel and deep friendships. I am a gardener who is discovering that both gardens and people are constantly changing, each completely unique yet beautiful and with different strengths. I am discovering that both gardens and people respond very differently and quickly to care and neglect. I want to hold the hand of an uncertain gardener and tell them how to nurture their space and themselves, how gardening can bring joy and lessons, and how travel to other gardens can also bring joy and lessons. And I want them to understand the many ways a garden can give back to its caregiver.

In 2010 I lost my father, then my husband instantly to heart attacks. Dad left me with his little red pickup. He often told me “It’s a good truck” and that it would be mine when he was finished with it. He also often said “I look good for 92, don’t I?” Even to strangers in elevators. And he did. I actually thought he would end up giving me his truck when he decided he shouldn’t drive anymore. I was one of four children who each found a different way to connect with our father. I connected with Dad through gardening. As I grew up in Northwest Arkansas I weeded the vegetable garden and strawberry patch under his direction, took care of the orchids when he traveled, helped him build new planting beds, munched on apples as I walked and talked with him in the orchard, and visited botanical gardens and nurseries with him.

Bruce left me with the land – the land he promised we would find and cultivate together when he proposed to me in 1999. We bought our home on 5 acres that had recently been timbered and had an abundance of nandina, English ivy, blackberries, and red tip photinia. But it also had topsoil, which is not that easy to find in Georgia and the most amazing pecan tree that spans over 80’. On the day Bruce died the tall phlox were in full bloom on land that had a dozen chickens, 5 vegetable patches, 13 grapevines, 4 hops vines, 5 blueberries, 5 blackberries and 3 fig trees. I stared at the vivid pink phlox in those first few days after losing Bruce, amazed that it stayed so bright, beautiful and fresh as my whole world exploded.

Bruce also left me with many great memories: of picking poke salet in the front yard together, burning brush as we cleared the meadow (he made sure we had a garden hose, I made sure we had a bag of marshmallows), conversations about each tree planted as we wandered the front yard, raising baby chicks and a pair of goats to maturity, the porch swing he gave me one Christmas, harvesting wild elderberries on our property that he added his homemade wine, and discovering other gardens with him. And stories – stories he told of growing up as a sixth generation Arkansan, of the land given to his family for service in the Spanish-American war, and his childhood with sleeping porches, swimming holes, fried pies, and dinners from the garden and pasture. He promised me 50 years (the only promise he didn’t keep), but I am so grateful for the years we did have together that I cannot whine about not getting more.

So here I am, with the land and a truck and a love of gardening that both men shared with me. They were my cheerleaders, my council, the men I most loved in my life – and the two people who most encouraged my garden writing.

2010 was eventful in other ways. I also earned my a Certificate in Native Plants through The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a program requiring 80 total hours of classroom instruction, volunteer time and field trips. I was named the Georgia Green Industry Association’s 2010 Communicator of the Year and Employee of the Year at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where I am coordinator of public relations and special events and work closely with our amazing Board of Advisors. In late 2010
I received a Chanticleer Scholarship, awarded to botanical garden employees for professional development and assuring that I would attend the 2011 annual meetings of the American Public Gardens Association and Association of Garden Writers. I also turned 50, took my first cruise (which reignited my love of travel), and served as president of my garden club (hey! – I live in the town where garden clubs started).

My writing career started almost 20 years ago when one of my landscape design clients marched into the local newspaper office with my newsletter, announcing “You need a garden column and you need her to write it!” That was the spark that led to over 600 newspaper garden columns for Morris News Service, the Athens (Georgia) Banner-Herald and Northwest Arkansas Morning News (many under my maiden name of Connie Fugedy). A columnist for Georgia Gardening and Southern Distinction magazines, I have also been published in Conifer Quarterly, History, Lee, Museum Store, Country Journal, GEORGIA, Columbia County, Georgia Family and New South Gardener magazines. As a Mark Twain fan, one of my biggest thrills was when I found out one of my columns was published in Hannibal, Missouri’s local newspaper.

I became a master gardener in Arkansas in 1990, went through the training again when I moved to Georgia and am now a Lifetime Master Gardener. I am also a registered landscape architect, receiving my degree from the University of Arkansas (I’ve already admitted my age, let’s not dwell on how many classes have graduated since mine).

I invite you to join me as we discover ways to make our gardens and us as gardeners thrive and bloom. Our gardens are expression of ourselves and continually changing wonders. Whether it is the latest variety, baby birds filling a nest, a tip that saves time or eliminates pests, a handful of blooms brought into our homes, or a perfect tomato picked from our garden, there are numerous joys and discoveries in our gardens for us to share.

Creating Glass Sculptures for the Garden

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:49:00 GMT

Garden ornaments from flea market finds.

A Half-Dozen Things You Can Do While Watering.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:12:00 GMT

Watering brings out the impatient brat in me. And impatient waterers can underwater their plants. Luckily, watering only takes one hand that is holding the hose. Even though I only water plants in the ground once or twice a week I must be doing something else at the same time. And I have found lots of things you can do :

As I am finishing this up, there are distant thunder rumbles and weather.com is showing big orange dots headed this way. Oh please, oh please…

Growing Lavender in the Southeast

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:48:00 GMT

During a cooking weekend at Callaway Gardens years ago, one of the most memorable tastes was a lavender sorbet. I never had tasted lavender in cooking before and was pleasantly surprised.

A quick search on the Internet reveals recipes for this herb in many sweet and savory dishes, including cookies, lemonade, jellies, meat marinades and more, plus the opportunity to purchase lavender flowers for cooking and crafts. Imagine placing small sprigs of lavender flowers in old fashioned ice cube trays, then including a few in a glass of lemonade. Or just tossing a few lavender flowers over fresh fruit. The key seems to be not to overdo, which would be easy with this fragrant herb.

There are almost 30 species of lavender and dozens of varieties just of English lavender (Lavendula angustifolia), the most popular lavender for cooking. This also seems to be the one that is about the least suited for growing in the Southeast. To keep lavender plants happy here you need full sun, good drainage and air circulation.

Provence and Spanish lavender are two that seem to do well in this area. In the herb garden of The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, there are Spanish lavender plants that are as woody as the rosemary plants. Both are beautiful plants that provide fragrant blooms and foliage and edible flowers. Lavender also attracts bees and is thoroughly disgusting to deer.

If you are trying lavender for the first time, I suggest you buy plants from an area nursery. More than likely they have grown lavender for years and know which varieties do best here. Seeds are slow to start and you want to start with just one or two plants anyway.

We Could Lose Part of our Garden History.

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:09:00 GMT

I first heard about the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin during a talk decades ago. My father and I took off in his pickup and traveled from NW Arkansas to visit my brother in Atlanta – of course we timed it so we would be in Atlanta during the Southeastern Flower Show. I don’t remember who the speaker was, just that I was so mesmerized by the charm of this publication that was talked about that I had to buy a copy of Elizabeth Lawrence’s Market Bulletins: Gardening for Love. Her book, her last of many garden manuscripts before her death in 1985, documents the friendships Lawrence made through correspondence initiated by ads in the Market Bulletin. She found out about them from Eudora Welty, who subscribed to market bulletins from several Southern states.

This little newspaper, started in 1917 and distributed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, is composed of free ads from people throughout the state – ads for home-made items, farm equipment, livestock, fresh eggs, seeds and plants, and more, plus a few articles. As I read the ads I can almost picture the person who wrote it, the one who crocheted the dishcloth, raised the chicks, used the farm equipment no longer needed, or is looking for a position as a farm hand. There’s a country charm that comes through the words.

A couple years ago my husband could not resist that charm when he found an antique butter churn. “Look at the photos they emailed me. It’s just like the one my grandmother used to make butter”. As if that wasn’t enough, he added “I need to find someone with fresh Jersey milk”. Oh dear, we already had set up a chicken coop in the back yard, but churning our own butter? That Saturday we drove an hour, MapQuest printout in hand, to pick up our blue antique butter churn. We ended up chatting with the couple for a solid hour before we even saw the churn in their garage. They were lovely people. I can see why the Market Bulletin opened doors of friendship to Elizabeth Lawrence. It is filled with real people, much richer and more interesting than those in tabloid magazines.

