Winter Bloomers in Tiger Gardens

Winter has hardly made an appearance here in my section of Tennessee and the blooms in the garden sure are putting on a great show with the unseasonably mild weather. I'm not complaining at all but hope the trees and shrubs don't break dormancy prematurely. If so there could be dire consequences for them. We are still experiencing the loss of large and mature trees due to the late freeze and subsequent drought of 2007. All gardeners who experienced that freeze will never forget it and I think it will be one for the history books that will be talked about for the next fifty years. At any rate the perennials, some early shrubs and bulbs are usually not too bothered by early blooming. The crocuses are a bit early in Tiger Gardens but the bees don't mind at all. Jimmy tried to catch a bee here and that didn't even faze the bees. And, he was not stung so that is good. Teenagers!

Quince is a never fail early bloomer. Quince is the only early red blooming shrub that I know of. I simply love the brilliant early red blooms. The shrub itself is not something to be desired though. It has a great deal of thorns and is nondescript the rest of the year. The one pictured above is 'Rubra'. I have two other types of quince blooming as well; which you'll soon see.

Have you ever seen the bloom of Petasites japonica? Me neither but I will as soon as this large bud opens its flowers. I purchased this plant from the University of Tennessee Trial Gardens in Jackson Tennessee during Summer Celebration one year. Petasites is a large plant that has leaves reminiscent of gunnera. Petasites likes a moist soil and can be quite invasive in the right (or wrong depending on your perspective) conditions so use care if you plant this plant. I planted mine behind Mr. Fix-it's garage in a wild area of the garden. It is not a terribly moist area but does get some runoff since it is a low area. So far during the past two and one half years that this petasites has been growing here I have had no issues whatsoever with it spreading. That may change at some point but so far it has behaved itself. It has a cool bloom though huh?

Christmas roses, aka Helleborus niger, are well behaved perennials. In fact, they are so well behaved that it is very hard to get them established in the garden. I've had this one since 2003 and with its two blooms it looks the best it has ever looked. Lenten roses, aka Helleborus species, are the complete opposite of Christmas roses. They take off pretty well. The major differences between the two as far as I can see from my garden is the bloom of the Christmas rose is about two inches across and is flatter. The leaves of the Christmas rose are also quite different.

Daffodils continue their march toward the big show to come in a another few weeks or so.

This quince is 'Texas Scarlet'. It is the quince that gifts me with real quince fruit nearly every year.

This gal is not a bloom perse, but a new addition to Tiger Gardens. My friend Sandra and her grandchildren gifted us with Speckles. She joins Cuddles in our garden. She has her own very elaborate rabbit hutch and lives out front where we can enjoy her company every day....


in the garden....

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

Nesting

By SKEETER
I sit at my computer and look out into my Georgia Gardens and what do I see? Very difficult to spot so I shall zoom in for you...
Little Cottontail has a mouth full of leaves and Liriope (Monkey Grass).
Bunny ran around the stump and was doing something in the tall Monkey Grass.
I once again zoom into the area for a peek as to what is going on.
I put off my plan of grass mowing so as to not disturb the cute critter. Once the sun was beaming into this area, I noticed that he/she had moved on to the woods. I went outside to discover this. Can you see the rabbit hole?
Little fluff ball was making a nest right in the middle of my Liriope Planter!
I would love to have baby bunnies in the garden but after pondering this for a while, I decided it was not best for baby bunnies to be in our yard.
Not for fear to my plants, I can always chase them around. I would more then likely find the babies succumb to the claws and teeth of my buddy OJ kitty or Zip the Rat Terror, I mean Terrier. So I sprayed the area real well with bunny deterrent, sigh. There will be no NESTING, In the Garden...

If I spot a Monkey in this planter, I will let him/her be as it is after all Monkey Grass...

