A Perfect Day - but still no rain . . .

Yesterday may well have been the most perfect day since I left the city behind and bought “a cute little house in the country”.

After a few e-mails and communications with two clients right after daybreak, I went outside with the 3-cup “Buongiorno” coffee mug an employee left behind in my office more than two decades ago, I made an inspection tour of my garden and came up with a plan for the morning.

Then I head this persistent, intermittent hissing . . . . from the sky above?

A balloon!

I had noticed several of them overhead Saturday morning, on my way to co-hosting a “plant clinic” at a Big Box store, so I was not entirely surprised. Instead, it was very nice: a balloon race two days in a row! That first balloon was followed by three more and I saw two additional ones at tree-top level in the distance, but their launch did not seem to happen today.

Saturday, I bought the first supply of Violas for my winter garden. Yesterday morning, it became quickly clear that planting them would be a challenge. Unless memory fails me, last Friday marked 3 weeks without rain. The soil is so dry! Even with watering once a week (more frequently for my patio and porch plants), there is not a speck of moisture to be found in the soil.

Nevertheless, I pulled up three Angelonias (huge, still green, but with few flowers) and replaced them with some of the Violas. I also dug up three Daisy “babies” from a backyard clump that had become too large and put them in the same border. Keeping my fingers crossed for next spring!

For Wednesday, we have a “20% chance” for rain – fingers crossed again, trying toes as well! – so further planting will wait. But clean-up work is ongoing, with old stems from perennial Salvias removed, invading Bermuda tendrils dug up, “Farmer’s Organic” mulch added, pine straw added, and watering here and there.

The afternoon ended with a glass of wine, a pear and a handful of pecans in my garden. It’s taken six years, but I can now boast of having a shade garden – sort of. Small though it may still be, I sat in the shade of one of my maples, with birds singing around me, pale yellow butterflies (and an occasional orange one) flitting about, the buzz of bees in the mums and swamp sunflowers behind me, and it was a good afternoon.

Maybe the best day since leaving the city in the distance, certainly for a gardener who is still a novice at the craft.

Jerry Hall a Gardener?

Why not? She's a Texas girl and Texans are famous gardeners.

She's also into cooking and on her way to become a chicken farmer.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0796c384-c1ea-11df-9d90-00144feab49a.html

It all sounds wonderful to me!

When does a garden get listed as 'critical'?

Mine may be approaching that point. I'm throwing out the last of the tomatoes. Those pretty Cerinthes? Not so pretty any more. The stately Butterfly Weed? Seriously drooping. The Salvias? Gasping for air. Aye, aye, aye!

I still water, but with less enthusiasm. Especially since receiving a water bill more than twice the usual amount. Rain chances today range from 10% this morning (not a drop!) to 40% this evening (here's hoping!) and less tomorrow. It's tough to be a gardener in North Georgia these days.

Gardening! - not food, not cooking.

This is a gardening blog. Not a food blog. Not a cooking blog. However . . . When one is offered a splendid bag of greens for purchase, as I was this morning at the local farmers' market . . . Well, you understand we've got to talk about food and cooking.

First thoroughly wash and then roughly chop or tear the greens.

Cook a some garlic and red pepper flakes (or, in this case, Sambal Oelek) in a little olive oil for a minute or two.

Add the greens, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover, stir the greens, cover again and cook for another 5 minutes.

Ready!

A fabulous lunch, with a chunk of your favorite bread, spread with pesto. And, of course, a glass of your favorite wine (a California Chardonnay in my case). If there is a better lunch to be had, more easily prepared, on a hot Saturday in July, tell me about it!

Garden Writers Conferences

I’ve ignored the Garden Writers Association symposium calls so far, but the promo stuff landed in my mailbox yesterday, compelling attention.

In my third year of GWA membership and I’ve not attended an annual symposium yet. So, this year . . . to go or not to go?