This publication has been a free service, mailed to anyone who requested a copy and I have enjoyed it for years. Unfortunately, the state budget no longer can allow that and so the Bulletin now will be charging $10 for 26 issues mailed to your home. I’m sending in my check today. The subscription information below was copied directly from an article on the Georgia Master Gardeners blog. To read that article: http://georgiamgevents.blogspot.com/2011/04/save-piece-of-georgia-history.html

Subscriptions are available to Georgia residents at a cost of only $10 per year (26 issues); out-of-state-subscriptions are available for $20 per year. Out-of-state subscriptions must be within the United States or its territories.

To start or renew a subscription, send a check or money order payable to Market Bulletin, along with your name, complete mailing address and daytime phone number (in the event the Market Bulletin office needs to contact you concerning your subscription) to the following address: Market Bulletin, Georgia Department of Agriculture, 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30334-4250. New subscribers may also pay online with a cre

dit card at www.thegamarketbulletin.com. Please note there is a $1 convenience fee added for online subscriptions.

Take Pride in Last Year Before Planning Next Year

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:07:00 GMT

I am big – and I mean big – on writing down goals and New Year’s Resolutions. I even carry my 2 pages of goals in my purse. Did I mention I was a bit detailed too? Those 2 pages of text are only 7 goals.
Wnen I was having lunch with 2 girlfriends in Arkansas last week I said I had neglected my garden for the past 6 months. A friend – whose garden is full of fun, creativity and great plants – said she has literally stepped into her garden to work once in the past six months (it is not laziness – she has been a caregiver and worked on 3 houses during that time). Then she asked “You haven’t done anything?”
“Well, I did reclaim the shed after the chickens moved out, then the contractor needed me to move the deck furniture and stuff under the shed while he worked, so that came to a standstill. And I did hire a great lady to help out a few days. We reclaimed 3 garden plots back to lawn and started a new bed under the pines with lots of plants I had and 4 new camellias. I planted several large planters. I did plant a strawberry bed and added compost to all the raised beds. And I pruned back butterfly bushes, spirea and forsythia so the house could get painted. But there’s so much that didn’t get done.”
“Well, you didn’t do nothing!”
So often we discount what we do and dismiss little things that add up. Last night I sat down and filled out an un-Resolution Worksheet and it was eye-opening. It started by celebrating what went right in 2010, what your favorite moments were, who is a new friend, and what you were proud of enduring (like the snake living in my chicken coop). Before you plan 2011, look back with some pride at what went right in 2010 and build on that. What tree turned its most vivid fall color, what planting bed looked great, what new bird moved into your habitat, what special moments happened in your garden, what special plant moved in, what you have read and learned, what other gardens did you visit, what person did you hear speak.
Of course a lot didn’t get done. It’s a garden: an ever-changing, ever-growing, living thing. Relish in what went right, then pick up all those mail order catalogs that just arrived and plan to make 2011 even better.

Camellias are elegant evergreens for the South

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 09:14:00 GMT

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on March 9, 2007.

At the time of this writing, The American Camellia Society lists less than 20 recommended nurseries throughout the country; Cofer’s Home & Garden Showplace in Athens is one of them. If you want to see your camellia in bloom before you buy it then this is a good weekend to select from dozens of varieties at Cofer’s. Your only problem will be choosing.

There are 250 species of camellias, all evergreens native to the Orient. Let’s focus on two familiar types of camellias, plus a species camellia well worth adding to the garden. The most common camellias are sasanquas and japonicas.

Sasanqua camellias ( Camellia sasanqua ) bloom at the end of the year, starting to bloom in late fall. The blooms tend to be smaller and more fragrant than the japonicas. The plant tends to be smaller too, maturing at 6 to 10 feet tall, and less cold hardy than the japonicas. One of the most common sasanquas is ‘Yuletide’.

Japonicas ( Camellia japonica ) bloom at the beginning of the year, from almost Christmas until almost Easter. These are blooming now and are at their peak in February. That is when Massee Lane Gardens south of Fort Valley, Georgia and headquarters of the American Camellia Society, holds their annual Festival of Camellias. Maturing at 10 to 20 feet tall, japonicas can take more shade and should be kept out of afternoon sun.

“So which would you recommend?” I asked Stuart Cofer. “Both! That way you have blooms in two seasons. The japonicas do best sheltered from the wind. They prefer morning sun with shade from noon on and love pine shade. Winter sun can scorch the leaves of japonicas planted in deciduous shade. This doesn’t hurt the plant, just looks bad and worries the homeowner. Sasanquas are tougher plants and can take more sun.” There is a 13-year-old treeform sasanqua by Cofer’s main entry – the west side. Of course, all the other conditions must be right. Full sun is easier to take in perfect soil conditions than in Georgia clay. Our warm summer nights are another challenge for camellias. Most resources would recommend afternoon shade for any camellias.

I have seen varieties of Camellia hiemalis and Camellia oleifera (tea oil camellia) in plant sales and nurseries. Both bloom late in the year. Fifty percent of the vegetable cooking oil in Hunan, China is from tea oil camellias, producing an oil similar to olive oil. Tea oil camellia is hardy to zone 6 and a large plant, maturing at 10 to 20 feet like the japonicas. Cold hardy camellias such as this one are a hot item, with gardeners north of us wanting some of the beauty surrounding us.

Tea camellias have been used to make black tea in China since 500 B.C. In fact, the only commercial tea plantation in the United States is in South Carolina and harvests the tea from Camellia sinensis . The Charleston Tea Plantation First Flush Celebration will be held May 12. The ‘first flush’ is when the tiny new leaves push up above the previous years growth, the basis of a once a year special edition tea. Find out more about the festival at www.bigalowtea.com or sample a box of Bigalow’s American Classic Tea, available in area grocery stores. Camellia sinensis is cold hardy into zone 6, does well in shade and matures at four to six feet high. The single, white 11/2-inch blooms with yellow stamens appear in fall. C. sinensis ‘Rosea’ has pretty pale pink blooms.

When you plant a camellia in the ground, follow the instructions found on the American Camellia Society Web site: www.camellias-acs. org. They recommend the top of the rootball be slightly higher than the soil line. Do not cover the top of the rootball with soil, but do cover the entire planted area with mulch. Camellia roots need good drainage and air. The ACS also recommends that the planting hole be at least two feet wider than the rootball and the backfill removed from the hole be placed back into the hole when planting. Many people in Georgia love their plants to death by adding lots of goodies into the holes when planting. If you want to amend the soil, amend the entire bed before planting and make sure that bed is elevated so it drains well (and away from any structure), even after it settles with time.

Time in Her Garden

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 01:21:00 GMT

Gardening with a friend is time so well spent!

This Ol’ Shed

Sun, 17 Oct 2010 23:33:00 GMT

I had knitting friends over Thursday night. One of the best things about having folks over is that the house is cleaned in a frenzy right before. One of the best things about that is my clean house collided with help in the garden and perfect Fall weather on Saturday morning – so why not spend the day in the garden! Kelly transformed bare post-chicken-yard ground into a mulched area under the pines just perfect for a collection of camellias, my hammock, lots of spring bulbs, plus sun-loving perennials. At the same time I shoveled out the chicken shed and laid fresh mulch in its place. Thank goodness there wasn’t a mirror around, because for a while I was wearing my Aussie style Tula hat and a bandana around my nose and mouth to avoid the dust. OK, if that image isn’t bad enough, let me add that it wasn’t a classic western look, thanks to a tacky turquoise and pink abstract design on the bandana. I am glad I never actually saw how I looked – I was just happy to breathe with all the dust being stirred up.

