Hello, Pansies

Out went the bedraggled petunias and in came purple and white pansies to the porch windowboxes. They look like Christmas ornaments. Keeping in the holiday theme, the Bradford Pear is a spectacular combination of deep red and green. I love this tree!

Everything's getting a good autumn (yes, it's still autumn) drink with all the rain that's fallen and will continue to fall. The retention ponds (and overflow ponds) are filled. I like this so much better than the bare, dry holes that have dotted the area the last two years.

Camellias are full of buds. Some earlier varieties have been blooming since October (but not in my yard). I don't know what my camellias are called. They were here when we moved in. All I know is they are beautiful!

Hate to spray...but...

The dollar weed is unrelenting. And the three inches of rain last night are an unexpected December boost. I dug out the Roundup and made the rounds, zapping those nasty round dollars and the centipede weed--or grass--or whatever it is.

Back yard is solid Bradford Pear leaves and pine needles. Good mulch!

Ah, here it is, December 3, and a great day to walk on the beach!

Goodbye Petunias!

The pink and purple petunias that flowed from windowboxes on my front porch have called it quits. Lasting till Dec. 1--not bad at all. But it's time to clean out the boxes and plant some pansies--or tiny evergreens if I can find them. Or both!

Purple sage is still blooming in the front yard. Three plants with tall spikes. The ice plant still offers a few spikey flowers and one valiant Gaillardia opened up the other day. Oh, almost forgot: one super-strength coneflower is sporting a half-dozen beautiful blooms. The other plants--same variety, same location--long since gave up flowering. But those six orange flowers sure look pretty.

Grass is still green, thank goodness. I do detest that brown stuff.

The Bradford Pear is turning red. The yellow and orange leaves seem to fall quickly, but the red hangs on a while.

The backyard's looking kinda raggy. Really should get out there and rake. Get those pine needles down for mulch. So much to do!

Up north, this would all be covered with snow. So how lucky am I?!

First time bluebird sighting

Spent several hours this morning cleaning up my backyard garden. Glorious golden autumn sunshine kept me warm and cheerful.

I was sitting in the sunroom admiring my space and saw a bird with a blue back fly to the fence. It had a rosy breast and I hoped it was a bluebird. Since I've never, ever seen one in my entire life, I was thrilled.

A few seconds later, a smaller bird joined him on the fence and I hoped it was a female. They sat there companionably for several minutes and I finally thought to get out the binoculars. When the female turned around I saw a small spot of bright blue at the base of her tail.

The male flew off and I got a good look at his blue back. And where did he fly? To the ancient bluebird house that was here when we bought our house and has been nothing but ornamental for three years. He hung onto the hole for a few seconds then disappeared.

Did he go inside to inspect the interior as a possible domicile? Is this bluebird mating season? I am totally bluebird ignorant.

The female flew off into our big pine tree. I lost her in the needles and branches and didn't see the male again.

What a lovely way to top off a pleasant morning in the garden.

Transplanting Daylilies

Yesterday I transplanted nine daylilies from the two-tiered circle in the front yard to the garden under the redbud tree. I love the colors: deep pumpkin, yellows, maroons. I'm not an orange flower person, but the pumpkin shades are so rich I enjoy them.

Then the rains came last night and soaked those plants good! Just what they need.

The weeds have calmed down with cooler temps, but the dollar weed--or is it penny weed?--is still invading the mondo grass. Will get down and pull that out next week.

Ginger lilies are still blooming. Pentas (red) is almost as pretty as it was during summer. I love that plant and will fill the backyard with more next year. It never wilted once in the summer heat.

And my lovely Chaste tree still has one or two blooms!

Georgia

River Birch graces back yard

In August, I saw three river birch in my cousin's back yard and was intrigued by their shaggy bark. I know it won't give a tremendous amount of shade, which I desperately need on the west side of my house, but the tree is too lovely to ban from my backyard. So I added one lovely river birch, easily viewed from the sunroom, near the Seiryu Japanese maple. So pretty.

Chaste trees blooming again!

I read in Southern Living recently that if I clip the spent flowers off a Chaste tree it might encourage a second blooming. So, out I went and clip, clip the old faded blue spires were gone, into the compost pile.

Well, here we are, only a couple weeks later, and my dear Chaste trees are once again boasting beautiful blooms, nearly as many as the first showing. A treat to have such color at the end of July, when we're still in the heat of summer.

If you don't have a Chaste tree, get one! It'll make you happy.
Georgia

Indominitable Dusty Miller

Who knew Dusty Miller could be such a knock-out plant? It over-winters here in Wilmington, at least in my garden. And it flowers! Tight, round yellow flower heads that last a long time--months!

I planted three Dusty Millers behind some red carnations and WOW! What a combination! Red and silver. Very nice. I planted some around a clematis because I know the latter likes cool roots and WOW! DM took over. The clematis managed to climb out and blossom, but it's overwhelmed and I'll need to dig up and transplant the DM to another location, leaving maybe two to block the hot, hot, hot afternoon sun.

Up north, Dusty Miller was so-so in my garden, nothing spectaculer, and I bought some plants here in Wilmington on a whim, because I like the soft, gray, lacy foliage.

Hey! I think it's a staple, providing nice contrast to more vibrant colors. And it's certainly hardy, drought tolerant and willing to dress a garden.

Get some!

Rain! Rain! Rain!

