Wonders of the outdoors

BY SKEETER

 Burr, Winter has finally arrived. We have had some below freezing temps and most everything has fallen asleep in my GEORGIA GARDENS. However, I spotted buds on the Daffodils today!

The Saint and I hiked the woods of one of the many wonderful parks in our area. While hiking, I spotted this bush blooming. No idea what type bush but it sure did put a smile on my face!

 I also spotted these sweet little blooms. I believe this to be wild Vinca. I have seen this before at another park near the lake.

There were old fashioned Water Pumps in the campground area of the park. We had one in our Gartenplatz while living in Germany. So seeing this one really brought back some fun memories. I would enjoy having one in my gardens again but maybe just for the look as pumping those things can be a pain in the arm. 

 It was cold and windy today and I really did not want to get out from under my warm blanket and comfy recliner. After the nice hike and seeing the beautiful blooms, I was so glad the Saint talked me into going out to the lake. The hike rejuvenated me.

If you are feeling cold and tired of Winter, hike some woods or take a brisk walk up the street and you will be surprised of the WONDERS OF THE OUTDOORS, In The Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Rose of Sharon

BY SKEETER

A year ago, I added Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) to my Georgia Gardens.

I found these bargain plants in colors of Pink, White and Lavender.

I could not make up my mind which color to purchase.

At the bargain price of $9.99 for 3 gallon pots, well, I picked up one of each color.

These beautiful plants have survived their first year in my gardens and I think they will do well for me. They are giving me a show of blooms and I am really enjoying them.

I spotted a deer nibbling on one of them but she took one nibble and then moved on. I will be keeping smelly scent on these beauties for now to keep them at bay. I am happy with my 3 shades of  ROSE OF SHARON, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Silverberry Berries

BY SKEETERLook at what I spotted on the Silverberry Bushes here in my Georgia Gardens. Finally, Berry's just as Tina said they would give me! The bushes were filled with them but by the time I got around to snapping some pictures of them, most of the Berries were missing. I can only assume the birds had a wonderful treat. I was able to find a lone ripe berry laying on the ground. Look at how large they are compared to my hand.

This one measured in at 3/4 of an inch!
I just love the little spots on them. Spots are a trait of the Silverberry as their leaves, blooms and now berry's show me spots. Click HERE to read about my discovery of their blooms. I read theBerries are edible so I gave one a try. I spit the thing out the second my taste buds reacted to the tart thing. The birds can have them as I will refrain from ever putting another one in my mouth. Yuck, they are not for me.
I just love these bushes and they are doing just what I had planned for them to do.

Hide the Ugly from next door. I wish I had planted more of them back in 2008 for additional screening from neighbors. It looks as though nature is taking care of at least one more new bush! While picking up downed limbs from all the crazy high winds of late, I spotted this sapling which I believe is indeed a Silverberry Bush! I am happy with this discovery and hope to find more in time. But for now, I love my Bushes, Blooms and now SILVERBERRY BERRIES, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Silver Bells

By SKEETER
Tuesday, I was walking up the driveway into my Georgia Woods to remove the Halloween Decorations. Suddenly a strong sweet scent caught my nose. Ah, what a sweet smell. I was thinking that maybe a fabric softener scent from laundry was in the air. I kept walking past the Silverberrys we planted back in 2008. Hum, they are growing like weeds and doing well.

Tina posted about these bushes some time ago and after her report on them, I just knew they would do well in this area of our land. Click HERE to read Tina's post...
The Saint and I started on a walk and again, I had that scent take over my nose. That is when he spotted blooms on the Silverberrys! I had forgotten that Tina said they would have tiny blooms full of sweetness.
They are the cutest little blooms and pack a big punch on the Smell-O-Meter. The blooms have tiny spots as do the underside of the leaves. Kind of difficult to tell the leaf from the bloom to the left.
The top of the leaves are a glossy bright green with some silver touches.
I love these bushes as they are doing exactly what Tina said they would do for me. Thrive! They enjoy the shade most of the day with some afternoon setting sun in the summer. They do not seem to be bothered by our hot drought summers here in Georgia. I have never fertilized them or anything more then sprinkle some water on them a time or two. They are tough bushes to say the least. I have yet to spot any berrys on them but I just may not be looking at the right time for them. I have no idea if this is the first year for the blooms or not. They are located in an area we do not frequent. They have only been in place for 3 years but are already hiding the ugly yard next door. These are my working bushes as they do a job for me (hide the ugly) and I some times forget about them. I will not forget them now with that sweet smell in the air! With Christmas just around the corner, the tiny blooms remind me of the song SILVERBELLS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

McCorkle Goodies

By Skeeter
This past Tuesday, I showed you a post on McCorkles Nursery. Today I will show you some of the things we picked up for our Georgia Garden... Sorry but I failed to snap a close up picture of the Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja) before we put them into the ground. Here you can see three of the 5 we purchased. 15 gallon pots for $15.00 each! See how tall they are as the Saint is standing nearby them. I am planning a natural fence between us and the neighbors for privacy. Right now with summer and the trees in full foliage, you cannot see much over there but during winter, I see an eyesore of a yard next door. I want to see evergreen beauty and I think these Green Giants will do the trick. We planted them fairly close for quick gratification.

The Saint has never liked Magnolia trees. He does not like the thick leaves that will not be mulched with even a mower blade. Being a Southern gal, I have always wanted my very own Magnolia tree. Imagine my surprise when the Saint said okay to this 15 gallon $15.00 Little Gem Magnolia! My parents have one in their yard and it blooms all summer long. The little Gem is not as large as the Southern Magnolia but I will enjoy it all the same. Thank You Saint for this wonderful gift! Don't worry, it will not be planted where you see it located in this picture. We had to put it in a safe place during high winds of a passing storm. Oh, we are getting a bit of rain so thanks to any of you that said prayers for us to enjoy a drink from Mother Nature.