So what was the chicken pen now has a table and chairs on fresh mulch, with an open air feel, between the shade garden and the north vineyard. Sounds lovely, especially if you have browsed a coffee table book on garden sheds. Let me tell you, when I say shed I mean shed. And the table is green plastic surrounded by white plastic chairs gathered up around the property. I’m havin’ trouble attaching a photo tonight, but I’ll get before, during and afters of this project. Still, it has a very calming, relaxed, country feel that fits me. Later I may go out and buy better furniture, but the shed will always be a shed. It’s fun that Kelly, who has been helping me reclaim the garden, is very OK with the style. She even lifted up the old set of wood deck steps that I could not get onto the loads to the dump last week and said “Two posts on this and you have a plant stand. Think of how pretty all of your ladies-in-waiting will look!” My ladies-in-waiting are all the one gallon plants waiting to find a home in my garden. We also decided the collection of 40+ year old fence rails could make a fun edging for the new bed.

The next step is to move the potting bench that my father made for me about 20 years ago into that area. It’s a perfect location and, luckily, the bench is on wheels. The three metal trash cans that held chicken feed will be stocked with potting soil and orchid bark beside the bench.

Today I pruned the variegated pittosporum on the front corners of the house. These were huge masses of foliage when we moved in 9 years ago, but were pruned into windswept clusters of trees. That looks great, but ongoing pruning is needed to keep that look. When I was getting advice on work needing to be done to the house, I was told to prune away any branches touching the house. Leaf and limb pickup is tomorrow and hopefully a new coat of paint on the house is coming soon, so pruning had to be done today. A mountain of pittosporum branches are now piled up beside the road.

I’m addicted to listening to my IPod while gardening and this time I started Knit with Courage, Live with Hope : a good book, but maybe not the best subject for me. It is written by a knitwear designer dealing with her husband’s fast-moving cancer and constant pain. A book being read to me is a good background not only to pruning, but to frantic knitting. Last night I cleaned out my knitting basket and discovered the cabled scarf I was knitting for my uncle. Uncle Steve is living in New Jersey, rather thin, and tells me he walks almost a mile a day. He is also 94 and it is starting to get cold. I must get this scarf done! So I sat on the deck for several more chapters and knitted. The scarf is now long enough to function, but I might as well finish up this second skein before casting off, washing it and getting it into the mail.

Life without chickens

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:25:00 GMT

This weekend the 13 ladies were placed in the coop, then onto a trailer, and headed to their new home. Their coos and personalities and eggs will be missed. With shorter days ahead I was not able to get excited about caring for them in the dark before and after work. I must admit the five foot king snake that decided my ladies are fantastic roommates and was swinging from the shed rafters when I checked on the ladies at dusk one evening helped me decide, especially after a friend assured me that having chickens meant dealing with a couple snakes a year. Sir snake was escorted to the other end of the property once again. Hopefully he will stay in the woods this time, dining on rodents instead of chicken eggs.

Yesterday I loaded Dad’s pickup twice, tied the tarp over each load with knots that actually held (proud of that!) and went to the dump. Now I have an open 9′ x 12′ or so shed behind my walk-in shed with a cross-breeze and amazing views: the shade garden under the huge pecan on one side, woods on another and a young muscadine vineyard on the third. Not to mention the old chicken yard with lots of loose soil and fertilizer under huge tree trunks. Dad’s decades-old rusty cultivator will look great against the white wood wall. Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Today I will clean out the mulch under the shed and start to lay out the new beds, lay new mulch there, under the shed, and around the trees. I have begun to look at my nursery of container plants with a whole new perspective. There is a spot perfect for camellias and a place for my new trumpet vine, plus a large area for Lenten roses, heuchera and ferns. There is also a place where I must fight to kill an ancient stand of nandina, but the nandina was cut back two weeks ago and two huge, planted containers can rise above that battle.

For now an existing plastic table and chairs will move into the space, and I can hang chimes from a dear friend, and the comfy hammock. I’ll look at redecorating and adding a lighted ceiling fan later. Off I go…

What is a native plant? Why plant them?

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:19:00 GMT

almost as printed in the Athens Banner-Herald April 2010

“Native plants – gotta have ‘em.” seems to be a mantra among home gardeners, garden magazines and more. But what is a native plant and why would we want to plant them?

In the past few months I have had the opportunity to travel around the state on many trips, spending time in cars with staff members of the State Botanical Garden’s Research and Conservation and the Horticulture Departments, plus the Interim Director – captive audiences who could explain what a native plant is and does. My favorite short description is that a native plant was one growing in this area when the Europeans settled here. OK, so it is a plant that has been here for 300-400 years. Doesn’t seem like much time, but actually since that time many acres have been cleared for cities, cotton, pine forests and more. Since that time English ivy, privet, Chinese wisteria and other non-native invasive plants have made themselves at home, shading out and crowding out native plants.

OK, we have a rough timeline, so where is ‘here’? The native purists may say native means native to the county, others define the area as Georgia. Many native plant societies represent their state, which politically makes a lot of sense but covers many different geographic regions. The plants themselves could care less about our political boundaries. I tend to embrace the Southeast, partially because I have gardened in three areas in the Southeast and I am a member of Southeastern sections of a few plant organizations. Northern and Western North America is so different from us and so unfamiliar to me as a gardener that I stay Southeast when I think ‘native’. That doesn’t mean we can’t grow their plants – leatherleaf mahonia is from the opposite corner of the country, yet I have two of those plants thriving in my garden. Echinacea tennesseensis is native to a small area near Nashville, Tennessee, but will be at the Botanical Garden Plant Sale and will do well in our gardens. Home gardeners must keep in mind though that if a plant is native to a shady creek bank in this area, offering it a dry sunny spot will probably not make it happy. It is important to match the growing conditions, not just the geography.

As a rule, native plants, truly native plants, are species. If a plant is a cultivar, which stands for ‘cultivated variety’, someone bred the plant to encourage certain characteristics. This is why nurseries now offer an abundance of leaf colors in coral bells (Heuchera) and coneflowers (Echinacea) with double petals or fragrance or with bloom colors of purples, wines, yellows and white. So Heuchera villosa is a Southeastern native plant and one of the parents of Heuchera ‘Georgia Peach’, a cultivar. Cultivars of our native trees may offer larger flowers, variegated leaves or more vivid fall foliage colors. Purists may only want the plants found growing naturally; I embrace all the varieties and crosses of natives that offer what I see as the best of both worlds.

So why plant natives? The common answer is that because they are native to the area, these plants are hardier and more pest resistant, which basically is true. It’s hard to clump everything into one pile. Some natives are still fussy, especially when they are planted in the wrong spot. Remember what the dogwoods looked like at the height of our drought? Other natives can be bullies and grow more than we want.

But there are two reasons to plant natives that I really like. First, native plants are needed by our native wildlife. Bees, butterflies, and all the creatures native to our area need our native plants in their environment. Everything is interdependent. Planting natives helps to keep the cycle going.

Second, our native plants are ours. Texans can have their bluebonnets, Californians can have their poppies – we have plants that represent us. Our Southern magnolias, dogwoods, native azaleas, serviceberry, etc. are us, just like sweet tea, screened-in porches, and hospitality. We need to embrace these plants because they are a part of our heritage. Native plants are part of what makes this area special. We don’t want a landscape that looks like everywhere else – that would be as interesting as a highway lined with chain stores and fast food restaurants.

I’m back!

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:11:00 GMT

To say it’s been an eventful year is an understatement. Some joys, lots of travel and changes. I’m afraid my garden and my blog are both suffering from neglect, but I woke up Saturday morning and calculated – in the next 10 days I have half of those as ‘weekend’ days and no major events. Now is the time to catch up, but not to beat myself up. So here it is. Sunday morning, and I am sitting on the deck. Cackling, happy hens are free ranging in the backyard and vineyard on a lawn that is about 80% reclaimed after John Deere and I chugged through knee-high grass. It is so relaxing to take a mowing break by pulling up the riding mower beside a muscadine vine and grazing on sun-warmed grapes.

