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!
Showing posts with label drought-tolerant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drought-tolerant. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A test of thyme
A co-worker up north told me years ago that whenever a patch of grass died in her lawn, she planted creeping thyme in its place. So, having a patchwork quilt-like front lawn, I’ve turned a tiny section into a creeping thyme test site, planting a handful of varieties. Four have survived the summer heat (my front yard gets full sun all day long). Even one, tough spreader that makes it through the winter will be thrilling.
Garden Tour
I saw this technique enforced on James Island near Charleston, where a homeowner planted thyme and creeping phlox in her front yard amidst azaleas, magnolias and a variety of flowering shrubs. No grass. It looked lovely.
I was in and around Charleston visiting private gardens with a tour sponsored by Carolina Gardener magazine. The James Island gardens were casual; what I’d call woodland gardens. The Charleston sites in the historic district were more formal, as expected, and made the best use of small spaces.
One thing that struck me was that each garden made its own shade. Here on the coast, where the summer sun beats the ground, my friends and I complain about not having shade in our gardens. Well, these Charleston gardens—in an even hotter, more humid climate—manufactured shade with trees and shrubs of every height, supplemented by trellises and brick walls covered with vines heavy with roses, clematis and Confederate jasmine.
Of course, my neighbors and I are not about to surround our houses with brick walls here in Wilmington, but we can certainly plant trees and let our shrubs grow taller. Grouped together and positioned against the sun, they’ll create a cooler, shadier environment for plants easily sunburned.
Groundcovers
But back to groundcovers. A neighbor sent me an e-mail saying she’s “contemplating a no-grass front yard…lots of low-growing ground covers and small bushes, since I know dirt won’t ever be in fashion.” My sentiments exactly.
One groundcover that already looks like a winner for me is Angelina sedum, which changes color depending on the temperature: golden yellow in spring; orange in autumn. When I first saw it in a nursery a year ago it even had red tones. I have three under a Fringe tree along with prostrate rosemary and Lithodora.
Among the many groundcovers I’m experimenting with are Weihenstephaner gold sedum (doing very well), creeping Jenny (hanging in there but has lost the chartreuse color that attracted me) and creeping phlox (bloomed profusely in April). Sweet woodruff and Irish moss didn't make it. Too much sun and not enough water.
Ice plant is also doing well in a former sandpit near the sidewalk. It's heat and drought tolerant, but of course, I supplemented with good garden soil and covered with mulch. One Gaillardia (blanket flower) is struggling; the other dried up. And this stuff even grows on the beach (!).
Garden Tour
I saw this technique enforced on James Island near Charleston, where a homeowner planted thyme and creeping phlox in her front yard amidst azaleas, magnolias and a variety of flowering shrubs. No grass. It looked lovely.
I was in and around Charleston visiting private gardens with a tour sponsored by Carolina Gardener magazine. The James Island gardens were casual; what I’d call woodland gardens. The Charleston sites in the historic district were more formal, as expected, and made the best use of small spaces.
One thing that struck me was that each garden made its own shade. Here on the coast, where the summer sun beats the ground, my friends and I complain about not having shade in our gardens. Well, these Charleston gardens—in an even hotter, more humid climate—manufactured shade with trees and shrubs of every height, supplemented by trellises and brick walls covered with vines heavy with roses, clematis and Confederate jasmine.
Of course, my neighbors and I are not about to surround our houses with brick walls here in Wilmington, but we can certainly plant trees and let our shrubs grow taller. Grouped together and positioned against the sun, they’ll create a cooler, shadier environment for plants easily sunburned.
Groundcovers
But back to groundcovers. A neighbor sent me an e-mail saying she’s “contemplating a no-grass front yard…lots of low-growing ground covers and small bushes, since I know dirt won’t ever be in fashion.” My sentiments exactly.
One groundcover that already looks like a winner for me is Angelina sedum, which changes color depending on the temperature: golden yellow in spring; orange in autumn. When I first saw it in a nursery a year ago it even had red tones. I have three under a Fringe tree along with prostrate rosemary and Lithodora.
Among the many groundcovers I’m experimenting with are Weihenstephaner gold sedum (doing very well), creeping Jenny (hanging in there but has lost the chartreuse color that attracted me) and creeping phlox (bloomed profusely in April). Sweet woodruff and Irish moss didn't make it. Too much sun and not enough water.
Ice plant is also doing well in a former sandpit near the sidewalk. It's heat and drought tolerant, but of course, I supplemented with good garden soil and covered with mulch. One Gaillardia (blanket flower) is struggling; the other dried up. And this stuff even grows on the beach (!).
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sharing success; learning from failure
Being brand new to coastal gardening (I moved to Wilmington, NC in September 2006 and immediately began digging out diseased pittosporum), I’m hoping to discover the secrets new friends and neighbors have learned to outsmart inhospitable soil and meager rainfall. Well, rainfall has been generous this summer compared to the drought of 2007. Above normal and it shows in healthy, longer-blooming plants.