Keynoter Kierstin De West intrigues, Felder Rushing is a draw anywhere, anytime, but is a 4-day conference with 24 break-out sessions still a viable model? The garden tours have no appeal for me (what grows in East Texas does not necessarily grow in North Georgia) and what can we learn in person that we cannot learn online? I recently spent half a day attending a virtual summit (fee: $99) with speakers that included Arianna Huffington, David Meerman Scott and Edie Weiner. For three months afterwards, a few mouse clicks will take me back there and I can make sure I caught all the salient bits.

How do accidental gardeners and business writers like me justify a $1,500 (conference fee, airfare, hotel) adventure? I’m not interested in “winning” a camera or iPad, I don’t care who sponsors the name badge holders and attendance assures me that I’ve got a two in three chance of picking the wrong break-out session – eight times!

What if, instead, I followed Kiersten De West’s vision of sustainability and innovation more closely on-line for the next year or so? What if I attended Felder Rushing’s next event in North Georgia (you’ve got to see his truck-bed garden, y’all!)? What if I spent $500 on more books? I could sit in my garden, read books, add $1,000 to my cash flow, and would not have to take off my shoes at any time - unless I just wanted to and make a toe connection with the turf . . . 

Now that’s appealing!

Third Time's the Charm?

More like "Fifth Year"! Thursday is the fifth anniversary of this Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesii') arriving in my garden. I bought it because I had read a description of it in my favorite gardening book: "When the flowers come in April, they emerge on top of each branch, covering it all the way to the tip. Then it appears the green cake has white icing - a spectacular sight!" It was not in bloom when I bought it, but it was a young shrub, so this did not bother me. Then it did not bloom in 2007 either, or in 2008 and I began to wonder if I shouldn't just dig it up and throw it out. I didn't, because even without blooms it was a spectacularly beautiful plant. When it still did not bloom last year, I sent an e-mail to the growers, asking if they knew what might be wrong with it. The answer that came back told me there are "many reasons" why a Viburnum might not bloom, the most common being that it does not get enough sun or that it has been too rigorously pruned. I wrote back that this baby gets plenty of sun and a pruning tool had never been within ten feet of it (something to that effect - a bit politer). Growers were not heard from again.

And now look - this Viburnum in early April 2010 is full of buds and it looks as if five years after I brought it home I will finally get to see that "icing on the cake" in a week or two!

Tomatoes Garlic Basil - An ordinary title. A great subtitle!

“Tomatoes Garlic Basil” tells us exactly what this book is all about. “The Simple Pleasures of Growing and Cooking Your Garden’s Most Versatile Veggies” not only makes us pick it up, but also buy it and read it from cover to cover.

Doug Oster has an advantage over many of us; his wife is Italian (or, at least, of Italian descent), so it is logical to suspect that she is the inspiration behind some of the wonderful and simple recipes in Tomatoes Garlic Basil.

The cover entices. The introduction inspires. The content compels us to make room in our gardens for (more) tomatoes, garlic and basil. And Cousin Mariella’s Eggplant Parmesan recipe has us both shaking our heads and determined to make this a project.

As a fairly recent gardener who became a Certified Master Gardener before she knew the difference between a Petunia and a Geranium and who loves basil, has a love-hate relationship with tomatoes and is growing garlic for the first time this season, I love this book! I will probably still keep buying my pesto at the local Farmers’ Market, instead of making it myself, and I’m not enamored of a garlic soup with grapes, but I can’t wait to make “Easy Baked Basil Fries” or cook up a batch of Pasta Sauce with Thyme (thyme being another one of my favorite herbs, with several varieties growing in my garden).

The trend for creating home gardens is undeniable. Newbies can’t go wrong with trying tomatoes, garlic and basil; Doug Oster’s book it a wonderful resource for them – and for veteran gardeners.

Spring Approaches - day by day

My favorite Maple (right) is beginning to develop leaves. There is still a lot of garden work to be done. A butterfly bush still has to be cut down, and a rose pruned. Dead, woody branches of several lavenders have to be removed, and the lawn (Bermuda) has to be scalped. Sedums (top) are popping out of the ground everywhere, day lilies are getting taller by the day and if all goes well my garden will be full of Shasta daisies two months from now. Before then, though, I'd like to see the daffodils and tulips in bloom. Winter is still hanging on, it seems.