One thing I did notice while mowing is how many types of wildlife thrive in grasses. I move so slow on the mower that snakes and bunnies and such can escape unharmed from the mower, but butterflies and all sorts of flying and jumping insects were enjoying the seedheads. The tall grass was alive with fauna, which made me feel a little guilty for cutting it, so I think I will leave the meadow intact and just cut a pathway through (it gets mowed about 3 times a year). I’m not sure if these are native grasses, but this area was never sodded or planted after most of this property was timbered a few years before we bought the land. We have worked to keep some areas meadow and some wooded. The backyard is a ‘country lawn’, a mix of grasses and clover that looks great the day after it is mowed.

So, my time in the garden, plus few meetings this week discussing native plants reminded me of a column that I’d like to add to this blog, one that gives reasons for native plants in the garden. One of the main reasons is that the native birds, butterflies, and mammals depend on natives for their diet and habitat.

The butterflies are waking up – gotta deadhead the butterfly bush beside me soon.

Good enough.

Mon, 31 May 2010 21:31:00 GMT

I just don’t like working in my front yard. Despite planting about 40 trees since I moved in, I feel on display for the cars driving down the busy road in front of our house. The back garden is private, the soil there is worlds better, and the shade and seating is much more restful […]

From Landscape to Homestead

Wed, 26 May 2010 11:35:00 GMT

Not sure how it happened, but our 5 acres transformed quickly from a backyard with a vegetable garden and some fruit plants to a homestead. A few days ago it was too rainy to work outside, so I roamed the garden to see what edibles were forming on our plants. What happened??? We no longer are working toward a ‘landscape’; instead we have created a homestead interspersed with some really cool ornamental plants. Not that I’m complaining – I really am liking this, but oh my! We have 13 chickens (6 dozen eggs/week), 14 grapevines, 6 blueberries and at least as many blackberries. Oh, and the gardens – 2 vegetable plots, plus raised beds and cucumber and melon patches. The hops vines produce well. And fig trees – 3 mature trees plus 2 more in containers. I heartily suggest one, maybe two, fig trees. Any more is just too much and five is … well, the chickens will be feasting on figs. Mother Nature planted some for us – muscadines, elderberries (great in wine) and poke salet (ever had a poke quiche? – yummy!).

The poor front garden is suffering as I hoe and gently coax tomato plants back into their cages. This three-day weekend I will commit to working on the neglected front, adding containers and flowers, pulling out plants that aren’t working and doing some serious pruning to the groves of variegated pittosporum. When pruned, they look like windswept trees.

So I will never have the magazine-layout landscape – but I should have plenty of eggs and veggies to share with friends.

Four Reasons Knitters Grow Lavender in their Garden:

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 11:01:00 GMT

1- To repel pests from the yarn stash.
2- To make charming homemade sachets that add to a hand-knit gift and make it smell so wonderful when it is opened.
3- To add to lemonade served to friends when they come over to knit.
4- Because it is so lovely growing in the garden!

In the Southeast the key to growing lavender is really good drainage.

There will be 6 varieties of lavender sold at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia’s Spring Plant Sale this weekend ( www.uga.edu/botgarden ) in Athens. The entire plant catalog is now on the Garden’s website. If you would like to see a list of plants, please click on http://www.uga.edu/botgarden/documents/plantsales/sps10.pdf
Also, there will be a special sale in the Garden Gift Shop.

Plant Sale hours:
Saturday, April 10, 8:00am-2:00pm, Everyone welcome
Friends members get into a Friday pre-sale, plus receive discounts both Friday and Saturday.

Back to the Books

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:13:00 GMT

OMG! I’ve been talking with Jennifer so much lately that I forgot that my interview about native perennials was with Melissa, who is so very knowledgeable about rare native plants and has grown many in her garden. She gave a talk to the State Botanical Garden’s Board of Advisors about native perennials that would do well in home gardens. After the talk in November, we finally got together in December so she could answer some of my questions about these perennials. Hearing our conversation again and going over the notes, I am inspired to add several of these recommendations to my garden (I already have a few). I am also inspired to write all three magazine columns due this month on native perennials. I had postponed writing on this subject because these plants would work best in spring issues, just in time for spring planting and the State Botanical Garden April 10th Spring Plant Sale, which will emphasize native plants.

What I am not inspired to do is the usual Internet research, supplemented with my books. Maybe it is because my native wildflower library is written mainly by people I have met and is so charming and thorough. I went to the shelves and pulled down a half dozen great books, mainly from The University of Georgia Press (www.ugapress.org): Hugh and Carol Nourse’s Favorite Wildflower Walks of Georgia , Allan Armitage’s Native Plants for North American Gardens , the Duncans’ Wildflowers of the Eastern United States , Linda Chafin’s Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia , and the Millers’ Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses . Then there is my trusty 1992 well-worn paperback: Wildflowers of Arkansas by Carl Hunter, which was a reliable reference when my garden library was small and my computer very, very slow.

The prospect of stacking books, pens, a pad of paper and a cup of tea beside the sinker cypress rocker to research articles actually is inspiring. What a lovely way to spend a few hours this weekend.

It’s the Weekend – Call in the Muse!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:21:00 GMT

This weekend’s writing is about native perennials. That should be pretty easy, since I interviewed Jennifer Ceska for my info and her enthusiasm for native plants is beyond infectious. Listening to Jennifer is more energizing than 3 cups of coffee. She and Dr. Jim Affolter are speaking at the Johnstone Lecture at The State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00 (free!), which will be a great presentation.

I have her interview recorded. I truly think that this one subject has enough inspiration to base three columns on, since there are so many great native perennials that can add to the home landscape.

I’m also working about 6 hours at the Athens Home and Garden Show – stretched over 3 days. Yuck – have to wear makeup every day this week. But the show is a good one, There are lots of fun things to see (look at the intense blue blooms on the rosemary at Thomas Orchard’s booth!), I’m running into a lot of friends and my job is to chat with folks, which I enjoy. The State Botanical Garden has 3 crafts for kids to do and take home – all involving the Monarch butterfly. And I want to hear Shelly’s talk on Georgia Gold Medal Plants Saturday afternoon.

Hopefully the writing and the Athens Home & Garden Show will inspire the creative muse, because I could really use her inspiration in my garden this weekend. I’m trying to install chicken wire fencing on metal posts. I love serpentine walls, but find the look very depressing in chicken wire! How in the world do you get it stretched tight? I am having a time getting this right and will dedicate Sunday to trying again. Thank goodness I did have the sense to buy the smaller rolls of 5′ wire and not try to save money with the huge roll. The chickens must be contained NOW – the garden is starting to leaf out and if you think deer are rough on a garden, you ought to see what chickens can do. There’s also one 4×4 wood post to install. My post hole digger has gone down 16″, but that isn’t enough. The good news is that 8′ post will be a great place for a vine and finial!

Discover the Microclimates in Your Garden

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:08:00 GMT

While in college, one of my design classes spent a few days in Boxley Valley along the Buffalo National River in Arkansas to analyze this historic site for a project. Emerging from our tents in the cool morning, desperate for a hot cup of coffee, our instructor pointed out the other tent in the campground. That tent was covered with frost while ours, sited under evergreen trees, were not. The evergreen canopy kept our tents a few degrees warmer and protected from frost.

While studying landscape architecture I heard many lectures on microclimates: south slopes are warmer than north slopes, cold air settles into valleys, morning sun is less harsh than afternoon sun. But seeing and feeling the difference in microclimates within that small campground was a vivid and memorable lesson-a few feet in one site can make a difference.

The moment you realize that your property is made up of many little microclimates you instantly become a better gardener. There is a reason why the azalea planted where it receives irrigation and afternoon shade is thriving in your neighbor’s yard, while yours, under the same cluster of pines but receiving afternoon sun and little water, is stressed. A few feet in a garden can make a life or death difference to a plant, which is why gardeners move plants that do not seem to be happy.