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

Wild Kingdom

By SKEETERPrimrose thriving from self seeding in my Georgia Garden.
With the missing Oak Tree and lack of shade on our patio, we erected a Canopy. We used this canopy in our German Gartenplatz while living in Germany. It has been in our storage shed for the past 9 years. Finally, we have a use for it. I am not too happy with the blue color as I would prefer green. I believe it would blend in with nature better then the bright blue. What do you think?
It did not take the squirrels long to check it out. I hope they do not rip a hole in the canvas with their sharp claws. Grrrrrrr, go to a tree you stinker!
I spotted our first Snake of the year last week. A Rat Snake so I did nothing more then snap a few pictures of this creature. Notice the raindrops on its head.
This Snake was keeping an eye on me as I in return. Even though not a poisonous snake, it has teeth and will bite for defense. Ouch, stay clear...

Here is a video of the snake roaming in the Butterfly Bush Island.This snake is welcome in my garden as it eats rodents such as rats, mice and squirrels. I am not happy that it will also eat eggs and baby birds, sigh. The Rat Snake is also known as the "Chicken Snake" because it eats chicken eggs and chicks. I do not like the idea of this creature being under my house! Snake skin found in the crawl space during bathroom renovations. Yikes, I hope it is not under there now. A Deer and Rabbit eating corn together in my gardens.

Such harmony between the two as if long time friends. Stay away from my flowers you cute little cottontail!Renovations continue in our house. Plumbing and Electric to be tended to then we can start the building process! Exciting but scary taking this on our self.



Sheba has enjoyed all the boxes we keep bringing home during this renovation process! In this video, she is chasing her tail while in her latest box. She is a mess and keeps me laughing every day with funny antics.




Lastly, Video of a little tree frog going to bed for the day. We have half screens on our windows and I keep them raised on windows we do not open for a clearer view outside. The frogs take advantage of the windows and sleep during the day behind the tracks.

Flowers blooming, House Renovations and WILD KINGDOM, In the Garden...
I have never loaded 4 videos at once and I hope they all worked for you today...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Peter the Rabbit Munching Garden Greens

I am enjoying wedding festivities with my daughter. Please know I will be back visiting as soon as I am able to but thought Peter could entertain you with his munching on turnip greens from the vegetable garden. Watch those greens disappear like magic. At least someone enjoys these greens....

in the garden...

Note: Though Peter looks like a wild rabbit he has been a family pet for nearly three years now thanks to a fellow freecycler (Judy). He is one of the two fertilizer rabbits who reside here at Tiger Gardens. He is tame and large and is very welcomed to partake of the greens:)





Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Harmony with Wildlife

By Skeeter
This little fawn is not laying on the grass in my Georgia yard. This Fawn called my parents yard in Tennessee home this summer. Each day this cute fawn comes into their yard and lays under the bird feeder while nibbling on corn feed.



Deer have been visiting their yard for many years and look how tame some of them are with people around. Click the video above to see the baby and mommy deer watching the neighbor mow his grass. This amazed me as the deer just watched and never ran off into the woods. I took this video the last time I was in TN. I am not sure if the fawn is still coming into the yard during the daylight hours as deer habits change during the Fall Season.

Deer are wonderful creatures to observe but a bit of a pain for Gardeners. After reading the post on the Potato Vine and Morning Glory a few weeks ago, my mom tells me that the deer eat them in their yard! They don't touch them in our yard. I wonder why? Maybe Tennessee deer like them when Georgia deer don't. Hum, something to think about.... Rabbits are another cute animal which are a pain for a gardener. Even the Botanical Gardens of Georgia are not immune to these visitors in their beautiful gardens. Look at this little bunny we spotted in the garden on the hot day we visited. Cute as they are, they can cause much destruction in a garden.

We have both deer and rabbits in our garden but luckily for us, they don't do too much damage. I must keep on my toes though as I have lost some prized hosta in the past. I have noticed that some tags on plants in garden centers are now showing if a plant is deer resistant. I look for those tags while browsing the items.

