October Lily's

BY SKEETER

 This morning I went outside to empty the rain gauge after a bit of rain fell on my GEORGIA GARDEN. I spotted a nice surprise in the garden. A Lily in bloom!

 Yep, there it is, a Lily blooming in October when it should be blooming in early Summer.

Mums, I expect to be blooming in October but not OCTOBER LILY'S, In the Garden...

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

Late Fall Winter Garden Pictures and Happy Holidays

It is the pretty much the end of the gardening season in Tennessee-though not the end of the garden. Here in Tiger Gardens I garden all winter long by tending to various chores, making things for the garden, creating new gardens, trimming trees, and so on. Winters are short in Tennessee so on all but the coldest days you'll find me in the garden. Also, during the winter there are several holidays and this year we'll be very busy during the holidays so I plan to take a little break until next year. 

I walked around the garden snapping some pictures to leave you with until the new year and the new garden comes along. We have barely been touched by frost in Tiger Gardens so most of the garden still looks fantastic. The only things that got zapped were cannas, impatiens, and some annual salvias. Everything else is still blooming and holding onto its color. We'll start with 'Miss Gloria's Thanksgiving Day' mum. This is a late blooming Sheffield type mum that is very tall and much loved by flying insects. It is one of the first flowers you'll see walking to my front door.

The vegetable garden will also keep me busy. We have peas flowering, carrots ready for picking all winter, nice and green chard to feed the rabbits, and dreams of next year's vegetable garden to sustain us on our break.

Blackhaw viburnum is a sweet little native shrub/tree. I have trained mine into a small tree and it is showing some gorgeous late season color. This is an excellent viburnum for shady spots and requires no care on my part.

'Sunny' knockout roses are still blooming wonderfully in the Vegetable Garden proper. Also blooming are the red and pink knockouts. I'll cut all of the roses down to knee level in early February.

Wine bottles, 'Adagio' miscanthus, oakleaf hydrangeas, and frost blackened cannas (not yet cut back) show some color in the Greenhouse Garden.

Also in the Greenhouse Garden these dried hydrangeas from my 'Limelight' hydrangeas bloom all winter long. There are literally hundreds of dried blooms and I think I enjoy them as much this way as when they are white and fresh.

The common witch hazel has decided to bloom. This shrub is more than six years old and I was beginning to despair it would ever bloom. I can't say the blooms are much to look at but it is a start. I really grow this shrub for its cool seedpods; which I hope to see from these blooms.

As is indicative of fall the ornamental kale has been planted in flower pots ready to brighten the dreariest of winter days.

And finally I close with the quintessential plant for winter; the camellia. No other plant but the camellia will be in bloom when winter begins and when winter ends (fall and spring blooming shrubs are necessary for this very long bloom season of nearly six months total). I have three fall bloomers and two spring bloomers and I tell you I love them all. This one is a double pink that is quite deep in color. The red foliage behind it is the foliage of oakleaf hydrangeas. 

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season.....

in the garden....

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

The Yellow Button Mum Hedge

Got mums? Boy do I have mums here in Tiger Gardens. The mums are not all that special but they make up for any shortcomings by being bright and prolific. I wonder if those two are connected somehow? Bright and prolific? Hmmmm. Five years ago I got a start of these beautiful yellow button mums (I don't know the botanical name) from a fellow master gardener on a master gardener garden tour and wow have they really taken off. Before I knew it I had planted whole hedges of these mums.

 Looking East along the Northside Shrub Border

The longest stand of them is in the Northside Shrub Border. This border is 100 feet long by 11 feet wide but does spread out on the ends in order to accommodate  the property boundary. When I first began this garden back in 2003 it seemed like the area was so big and would never fill up with flowers. Now it seems I have run out of space and it is all thanks to these mums-they helped fill the area quickly.

Looking West at the Northside Shrub Border

These mums will easily grow to four or five feet tall and will spread very rapidly if left to their own devices. I have mine planted in front of the shrubs in order to provide a step down from the shrubs to the perennials in this garden. When not in bloom these mums provide a great cushion of green foliage that does not mind the heavily shaded and dry conditions in this garden. This mum is a keeper and I am enjoying all of them this fall....

in the garden....

These being passalong mums are some of the best mums in my mind. Anyone who visits Tiger Gardens this time of the year leaves with a good sized clump so that the cheer can be spread around-from one master gardener to another. Thanks Joy!