Six and a half inches of blessed wetness fell last night and it's cloudy again today. I hope it stays cloudy and even if more rain doesn't fall our trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals will have a chance to recover from the parching heat and blasting wind that has punished my gardens for several weeks.

Everything is standing up straight and tall, their roots stimulated by the cool, soaking rain.

It was a beautiful thundery night. Flashes of bright light charged the sky. A show of strength and promise from the Gardening Angel.

Thank you!
Georgia

Lady Banks goes wild

I fed Lady Banks a super-duper rose fertilizer in March and June and she's growing in all directions. Have had to cut side shoots off to keep her growing tall and over the arbor, but I can hardly keep up with her. If only Lady Banks bloomed all season, she'd be the perfect rose. So far she's evergreen and thornless (how remarkable is that!) and her yellow blooms are springtime lovely. Now, will somebody please breed a repeat bloomer? Is this possible?
Georgia

Lovely Little Lamb Hydrangea

Spent four hours in the backyard edging flower beds. Hard work, but of course they look terrific!

The Little Lamb hydrangea has a bouncing white spire at the tip of nearly every branch. Last summer the plant was younger and smaller and had six huge cones weighing down the branches. This year the blooms are more in tune with the catalog description: diminutive, i.e., bouncing little lambs. Gorgeous!

You can see a photo here http://www.colorchoiceplants.com/little_lamb.htm, although I'd hardly call my plant a dwarf. It's easily 5.5 ft tall.

Loves the location: morning sun. Looks beautiful with red and white swamp hybiscus and American beautyberry. Some Joe Pye, cardinal flower and Mexican petunia in the background.

Georgia

Spotlight on the Chaste tree

Each time I drive around the corner to my house, the Chaste tree in my front yard knocks me out. Long, blue flowers covering the tree have been blooming since early June and when the sun shines on them they light up the yard.

I have two specimens. One was labeled a Chaste tree, the other a Texas lilac, when I bought them at different nurseries. I've since learned they're the same plant. One was shaped as a tree, the other is smaller and shrub-like. I guess I can prune them both into trees.

I'm wondering if the dried blooms are desirable to birds. If I clip them off, I might get another bloom later in the summer.

Besides being beautiful, the Chaste tree is drought-tolerant. Yeah!

An English Cottage Garden

My friend Arlene paid me the nicest compliment yesterday. "You've made an English cottage garden," she said, walking down the stone path through my front yard past yellow daylilies, purple sage, Spanish lavender, and exquisite Praire Sun black-eyed susans. Her pleasure made memories of the back-breaking work of the past two springs fade.

I'm having luck with tomatoes this year, finally. Bigger Boy, Better Boy and Sweet 100 are tall, lush and sporting both flowers and little fruits. MMmmmmmmmmmmm. Can't wait for that home grown flavor. We'll see if the compost I've been nursing along for three seasons will do the job.

Georgia

Welcome to the chat

Hi, there,

Thanks for taking the time to share your wisdom about gardening along the Carolina coast. I'm especially interested in advice on growing tomatoes and other vegetables. My veggie garden is pitiful at this point. I know we have at least one master coastal gardener in the group who can guide us along. Others have been living and gardening in the south a long time and have the advantage of experience. Thanks for sharing!
Georgia

Raleigh Garden Tour

My quest to eliminate turf in my front yard took a major leap this spring with two large areas moving over to Angelina sedum, purple heart, ponytail grass, sweet broom, orange coneflowers, a Chaste tree, oleander and Texas lilac. And of course mulch.

But the big news is the enjoyable and enlightening tour of Raleigh-area gardens a friend and I took last weekend with Carolina Gardener magazine, which has sponsored 13 of these sojourns to southern cities. Next year's tour might--might--be in Charlottesville, Va.

The trip's highlight for me was Tony Avent's Juniper Level Botanic Gardens, acres and acres of trees, shrubs and perennials, all grown without chemical additives or fertilizers. Tony is adamant about that, claiming nothing should be put into a garden that isn't organic.

Tony travels all over the world seeking new plants and conducts research at the Raleigh site. His mission statement talks about plant conservation, evaluation, identification, exploration, propagation and education. That covers everything.

He and wife Michelle support their research with a mail order business called Plant Delights Nursery. The garden/research center is open to the public eight times per year: two weekends each in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

We also saw private gardens, the garden formerly known as the Hobbit Garden, and the JC Raulston Arboretum. One private garden was exceptionally thrilling and featured a 20-foot tall sectioned mirror in one corner that reflected the entire garden. My first question was: Does the wind blow in Raleigh?

Last spring's Charleston tour was memorable for its small city gardens. The Raleigh area offered gardens on a grander scale. I came home with workable ideas from both (and a van full of plants).

New Year, New Garden

Now that I've cleared away the Christmas clutter, the unfinished front yard beckons. Bright green weeds and dead gray grass scream for attention.

Since I bought a pick ax last fall, received a garden scooter from my kids for Christmas, and enlisted my husband's help for the heavy hacking, and since winter insists on being mercifully mild, there's no excuse not to finish the job.

After I tame the terrain, I promise to spread one shade and one type of mulch over all the front yard gardens, which now, sadly, reflect every type and shade of mulch on sale at Lowe's and Home Depot over the last year.

Seeing two bright pink flowers on a patch of creeping phlox cuddled next to the flagstone is stimulating and not something I'd see in Massachusetts this time of year. Ah, the joys of coastal Carolina.