Our property is a high point for our neighborhood, so I hesitate before bringing moisture-loving plants into my garden. Moisture loving trees are simply not an option for this site. I refuse to garden without hydrangeas and hostas, which love water and are favorites of the browsing deer. So these are clustered together under an old pecan tree that I revere. When I ration water during a drought, this area is the last to be denied our precious well water.

A few feet from the pampered hydrangeas is a red maple, which seems to claim all available sunlight and moisture from the raised bed around its trunk. Several plants have perished in that extreme environment; the proven survivors for such dark, dry, deciduous shade are spring bulbs, epimediums and columbine.

OK, so let’s take a quick walk around your home and look at typical microclimates. The east side receives the morning sun and afternoon shade. The south side gets sun for most of the day. The west side stays shaded in the morning, then gets brutal afternoon sun. The north side stays pretty shaded, but can get afternoon sun in the hottest part of the year. Sounds simple, but few of us live in a rectangle in the middle of a field. The many angles and height of the house, trees, fences, pavement, moisture, soil composition, wind, and more affect your plants. A windy site may dry out foliage. A sheltered area may allow you to grow a plant rated for one zone south (at least for a few winters). Near my home hydrangeas are placed near the downspouts on the east side-sites that offer both afternoon shade and moisture. Rosemary thrives in the brutal area under the south eaves that gets plenty of sun and limited rain.

A plant that can take full sun in Michigan may not be able to handle full sun here in the Southeast. For us ‘part shade’ means morning sun and afternoon shade, while any location that receives three to four hours of afternoon sun, even if it is in the shade until 2:00 in the afternoon, counts as a ‘full sun’ site when selecting plants.

The best way to know your garden is to spend time in it throughout the year, learning where the water flows, where the sun shines at different times of the day and year, and which plants seem happy. To further complicate things, a garden is constantly changing, with trees growing and dying, changing sun angles and more. A few years ago drought tolerant plants were all anyone wanted to talk about here. But weather is always changing. Plants that are suited to a site are the healthiest and the healthiest plants will be best able to survive any weather extreme.

Yes, you can learn about gardening from a book, but the best way to know your garden is to garden in it. You will kill some plants (every gardener does) and move others, you will make mistakes, but you will also find out what works well for you and build on successes. Being aware of the microclimates within your garden will help you be a more successful gardener.

(adapted from an article first published in Lee Magazine, May 2008)

Foster Orchids have Arrived

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:05:00 GMT

Two dozen orchid plants traveled back with me from Dad’s greenhouse into my living room – or at least they will be there once the new mail-ordered light table arrives. Luckily, a couple boxes of orchid and gardening books also traveled with me. After Dad’s funeral we were all pleased that my brother-in-law Lou, who lives across the street from Mom , said he would like to take over Dad’s hobby greenhouse. “After taking care of the orchids whenever your folks traveled I understand why John liked spending time in that greenhouse.” Right before I left I showed Lou all I knew about repotting orchids. We repotted three orchid plants. One with a beautiful orange bloom yielded two plants – one for each of us.

I volunteered at the State Botanical Garden once a week for about a year repotting orchids. When Dad came to Gerogia for a visit several years ago he spent an afternoon with me and the Greenhouse Curator, giving us tips and improving our repotting skills. A few years ago I consulted Dad about orchid basics to write one of my weekly newspaper columns. That column is below – time for me to review it! I need to brush up on my orchid growing skills – not only do I have these two dozen plants and other plants he gave me, but I may have almost the only Blc. ‘John L. Fugedy’ plant left. It’s almost big enough to divide – hopefully in a few years others in the family will have one too.

I just joined the American Orchid Society. Bless them, they provide informative videos to members, as well as their monthly magazine and a monthly ‘to do’ checklist.

To Grow Orchids You Just Have to Know What They Like
Published in The Athens Banner-Herald January 2006

My father has had has a home-made greenhouse in the back yard, filled with orchids, for as long as I can remember. A corporate pilot, he could be gone for days at a time, so as soon as I showed any inclination for gardening I was trained to take care of those orchids. If you are at all hesitant to adopt an orchid and try growing one, let me try to explain what orchids want as I learned as a child and once I started my collection.

Orchids like light, but not direct summer sun.
All orchids need light, some more than others. Cattleyas take more light than Phalaenopsis. But none like direct sun in summer. Dad would put a shadecloth over the greenhouse for summer and take it down in winter. The orchids that went outside in summer were hanging from a tree or under a shade structure.

Orchids need air circulation.
If you look in a greenhouse, you will see the benches (tables the plants sit on) are usually made of wire mesh. This lets the water drain through, but it also lets air flow through. Air movement is key to growing orchids.

I did not understand this basic principle until recently. My orchids thrive outside in summer, hanging under the pecan tree. Last winter I moved them to a room in the back of the house where they received nice morning light. But this room was heated with a space heater and I only went in there once or twice a week, not being as diligent as I should with the humidity trays. The poor little guys were breathing dry, still air. The plants endured the winter indoors, then thrived again when they moved outside in summer. Now the orchids live with us in rooms with ceiling fans and air movement and are much happier then last winter.

Orchids need fertilizer.
Dad used a fertilizer that turned the water and his thumb blue. Not all gardeners have green thumbs; my Dad often has a blue thumb and he’s a great gardener.

Orchids need water.
Dad’s basic rules of watering: water the little pots more frequently than the big ones, in summer more frequently than in winter, and water every plant until water runs out the bottom of the pot.

I carry mine to the tub to give them a thorough watering and spraying: watering once, allowing a little time to drain, then watering again before returning the plant to its place. Lift the pot before and after you water your orchid and soon you will be able to tell if your plant needs water by the weight of it.

If you have city water, you may want the water to sit in an open container for a day to remove residual chlorine. This also brings the water to room temperature.

Orchids like humidity.
Georgia’s hot, humid summers can literally take your breath away. But the hotter it gets, the more orchids like humidity. Water evaporating off the leaves and enough moisture in the plant both help the plant handle heat. Avoid the combinations of dry and hot and wet and cold – orchids do not like either.

One summer Dad could not trust the temperamental fan in the greenhouse. On a sunny, summer day air movement is essential in a greenhouse or it starts to bake like a closed car. So Dad devised a solution – an obnoxiously loud alarm triggered by temperature. Luckily, all of our neighbors were cows. He thought it was a stroke of genius (it was); I despised the thing. Whenever that alarm sounded, I was to drop everything, run out to the greenhouse to check the fan and, using a special hose attachment, spray a fine mist of water throughout the greenhouse. The evaporating water had a cooling effect. Even if the alarm did not sound, I was to mist once or twice during a sunny summer afternoon.

Indoors, a humidity tray or tabletop fountain helps add moisture.

Orchids don’t like to be too hot or too cold.
Many orchids adapt well to indoor temperatures, although they usually like temperatures to drop at night. Turn down the thermostat a little at bedtime and your orchids and heating bill may both look better.

This advice is simple and general. The best way to learn about orchids is to take one home and learn by doing.

Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid, is one of the best orchids to try growing indoors. They have a spray of flowers rising above broad, low leaves and roots that like to wander outside the pot. Preferring temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees and lower light conditions, most homes offer the conditions they need. Phalaenopsis are also very easy to find. They are usually sold in bloom and the blooms can last for months on the plant. Plants can rebloom one to three times a year. If you have a spot where African violets are happy, Phalaenopsis should be happy there too.

Tom Larkin, grower, hybridizer, and orchid judge, recommends Ortho’s Complete Guide to Orchids by Michael McKinley (Editor) for beginning orchid growers. Flora’s Orchids, recently published by Timber Press, is a beautifully illustrated, informative reference. Both books are endorsed by the American Orchid Society.

