Some Favorite Photos from the Past Couple of Seasons

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was reorganizing some photos from the past couple of seasons, and here are a few favorites.  As always, click on them to enlarge.

This first is one of a pair of containers I purchased last year.  They are concrete and new, but I love the finish on them.  They are made to resemble rusting cast iron containers, and I really like the sense of age they bring to what is a relatively young garden (12 years old).  I don't even know the cultivar on the pansies.  I purchased the containers in late winter, and these pansies were what was available at Lowe's in a large-enough quanity to fill the two containers.  I particularly like the contrast against the Spanish bluebells, which have naturalized in the bed on the upper level (these containers are on a ledge at the top of a small staircase).

The gazebo at the pool is mostly shade throughout the day, so it's the perfect place to put some of the houseplants for the summer months.  We have these four containers on wheels, so they can be moved a few times during the course of the season to grow more evenly.  This colocasia (elephant ear) is called "Elena," and is an awesome chartreuse that lights up every container combination. 

The gate into the walled garden cuts through the center of the (mostly) white border. This is early spring, with variegated boxwood and violas in the urns, and white peonies just about to open.  The sago palms on the pillars stay outside except in the coldest weather, as do the potted ivy topiaries.  (I only know the date because we flip the containers to summer flowers April 15, which is generally the last frost in metro-Atlanta.)

 The fig in August is literally dripping with nectar; we manage to pick whatever the birds and squirrels don't beat us to!

The front entrance explodes in July, and these Hydrangeas will stay until we cut the blooms off in October.  We replaced a clipped holly hedge with the Limelight Hydrangea a couple of years ago, and cut it back to about 2 feet every spring to control its summer height.  In the containers on the porch is Colocasia "Elena" again.

(Please feel free to borrow any ideas you'd like, but please don't "borrow" my photos and claim them as your own!  Thanks!)

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. 

Summer is Coming.....

At 7 o'clock this morning it was already 73 degrees and sticky when I went outside to spend a little time cleaning in the Stepchild garden.  We're nearing that time of year in Atlanta when the only reasonable gardening hours are between 8 PM and 8 AM.

This is also the time of year when I am reminded of just how heavily things are planted in the Stepchild, and I have to start getting ruthless in thinning and "passing along" plants.  We spent yesterday doing the same thing in the perennial garden at the Big House.

The Endless Summer hydrangea looked so big a few weeks ago in the mixed border along the street, but now it's almost buried by the cleome, and there there are all the Chinese lanterns coming up through the hydrangea blooms.

Hydrangea "Lanarth's White" still showing a lot of blue near the front door.

Parts of the mixed border are getting ready for July 4th, it seems.  Monarda, Ruellia, Ageratum, and Ammi majus.

The garden snobs will probably hate the garish color combinations, but I really like how happy this area looks.  The Endless Summer, cleome, rose campion, and calendula.

 

Another shot of the mixed border from the front door.  Can you tell that I'm a big fan of achillea?

As always, click to make them bigger if you'd like.

Hydrangea Palooza

It's no secret that I really like hydrangeas of most every type, and they're peaking at the moment in the Stepchild Garden.  Here are a few from yesterday morning:

Lanarth's White is a beautiful lacecap

Lilacina is a great white mophead with a blue cast

Mme Emile Mouillere is almost being pulled down to the great by the weight of its own blooms this year!

Pia can sometimes be a little garish, but it stays this great pink (even in Georgia clay!), and is a dwarf

and, finally, this is the pink lacecap we dug out of Renee's ditch last year!  Pretty cool for a "rescue," huh?

Getting Down to the Wire with This Tour

We spent another good chunk of a day yesterday working on last minute grooming things for the Stepchild Garden.  We're not really at the "last minute" yet, since there are just under three weeks to go.  This is the point at which the final fence panels went up, mechanical pieces for some of the "fru fru" stuff got attached, etc., etc.  ("No, really, there are always five perfectly cleaned vintage galvanized watering cans of various sizes hanging from coordinated hooks on the wall of the Not Shed!")

I don't want to tempt fate, but so far the weather seems to be cooperating well, though many things are blooming earlier than usual because we had such hot weather during the first half of April.  The good part of the warm weather is that it looks like most of the macrophylla hydrangeas will be blooming a few weeks early.  In the big picture that's not my preference, but hopefully they'll look good for the tour.  Here's one of "Generale Viscomtesse von hah hah hah" last summer......(the name is simply too long for me to remember).