Catalogs, Books & Conferences

Plant and seed catalogs have been arriving in my mailbox at a pretty steady clip the past several weeks, although not nearly in the volume of earlier years. And that’s a good thing. Why fell more trees and print more stuff when everything is a quick click away on the Web?

Of course I want to order just about everything I see! But, I have a small garden and it is pretty much full (would love to dig up the front yard for a vegetable garden, but that is not likely to get HOA approval). The catalogs of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange are all enticing, especially the last, with all those tomatoes on the cover. I swear, though, that this year I’ll think at least twice before growing any tomatoes – too much work, and the local farmers’ market will have everything I need.

I’ve loved reading “Waking up in Eden”, by Lucinda Fleeson, not long ago, and just yesterday read the Fourth Edition of Karen Platt’s “Black Magic and Purple Passion” (available as an e-book directly from the author, but the Third Edition can still be found on Amazon) – more than 600 plants with very dark flowers or foliage. I’ve already decided to go looking for some Actaea (Black Cohosh) and the ‘Twilite Prairie Blues’ variety of Baptisia in the coming months. The book includes lots of Bearded Irises and Daylilies and great photographs of such specimens as Ajuga lupulina, Arisaema, and Primula ‘Elizabeth Killelay’. I love Primulas, as they are so cheerful early in the gardening season.

The Georgia Master Gardeners have their winter conference coming up on January 23, with lots of good stuff to offer its attendees, not in the least a presentation by pre-eminent Georgia gardening guru Walter Reeves.

On the heels of that is WinterGreen 2010, this region’s trade show for the horticulture industry, which I pan to attend. And then, on February 3, Northeast Georgia Writers will hold its first 2010 seminar, with Cecil Murphey as the speaker.

Advice to Myself:

Stick to writing. And gardening. A little photography, maybe. Painting? Not so much.

I had a great time last night at Masterpiece Mixers and I can’t wait to tell friends and neighbors about this unique establishment. Go on-line, pick a topic that interests you (“Fall Flowers” was last night’s), make a reservation and show up with $25 and a beverage of your choice. Yes, that’s right, if you like to have a glass of wine or a bottle of beer while you create your masterpiece, Masterpiece Mixers has a BYOB permit that makes this possible.

Then, you tie on an apron, put a stretched canvas on an easel, get a Styrofoam plate (uh, a palette . . .) with paint and a cup full of brushes and “follow the leader” – the instructor of the evening, who leads everyone through the process step-by-step. There were close to 20 of us last night; great group!

Two hours later, you take your creation home and hang it . . . . .? Well, I think mine may find a place in the garage! :-)

Here I am, with my less-than-masterpiece, flanked by instructor Kelli (left) and fellow-student (Nikki); it was great fun!

Cleome - Third Time's the Charm

After my first two efforts to have Cleome in my landscape ended in failure, I swore I would not give this plant another chance. But, Miriam Park Gruwell convinced me otherwise, so here we are again - and so far, so good! Seed pods are already forming and I am going to collect the seeds for next year. If that works, Cleome may become a permanent feature in my garden. Who knew? I may have to amend my habit of giving a plant two chances in my garden, but not a third.

Cleome, also called Spider Flower, attracts hummingbirds and is a tough plant that, I have been told, tolerates hot, dry weather (but I am suspicious that it was the drought of 2007 and 2008 that led to the failures I experienced) - of which we have had plenty since early June. This year, outdoor watering restrictions have been relaxed, and that, perhaps, has done the trick for the Cleome in my garden!