Generations

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:55:00 GMT

The first day in NW Arkansas was perfect – sunny and 60 degrees, so my 8 year old nephew John Michael and I planted bags of bulbs and a flat of violas in Mom’s garden. It was fun looking at the bulbs and analyzing where the leaves and roots will come out and looking at how the blooms change colors with age on the little blue and white violas. John Michael is a born scientist with a queasy stomach – I don’t think he could be a botanist if he has to go through Biology labs and dissections. Great potential in engineering…

Then Dad took me to his greenhouse filled with blooming orchids and we found a spot for the snapdragons I was afraid would not survive the coming temps in the teens. John Michael promised to plant them later. Dad showed me the new deer fence around 8 raised veggie beds behind the greenhouse. “I’ll probably plant berries in two of the beds because I don’t need more than 6 for vegetables.” Dad devours gardening magazines and seed catalogs coming in the mail. He also turns 93 in March. Oh Lord, give me some of those genes!

The violas have been under a layer of snow and the tulips, hyacinths and crocus are under snow, mulch and soil, but all have promising, colorful futures.

Do these Felcos make my hips look big?

Into the Field with the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:23:00 GMT

Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance

Echinacea laevigata

Certificate in Native Plants

State Botanical Garden

http://tinyurl.com/ykgn2rp

Can I be a homesteader when I grow up?

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:19:00 GMT

I offered pumpkin muffins to folks traveling in the car with me, telling them that the chickens happily attacked the rind after I cooked the pumpkin, so I need to plant pumpkins in my garden next year. Liese replied “Oh, you’re a homesteader”.Oh I wish I could, because to me the biggest insult is being […]

Add Interest to Your Winter Landscape

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:14:00 GMT

I have met homeowners who would not consider anything but evergreens in their front yard. What a shame, because the winter landscape can be so beautiful and so dramatically different. A landscape should celebrate the seasons. Blooms, berries, sculptural forms, increased visibility and attractive foliage all add to the character of a changing landscape.

Evergreens can form a strong backbone for our plantings and should be used in a landscape, but not exclusively. Dwarf conifers and ornamental grasses can add height and form to a perennial border, balancing the profusion of color spring through fall. In winter, when the perennials are subordinate, the shape of the conifer, the sound and movement of the dry grasses and the dramatic forms of seedheads become the focus.

Two of my favorite plants to enhance the winter landscape are daffodils and Lenten roses. Both are easy to grow, long-lived, deer resistant, and bloom when we so desperately need flowers in our life.

Winter is when groundcovers, subordinate to showier blooming plants, often get noticed. Evergreen groundcovers contrast with bare trees, brown lawns, and fallen leaves. The bold foliage of cast iron plant and holly fern, the delicate texture of autumn fern, the expanse of liriope or mondo grass, the color of ajuga foliage – all more noticeable in winter.

Trees and shrubs provide winter interest in many forms: foliage, structure, blooms, and bark. The dogwood is a classic example of a combination of all four. The horizontal branching, flower buds, rugged bark, red berries and early spring blooms make this an all season (albeit fussy) plant. Leatherleaf mahonia has bold evergreen foliage, fall color, yellow spring blooms and blue summer berries. Many of the best winter plants offer much in other seasons as well.

Other trees and shrubs with interesting winter structure include the weeping yaupon holly, the wonderful variety of dwarf conifers and the pieris. Foliage interest is added with the bold mahonia and magnolia, or the colorful aucuba and loropetalum,

Trees and shrubs with a show of berries include several hollies, pyracantha, cotoneaster and burning bush. Interesting bark can be found on river birch and oakleaf hydrangea (exfoliating), crape myrtle (mottled, smooth), burning bush (winged), kerria, coral bark maple and red twig dogwood (colorful) and corkscrew willow and Harry Lauder’s walking stick (contorted). Branches of these plants are fun to bring into the house for winter arrangements.

Many trees and shrubs have winter and early spring blooms, including camellias, quince, sweet olive, deciduous magnolias (which also have fat, fuzzy buds), winter daphne, winter jasmine, witch hazel and forsythia.

Ornamental grasses are at their peak in winter, with graceful forms topped by plumes ranging from airy to massive. Enjoy these all winter, then cut them back when the daffodils bloom to encourage more compact, upright growth.

This only highlights a few of the plants that can enhance the winter landscape. There are wonderful annuals, perennials, herbs and vines that can add much to your garden in winter. More can be discovered at the library or local nursery. I recommend a stroll through a botanical garden on a warm winter day, jotting down ideas in a little notebook.

When designing your landscape for winter interest, pay particular attention to those areas visible from inside your home so that you can enjoy the show. Also pay attention to the front entry and your path from the car to the house so that interesting, fragrant and colorful plants welcome visitors and you to your home.

Recharged by the Rain

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:50:00 GMT

“I need a rainy weekend, to stay out of my garden and get work done” I heard last weekend as several of us were leaving a charrette at the State Botanical Garden. How I could relate! The next day – a one-day weekend – I spent 7 hours in my garden weeding, planting and spreading […]

Marie Antoinette’s Garden at Versailles

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:49:00 GMT

This week I revised a PowerPoint on the History of Landscape Design from 2006 to speak to a crowd of retired UGA faculty. I love combining history and anything – makes it much more interesting when you put something in context with everything else that was going on at the time and previous influences. During my re-reseach I reviewed a column I wrote for the Athens (GA) Banner-Herald right after the movie Marie Antoinette was released in 2006. This was a fun column to reseach and the movie had amazing details about Versailles.

Landscape history can be seen on the big screen
Friday, November 17, 2006
more Cottingham columns

My husband and I went to see “Marie Antoinette” last weekend. The movie had exquisite costumes and an engaging story but also was rich in period landscapes – or at least one landscape: Versailles.

I have not been to Versailles, but I have read some of the many books focused on the gardens of Versailles. I thought I’d share some of the trivia that makes watching this movie (and these beautiful gardens) more interesting.

In 1661, France’s financial secretary held a lavish celebration at his chateau and gardens at Vaux-le-Vicomte. Among the guests enjoying feasts, a play, fireworks and music was 23-year-old King Louis XIV.

At this time, gardens were seen as pleasure grounds and places to entertain guests. One garden historian also said this was when “garden design in France discovered a style of its own.” This formal French garden design consisted of strong geometry, elaborate parterres of pruned hedges, broad walkways, statues, elaborate fountains and woodlands.

The story goes that Louis was furious that an ostentatious finance minister upstaged him with a chateau and gardens better than anything he had. Records state that the minister was arrested within three weeks and stayed imprisoned for the rest of his life.

The king then had the designer of the gardens, Andre LeNotre, start work on transforming the grounds of his modest hunting lodge at Versailles into the elaborate gardens shown in “Marie Antoinette.” This project took six years to design and the remaining five decades of LeNotre’s life to fine-tune.

One of LeNotre’s interests was hydraulics. It may seem the fountains are just turned on in the morning, but remember the electric pump had not been invented. First, waterwheels and pumps brought water uphill from the River Seine to aqueducts, then into tanks and reservoirs miles away. Water was released, run through pipes by gravity, then constricted into smaller pipes to create pressure. The shape of the spout determined the direction and effects of water displays. Thirty-two of Versailles’ pools include hydraulic effects. When the King was coming down the road, fountain guards would whistle so servants could release the water and get the fountains running.

The French, who lived in relatively flat terrain, had to work hard to create great fountains. Nobody could have them run all day, every day. So the fountains also were designed as great sculptural elements that looked good even when the water wasn’t running.

When the fountains did run, Louis XIV wanted drama. The Neptune fountain has 58 spouts. Much of the water ended up in a cross-shaped canal, one mile long and two-thirds of a mile wide. To the visitor it appeared endless, a symbol of the immense power of Louis XIV.
Louis XIV was so involved in the gardens that he wrote a guidebook on how they should be viewed. And viewed they were: From 3,000 to 10,000 people may have been in Versailles on any day. Although photos of Versailles usually show one huge chateau behind dramatic gardens, it actually was a city in itself, with quarters for guests, staff and horses, plus areas to raise food to feed everyone. Hunts would take place in the surrounding woods of the 15,000-acre estate.

After Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are crowned in the film (after 59 years of Louis XV’s reign), they walk outside, where wooden ships fire cannons in a mock battle. No, the French Royal Navy has not sailed in to help celebrate; these ships are in the canal for the sole purpose of creating amusing mock battles. A 1710 illustration in one of my books shows four sailing ships. Talk about a pricey water feature.

Another scene shows Louis XVI with an elephant. The Menagerie was started in one of the earliest stages of Versailles’ redevelopment, perhaps as early as 1662. It was a working farm that provided butter and more, designed to also serve as a place to view country life and animals. At first it contained mainly farm animals, with some fish and exotic birds. A central plaza was lined with gates into several animal enclosures. When the Grand Canal was created a few years later, boat rides to the Menagerie became popular with guests. Exotic animals, such as an elephant and rhinoceros, were added in the early 18th century.

In the 1780s Louis XVI did build a “little” getaway for Marie Antoinette, a bucolic lakeside village in a Normandy style that previewed a future landscape style mimicking romantic country scenes.

It’s hard to imagine the magnitude of these gardens and life under the reign of people who ruled nations in their early 20s. Yet we have a better supply of food, indoor plumbing, air conditioning, lots more books and much more comfortable clothing. I think I’d rather stay in this century.

Move and Divide Perennials in Fall

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:27:00 GMT

I have a restless beagle. He used to be content sleeping in the bottom of a closet, but then he discovered that by putting his front paws on his blanket and walking backwards he can move his blanket to other locations. Now he scouts new locations several times a day. The Winnebeagle can move out of the closet, around the bed, down the hall, and loop around the living room before he chooses a location – usually an inconvenient threshold .

Unfortunately, a plant is pretty much stuck where it was planted until a gardener moves it. If you notice a plant is not doing well or getting crowded, now is a great time to dig it up to move or divide it. Experienced gardeners do not hesitate to move a plant that is not thriving, because they know plants respond to the right conditions. Sometimes a plant needs to move because it did not turn out to be the size you expected or it is clashing with or crowding its neighbor. And dividing plants? – well that gets you more impact and more plants for free. Who could turn that down? So stroll around your garden and notice the plants that need to be moved. In Georgia, the recent rains have softened the soil, making it even easier to dig this weekend.

Siting Plants in the Landscape

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:59:00 GMT

One key to a beautiful, low maintenance garden is to locate plants in the area where they are most likely to thrive. A plant in favorable growing conditions will grow faster, have fewer pests and diseases and require less (or no) chemicals. There are many conditions to consider: sun, moisture, soil, wind, etc. No gardener can know all of these or find just the perfect spot, but the more one does know and works to meet the plant requirements, the healthier the plant will be and the less work is required once the plant is established.

Sometimes finding the right spot for a plant means moving it until it is happy. To try to avoid this, it is important to review the information on the plant tag and in reference books. It is wise to keep at least one gardening reference book on your shelf, preferably one with regional information. The summer sun is more intense as one moves south. A plant that thrives in full sun in Michigan may burn without afternoon shade in Oklahoma. Also, plants mature at different sizes in different locations where there are different soils, rainfall and growing seasons. In the deep South some crape myrtles become majestic trees and butterfly bushes are semi-evergreen, yet in their northern ranges these plants may die back to their roots in winter, serving as smaller summer-blooming shrubs in those landscapes. Since plant tags are produced for nationwide use, a regional book provides information relevant to your garden.

There are many factors to consider when choosing and siting a landscape plant. This article will look at two key factors: sun exposure and moisture.

Sun Exposure

Full sun is easy to understand, but when we hear terms like ‘part shade’, ‘light shade’, ‘filtered shade’ or ‘deciduous shade’ it all starts to get confusing. Part shade means just that – shaded part of the day. But which part makes all of the difference.

In the South if an area gets morning sun and afternoon shade, then ‘part shade’ plants will do well. If the area gets morning shade and the hot, intense afternoon sun, then plant only a plant that can handle full sun in that area. Further north a part shade plant can handle afternoon sun better.

Filtered shade is shade under trees. Although it may be bright at times, sunlight is filtered though the tree canopy.

Deciduous shade is shade provided by a tree that drops its leaves in winter. This is a special area of the garden, as early spring bulbs and wildflowers love the sunlight coming through the branches in March, but by May the leaves are protecting the hostas and ferns in the garden. A few evergreens that prefer shade may suffer foliage burn when the leaves drop and they are exposed to the winter sun. Also, there are trees that drop their leaves earlier than others. This is a situation where a gardener gets to know their plants and microclimate over time – observation and experience gives a gardener much that no book can offer.

As a landscape matures, more than likely shade patterns will change and some sun lovers may have to move away from maturing trees to stay healthy. Similarly, if a tree is cut down a landscape may change dramatically. Plants that were in full shade may adapt to morning sun, but probably will not handle afternoon sun.

Moisture

When considering moisture a gardener not only has to supply enough moisture for the plant but also adequate drainage, especially in clay soil, which retains water.

Some plants can handle “wet feet”, but in the clay soils prevalent in the Southeast most planting beds should be constructed to ensure adequate drainage. For the sake of your home, surface drainage should flow away from any structures. Clustering moisture-loving plants, such as hydrangeas, together allows the gardener to concentrate watering where it is most needed. If drought tolerant plants are planted away from the house or near the end of the hose the gardener doesn’t have to drag the hose out to the edges of the property as often.

Every plant does need supplemental watering and a little babying during the first year it is in the ground, while it is establishing its root system. After that, even drought tolerant plants may need help during the driest times – just not as often as some of the more thirsty plants in the garden. A layer of organic mulch can lessen water needs by discouraging competing weeds, helping to retain water in the soil, and lessening rainfall runoff.

One Last Note – Changing Sun Patterns
Observe sun patterns throughout the year in your garden. In late March and late September (Spring and Fall Equinox) the sun rises due east and sets due west. During the winter the sun rises and sets further south and is lower in the sky at midday. During the summer the sun rises and sets further north and is higher in the sky at midday. There are fewer hours of sunlight in the winter than in the summer, when the hottest part of the day is mid-afternoon. These seasonal changes are more pronounced the further one is from the equator (much more noticeable in Chicago than New Orleans). What looks like a shaded area in November may prove to be sunny on a July afternoon, when the sun angle has changed. A garden that looks sunny in winter may seem oppressively dark when the leaves come out on the trees in spring.

Almost new gloves!

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:12:00 GMT

I finally gave up on my 1970s Singer and bought a used sewing machine from a friend. Dresses that actually fit and Christmas presents from the macine will be nice, but the first stitches were to repair finger blowouts on my Foxgloves. I wear Foxgloves, thin cloth gloves that don’t hamper your sense of touch […]

Learning Lots this Next Week!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:19:00 GMT

I’m taking a day off work Friday to spend time at the Cherokee Garden Library ( http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/ ), one of the top horticulture research libraries in the Southeast. I love listening to podcasts on my new IPod, but there is nothing like holding a 100 year old book. I look forward to meeting with Staci, the Library Director, to learn more about this rich resouce.

Saturday morning (July 11th) I am working at the UGA Trial Garden Open House on the UGA Campus in Athens, Georgia. There are many amazing plants to see there, plus a book sale, plant sale and tours led by Allan Armitage. Read an article about it here .

Next weekend (July 16-18) I will be in the Specialty Ornamentals booth at the Joy Garden Tour Gift Shop in Cashiers, NC. What a great chance to learn more about conifers, hydrangeas and more from the very knowledgeable Flo and Joe Chaffin ( http://www.specialtyornamentalsretail.com/ )!

It all sounds great, but I will be so glad to come home to my husband and pets!

