Swamp Jessimine mingles with Honey Suckle

BY SKEETERThe Calendar now officially says Spring. But the HEAT in my Georgia Garden says SUMMER out there! I am trying to get the fast growing weeds in control but the heat is getting to me. Headaches, heat rashes, sunburn, etc. And it is just Spring? Geesh...As you can see, by the weeds, I have yet to get to the Semi-Formal Flower Garden. I am slowly working my way around the yard with this being the last Garden to tackle. 6 Bricks are laying by the entryway making it a bit longer and inviting. I shall get those bricks embedded into the ground and add more pea gravel. But this will have to wait until the weeds are pulled.
The Swamp Jessamine is doing great on the Arbor! The bright yellow flowers seem to glow in the sunshine. Heck, they glow without the sunshine.
The lone Honey Suckle plant that I added last fall survived our mild winter. The Red and Yellow look great together and I hope the Honey Suckle will work its way across to the other side.
Here is that other side. A bit difficult to see but the Dogwood is in full bloom in the background.
Ah, now we can see the Dogwood in the background better. Also a boat that continues to wait for the lake to rise. Our past two years drought has the lake so low. We are having some nice spring rains and hopefully, they will continue. Not only to raise the lake but to make SWAMP JESSAMINE MINGLE WITH HONEY SUCKLE, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

'Empress of China' Evergreen Dogwood

In the fall of 2010 I took a little trip to Louisville to visit my daughter. Both of my girls are great gardeners and have a love for plants just as I do. That being said I guess you know what Liz and I did during my visit. We visited a few of her favorite nurseries. Louisville is about three hours from my home in northern Tennessee but I happen to think Louisville is one of the best cities to visit nurseries so I will often do so when I visit my daughter. The next best city to visit nurseries within a short driving distance of my home would be Evansville Indiana. You will almost never find me in a nursery in Clarksville or Nashville. I just can't find good deals on the plants I desire for my garden but nursery shopping might be best left for another post. Today's post is all about a small dogwood tree that my daughter and I both purchased during a very windy and dry fall day in 2010 during this particular trip. 


The nursery we visited is a unique nursery called Beryl Williams Landscaping and Nursery. It is unique in that its owner is a longtime plant lover and is always on site. I love nurseries when you can actually talk to the owner as he or she is usually the most knowledgeable person you'll find on site. I once called a nursery in Evansville to see if it was open and when a man answered the phone I quickly said with relief, "Oh, you're still there!" To which the reply was "Yes, it's amazing to me too!". The owner of that nursery was a very old man who was thankful for each day he was alive let alone working at the nursery-as I found out when I later visited the nursery. Back to Beryl Williams, not only is the owner on site but the son of the owner has his own little nursery on site as well. The son's name is Brian and he specializes in tropicals. The greenhouses were a lovely sight on this fall day with lots of tropical and exotic-to me anyhow-plants growing in them. Not only do tropicals grow in greenhouses at the nursery but they also grow outside! It was very strange seeing 20 foot tall palm trees in Louisville. The reason it was strange is that Louisville is a solid Zone 6 growing zone with temperatures ranging from -10F to 105F so growing tropicals outside is really pushing it. There were lots of wrapped palm trees, agaves in rocky hills, tetrapanax and many more cool plants-all doing well. But the one plant my daughter and I were interested in was an evergreen dogwood. The owner (Mr. Williams)  was not sure about its hardiness and had only two pots of the plant for sale. He was trying it out as he put it.  There's nothing like a good challenge to intrigue me and an evergreen dogwood sounded too cool to pass up.