Anyway, I just added a link to the article from yesterday's newspaper that gives the basics of ticket buying. Remember this is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Cobb County Master Gardeners....send your money!
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/7191704/article-Master-Gardeners-present-2010-tour?instance=secondary_story_left_column

The Seasonal Evolution of Limelight Hydrangeas

My friend Laurie, who is the salesperson extraordinaire for Buck Jones Nursery, has taken photos of the Limelight Hydrangeas in front of her business three different times this year, three months apart (July, September, December). The evolution of this plant, combined with the fact that it is virtually maintenance free, makes it a "must have" plant for your full sun areas!

Renovations at the Big House

As I've mentioned before, the owners of the "big house garden" are really a pleasure to work for; I'm clear it's their home and garden, but we've developed a good rapport over the past few years, and they are usually receptive to suggestions for improvements to the garden.

Like many properties that were originally landscaped by the builder/architect, there are certain plants that were used to death (can you say "azalea" and "daylily"?), and many that were installed simply because they were available in large quantity at the time. The garden is obviously very beautiful, but there are few named cultivars, and lots of places where I'd like to see plants that are more "special." We are also finding that ten years later, there are certain plants that simply aren't appropriate anymore, such as the overgrown arborvitaes used as foundation plants.

Mr. & Mrs. gave the green light recently to making some needed improvements, and it is proving to be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! The overall plan is to soften the house and garden, give it a sense of age, and also make it more reflective of their personalities.

A couple of weeks ago, we had Danny come in and cut down TEN arborvitaes that had been used as foundation plants. I happen to love arborvitae, but sadly they had planted in such a way that they were now dead on one side, tied to the house in a couple of cases, and growing up and over the gutters. I was nervous, since they were such a key part of the landscape design, but when they were removed, it was as if the sun came out from behind a cloud! The top photo shows how large they had gotten....this one arborvitae was covering TWO dining room windows!

In some places, we've been removing plants whose living conditions have changed. Ten years ago there were dozens of shrub roses installed, since the large trees were still fairly small. Over the years, we've reached the point at which the roses are largely shaded, and were blooming poorly, if at all. The middle photo used to be shrub roses; it's now "Setsusekka" Camellias (which will form a hedge to block the neighbor's driveway), fronted by "Pinky Winky" paniculata hydrangeas. They in turn are fronted by Ryan's Pink perennial chrysanthemum, and "By George," a daffodil that blooms in a coral pink and white.

In the bottom shot, we replaced another bank of shrub roses (this time red), with "Tardiva" hydrangea that we'll cut back every spring to control the size. These are underplanted with "Joan Senior" daylily (ivory), pale yellow and white Dutch hyacinth, and crocuses. I can't wait for spring!

An Evening with Allan Armitage

I had the opportunity to spend a few hours yesterday with Dr. Allan Armitage, as part of a small group from the Smith Gilbert Gardens Foundation. As I have mentioned in the past, we are incredibly lucky in Georgia to have Drs. Armitage and Michael Dirr associated with UGA. As a result, those of us in the gardening community in Georgia tend to have access to some cool information.

As always, I was impressed with just how approachable Dr. Armitage is, particularly in light of what a big deal he is in the horticulture world. There were about 12 of us, and we spent an hour strolling the grounds at the Smith Gilbert Gardens, and then another hour getting a sneak peek of some of his new favorites in the world of perennials.

I'll share more information later (my notes are outside in the truck, and it's way too cold to go outside this early), but for now, here are some tidbits from last night:

Dr. Armitage spoke about hydrangeas, and how strong the paniculatas are coming onto the scene. Some of the cultivars have been around for a long time, but some of the new ones like Pinky Winky and Limelight are really making a big splash. It's no secret that I am a bit of a hydrangea "junky," and have lots of them in the stepchild garden, but I can't argue with the statement that the macrophyllas can be finicky, particularly for new gardeners. In contrast, the paniculatas seem to grow most anywhere, loving sun, shade, or a mix of the two. They aren't the waterhogs that the big leafed relatives can be, either. I've had H. paniculata "Unique" for a couple of years, and it's just a workhorse in my own garden, and at the Big House, as well. Guess it's time to add in some others..... (That's Pinky Winky in the photo.)

