Chicago!

Clearly worth the wait, the Chicago Knock-out I bought at the State Botanical Garden's plant sale last April, is the last Daylily to bloom in my 2008 garden. What a color! For next year, I'll have to rearrange some plants, including many Daylilies, and this one will receive a place of prominence. I can't wait for it to multiply and give me the opportunity to share it with other gardeners, including my daughters, who have become as impressed by Daylilies as I am. And imagine, four years ago I knew nothing about them, apart from the fact that the ugly tall blooms I saw in ditches all along North Georgia's roads and byways were called "Daylily". All it takes is a little education, a little research, a little encouragement (from the Butlers at Bloomin' Designs in Auburn) and lots of curiosity!

"Rescue Reward"

Last December, I was asked to help "rescue" plants from a property that was being sold to developers, so that gardeners this year could enjoy its numerous plants, shrubs, and ferns, rather then have them become bulldozer victims. I was assigned to an area of Daylilies and Liriope. An hour or two of digging, separating and potting resulted in many dozens of plants for a May community plant sale; my reward was a clump of intermingled roots that were impossible to separate. At home, I did the best I could - feeling like a surgeon trying to separate Siamese (oops - "conjoined", to be PC!) Twins - and even though I was not entirely successful, the effort was hugely rewarded by a new type of Daylily now in my garden. Here is one of them. I have no idea of its name, but it's very unlike any others I have in my landscape, where it is a welcome addition.

200 years ago – almost

Next February, the birth date of a celebrated naturalist, geologist, biologist and author will see its 200-year commemoration.

Without him, chances are that many of us who are gardeners in the 21st century would not have taken up this hobby, career or obsession. He was that inspirational.

On the other side of the coin, many others vilify him to this day, especially in conservative regions such as North Georgia.

His work dominated much of the 19th century in his fields of study and expertise. He was the maternal grandson of another genius, a man whose work has resulted in the creation of housewares and decorative items we see in many homes in North America to this day, and he married a cousin from that same branch of the family. Although he was born in 1809, his longest surviving child did not die until 1943.

Do you know who this man was?

Chinese Princess

There is no doubt that Russian Rhapsody got the prize for "first bloomer" of the Daylilies in my 2008 garden, but isn't this Chinese Princess breathtakingly beautiful also?

A Rose is a Rose, is a Rose . . .

Roses, frankly, aren't my thing. I have not yet been able to convince my children of that, who continue to bring me roses, but for the most part I am not thrilled. A notable exception is a pink Kock-Out, which is beginning its second bloom of the season, with this bud a perfectly lovely example this morning.

Lake Lanier

This morning, as I was digging Bermuda tendrils out of the pine isles in which three of my Crape Myrtles grow, I was struck by the dry earth underneath the mulch. Hard as rock in some places. Our severe drought continues for the second year. Yes, we did have a little rain last Saturday, and a bit more on Sunday, but overall this is not a promising summer for North Georgia gardeners.

My Crape Myrtles are trying to bloom, but the tops of the branches that bear the flower clusters, which in normal years look lush and abundant, are small and almost shriveled and the thought occurred to me that no matter what, there may simply not be enough water in Lake Lanier to save them. Not just in my garden, but all across the region.

In the meantime, the floods “up north” continue to dominate the evening news on TV. We had a President once in this country, more than forty years ago, who had a big vision – “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” – and I wonder if we can have such a leader again. Someone who can inspire the country to “do something” that would make it possible for Iowa floods to be abated and Georgia droughts to be ameliorated.

Meanwhile, I think I’ll go outside and smell the Gardenias; at least they look better than those poor Crape Myrtles.

One of those "passalong" plants . . . .

Somewhere in one of my gardening books, the author mentions that a Rose-of-Sharon is "one of those passalong plants that some people believe has passed itself along a little too often". It is certainly true that older houses all over North Georgia have one or two - or many! - in their front yards. In newer developments, however, they are far less ubiquitous (perhaps because they are considered to be "old fashioned" - and who wants to be regarded as such?), but look at this flower - isn't it beautiful?

Of the two in my garden, this is by far the most stunning; I picked it up for $2 at a community garden sale and a srawny little thing without much promise it was. The other one, a glorious shrub when I first saw it and which cost me $18 at an area nursery, has turned out to be a poor specimen by comparison. If it produces any noteworthy blooms this summer, I'll post a photograph. Shows you that you can't judge a plant by its appearance when you first see it.