We will be taking a break here at In the Garden but will surely see you all next year. Happy Holidays to all!


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

Fall is a Wonderful Time In the Garden

Fall is probably my favorite season of the year. All of the plants are full and lush (providing they survived the ravages of summer), the leaves on the trees are beginning to change, usually the rains have returned, the smell of nature is in the air and it is just a great time to be in the garden. Spring just can't compare with fall and all of its fullness and ripeness-and even color. Here are some pictures from my gardens so you'll see why I like fall so much and spend as much time as is possible in the garden. I always like to concentrate on how full the gardens become this time of the year (read no room for weeds!)


The above mums are located in my Rear Sidewalk Garden. All year long these mums sit incognito only to burst through as a pot of gold in the fall.

Asters and mums make a great combination. You just cannot beat these two very fine plants for the fall garden. Both are drought tolerant and reliable bloomers. If you pick your mums right you can have blooms from August through December in Middle Tennessee!!

More mums in the Front Center Garden. These mums simply glow a bright pumpkiny orange when the sun hits them just right.

Here we are standing behind the Redbud Garden (part of the concrete patio area) looking toward the house. The combination of mums and grasses is a good combination even though neither of these plants are located in the same garden. I always consider long distance views and this one just happened to work out for me. We are looking west and when that setting sun hits the grasses it is magical.

'Chocolate' eupatorium is stunning this year. This is more of a wildflower than a cultivated perennial. It will self seed itself around quite a bit. I don't mind because its dark purple foliage in the spring and bright white blooms in the fall brighten shady and sunny gardens alike. This bunch is growing in pretty much full shade in a very dry soil and still it does well. Gotta love tough plants like these!

Here we see three colors of mums (yellow, lavender, and red) with a huge group of yellow button mums (not yet in bloom-bud stage only) in the background. The yellow button mums are late bloomers and I have actually had them bloom in December in my gardens. They are wonderful! The red, purple, and yellow mums in the foreground are smaller florists mums. These florist mums tend to stay more compact but are just as floriferous and stunning as the yellow button mums.

The berries on 'Brilliantissima' chokeberry add to the excitement. This new shrub is located near a large crabapple. The blue jays, mockingbirds, bluebirds, and robins are all busy feeding on the berries and crabapples.

Now to the backyard and the Sunny Perennial Border (bordering the potager). This large aster (most likely 'October Skies') has so many flowers you can't see the foliage. The butterflies are going nuts in this area. The pineapple sage (red spiky blooms), lantana (orange blooms), and zinnias only add to the excitement for butterflies, bees, and birds alike. Fall is Mother Nature's last hurrah before the big winter chill sets in and wow is it ever a show.

The angel trumpets are very late this year. The first blooms showed up on October 14th in my Tennessee garden. Skeeter also mentioned in her Acorn post that her trumpets were late this year. My friend Geri also told me her very large white angel trumpet just began blooming; which is quite late for her. I was thinking I saw a pattern that angel trumpets were very late this year when at the PPSMT meeting this past Tuesday the speaker said her trumpets had been in bloom since July. So much for my pattern. This orange one of mine was planted out as a cutting in the spring and has only just begun blooming on the 14th. The fragrance is great. It is a lucky day for it to bloom too because if it did not I was not planning to take cuttings into the greenhouse. My angel trumpets never winter over for me so in order to have them each year I must take cuttings and winter them over in the greenhouse. I suppose I could dig this plant up but it would take up way too much room and cuttings work out better for me.

Fall is also special because we have a special visitor this year. This guy here is my mother's younger brother and I call him Uncle Rick. He is visiting us from Florida for the entire month of October while his wife visits Okinawa. I lived with my uncle when I was a senior in high school and for a few years afterward. We lived together even when I had my twin daughters with me. My uncle helped me to get on my feet when I was very young and fresh out of high school. Having family that will help you out is a gift indeed.

We lived in Fayetteville North Carolina; which is of course the home of the famed 82nd Airborne Division. My uncle was a paratrooper soldier who served in the artillery section of the Army. At one time (late 80s early 90s) we were both stationed at Fort Bragg. Then the Gulf War kicked off in August of 1990 (actually it was not war at that point and was known as Desert Shield) and my uncle retired and moved to Florida. Having served two tours in Vietnam and ready for retirement my uncle was very ready to retire. Me, I went to Saudi for six months to help with the war effort.