Achilleas (Yarrow) are coming on again in a strong way. The newer cultivars like "Pomegranate" are better behaved than some of the older strains, and stay lower to the ground. Yarrow is another plant that I personally can't get enough of, even if it does tend to roam all over the garden when it's happy.

Lastly, one of the new perennials Dr. Armitage likes is a wallflower called "Jenny Brock." This is one of those flowers that doesn't get used often in the south, since it doesn't like heat, but according to the trials at UGA, "Jenny Brock" is perennial, and has flowered there from February until July! Wallflower is an old favorite of mine (as a transplanted New Englander), so this is one I'm going to start looking for today!

I'm starting my day at the greenwaste site, then planning to work in the stepchild garden today; I'm sure there are still plants living under the foot of fallen leaves......

The White Scents of Summer

We were walking home from dinner around 10 last night, on one of those cool evenings that happen so rarely in Georgia in August. There was a slight breeze, and with each step through our own garden, there seemed to be another wonderful scent coming our way. This is the time when the white flowers seem to take over the evening garden.

As we walked under the arbor, we saw the giant flowers of the moon vine opening for the night, releasing that wonderful light fragrance. Further down the paniculata hydrangeas were filling the air with their citrus-y scent, as they've been doing for a few weeks now. Rounding the corner, the first bloom of the white ginger was visible in the light, and its aroma is nothing short of intoxicating!

As we approached the door, we were overwhelmed with the fragrance from the white "Four O'Clocks" that self seed themselves all over that area. Even Sadie the Dog couldn't resist pushing her nose into the cluster of blossoms. Just a few days ago I was complaining about how poorly behaved the Four O'Clocks are, popping up everywhere, and questioning if I should try one more time to eradicate them from the garden......after last night's stroll, I'm convinced it's worth putting up with a little bit of unruliness.

August in Georgia is Not for The Faint of Heart

According to the television news anchors, this isn't officially the "Dog Days of Summer," but you couldn't tell that by the weight of the air as I walked around the garden. Some of the more delicate plants have retired until the cooler weather of September, but there are a few hardy plant souls out there that are just loving this heat!

From the top: The liriope earns its keep in August with those great purple spikes; "Honeycomb" Buddleia; Paniculata Hydrangeas; Crocosmia, and the Turtleheads that are just starting to break into bloom.

Everything's Coming Up Hydrangeas!

Truth be told, I have a bit of a hydrangea fetish. After all, if one is going to garden in Atlanta, why not have as many of this beautiful plant as possible? There are lots of people who think hydrangeas are too "frou frou" and almost artificial looking, but I think they're pretty awesome!

Some Blooms from this Weekend

Here are some shots from Saturday morning at the big house, with a little editorial, as well.

First, the Echinaceas are literally buzzing these days, as you can see.

Anthony Waterer Spirea is not a favorite shrub of mine, since I think it is "done to death" in most landscapes, but for these few weeks, I have to admit the show is pretty amazing.

Lastly, however "pedestrian" they might be, Annabelles are still one of my all time favorite hydrangeas. Between the big house and my own garden, there are several cultivars of macrophyllas, serattas, and oakleafs; there are none that I would want to part with, but Annabelles still hold a special spot in my heart as the first hydrangea I grew myself. There is something very simple and lovely about Annabelle in my mind.

Horticulture Magazine

So without sounding like a complete egomaniac, I thought the blurb Horticulture magazine did was sorta cool......you'll notice that I managed to hide my fat body behind the beautiful gate outside the perennial garden at the Big House!

For some reason I seem to be the last person in America to receive the latest issues of Horticulture, so I had gotten several messages from people commenting that it was a great little article about roses and hydrangeas.

That being said, I am soooooo excited at the appearance of the hydrangeas this year, particularly after the late season freeze of 2007, and the crazy drought of 2007 and 2008. The Annabelles are covered with buds, as are most of the macrophyllas, though it's still a little early for them.

At my own house, the H. seratta "Preziosa" (Carol H's favorite) is already in full bloom, and it's quite pretty. I'll get a picture in a couple of days when it's peaking. I was walking through the garden today at the big house, as well as here at home, and noticed the oakleafs are already starting to show some bloom. It always reminds me of somone with a can of that spray whipped cream, seeing how high they can possibly pile the cream on the pie before it tips over.....how can you not just love them?