Upon doing some research on my evergreen dogwood I found that my book Dogwoods by Paul Cappiello and Don Shadow states that Cornus angustata 'Elsbry' (Empress of China ™)-the type of evergeen dogwood my daughter and I purchased is semi-evergreen in USDA hardiness zones 7-9. The book also says the tree has withstood temperatures of 0F without stem or bud damage. Too cool I thought-an evergreen dogwood. I've not had luck with Cornus floridus so I tend to migrate towards any dogwood that is not of that genus and one that is evergreen is quite a bonus. My daughter and I both purchased a plant and I'm happy to report that eighteen months later my plant is doing quite well and has grown at least 18" in the time it has been in the ground here at Tiger Gardens.  That is an impressive growth spurt but the tree is still only about three feet tall-so small yet.


I had to bump out my long Northside Shrub Border in order to accommodate the new tree but it was a really good move because the tree is quite happy in its growing conditions. The growing conditions I planted it in sees it getting some afternoon sun, probably about 3-4 hours, it is in good organic soil that can dry out due to tree roots but the area can also be moist at times, and I have a good organic mulch in place in the garden. The tree did not bloom last year but the leaves have stayed on it both last year and this and it is growing so fast that I am hopeful I'll get some blooms this year. It is reputed that when Empress of China blooms it is quite a sight. I've not seen one in bloom but am most excited for it....


in the garden.....

Check this post out for a lovely picture of Empress of China in bloom on Janet's blog. 
 

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

Updates

By Skeeter

I enjoy all the comments from you with each topic I talk about from my Georgia Garden. At times you ask for me to keep you posted on progress with certain topics. I am also curious of how things work out on certain topics in your posts as well. Although I have not been a good reader of Blogs lately because with so much going on in my life these days, I just don't have the time. I promise I will get caught up on blogging some day soon. The heat of summer is setting in and after this current trip to VA, I don't plan on going anywhere for at least a month. Maybe I can get caught up then! So now I would like to update you on some of my past blogs.

Of course the most recent talked about topic was the bluebirds making nests in the gourd we grew! (Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.) That was an awesome experience for me and how surprised I was to peek into the hole before taking the gourd down for cleaning to find the babies still inside the gourd! The Saint and I had thought they had fledged a few days ago as he said he saw a chickadee on the gourd. Well, not so as the babies are still inside on this day of typing which is Wednesday July 1. By the time this goes to posting, I am sure they will be out of the gourd and starting the next chapter in their life.

Last year, I talked about a Rescue we tried on a dogwood tree. The deer decided to make a meal of the tree and we could not let the tree die such a death. So we built a fence around the remaining dogwood. Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.
Update: The little dogwood tree did not make a come back in this spot. Too much sandy soil and not enough rain from the skies above. The fence kept the deer from eating it but the tree was not happy in this spot. So the Saint took it out and put it into a pot for us to baby it for a while. Just look at that sad little tree. Here is the dogwood tree now! Making a slow comeback on the west side of the house under our watchful eye and lots of watering. We will find a spot for it this fall and hopefully the rains will start to fall again by then.
The Saint had something in mind for this spot but once digging a bit, he found rotting roots from a tree we took out a few years ago. This may be the culprit of the dogwood and not just the sand as the roots breaking down were leaving pockets of air for no water to penetrate. So after a bit of digging, he decided to fill the hole back up with dirt and let it go back to grass in time. Look beyond this spot and see what he did plant for me...

A few feet back from that dogwood spot of sandy soil, he found clay dirt! That is how it goes in this yard. One area is sandy and the next area can be clay.But we don't let clay get the best of us. We added bags of dirt to the hole to make a nice new home for my surprise. And the surprise is a Redbud tree! We do not see many Redbuds in our area but enjoyed seeing them with our spring travels in Tennessee and Virginia this year! We enjoyed them so much that the Saint brought one home to me on my birthday! I was not expecting this so it was a wonderful surprise for me. Thank you my wonderful Saint!

Here is the Redbud a few months later with some leaves on her!

I don't know much about Redbuds but I am finding the shape of the leaves really neat!