Another in the tree category, which could also be a bush if you desire, is the Rose of Sharon. We had these at the old house when a child. My parents had one of my brother's dig a few of them to take to their current home and they are thriving. I had two of these at our Gartenplatz when we lived in Germany. Imagine my shock to find them missing one day. Our partner, which knew nothing about gardening thought he was doing me a favor by taking out the dead trees. It was winter and the trees were only dormant. He had taken them to the compost dump and I never saw them again. Grrrrrrrrr. I love hibiscus and never made the connection until now that Rose of Sharon is in the Hibiscus family. Silly me, the blooms pretty much tell all, Duh. Such bargains that I got one in Pink, White and Blue!
I was happy to find Red Rooster Crepe Myrtle. I have wanted a red myrtle for some time but they are way too pricey for me. I was shocked to find them at $10.00 for a 3 gallon pot! The Saint and I were so happy that we picked up 5 of these. I plan to take one to my mom in Tennessee as she has wanted one of these since seeing them here in Georgia. Unfortunately, I think they are mislabeled. They are blooming in bright Bright Pink which is beautiful as I have one but I really wanted Red. Sigh...

Moving on to bushes, I have my very first Oak Leaf Hydrangea! Ellen Huff in a 3 gallon pot for a mere$6.00. I have seen these for $23.00 and passed on that price.
I also picked up an Endless Summer Twist and Shout Hydrangea! I hope with our acid soil that I will have blue blooms some day. It has a bud now so who knows, I may get a blue bloom this season. I don't know much about Hydrangea's so I hope I do right by these two additions to my garden.
The Saint found this little gem. A Dwarf Variegated Gardenia. So cute and unique that we picked up two of them. I plan to put them with the Endless summer.
As soon as I spotted this beauty, I grabbed it up quickly. My parents have this bush/tree in their yard and I love the thing. My parents call it the Blue Bush better known as the Chaste/Vitex though. A hole was dug and the pot is sitting inside for safety during the storm. Saints idea and it worked as nothing fell over!
I was on the look for a Yellow Butterfly Bush since seeing one in the Saints Parent's Garden. I found one and only one at the sale! Happy Day for me...
Many Blogs have recommend "Knock Out" for those of us scared to attempt to grow rose's. I decided it was time to give her a go. Pink was my color of choice for this 3 gallon pot of beauty.
Strange looking Elephant Ear (unmarked) but I had to have one.
Also unmarked is this Black Elephant Ear. I had a Black ear in the past but she never returned after winter. I don't know if not hardy or if a Vole had a good meal that winter. This one, I plan to plant by the AC so it should have plenty of water. The Variegated Monkey Grass will accompany the ear.
Canna made me think of you Lola! I am adding these in your honor sweetie!

And these as well. I have started dividing my cannas and have made a new area behind the swing so these will go with those canna.

Hypericum Calycinum better known as Saint Johns wort, is new to me. I have seen it on the blogs and just had to give it a try as we have a new area for this ground cover to take off and run. Research tells me that I can clip it with the mower if need be just like Liriope (Monkey Grass). I am hoping it remains in tact with our mild winters.

The Saint has a thing for Ivy. He loves it. Well, English Ivy but not poison ivy. He is dealing with that on his eye at the moment. Doctor has him back on track though. I am not sure where he plans to put this ivy. We planted 15 sprigs two years ago and the Deer ate well.

I could not resist this huge Begonia. I have never seen one so large before. I was chatting with two other ladies about this beauty. One said she gets them at this sale every year!

I picked up other fun things as well. Loropetalum (Fringe Plant) Howard Ligustrum, Leyland Cypress, Zinnia, Beard tongue, Honeysuckle, Clematis, etc.
I also found these lovely bargain priced Penta's at Wal-Mart. I must stop walking through the garden Center when running in for a few things. i love Penta's as they call in the butterflies, bees and hummers.
We have been dealing with 100-Plus degree temps and the humidity makes it worse! With the humidity, we are getting a pop-up storm or two so some rain is falling on the gardens. HA, just enough to keep the weeds happy! Grrrrrr. I am getting things into the ground a little at a time. It is hard work in this heat and it drains me. Today I had a good day with digging out two new areas! I hope to carry on until I am finished. I can't wait to see what thrives in my Georgia Gardens. Only time will tell as a lot of these plants are new to me. I have read about many of them on the blogs and thank you all for sharing your gardens with me as you are encouraging me to add these things to my life. My garden is ever growing and I cannot wait to get all these MCCORKLE GOODIES, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Can you name this plant?

Note: This post has been ready for some time but kept getting pushed back for another posting. So as you can see the trees are bare as this was written during winter. Oh well, better late then never. Tomorrow will be more fun with a guessing game and a prize for the winner! Oh goodie, I love games and prizes!

During the winter months when all the trees in our Georgia woods are bare, we still have green within the woods. In this picture above, you will see the clump of green bushes. I call them a clump of bushes because I have no idea what type bushes we have! Even our Master Gardener, Tina was a bit baffled over these bushes. She saw them while on a visit to our "Oasis in the Woods". Her guess was Privet but she was not totally sure.

They seem healthy and grow well with little sun as they are located in the middle of our thick woods. They are lush green, don't produce any berries or blooms and they seem to be growing wild.

CAN YOU NAME THIS PLANT? In the Garden...