Plants in Containers

This year, many of my plants are doing better in pots on the patio than in my landscape. Of a new Lavender, I put two in a border, which are doing poorly, and one in a pot (front, left center), which is doing very well. Ditto the common Salvia (annual), whose red spikes have almost disappeared from my landscape (too many hungry snails!). Also in this picture, starting to the left of the Lavender, Creeping Jenny, a/k/a Moneywort, Parsley, Alternanthera Gail's Choice, Coneflower, with a large Sedum behind it, Alberta Spruce and a brand new tomato, not yet on the market: "Tomaccio". Look for it next year.

Blue Daze - early in the morning

Two plants in my garden delight the senses in the early mornings of hot late June days. This one, the Blue Daze, which opens its eyes as the sun's first rays peer over the Eastern horizon (or, less poetically, my neighbor's fence), and the Gardenia.

Daylily - Chinese Princess

It's easy, when the first Daylily of the season appears, to proclaim that one one's favorite (a Russian Rhapsody in my case, this year), but then the Chinese Princess reveals herself and . . . . is there anything prettier?

Gardening, Writing, Promoting . . .

The Garden Writers Association's revamped web site is up and running; take a look! GWA has also formed a group on LinkedIn - available for discussions and the posting of news items.

I've been asked to serve on the GWA Web Marketing Task Force and am not quite sure yet what's expected of me in this capacity. The task force has been charged to "recommend a marketing plan to promote GWA website resources to potential employers and others in need of professional gardening communications talent" - this is huge!

I'll do my best to keep you updated, but the LinkedIn group may well have more details faster than I can post here. See http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1489187&trk=anet_ug_hm

So, what Grows well in Ninety Degree Weather?

Mind you, I grew up in Northern Europe, where a nice summer afternoon came with temperatures in the high sixtees and 80 degrees meant a heat wave. So, living in the Southern U.S. took some getting used to. And being a Georgia Gardener presents its challenges.

This is spring; summer is still a few weeks away, but let me assess the state of growth in my landscape. On the annuals front, the Angelonias and the Sweet Potatoes, as well as many of the Petunias, are doing well. I’ve added a few Alternanthera Joseph’s Coat today, and a bunch or Portulaca. So far, so good.

The perennials that are doing well are another Alternanthera (‘Gail’s Choice’) and most of the Salvias. But some did not come back from last year; that includes an Argentina, a Mystic Spires and the one expensive Black & Blue I added to my garden (the three ‘cheapies’ are doing just great!). The ‘Cherry Queen’ is blooming its little heart out, as are three new ‘Hot Lips’. Several van Houtii varieties are doing well.

A Lampranthus (ice pant) is magnificent again, now in its third year in my garden, but this is the first year in which not one of my Lantana came back; oh, well! Joe Pye Weed, meanwhile, has never looked healthier (or bigger, at this time of the season).

The Daylilies are just beginning to bloom and they look heroic, but one cannot help but wonder if they wouldn’t be happier in Pennsylvania or Kansas. The Lavender is spectacular, as ever, but the flowers droop in the afternoon heat. The Shasta Daisies, if given the chance, would probably vote for transplanting to New York or Illinois. The Verbena Bonariensis (‘Standing Verbena’) is in full bloom and the Japanese Aster is showing its first flowers. I recently added a Physostegia virginiana (Obedient Plant) to my garden and am looking forward to seeing it bloom later in the year. I’m also the fortunate recipient of some Virginia Sweetspire cuttings (three out of four are doing well and the fourth one, though seemingly rather ‘critical’, isn’t quite dead yet).

The Foxgloves have been blooming very nicely this year, but the Hollyhocks, though blooming profusely, don’t look all that happy (the ones I had in my garden in Surrey, England, were so much more perky!). I have a gigantic outdoor Plectranthus, which does not look like a Plectranthus, and a much smaller indoor one, which does – the latter in bloom, the former just getting bigger by the day. The Phloxes are looking great – no blooms yet, but such vigorous growth! And so are the Yarrows (white and ‘Paprika’) – I just bought a new one (pink) yesterday and am looking after it in its pot until I decide on just the right place for it in my landscape.

