Some Pretty Pictures from the Glass House

It's that time of year when the tropicals are putting on their respective shows in the glass house.  Since some of them prefer these shorter days and cooler temperatures than those of July and August, it's a pretty awesome place to start my workday!

Clerodendron thomsoniae ("Bleeding Heart Vine") is just covered with flowers right now, and will stay that way until around Thanksgiving.  This particular plant just adores the heat, and will continue to climb toward the sky until it finally fizzles out in late November, at which time we cut it back to about 24 inches, and the process starts again.

The Penta below was taken from the pastel border at the end of the season last year and brought into the glass house.  In one of Christopher Lloyd's books he had mentioned that Pentas make great flowering plants through the winter.  Go figure....he was right!  (It's obviously doing better than the latest Gloriosa lily, which died the same sad death as its predecessors....)

The Cane Begonia "Sophie Cecile" is just exquisite right now, when the blooms are backed up by the beautiful green and pink mottled foliage.  The original cutting for this plant came from Callaway Gardens (I won it in a raffle....really!)

The phalaenopsis orchids are in their glory at this time of year!  The white one below is just one of many that grace the glass house and the Big House for winter beauty. 

Summer Whites

July came into Atlanta with a roar of heat, and it was still in the high 70's when I left for work this morning before the sun was up.  Here are a few photos from the garden at the Big House, taken around 7:30 this morning before the furnace heated up for the day.

This is a good example of why, in my humble opinion, there are few plants that can rival the Natchez Crape Myrtle for tough-as-nails beauty in a Southern garden.  They're just starting to bloom, and will continue this way for many weeks.

Two types of hydrangea, below.  In the distance, the paniculata "Pinky Winky" is just starting to flush out.  In the forground (under the crape myrtle) is macrophylla "Mme. Emile Mouillere," an incredible white mophead with a tiny blue eye that gradually bleeds the faintest blue color throughout the blooms.  The macrophylla has been blooming for several weeks now.

Hydrangea arborescens "Annabelle," will keep that form until the blooms ultimately dry looking almost exactly as they do now. 

The front of the house faces Northwest, so it's a challenge to get some things to grow well there.  These guys all look pretty light and fluffy, but they're all extremely tough, and hold up beautifully to the Atlanta heat.  For the plant geeks, this begonia is called "Baby Wing," and will take full Atlanta sun and heat without the leaves bronzing.

The gazebo near the pool offers some respite from the crazy heat, and it's where many of the ferns and houseplants spend the summer months. 

One of My Favorite Containers for Summer

I spent the day pruning like a crazy person, all the while using the "alternate" pair of pruners. As a result, I have a blister the size of a ping pong ball on the ball of my hand! The kicker is that tomorrow was planned as the day to prune in my own "step child" of a garden.....looks like I might have to cruise the nurseries instead......

Here are two photos of one of the summer containers at the Big House. It's very simple, but I think really shows off the Lion's Head Maple well. I surrounded the base with Bonfire Begonias, and then there is a little Creeping Jenny just starting to drip out of the pot, as well. I'll post another photo once the begonias are blooming, because they're pretty spectacular. They take a little more sun, a little more heat, and a little bit drier soil than most begonias, I've found.

Container Mania!

We are currently in the midst of "container mania" at the big house, which means there are a gazillion things in flats all about the pool. I've slowly been chipping away at the major containers, and the first of the spring bedding plants are going into the ground! I am so excited with the "Honey Bee Lantana," with muted pinks, peaches, soft yellows, and whites all on the same plants! That's being planted in the beds under the crape myrtles, where nothing else has the stamina to fight the roots of the trees. Photos to come once it fully opens up.

People keep asking me about container combinations I'm using this year, so I'll get them up on here in the next few days. I'm a big believer that even with the same plants, every arrangement is different, since there is inevitably a different container, and a different "designer's eye" involved. I've borrowed some of my favorite combinations from friends, and find it flattering when people ask me to do the same.

One of my favorites so far for this year: Lion's Head Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum "Shishigashira"), underplanted with "Bonfire" Begonias (Begonia boliviensis "Bonfire"), finished with Creeping Jenny(Lysimachia nummularia "Aurea"). Very simple, very clean, very elegant, and really shows off the tree, which is the whole point.

Love in the Glasshouse!

How appropriate that on Valentine's Day weekend, there were all sorts of signs of horticultural "activity" in the greenhouse!

First, the Mission Olive trees are blooming, which is really cool. Since I was raised in New England, olive trees aren't something I'm used to seeing in bloom (or seeing at all, for that matter). We got them last year to anchor two planted islands in the vegetable garden, and I dragged them inside for the winter. I've been told they'll be fine as long as the temps stay above 20 degrees, but these are one of those special plants that gets babied. The color of the tiny blooms is unbelievably intense, particularly against the olive green of the leaves. To give an idea of the bloom size, the leaves on these trees are only about 1-1/2 inches long. (The bottom picture, above)

The other plants that seem to have gone hormonally crazy are the Villages Lemon Trees.....check out the number of blossoms on that baby! (The top photo)

These two plants, the begonias that are shooting up new stems of blooms every day, the remedial amaryllis, and the walking irises are turning the greenhouse into a virtual floral festival! Eat your heart out, Atlanta Botanical Garden!