Do You Hear What I Hear?!?!?!

Sadie the Dog awoke with a start this morning.  Frank is traveling for business, so she left her usual post by the door to climb into the bed to sleep last night (she's still in a bit of a state that we left her with sitters for two back-to-back trips).

From the look on her face you could tell that she wasn't sure if the noise was squirrels on the roof, reindeer, or that magical thing we call rain....fortunately it was rain!

When we walked outside, I'm not sure which of us was more excited.  The air was cool, the grass was wet, and there is a certain freshness in the air.  After taking care of her morning rituals, she is now dozing next to the screen door, just enjoying this new experience.

Not the Kind of Weather I Moved South For!

This view out the window of my office is  much more like the view I chose to leave behind in New England several years ago, and definitely not one I would have chosen for my view in suburban Atlanta.  Fortunately this only happens once every few years, so I guess I can handle it. 

Since "The Stepchild Garden" has really not seen snow (at least during my ownership), it was fun to take a few photos this afternoon while the white stuff is still coming down.

The Daphne Odora is definitely not a plant that's liking this weather, but the contrast of the blooms about to open and the heavy snow covering was pretty at the bottom of the front steps when I went outside. It's been here for four years, so it's probably about ready to drop dead soon anyway.  (It's one of my favorite miserable plants).

The Hinoki Cypress shows its form far better with a little "icing," as does the Doublefile Viburnum, below.

At the end of the day, however, Sadie the Dog is definitely a Southern Girl.  She managed to keep her legs crossed for the first few hours of the snow, but finally relented and went  outside in a complete snit!

Fall's Last Hoorah?

We woke up to rain and pretty strong breezes this morning, so it's probably the end of this year's color show. I really like the autumn shades, but I'm ready for the leaves to stop dropping. Sadie the dog is up to her elbows every morning as we walk near the old sweetgum! Here are a few shots from yesterday.

This is the oak near the driveway at the Big House. The colors are almost surreal this year, with shades that appear blue in the sunlight.
This is the one month of the year that I think "burning bush" justifies the space it occupies in the garden.

The "Lion's Head" maple has been moved from the front porch to it's winter residence in the wooded area.

This last one is a Japanese maple whose name I don't know. It's one of the few that holds its burgundy color in the southern heat, so when it starts to go red, the shading is pretty fabulous.

She Ain't Pretty, But She Smells Good!

If you aren't from the south, you may know Eleagnus as "Russian Olive," which is sold in the back of the magazines as a fast growing screen plant; in the photos, it's always pictured as a beautiful, thick, tall hedge....in the south, you probably know it as "Ugly Agnes." The color is actually quite nice, a neutral silvery olive green. The plant itself, however, looks like Medusa herself just popped up out of a grave on your lawn!

I prune this via guerilla warfare....I believe there is nothing that can hurt this plant. I have tried hacksaw, pruning shears, loppers, and a pruning saw. Everything worked well, except the pruning shears, which broke. Regardless of the tool of choice, she is back in a matter of weeks, waving those wild branches about, taunting the gardener. You can almost hear this plant grow.....BOING! BOING! NEW BRANCHES! I planted a 1 gallon shrub three years ago; it is now safely 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide, and I cut on it regularly.

Just a few weeks ago, I considered tearing it out (although it has roots that go to China), and didn't get around to it. I am DELIGHTED that I didn't.

Atlanta is getting slammed with rain this week (3.5 inches since yesterday), so everything is wet and squishy. Sadie the Dog could only dance around the house for so long, attempting to keep her legs crossed the entire time. Each time I've picked up the leash, she has run to the bedroom to hide (she's not really big on anything outside, and definitely not anything wet).

As we went outside, my umbrella seems to have caught the fragrance from the eleagnus, which is so heavy it even travels through the rain, and is intoxicating! Eleagnus puts tea olive to shame, and is no more subtle about throwing its scent around than it is about sprouting branches. Even in the torrential rain, one is greeted with an exuberant, "Smell me! I'm here! It's autumn!"

How could I even consider removing this plant? It's obvious I just need to buy stronger shears!

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.

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!

A Couple of Great Ideas to Borrow

The March issue of Garden Design magazine arrived in my mailbox today, which means the latter half of the afternoon was a complete "wash." Sadie the Dog agreed that this was the perfect afternoon for a long walk, after which she could sleep on the sofa while I read the new magazine.

There were a couple of new ideas that jumped out at me. First, on page 18, there is a profile of Jasper Van der Zon, the young head designer for the Keukenhof bulb display garden in Holland. He is encouraging a break with traditional bulb planting in favor of a "mixed border" look, which I think is really cool! When I was in the garden early this morning, I was particularly impressed with how beautiful one of the naturalized areas looks, with its mix of hellebores, narcissus, crocus, scilla, and snowdrops. Van der Zon shows a mixture of Fritillaria, Allium, and other summer blooming bulbs, many of which I've added to the garden this year. If my display looks anything like his, I'll be delighted!

In the same magazine, page 56, there is an article about using grasses and sedges in container arrangements. First, it was photographed at Cheekwood, a really beautiful old estate in Nashville (the Maxwell House Coffee family home); if you haven't been there, it's worth the drive. Throughout the article, there are a number of really great arrangements, suitable for a number of different light exposures. I loved the way in which the designers have mixed very contemporary containers and an aging garden, and the way in which the containers replicate plants that are in beds around them. (Notice on page 56, the lambs' ears in the container, as well as in the border.)

If you don't subscribe to Garden Design, you should. But in the meantime, run out and buy the March issue!