Last year, without question, the Salvia was my favorite perennial; this year, it might well turn out to be the Yarrow.

Gaura & Peace

This is where the newest Gaura has found a home; it is, for me at least, the most peaceful spot in my garden, with Sages, Irises, Shasta daisies, and Sedums. English Ivy as backdrop (yes, I know . . . . it's invasive and shunned, if not despised, by many gardeners, but here it's a good cover for the railroad ties), and a small blueberry bush just to the right. The pink of the Gaura is now a nice contrast; in a few months it will complement the blooms of the Sedum.

Sweet Potato in Bloom

Here in the South, it's a good idea to have your ornamental garden in order by Memorial Day. Sure, some "filling in" can still be done in June, but July and August are too hot and humid for gardening and we're anyway too busy keeping up with bugs and weeds. Then, come Labor Day, our thoughts begin to turn to fall clean-up and plantings. So, here is was May 23 yesterday and I raced around to get some more plants for my garden.

First stop: the Hoschton Farmers' Market. I bought an angelonia from Fil Jessee and two parsleys from Cheryle and Ray Maddox. I would also have bought a morning glory from Miriam Parks Gruwell (the one she sold me two weeks ago made a splendid meal for the snails and I've got to get one quick now, to grow up the trellis with the moon vines that are doing well, having escaped the slugs!), but she did not have any with her. Next week!

Next: The Home Depot. I bought a gaura ('Passionate Blush') and a salvia ('Snow Hill') and did not see anything else my garden needed. My impression is that HD caters mainly to landscapers who buy stuff for mass plantings, and home gardeners who are looking for ready-made containers. I looked at that new LiquaFeed I'd seen advertised on TV, but at $16 for the starter kit, decided against it.

After that: WalMart. No plant held my attention for more than 2 seconds. Many were "leggy", almost spent and disorderly. I did buy the LiquaFeed starter kit, however, for $13. Used the first bottle this morning; it worked well. Now we wait for results.

Finally: Lowe's. Lowe's seems to think about the home gardener when it makes decisions about its plant offerings. I bought pink begonias for my porch (6-pack for $1.67), red salvias for sprinkling throughout my garden and patio containers (ditto), sweet potatoes (see picture, above), a nicotania, and a few celosias. Sure, Lowe's has the ready-made containers also, but the fact that it has those $1.67 6-packs, and individual plants for $0.75 tells me they realize there are gardeners like me, who prefer to buy small plants and watch them grow in the ensuing weeks and months. They had the LiquaFeed starter kit also, on "special" for $12. So much for WalMart's low prices!

So, here is my 2009 garden on the Sunday before Memorial Day. I had never before seen a sweet potato in bloom - even though I have had them in my garden before - and had no inkling of any buds when I bought the plants yesterday. But this morning - this was my reward!

Len Foote Hike Inn

The Rhododendrons flanking the entrance of the Len Foote Hike Inn displayed splendid blooms on May 15. This pink one on the right and an equally spectacular white one on the left side of the steps leading up to the office, first of four buildings that make up the inn.

Following a conversation about Georgia native plants and their importance in our world, I promised to post a list of nurseries where native plants can be purchased on this blog. The list is far from complete, but here it is:

Bannister Creek Nursery
3769 Rogers Bridge Road
Duluth GA. 30097
770-497-9905
http://www.bannistercreek.com/

Nearly Native Nursery
776 McBride Road
Fayetteville, GA 30215
770-460-6284
http://www.nearlynativenursery.com/

Wilkerson Mill Gardens
9595 Wilkerson Mill Rd.
Palmetto, GA 30268
770-463-2400
http://www.hydrangea.com/

Walker Nursery Farms
2024 Walt Stephens Road
Jonesboro, GA 30236
770-471-6011
http://www.walkernursery.com/

Autumn Hill Nursery
4256 Earney Road
Woodstock, GA 30188
770-442-3901
http://www.autumnhillnursery.com/