A nice little heart shape saying "get to know me and love me" which I will do as time continues forward...
I talked about how the Saint and I were Foster Parents to a turtle for a bit. Miss Tuttle has a wonderful new home and we still have the hibiscus plant we bought for her. Click Here to read about that topic if you missed it.

Update: The plant never made it into the ground this spring as planned. It continues to bloom on the front porch but I refuse to bring the plant back inside this winter. A closed door to cats does not make for a happy household. Does anyone want this plant? Come on down to GA and you can have it because I am going to leave it to nature this winter. Remember me talking about the squirrels destroying the Saints Crabapple tree this spring? Click Here to read about that topic if you missed it.

Update: The stovepipe on the tree trunk seems to be working. The tree is growing and the bark is healing. Some of you were concerned about heat building up in the pipe therefore doing more harm. But so far, no damage from the pipe and keeping the squirrels at bay as well. We even have a few crabapples on the tree!
I showed you the suet pole once we completed this project by topping the pole with a "See Rock City" Barn birdhouse. Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.
Update: Even though we put the birdhouse on the pole as decoration, a bluebird built a nest in one of the holes! We had to stop putting suet cakes on the poles as he was fighting with all the birds that came to have a bite of suet. Here he is perched on top of the house keeping guard. The bluebird did not lay eggs in the house and we now have the suet back in place on the pole and all is happy. We plan to take the house off the pole and put screen on the holes to keep birds out of the house. We have birdhouses scattered all over the place and they do not need this one with those available. We like our wildlife to live in harmony and not fight with each other.
I recently showed you how we trimmed the butterfly bushes in the island. Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.

Update: The butterfly bush that we dug out and replanted after filling the hole with soil is now blooming. So it survived being taken out of the ground this spring! I was worried about this bush but no need to worry any more. It is not as tall as the other bushes but blooming and calling in the butterflies. Yippee, I did not loose one of my beloved butterfly bushes!

I asked advice from you all on the Saints Bald Cypress tree. Remember that blog about the twisted branch? Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.
Update: In the first picture of the cypress, I circled the twisted branch. As you can see the Saint decided to let nature take its course so he did not prune the branch. I hope he does not regret this in the future. The tree is doing well and really did enjoy the spring rains. Gee, wish we had some more rain as we are not getting it these days. Sigh, I know that feeling well... No drought this year, no drought this year.... Fingers crossed on this one...

Remember last year how I talked about one of my favorite Crepe Myrtle tree's getting damaged in the bad storm? Click Here to see that topic if you missed it.

Update: We pruned the poor damaged tree down to not much of a tree. We watched a local garden program on PBS that talked of Crepe Myrtles. The suggestion was to prune all but the main trunk's from the ground. So we did. It looked pretty bad don't you think? I was saddened for the once huge tree.

Here she is now almost a year later and looking mighty good! I am waiting for that gully washing rainfall as it never fails to get us once Miss Myrtle is in full bloom! (Do not enlarge this picture or you will see the suckers I have yet to snip. lol)
I showed you my solution for keeping the birds from building nest in the hanging plants this spring. I put the artificial nest and plastic egg in the nest of each hanging plant. Click Here to read that topic if you missed it.
Update: This solution has worked 100% for me! Not one bird has tried to build a nest once I placed the faux nest and egg in the plants! I should market this idea as many people complain about the birds in their hanging plants!
Ah, how could anyone forget the topic of the Saint and I scooping up some Natural Fertilizer? Silver (the white horse) and Georgia (the brown horse) were the providers of the wonderful fertilizer. I had reported that Silver had Crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to be with so many of our pets that once roamed this earth. It was a sad day for Georgia horsey as she really missed her sister horse Silver, as did we...
Update: Georgia's human mommy did not like seeing Georgia depressed about losing Silver. So now Georgia has a new brother. Meet Harley a beautiful horse which will be a new asset to fertilize our gardens this fall! He has such a wonderful personality. He gives kisses too!

I hope I could remember all the UPDATES, In the Garden...