Some one passed along a list of items that may not become a meal to a rabbit. I thought I would also pass along this information to anyone which has major problems with rabbits in their gardens. This is just a guideline but may be an asset to keep on file. I am sure some things are exception to the rule as the Morning Glory and Potato Vine are not touched in my garden while they are in my parents. We enjoy animals so much in our yard that we try our best to have HARMONY WITH THE WILDLIFE, In the Garden...


RABBITS WILL "PROBABLY" NOT EAT THE FOLLOWING

Aconitum Monkshood
Alchemilla Lady’s Mantle
Anemone
Aquilegia Columbine
Artemisia Wormwood
Aster
Astilbe False Spirea
Baptisia False Lupine
Bergenia Saxifrage
Calamagrostis Feather Reed Grass
Campanula (some species) Bellflower
Cimicifuga Bugbane
Convallaria Lily of the Valley
Cortaderia Pampas Grass
Corydalis Yellow Bleeding Heart
Digitalis Foxglove
Dononicum Leopard’s Bane
Epimedium Barrenwort
Eupatorium Joy Pye Weed
Euphorbia Spurge
Geranium Cranesbill
Helleborus orientalis Lenten Rose
Hemerocallis Daylily
Hosta
Iris
Kniphofia Red Hot Poker
Lanium Dead Nettle
Leucojum Snowflake
Lysimachia Loosestrife
Miscanthus Maiden Grass
Monarda Bee Balm
Nepeta Catmint
Panicum Switch Grass
Papaver Poppy
Polygonatum Solomon’s Seal
Pulmonaria Lungwort
Saxifrage Strawberry Geranium
Sedum Stonecrop
Solidago Goldenrod
Stachys Lamb’s Ear
Trillium Wake Robin
Tricyrtis Toad Lily
Veronica Speedwell

Elvis Lives!

What would a Tennessee Blog be without mentioning Elvis at some point? I am currently living in Georgia but I am a Tennessee girl by birth so I am going to take it upon myself to pay tribute to the King.People idolize Elvis from around the world. I do not consider myself a huge Elvis fan but I do enjoy his music and the way in which he gave of himself to others. He gave away hundreds of dollars to total strangers in need. I know he had his faults but don't we all have faults? I wish I had money to give away such as Elvis. In that respect alone, he was a bit of a king in my book.

Jokingly one day, the Saint made a snide remark to my mom about her idolizing Elvis. My mom does not idolize Elvis, but if memory serves me correctly, she was making some type of comment giving Elvis much praise. To get even with the Saint, she purchased him a little tacky Elvis trinket as a gift. The War was on from that day! They now present tacky Elvis trinkets to each other as gifts. The Saints Velvet Elvis painting is priceless! ha ha...

She and dad were visiting with us this past May. One day while the Saint was at work, we took off to Lowe's to look at plants. We came across this beautiful Hosta named... Drum Roll Please..........

"Elvis Lives Plantain Lily" Hosta Elvis Vive!

The name alone got our giggle bone but when she read it has Wavy, tapered leaves of Blue Suede (as in shoes) she just had to get the Saint a couple of the plants!

I planted Elvis along with Pink Dreams Cat Mint. They both are 18" tall at maturity and I think they look pretty together. They both like part shade. They get morning sun but being under a pine tree, they are shaded for the most part.

Then one day I noticed something was wrong with Elvis. Look at the picture and see if you can tell what was happening. Elvis had some missing leaves! Any guesses?

What could have cause the leaves to disappear? Maybe this cute little fawn I spotted bedding down in our yard?

Or could it be these cute little Cotton Tails I spotted nibbling my grass?

I don't believe we can lay blame on the deer as they would not have stopped with just a few leaves. They would have probably munched the entire plant to the ground!

I knew in time that Peter Cotton tail would continue munching until nothing but roots remain. Once again, another critter dilemma on my hands. That seems to be a normal thing with us living in the middle of a Wildlife haven!