Give Your Blooming Plants a Little Trim to Spruce Them Up

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:34:00 GMT

It is amazing how tidying up can improve the looks of a planting bed: weeding, cleaning up, cutting back, staking, reshaping, edging and mulching. And a little pruning now can rejuvenate the perennials, or even encourage them to rebloom.

Deadheading, removing faded flowers, has many benefits for you and your flower garden.

First, deadheading can be done in small segments of time. Just grab a bucket and a pair of garden snips. You may want to cut flowers for an indoor bouquet while you are in the garden.

Second, it gets you close to the plants, so you notice other things, such as insects, yellowing leaves, new blooms, and interesting color combinations.

Third, deadheading redirects the plants energy into creating more blooms. You may have planted your flowers to provide beauty, fragrance or cut flowers, which they do. But honestly those pretty, bright, fragrant flowers are produced to attract pollinating insects so the plant can set seed and reproduce. Once the seed is produced, the plant’s goal is achieved. The plant’s energy is redirected from producing flowers to producing seed. If you cut off the spent flowers, the plant produces more flowers in its attempt to reproduce.

Fourth, deadheading blooms and seed pods is a way to control self-sowing plants. Some annuals, such as cleome, self sow to return next year. Many biennials, since they bloom on second year plants, must self sow to keep blooming. Prolific self-sowers, such as rudbeckia and tall verbena, can be controlled by keeping the blooms deadheaded or encouraged by leaving some to reseed.

Self-sowing plants can be fun. Random planting by Mother Nature surprises you with a slightly new design scheme each year, adding to a cottage garden look or creating surprising plant combinations. However, letting the pretty blooms on chives go to seed can result in little chive plants everywhere and you know what their cousins, the wild onions, are like to weed.

Finally, regular deadheading improves the looks of your garden display by removing old blooms and encouraging more flowers. Those plants that only bloom once a season (columbine, hostas, most daylilies and iris) will simply look better if the spent flowers are removed.

How you deadhead is an art in itself. Start by looking at that plant’s structure. Where are the next blooms forming? In a daylily, pick off the spent flowers until the stalk no longer is carrying any buds, then cut the stalk back almost to ground level. Carnations and balloon flowers have new buds just below the old blooms, and need a careful approach. Flowers that appear on their own stem should be cut to the ground.

Perhaps it is not feasible to cut every little spent bloom. Many perennials benefit from shearing the plant back after the first flush of blooms. This is much faster and the plant may bloom heavily again in a few weeks. Instead of cutting every one of the hundred of blooms on my coreopsis, I just give it a rough haircut, cutting the plant back by half.

Many shrub roses, such as Rosa mutabilis (the butterfly rose), Caldwell’s Pink, Nearly Wild, Simplicity, or Knock Out can be sheared back with hedge shears after each flush of blooms. This creates more compact, bushier plants and three or more bloom displays from a rose planting in a season.

Thinking of Dad

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:48:00 GMT

I learned about gardening from my father, who grew up in a brownstone in an immigrant neighborhood in New Jersey and, like me, finally owned a small piece of acreage in the South after he turned 40. His passion for gardening compelled him to try it all: fruit and veggies, a greenhouse full of orchids, a front yard arboretum, a rose garden, espaliered fruit trees, banks of daffodils, and a lawn quilt on the side of the house where he trialed every kind of sod he could find.

One thing I learned from Dad was organization. Actually by bad example, because Dad would know just the right tool for the job, then go off into the greenhouse, then the carport, then to the house to get the key to the well house, to the well house, back to the house for the key to the carport closets and through both carport closets to find this perfect tool. I’d get the job done well enough with a tool at hand while this search ensued and when he returned I would agree his way would have been better and yes, his is the perfect tool for the job.

But for a guy whose tools are totally disorganized, Dad is a meticulous organizer of dirt and weeds.

I use the method of weeding that he taught me. One bucket (actually a colorful trug – I do have to add my personality to the chore) is for weeds that go onto the compost pile. The other bucket is for weeds that go in the trash – weeds too noxious to add to the compost. Spent plant tags and other trash are also tossed into this second, much smaller trug.

If a new planting bed is being created, then additional buckets are needed. One is a small container of soil where earthworms are gently placed while the tiller, shovel and pitchfork plow through the bed. They are returned to the planting bed later, when their neighborhood is safe again. Another is for stones found in the bed. These do not return. Yet another may be needed for plants and bulbs that are to be saved and replanted after dividing.

Then there is the organization of the dirt itself, starting with the creation of our garden soil. After dinner in the 1960s, before recycling and living green was cool, food was carefully separated – leftovers for the fridge, meat and bones for the pets and almost everything else for the compost bin, which Dad carried to the cluster of huge 8’ square compost piles. In addition to weeds and kitchen scraps, he added soil and cow manure, both rich in microbes and good bacteria, to these compost bins. After some months the result was rich, dark soil.

But before the soil can be used there is yet more organization. Using a handmade sifter made from 2 by 4s and wire mesh (the one my daddy made for me leans against my compost pile), every shovelful of aged compost is sifted as it enters the wheelbarrow. What doesn’t fit through the mesh is separated again and goes back onto the pile or into a bag hanging on the compost frame that is later carried to the trash can.

This may sound extreme to someone who did not grow up organizing dirt and weeds, but it was expected from me. I am so grateful for that upbringing, because the end result of planting beds with richer soil and fewer weeds is well worth the work – work that is so second nature to me as a gardener that I don’t even think about it when I enter my garden. I just do it. Thanks, Dad.

Mowing again!

Sun, 10 May 2009 11:49:00 GMT

Yesterday every neighbor in sight was in their front yard mowing. We all smiled and waved at each other while mowing knee-high dandilions and fast-growing lawns, because for the past two years the drought in Georgia made mowing almost obsolete. Thanks to recent rains, the grass and everything else that survived the past two years […]

A Dozen Reasons to Mulch

Sun, 10 May 2009 11:31:00 GMT

Mulch, a protective layer of material placed on top of the soil, is one of the best ways to lower maintenance and improve the health of your landscape.

I highly recommend organic mulch, which is mulch made from once living material such as shredded bark or leaves. Organic mulch should be two to three inches thick and reapplied as it decomposes, usually once or twice a year. It is best to keep mulch a few inches away from the base of plants, since good air flow and a little drier environment is needed there to discourage fungus and pests.

Below are a dozen ways mulch benefits the garden during winter and summer, drought and deluges.

Benefits of Mulching

Deters weed growth : Mulch lowers the chance of weed seeds germinating. Weeds that do appear are much easier to pull in a mulched bed.
Retains moisture : Mulch retains soil moisture by decreasing evaporation, plus soils enriched by decomposing organic mulches are better able to retain water.
Stabilizes soil temperatures : A layer of mulch insulates the soil and roots from fluctuating and extreme air temperatures. Soils with temperatures moderated by a layer of mulch attract earthworms closer to the surface, improving soil structure.
Adds organic matter : Nutrients from decomposing organic mulches help build the soil and feed plants.
Controls erosion : A layer of mulch absorbs the impact of rain and watering, protecting the soil from erosion.
Improves appearance : Mulch can unify a landscape with harmonious texture and color.
Stops soil from splashing onto plants : This not only makes the plants more attractive, but reduces the transference of soil borne diseases.
Provides a place to walk : A mulch path will protect your feet from mud and dirt. Mulch between raised beds in my vegetable garden limits weeds and allows me to harvest in any weather.
Protects plants in winter : Roots will stay warmer in winter under a thick blanket of mulch. With a generous layer of mulch in winter, borderline cold hardy plants have a better chance of survival.
Prevents soil from forming a crust : Crusting of soil (creating a hard top layer) prevents exchange of nutrients.
Protects young trees from mower and line trimmers : A 3- to 5- foot radius around a tree trunk is recommended for at least the first three years after a tree is planted. This also eliminates weeds and grass around young trees, which compete for water and nutrients.
Recycles organic material : Your garden benefits greatly from leaves and branches that are shredded and used as mulch instead of bagged up and hauled away.