What is up with the Weather???

Today started very cold, but by midafternoon was in the high 60's and absolutely glorious! I'm finally convinced that spring is here to stay, after the brief snow showers yesterday afternoon.
Truly, if someone had been out of town for the past two days, they would never have believed that it was that cold.

Fortunately it didn't get "crazy cold" until around 5 AM where I live and work, so we were spared a lot of freeze damage. We were also lucky to have very high winds for the past couple of days, which doesn't allow the frost to settle. I was really afraid for the budded peonies and hydrangeas, but all looked really good this morning.

At the Big House garden, we were able to shut the heat off in the greenhouse and actually leave the door slightly ajar. Some of the most tender things like coleus, tomatoes, and the like are still tucked into the warmest corners, but it's time for some of the sturdier plants to start getting used to being outdoors. In the middle of the afternoon, the exhaust fans came on, indicating it was hitting 90 degrees in the greenhouse for the first time in months!

I was concerned about some of the new roses that got planted last week, but my "rose lady" thought they would be just fine, and she was right on the mark! The Abraham Darby's that went in last week (they had been in heated greenhouses at the grower until that point) are just covered with huge super fragrant blossoms. It's been such an interesting year with weather, I'm still amazed at the combination of late daffodils, late camellias and early roses all blooming at the same time. The combination of fragrances is really overwhelming, with the HEAVY fragrance of the hollies mixed with the roses. Add in the sight of Eastern Bluebird, Goldfinches and Cardinals all at the same cluster of feeders, and it's the icing on the cake!

Lastly, since I know you're all dying to know, Favorite Tree (doublefile viburnum) came through the freeze without a blemish....you can all relax and get on with your day!

The Big Chill

This morning brought that inevitable April blast of cold air that happens every year; like always, it's just a 36-hour thing, but enough to disrupt all of the best laid plans!

The greenhouse has quickly become the storage unit, jammed with as many plants as I could get inside, most notably the two "Lion's Head" Japanese Maples that will adorn the front porch at the Big House next week. I decided yesterday it was a time for "better safe than sorry," so anything that was still in a pot is either in the greenhouse or the garage. The garden is dotted with lots of plants wearing their little "frost hats"----everybody's praying to the Hydrangea goddess that it's not as bad as 2007, when we had virtually no blooms on the macrophyllas because of just this kind of a late freeze. The "Saratoga" gingko (which cost about the same as my car payment for a 5 gallon pot) is also hiding out in the garage.

It's hard to believe that it's 34 degrees at this moment in the Atlanta 'burbs, is going to freeze overnight tonight, but will be safely back in the 60's by tomorrow afternoon. Only 8 more days until tax day! I have no interest in giving the IRS anything, but it's always a good day since it's the historic time to plant in this part of the world.

I think I'm going to put on my parka and go hug the Gingko!

I Know It Isn't Spring Yet......

I know it isn't really spring yet, and we're going to get zapped with a few more good freezes before it's really here, but today was a pretty glorious day in the garden!

I got to work early and it was one of those chilly but not painfully cold mornings. It was the perfect morning to take a stroll with my Venti Americano, and see what was going on. I was walking around and realized this is the sort of weather when non-gardeners have no idea what we gardeners are seeing in the pinestraw. Those of us who have that trained eye, though, can see the first tip of green coming up from the base of the hydrangea we thought had perished in that last bad freeze. The daffodils are safely up now, and there are enough of them to see the different cultivars that have been added over the years, some pale and creamy, some screaming lemon yellow, some tiny little dwarfs. There is a good-sized patch of the little dwarf daffodils that are somewhat hidden by the azaleas that have grown up, and we've talked about moving them to a more visible place; this morning I decided, though, that "Mrs" is a walker, too, and I like the idea that when she's walking in this part of the garden, there's a little surprise there behind the shrubs that she won't see until she's right on top of them. If those tiny little daffodils make her smile, I've done my job well.

The tulips that were planted in the fall are poking their heads up ever so carefully, as if they know there will be more freezes. The hyacinths and muscari are also readily visible, as though reaching for the sun. My "neat freak" side thinks I should pull out some of the Dutch hyacinths that have grown a little scraggly over the years, but when it comes time to do it, I always reconsider.