I found sections of connectible fencing and made a nice little barrier between the plants and the mouths of bunny rabbits! So hopefully, they will go elsewhere for treats. In time, I will add more shade plants to this area but not as long as we are in a drought and the ground is hard as a rock!

Here was the first bud to arrive. I have snapped a sequence of pictures from Bud to Full Bloom. I dated the pictures so you can watch the beauty unfold before your eyes...

June 26,2008

June 30, 2008

July 1, 2008

July 3, 2008

July 5, 2008

July 9, 2008

July 10, 2008
July 11, 2008

July 14, 2008
Those pictures were taken of the Elvis Hosta the cotton balls had not munched upon. Today I snapped a picture of the damaged Elvis. It has 6 blooms and is doing well. The other Elvis, has produced 4 more blooms!

I had 4 Hosta plants in this same spot two years ago. At the end of the season I allowed the critters to munch away the leaf since the foliage was dying out anyway. During the winter, the Vole found the roots and no more hosta the following year! All I have of those beauties are this picture and memories...

Every now and then, the Elvis War produces some nice items such as this Hosta. But mom, the glass Elvis wind chime was a bit much don't you think? I always say that one day there is going to be some great Elvis stuff on E-Bay but not this latest treasure! Giggle-giggle...

I am not sure if the hosta will be okay in this spot or not. But for now ELVIS LIVES, In the Garden...

A Visit to North Carolina

On a recent trip to visit my in-laws in North Carolina, I was of course in the garden, though not my own garden. Maybe you could consider it my garden. First of all, let me say my father-in-law is an awesome gardener. He has taught me a few things about gardening and loves to garden himself. His main focus is on vegetable gardening. We have enjoyed many a fresh vegetable from his garden during our visits.

My mother-in-law is the one who really likes ornamentals. She works many, many hours at a local textile factory and does not have time to garden. A few years ago she and Jimmy's cousin, Sara, made up an ornamental garden in a highly visible spot. No vegetables allowed there. She purchased several plants, edged the bed with landscape timbers and added some ornamentation. It is a nice garden. I volunteered to tend it for her as I could. So on each and every visit I would either bring plants from my garden, or purchase whatever was in season (and on sale of course) and plant it in her garden. I have been doing this for two years.




The garden is located below a very thirsty Tulip Poplar tree, aka Liriodendron tulipifera. I think this tree to be a beautiful tree, but a very thirsty tree and somewhat of big bully. It is quite difficult to garden under tulip poplars, but this is where her garden is located. While visiting this time the tree was in full bloom. Since Frances showed me the macro feature of my camera, I was experimenting and took a good shot of the bloom. Most tulip poplar blooms are too high for enjoyment, but not these blooms. The first picture is of the tulip poplar bloom.


The second picture shows a 'Powis Castle' I planted two years ago. I was amazed at its growth. This is an ideal spot for the Powis Castle and you can tell it is quite happy in its location. So happy that it has rooted in several spots. I have not had this happen in my garden in Tennessee because I cut my Powis Castle back each spring. I like the effect at my mother-in-law's house, but she is worried it will take over. I assured her we want it to grow large and big as we gardeners dream of growing big plants. The bigger the plants, the less dirt, and less weeds! Works for me and I have her convinced. Alongside the Powis Castle are my favorite yellow irises. I also planted some lambs ears and tulips. The tulips were the biggest surprise for her this year and she enjoyed them very much. As mother-in-laws go, she is a pretty good mother-in-law because she raised such an awesome son, my husband. I am happy she has been able to enjoy this little garden and a piece of my garden. Now this particular tree is maybe a big part of Mother Nature, or maybe a big part of Mr. Don Shadow. On a recent trip to the Shadow Nursery in Winchester, Tennessee, I saw this stunning tulip poplar tree. Since I started the post with a picture of the bloom from a tulip poplar, I thought I'd share this picture of a variegated tulip poplar Mr. Shadow is working on. It was a sport he has worked with to grow and stabilize and evaluate for landscape use. The 30 or so of us gardeners who enjoyed the tour thought this tree was MOST unique. Look for it at some point in the future. I will be doing a post on this very educational trip very soon.