Now, twenty years later, we are presently in the Clarksville Tennessee area; which is the home of the famed Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division. My uncle served with the 101st during his first tour in Vietnam. As such I thought it only appropriate we go and visit the division headquarters. And who should we see at the Division Headquarters but a Screaming Eagle paratrooper himself-parachuting right into the headquarters building.



One last reason I like the fall so much is because the camellias begin blooming. I have two shrubs in full bloom with these splendid pink blooms and they are really putting on a show. It is such a shame they do not have a scent though. 


I hope fall is spectacular in your neck of the woods....


in the garden....

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

Bloom Day-November 2009

From In the Garden

November in Tennessee has been a bit above normal this year. Normal would mean we'd have had a very hard freeze by mid November and most flowers would be gone. Not so this year. While we have had freezes my garden is fairly protected by an overhead canopy, additionally the freezes did not last more than a few hours so the plants were able to come thru unscathed. The above cosmos is growing in a plant pot on the south side of the house. It is most happy but most of the cosmos have gone by.

From In the Garden

Pineapple sage I wintered over as cuttings last year is in its full glory. It grows on the north side of the house in the Northside Shrub border. The red is most welcomed here. These will not winter over for me but I've got new cuttings growing in the garage under lights.

From In the Garden

The angel trumpets still shine. This particular one is huge! Probably about 8 feet tall which amazes me. I think it is so big because it has been in the ground for two years. I do not do anything special for it as in adding fertilizer, but I do add compost. I have purchased bales of hay in preparedness for winterizing these angel trumpets. They need to be cut down once the freeze gets them. I then place either a bag of compost or a hay bale on top of the root ball until spring. It worked well with this orange angel trumpet last year and I hope it will work with it again this year. I have added three additional ones I need to cover this year as well. Two have not bloomed but I am hopeful that if they winter over they'll reward me next year. This orange one is also still putting out a lovely fragrance at night. Both this one and the pink one are still growing new blooms. Unusual but most welcomed. The bananas are still standing tall behind the angel trumpet. They are a bit shredded but still a welcomed bunch of green. I'm not looking forward to cutting them down.

P.S. Jane, I'll save you a cutting for next year if you'd like one. Just email me in the spring sometime so I can hand it off to you.

From In the Garden

Azaleas still bloom. This particular one is an Encore 'Autumn Chiffon' and is most happy. We shall see how it does this winter.

From In the Garden

The butterfly weed is still going strong and bringing in the butterflies though I haven't seen any monarchs within the past few days.

From In the Garden

As pitiful as it may be, the heliotrope has finally bloomed. I've been growing it in my garden for two years now. I wintered it over by taking cuttings but will not do so again this year. It is just not worth the trouble for the very little it adds to my garden. A pretty bloom though.

From In the Garden

The Sunny Perennial Border is still quite a focal point. Here I show you the begonias which are going strong. Cannas are also still blooming here but are not pictured in this angle.

From In the Garden

A hedge of yellow mums blooms. This 'hedge' started life as cuttings last summer. Running out of space for them I wound up sticking the cuttings in this new bed. Little did I know the cuttings would grow into a hedge. I kind of went overboard with taking cuttings. At the time it seemed like a good idea but now I have so many yellow mums I think it may be overload. I'll be thinning the yellow mums soon as they are taking over my gardens.

From In the Garden

The front foundation garden. This garden still makes me smile when I come home. Walking to the front door means walking through a cloud of butterflies. They love the lantana, salvia and zinnias that grow here. The cool shaped tree that has an awesome shadow on the house is 'Lavender Twist' redbud. It used to grow in the backyard but like most gardeners, I decided it needed to move. So one dark night I recruited Mr. Fix-it to help me dig it up and transplant here between the two windows. Even though this tree had been growing in its prior spot a mere two years, the roots extended six feet out from the plant. I fear I may have killed it by digging it up and severing those roots. For that I'll be most regretful because it is such an awesome little tree. Hopefully spring will prove me wrong. Cross your fingers that it comes back to life somehow, someway.

From In the Gard

A teenaged bloom in the form of the Jimster. He is busy here concentrating on his design for his pumpkin during our annual tradition. You can see the concentration on his face and I love this picture of him.

Finally, some other blooms not pictured: alyssum, camellias, dahlias, zinnias, foxgloves, 'Diamond Frost', calibrachoa, montauk daisy, pinks, some phlox, pansies, and impatiens.

in the garden....

Timing is Everything When Moving or Dividing Perennials-or is it?