Buck Jones Nursery
7470 Hickory Flat Hwy
Woodstock, GA 30188
770-345-5506
http://www.buckjonesnurserywoodstock.com/

Buck Jones Nursery
689 Grayson New Hope Rd
Grayson, GA 30017
770- 963-8227
http://www.buckjones.com/

Thyme After Thyme
550 Athens Rd.
Winterville, GA 30683
706-742-7149
http://www.thymeafterthyme.com/

Pinebush Nursery
3332 Highway 106 South
Hull, GA 30646
706-789-2344
http://www.pinebushnursery.com/

I also promised to list the books I brought with me last Friday, to help in our discussion; here they are:

Georgia Gardener's Guide, by Erica Glasener and Walter Reeves.
This is the book that started me off on the path towards becoming a gardener. Its information and advice are indispensable for the novice gardener and ever-helpful to the veteran.

The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists; The Best Plants for all your Needs, Wants, and Whims, by Lois Trigg Chapin.
From "vines with showy fruit", to "perennials for poor, sandy soil", to "shrubs for alkaline soil" and everything else one can imagine putting in one's landscape, this book offers a multitude of choices for every soil condition and Southern location.

All About Georgia Wildflowers, by Jan W. Midgley.
There are, I am convinced, no wildflowers in Georgia that are not in this book. Everyone who is interested in wildflowers needs to have this book on a shelf at home - and take it off often!

The Curious Gardener's Almanac; Centuries of Practical Garden Wisdom, by Niall Edworthy.
Practical, whimsical, overflowing with good advice and trivia ("Americans consume 30 pounds of potatoes per person per year, 25 percent of which is in the form of French fries."), this is a book to curl up with when it's too hot, too cold or too wet to go out and garden.

Rain Gardening in the South; Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, and Everything in Between, by Helen Krauss and Anne Spafford.
The newest book of which I am a huge fan! The authors will be speaking at the October 17 Georgia Master Gardener conference at Gwinnett Tech in Lawrenceville.

Best Perennial Plants for Georgia Gardeners

Recently, I gave a talk about this topic at the Tannery Row Artists Colony in Buford (great audience!) and now that I am getting ready to present "Georgia Native Plants" at the Len Foote Hike Inn, following which I plan to post an overview on this blog, it occurred to me that a summary of the Buford talk might benefit the Amicalola hikers as well, so here goes!

"Best Perennial Plants for Georgia Gardens. Or: how to keep your garden beautiful if you have no time, no money and only a little water."

Actually, with all the rain we've had lately, water worries are not as prominent this year as they have been in the past few, but we are still under watering restrictions in Georgia and sooner or later a drought will come back, so invest in a rain barrel! There are many available from local "Big Box" stores and on-line vendors, but I believe in "buying local" and supporting local small businesses, so my rain barrel has come from Karen Alexander in Suwanee, whose telephone number is 770-813-0271. This is also where the "no money" of the subtitle comes in -- Karen's rain barrels are not free, but they are a lot less expensive than those you see ubiquitously advertised.

This is my Georgia plant list for sun:
Bearded Iris
Coneflower
Daylily
Garden phlox
Gaura
Goldenrod
Joe-Pye weed
Russian sage
Sedum
Shasta daisy
Verbena
Yarrow

And this one for shade:
Astilbe
Begonia
Calla lily
Cardinal flower
Columbine
Heuchera
Fern
Ginger Lily
Hosta
Lenten rose
Snakeroot
Woodland phlox

Two resources for locally-grown plants for your garden:

1. The Farmers' Market in Hoschton (exit 129 off I-85 north - one exit up from Chateau Elan) is open every Saturday from 8 AM to 2 PM and has expert vendors with great plants, including lots of herbs and lots of flowering annuals and perennials. Call Dan Graves at 770-861-7232 for details.

2. The UGA trial gardens in Athens host an "Open House" once a year, with the Athens Area Master Gardener Association conducting a plant sale. This year's is on July 11, from 8 AM till noon, and the association charges a $5 admission fee.