Speaking of Mother Nature, the Jimster was overjoyed to find a baby rabbit. He found two, but the other was dead. Both were victims of a cat. This little fella had one small puncture wound, but seemed OK. Sara, the Jimster's cousin, took the baby home with her to nurse it back to health. I was very relieved when the Jimster let him go so easily. We do NOT need another bunny here at Tiger Gardens. As much as we all hate bunnies in our gardens, isn't this baby the sweetest little thing? Just as tiny as can be, but his eyes were open and it had plenty of fur. We figure he is about 10 days old, but even at that age we are not sure of his prognosis. I don't think it good, but we won't tell the Jimster-will we?

in the garden....

The "Fertilizer Bunnies"

As many of you know, I have several animals. Most of them serve a purpose. The bird sings and makes me happy, the cat takes out the pests and purrs, the fish are grateful to see me and look pretty, the dogs-well the dogs are just kind of companions so I guess that is a purpose-wait-they guard the house too, and lastly there is the rabbit. He is the "Fertilizer" bunny instead of the Energizer bunny and provides my gardens and compost bins with a great amount of natural fertilizer.

We have had Cuddles for one and one half years now and he has been a very good source of natural fertilizer for the garden. Probably too good of a source considering how often I have to clean his cage. But I keep remembering just how many gardens I have to fertilize. He is in the first picture standing up and looking around. He lives in a cage my father built. I hauled the cage from Maine in the back of my Buick-that was a crowded trip!

I don't know what came over me when I recently I agreed to adopt Peter. I found Peter when a lady (Judy) posted an offer of a free rabbit on Freecycle. Against my best judgment, I offered to take Peter. I tell you, my hand and I had a fight when it involuntarily responded to her post of a rabbit on the computer keyboard. The menagerie we already have is enough-really! Mr. Fix-it (great guy that he is) is ok with our new acquisition, of course he doesn't clean the cage.



Animals are great but it is difficult to travel when you own animals, and they take a lot of time, money and energy. All of you know this. Anyhow, I reasoned that just adding one more bunny to the family with Cuddles wouldn't be toooo much. I mean afterall, I have twins-the more the merrier right? Two for the price of one?

Peter is a tame bunny and Judy was very sad to see him go. She was afraid someone would eat him. I assured her that she could come visit anytime she wants and he will most definitely not become our dinner. Judy already knew me as I had just met her the week before when she offered me some pine needles. She is a good gardener and used Peter's wastes for fertilizer in her garden.

Peter is much bigger than Cuddles and I am thinking he will do his fair share of serving his purpose around here by providing lots of natural fertilizer for both the garden and the compost bin. Peter is the big brown bunny looking like he wants to jump out of his nice cage Judy sent along with him. He has beautiful brown eyes and is very sweet. We love our two "Fertilizer Bunnies", and if you have fertilizer bunnies at your house, use their natural fertilizer in your garden-for free.

I checked to see if I could find the fertilizer value of rabbit manure to the garden. According to the website http://ecosyn.us/ecocity/Links/My_Links_Pages/rabbit_manure01.html a resting adult can produce between 2-3 ounces of feces per day, and 3-4 ounces of urine per day. Broken down easier and for my benefit, I am receiving approximately 2 pounds of manure per week and over two pounds of urine (which soaks into the cedar shavings and is composted all together) from both rabbits together. This IS alot of compost and is very beneficial for the garden.

The nutritional value of the wastes is approximately 2.4% Nitrogen (N), 1.4% Phosphorous (P), and .6% Potassium (K). You should compost the rabbit manure or delay planting for at least three weeks. I do both in my garden. I have been known to spread it around in new gardens, but usually I toss it in my compost bins. Putting it in the garden fresh has not harmed my plants, but I recommend composting the manure first.

in the garden....spreading some natural fertilizer.