Remember those huge mums? Well they didn't last long enough to bloom out. I cut them down in their prime. It really hurt to do it but hey, timing is everything right? And I needed to move them. Now the question begging to be asked is, "Could I have waited until the mums bloomed out?"

Yes, I certainly could have waited a bit to cut the mums. I could have waited a whole season, but since winter was coming and I wanted to get these mums established in other spots, I could not have waited any longer, therefore the blooms had to go.

What do you think? When is the best time to move perennials? And then, when do you really move your perennials (be honest)? Have you cut down lovely flowers in their prime just because you wanted to move the plant on your schedule?

Which reminds me, almost time to divide and move the daffodils, I'll try my HARDEST to wait until they bloom out:)

in the garden....

Note: I have been trying to comment on blogs that have the new style pop up comment box with a pop up letter verification pop up box. This box will NOT load letters for me. Therefore I cannot comment on your blog. I have left email messages at Blotanical but am also posting the reason here. So sorry for not commenting on your blog, but this is why.

TN Bloom Day November 2008

The month of November is a big transition month for the ornamental garden, at least here in my garden in Tennessee. While there are still many flowers blooming, they are somewhat timeworn and weary. So without further ado, let's look at what is blooming in the garden....
'Diane' Witch Hazel. A new purchase. Now if I can only find a spot.....found a great spot in the woodland garden.
Japanese anemones. A passalong, cultivar unknown. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this plant.
Purple toadflax. A really neat plant so far. It was newly planted in July and has been blooming since then. It is beginning to come into its own now. I purchased it at a plant sale in Maine. It was simply labeled 'Toadflax'. I thought 'Butter and Eggs' at first, but once it bloomed I knew it was not the common toadflax. I sure wish I knew something about toadflax, as information on the web is a bit spotty. Is anyone familiar with it?
Some petunias survived the frost. I am not a big fan of petunias and do not plan to grow them next year.
'Mystic Spires' salvia still going strong, despite the frost.
'Sunny Blue' veronica. If I ever get around to doing a 'Plant of the Season' post, this one would win hands down, no question about it. It has bloomed since June! And still looks great! An all around superstar.

'The Fairy' rose. It really likes the cool season.

Raspberry Surprise ('Devon Yolande') Dianthus. Also blooming are red dianthus.
Sweet alyssum. A great self seeder in my garden.
Camelia. Pretty sure this is Jean May. At least that is what the tag said when I planted it seven years ago. Camelias are my favorite shrub, hydrangeas follow as a close second.
Pansies.
Red bedding begonias. Sometimes these return in the spring. A special treat. These survived the frost.
A couple of colchium. I am a terrible gardener in that I plant plants over plants and smother plants and so on. This is what is happening with these bulbs. These two actually were able to push through the Homestead Verbena and still bloom. They are late this year.
Still confused azaleas.
'Adagio' ornamental grass. This is the best grass! A bloomer in the shade or sun. It is very reliable and carefree. It is easily divided and does not self seed itself around. It looks similar to 'Morning Light' and is a smallish grass topping out at 4-5 feet with bloom. A superstar for year round interest in any garden.
'Goldsturm' brown eyes. The plant it is nestled next to is euphorbia 'Silver Swan'. A real stunner.

'Jean May' Camelia sasanqua. A full size shot of the shrub. This is one of two pink camelias currently blooming here. The other is much smaller, and not quite as floriferous.
A long shot of the Jean May. In the foreground (from front to back) of this picture is an oakleaf hydrangea (red foliage), a Maresii variegated hydrangea, Compacta holly, the Jean May, then the yellow foliaged tree is 'Sango Kaku', aka Coral Bark Japanese maple. Peeking over the fence to the right of the camelia and Coral Bark is a PG hydrangea. All are growing on the north side of the house and all are very happy here. This is part of my foundation gardens. A big deal here in my gardens and more posts will be forthcoming. I just wanted you to see the size of the camelia in situ.

And finally, yellow button mums-still blooming. Cultivar unknown. The lady who gave me this mum said it is an old fashioned mum and she does not know the name of it. I did research this mum and came up empty handed. I think it will forever be named yellow button mum as Frances calls it. Does anyone know anything about this huge old fashioned mum?

Also blooming but not pictured are: larkspur, Summer Snowflake viburnum, shasta daisies 'Darling', corydalis lutea, and gallardia. It was too late, and I was too tired from working in the garden all day to take more pictures.

Have a great bloom day!

in the garden....