Who will come to get that hibiscus? It awaits your arrival...

Note: I will pop in here when I get a chance. We are visiting Family this weekend!

Easter Blooms

I hope the Easter Bunny has filled your yards with eggs and did not take a nibble of anything while visiting you!

Here is some color for Easter. My parents Lilac Bush was stunning while I was visiting them in Tennessee this past week.

The scent was pure sweetness to my nose!

Their Redbud was brilliant as well.

Once back home in Georgia, I found the azaleas in the driveway island were fading away. Here you see the little bit of pink that remains today. The snowball bush and the dogwoods are now getting all the attention with their white beauty.

This one large dogwood by the garage is putting on a show like never before!

They glow from the shining sun above!

The larger azaleas are putting on quit a show for me being scattered throughout the woods. The red one is on fire with its bright colors.

The bright pink one looks like bubble gum.

The three by the driveway never let us down with their beautiful selves. The bees were swarming all over them. Above you see one of the three that are the same size.

The color of the light pink one reminds me of cotton candy!

Fire engine red is my name for this one.

All the azaleas in our woods were here when we purchased the house and I have no idea what their names could be. I will continue to call them childhood favorites that may be found in an Easter Basket cotton candy, fire engine and bubble gum since the beauties always show up as EASTER BLOOMS, In the Garden...

I have been back home in Georgia all of two days which I spent in the garden. Today, we head off for the next leg of our Spring Vacation. I will check in here when I have a chance.

Don't forget about the Blogiversary Give-away. Winner will be announced on Saturday April 18, 2009...

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL...

And a Happy Birthday to Boy 2! We are glad Anonymous is home now with her new bundle of joy.

Dogwood Rescue & a Wild Flower

Look at this poor pitiful little dogwood tree! We planted this tree along the route the deer take knowing it could be trouble for us. It survived last years jaws of death and made a comeback this spring growing taller and full of leaves. Just look at the poor thing now! Not much left after the deer have been chowing down on it this spring. This tree has been neglected by us so it was time for a bit of attention. The options were to move it to a new location or try to save it where it is located.

It is a hot time of year now and with little rainfall and drought conditions, the ground is hard as a brick. The tree likes this spot and we fear a possible death by moving it to another spot. So we decided to leave the tree where it is and take precautions from additional Jaws of Death with the deer.

We started by pounding 6 stakes into the ground. Okay, I did the measuring and the Saint did the pounding. Once we had the stakes the way we wanted them, we were ready for the next step.

Next step being to unwind some fencing and place around the stakes. Easier said then done. I was cut with a backlash from a tightly wound up roll of fence at one point. Still not sure that was an accident or if the Saint let it go on purpose as a payback to me criticising him on something earlier. Na, I don't think he would do that on purpose. He did say he was sorry. All is forgiven...
We took wire and secured the fencing onto the stakes until we had a perfect circle of fencing surrounding the little dogwood tree. I spread some pine straw around the base to keep it moist and cooler during the hot summer months. We hope this little fencing project will act as a deer barrier and keep their Jaws of Life at bay. I think maybe a few bars of Dial Soap hanging around the fence may also be an asset. I had better get that soap soon. Look at the first of the cute little adorable baby deer that has joined our deer family!

I am sure Mama Doe will be eager to show Baby Fawn where all the good munchies are located in our yard!
Just look at the young Buck eating my large dogwood in the backyard while looking at me! This drought is starting to make them do brave things.
We shall keep our eye on this little pitiful tree and hope for a full recovery.

Here is a little wild flower I spotted in our woods a while back. Gail over at Clay and Limestone wanted to see it, so here is a picutre of the cute little flower.

Does anyone know what this flower could be? I always wonder where wild flowers come from in the woods. I can only assume a bird took upon the task of planting the seed for me!

I will keep my eye on the Dogwood Rescue & a Wild Flower, In the Garden...