The tiny little "Miss Kim" lilac is starting to show a little bit of leaf growth, and I realize that soon we'll see that lonely single flower that comes every year. Lilacs are definitely one of the things I miss about New England.

Later in the day we got some seeds started; it's hard to believe we're done with frost in just five weeks. Starting tomato seeds, some unusual zinnias, cannas and moon vines in the glass house was promise enough for me that spring is coming soon. And is there any more glorious feeling than the warm sun on the back of your neck as you start that first-of-the-season weeding?

If It Doesn't Bring Me Pleasure, It's Not Worth Doing (in the Garden, at least)

I spent Saturday at the Garden Symposium that is presented every year by the Georgia Perennial Plant Association, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. More about that in posts to come.
(Doesn't "Garden Symposium" sound so very proper and fancy gardener-like?)

This year's theme was "Back to Our Roots: The Southern Garden Revisited," which is somewhat in keeping with a post here a while ago, talking about having a sense of "place" in one's garden. That was the overwhelming (underlying) theme at the Southeastern Flower Show this year; in a nutshell, stop trying to have a Maine garden in Atlanta, and stop trying to have a Texas garden in Minnesota!

All of this led me to come up with a list of things I spend my time doing in my garden that DO or DO NOT bring me pleasure. I'm committed to spending more time doing those things that bring me pleasure, and less time doing those things that do not.

For example:

1. I'm going to spend more time reading the Sunday newspaper and Martha Stewart Living with a cup of coffee outside in the garden, rather than indoors; that is the whole reason I used for buying the bright blue patio furniture that my neighbors hate; (I know Martha makes us all live in a fantasy world, but I want to BE Martha and live on that "farm" in NY!)

2. I'm going to spend more time exploring more parts of my little garden, rather than just the area I see when I travel from the front door to the truck;

3. I'm going to apologize less for areas that are messy and simply enjoy them as they are. I got over that phobia about the inside of my house a few years ago, so doing the same thing outside is huge progress for me!

4. I am going to stop stressing over the fact that I don't edge my lawn. I hate everything about the lawn, most of all the amount of maintenance it requires. Since it is mostly native "greens" rather than fescue or zoysia, edging seems rather pointless, anyway.

5. I'm getting rid of the fancy heucheras that don't grow of their own accord! As one of my friends said on Saturday, "I believe in tough love gardening. If it doesn't want to grow here, I don't have time to BEG it to grow here!"

6. I'm buying more hydrangeas, and don't care if they're overused! I LOVE hydrangeas (and those I'm willing to beg)!

A Bad Gardening Day or a Good Day in the Garden?

This has been one of those weekends with "fence sitting weather," which I usually find very frustrating. Yesterday was in the high 50's with tons of sun, and it was one of those days when we gardeners are just chomping at the bit to get a jump start on the season. I kept starting to work in the garden, then would stop and tell myself it was too early to do this or that, since it is going to fall below freezing for the next few nights. I raked the fallen pine needles off the Creeping Jenny, then raked it back over the tender new leaves; I pulled some old leaves out of the crowns of the hydrangeas, saw the bright green new growth, and put the leaves back. After a couple of hours of this dance, I satisfied myself by raking the lawn and making things look at least a little better....I'm much more casual about where Sadie visits during the winter months, so it was definitely time to rake.

Today I was equally frustrated by having to wait for spring to arrive, though far less inclined to be outside working in the garden with the cold winds that arrived overnight. Not wanting to waste the beautiful sunshine, I decided it was the perfect day to just enjoy the garden. I had to stop at the big house to water the greenhouse, and got this photo of the creek bank. These are the most adorable little daffodils (whose name I don't know), which are amongst the first harbingers of spring.

In my own garden, this morning was a great time to see how things have done over the winter, and I was reminded of how many people have contributed. Alice's yarrow is slowing spreading and filling in lots of empty spaces, the irises I dug with Dad last September are coming up in their new Southern home, Phyllis' gloxinia is showing signs of life, the New Dawn Rose that Frank so nervously selected is bigger and stronger than ever.......

My morning stroll was pleasantly interrupted by Alice calling to say, "I've got bags of Japanese Blood Grass here.....any interest?"

I think I'm rather happy that it's too cold to work outside today!