Taking action after drought
Late last summer, disgusted with the ground in front of my house loosely labeled “lawn,” I planted ponytail grass (an amazingly soft, palomino-hued ornamental that blows in the wind like a horse’s mane), Mexican bush sage and a Red Bud tree, then spread a thick layer of mulch.
This spring I filled in with a variety of sedum-type groundcovers; herbs like rosemary, African basil and Spanish lavender; and yellow and pink daylilies, coneflowers and black-eyed susans. My goal is a front garden filled with colorful, drought-tolerant plants. The whole xeriscape idea intrigues me.
Above all, I’m looking for inexpensive ways to make my home site attractive and contribute to making my neighborhood a charming place in which to live.
A Growing Season Calendar
Stumped by what to grow and when to plant? David Shumpert, a Wilmington gardener, shared his success growing 20 types of vegetables and five types of flowers with gardening members of the Wilmington Newcomers’ Club (http://www.wilmingtonncnewcomers.com/index.html).
In addition to following a schedule, David rotates his spring and fall gardens each year.
February/March: Plant spring garden
Feb. 1 Sugar snap peas and spinach.
Feb 15 Turnip greens, rutabagas, radishes, broccoli, romaine and beets.
March 1 Radishes, beets and potatoes.
March 15 Radishes and beets.
April/May: Plant summer garden
April 1 Bush beans, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupes and flowers (from seeds or small plants)
April 5-15 Tomatoes.
April 10 Okra, peppers, eggplant and limas.
May 1 Bush beans
June, July and August Eat up!
Sept. 1 Potatoes, rutabagas and mustard greens.
Oct. 1 Spinach, lettuce and radishes (harvest in January and February)
Featured Flower
Mexican Bush Sage
I bought my first Mexican bush sage (salvia leucantha) at the downtown farmers’ market last spring because its soft, fuzzy, purple and white flowers looked pretty and a fellow customer said it was a great plant for coastal Carolina. Research proves he was right: Mexican bush sage is a xeriscape plant that can live with little or no extra watering once it gets established. This perennial wants sunshine. It starts blooming in mid-summer and will keep going into fall achieving a height of 36 to 48 inches. I found three more plants at the Transplanted Garden on 16th St. in Wilmington last October and gave them a prime spot in the front yard (a work in progress). Besides being one of the most ornamental of all salvias, Mexican bush sage is a sturdy grower with good form. The big bonus? It attracts hummingbirds!
Taking action after drought
Late last summer, disgusted with the ground in front of my house loosely labeled “lawn,” I planted ponytail grass (an amazingly soft, palomino-hued ornamental that blows in the wind like a horse’s mane), Mexican bush sage and a Red Bud tree, then spread a thick layer of mulch.
This spring I filled in with a variety of sedum-type groundcovers; herbs like rosemary, African basil and Spanish lavender; and yellow and pink daylilies, coneflowers and black-eyed susans. My goal is a front garden filled with colorful, drought-tolerant plants. The whole xeriscape idea intrigues me.
Above all, I’m looking for inexpensive ways to make my home site attractive and contribute to making my neighborhood a charming place in which to live.
A Growing Season Calendar
Stumped by what to grow and when to plant? David Shumpert, a Wilmington gardener, shared his success growing 20 types of vegetables and five types of flowers with gardening members of the Wilmington Newcomers’ Club (http://www.wilmingtonncnewcomers.com/index.html).
In addition to following a schedule, David rotates his spring and fall gardens each year.
February/March: Plant spring garden
Feb. 1 Sugar snap peas and spinach.
Feb 15 Turnip greens, rutabagas, radishes, broccoli, romaine and beets.
March 1 Radishes, beets and potatoes.
March 15 Radishes and beets.
April/May: Plant summer garden
April 1 Bush beans, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupes and flowers (from seeds or small plants)
April 5-15 Tomatoes.
April 10 Okra, peppers, eggplant and limas.
May 1 Bush beans
June, July and August Eat up!
Sept. 1 Potatoes, rutabagas and mustard greens.
Oct. 1 Spinach, lettuce and radishes (harvest in January and February)
Featured Flower
Mexican Bush Sage
I bought my first Mexican bush sage (salvia leucantha) at the downtown farmers’ market last spring because its soft, fuzzy, purple and white flowers looked pretty and a fellow customer said it was a great plant for coastal Carolina. Research proves he was right: Mexican bush sage is a xeriscape plant that can live with little or no extra watering once it gets established. This perennial wants sunshine. It starts blooming in mid-summer and will keep going into fall achieving a height of 36 to 48 inches. I found three more plants at the Transplanted Garden on 16th St. in Wilmington last October and gave them a prime spot in the front yard (a work in progress). Besides being one of the most ornamental of all salvias, Mexican bush sage is a sturdy grower with good form. The big bonus? It attracts hummingbirds!
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