Always Growing

This copyrighted post, “Fragrance in the Garden” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

I have often thought of how important the senses are in gardening.  Sight, of course, comes to mind first.  All the pretty flowers, colorful foliage, and textures are a feast for our eyes.  Sound, too, is in our gardens with chirping birds, water features, and the wind rustling through the trees and the occasional wind chime.  The sense of touch is satisfied by fingering the different textures of plants and flowers.  Who can resist walking by lambs ears without stroking the leaves?

But, this morning, the sense of smell was the one that captured my attention.  As I was walking by the blooming Easter lilies, I caught a whiff of their wonderful fragrance.  Of course, it made me stop and lean over for a deeper whiff.  I guess I forgot how aromatic they are.

Some hints for intensifying scents in the garden are to place fragrant plants in a protected area away from winds, place aromatic foliage plants near a path or front of the border so the leaves can be easily rubbed, and place fragrant plants near doorways, open window, and sitting areas so that they can be enjoyed more.  Remember that some plants are fragrant at night, such as night blooming jessamine (cestrum nocturnum) or flowering tobacco.  There is no point in having those plants if you are never around when they are releasing their pleasant smell.

Fragrant flowers are fairly easy to incorporate into our gardens.  There are roses, lilies, nicotina, gardenias, etc.  Aromatic foliage plants that I particularly like are lemon verbena, lemon thyme, rosemary, curry, and pineapple sage.

Year round fragrance is a goal of mine.  In late winter there is sweet olive, winter honeysuckle, and sweet almond shrub.  These are followed by all the jasmines, esp. star jasmine and magnolias.  When spring is in full swing and in summer, too, there are innumerable flowers, vines, and shrubs scenting our gardens.  In the fall, there is sweet autumn clematis, Russian sage, autumn witch hazel to name a few.

Fragrance not only makes for a pleasant experience, creates atmosphere, and also conjures up memories.  I know I cannot smell gardenias without thinking of my daughter as a baby.

Whether subtle or intense, fragrance is important for making our gardens and gardening even more pleasurable.  Think about it.  What are some of your favorite plants that appeal to the sense of smell?

This copyrighted post, “Other Than White” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Yesterday when I did my posting for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, I was a little take aback by all the white flowers I had photographed.  In fact, I had to go back outside and find some other colored flowers to photograph.  While white flowers are among my favorites, I do have other colors to brighten the landscape.

For example, this is China Doll, a dwarf canna, which started blooming yesterday.  This has been a reliable plant in my garden for about three years.  Before I planted it in the ground, it did very well in a container.

Coral Nymph salvia is another little workhorse.  It reseeds or sometimes survives the winter and is a prolific little bloomer.

A Country Girl chrysanthemum is blooming while leaning over a daylily.  It will soon be time to cut back Country Girl so she will bloom in the fall.

These Cashmere Bouquet (clerodendrum bungei) buds will soon be opening.  Even in the bud stage these plants add color to the area.

See, I do have colors other than white in my garden.

This copyrighted post, “Another Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

It is hard to believe that another Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day is here already.  Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Garden for coming up with the idea of posting what is blooming in our gardens on the 15th of the month.  Even though we had over 5 inches of rain and extremely high winds last night, everything seems to have survived.

Iceberg Rose is blooming

Shasta Daisies have started opening up. 

White Mophead Hydrangea

White Lacecap Hydrangea

Shrimp Plant (Tutti Frutti)

Gold Mound Lantana

Plants I have written about lately are still blooming as well as these new ones:  gladiolus, begonias, red ruella, roses, impatiens, ageratum, hibiscus, irises, and this little white lily that I can’t believe has survived. That’s a story for another day.

This copyrighted post, “The Fairy” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

I have often written about the plants that relatives have grown.  Because of childhood memories either of the plants or the particular person who grew them, certain shrubs, trees or perennials have a special place in my garden.  One of these is the Fairy Rose.

This is a small, delicate looking polyantha rose, but don’t let appearances fool you.  This is one tough little rose bush.  It is very hardy (zone 4), and once it starts blooming in the spring, it never seems to stop.  It puts out lovely pink clusters of flowers amid small bright green leaves.  I have not had any problems with black spot with this rose.  It grows to about two feet by two feet.  So, its small size is great for smaller gardens or that little spot that needs just a little something.

My mother grows this rose in containers on her patio.  She fell in love with this rose when she was on a tour of a plantation home in Natchez, Mississippi.  She saw tiny vases filled with these roses, and when she finally got hers, she does the same.  As soon as Fairy starts blooming, she keeps tiny vases filled with these shell pink beauties in several rooms

Last year I decided I wanted to add Fairy to my garden.  I couldn’t find them locally so I started checking out the Internet.  Surprisingly, I found them on QVC.  I purchased six for a very good price.  They were from Cottage Farms.  When they arrived, they were in great shape, but small.  I planted them in containers, and by the end of the summer they were about 18 inches high.  This spring, I trimmed them back a little, and they are growing and blooming very well.  I will probably plant them in the ground this fall.

This little rose just can’t be beat for blooming, diease resistance, and beauty.

This copyrighted post, “Something New Every Day” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

It seems like everyday when I come home from work there is something new blooming in the garden for me to see.  I don’t remember planting so many new plants in the fall or early spring, but evidently I did.  There is not only the thrill of seeing the old favorites return, but the brand new ones are exciting to see.  Are they what was expected, do they fit in with the rest of the garden, are they adding to the garden?  All of these are answered in the blooming of just one flower.

One of nature’s presents to me today was the blooming of this new daylily.  It is another one of the daylilies from Oakes Daylilies that my sister had sent to me.  I couldn’t be more pleased with this company’s plants.

The red petals with the yellow-green throat is so striking.  This makes three of the Oakes daylilies that have bloomed - only nine more to bloom.  I am sure that the others will be just as lovely as this.  Most have buds, and I can hardly wait to see what they look like. 

This afternoon, I was able to get home a little early and this made it possible for me to start planting some begonias in the entry garden.  The petunias are about ready to be pulled up, so I needed to plant some annual color.  I decided this year to try some bronze leaf red begonias.  I was able to get the 6 cell packs.  Even though the plants are small, in our climate they will quickly fill out.  I planted 36 begonias which should be enough once they start growing. 

Last year I had red pentas, but they grew too tall, so I did not want to use them again.  The year before that, I used red and white impatiens, but they need too much water, so I decided not to use them either.  We’ll see how well the begonias do this year.  I decided on the bronze leaf ones instead of the green ones to try and get a little variety in leaves as well as flowers.  It may pick up the Ace of Spades sweet potato vine’s color.  Now, once I put in the caladiums, that garden bed will be finished for the summer, which will give me more time to work on all the other ones.  A gardener’s work is never done.

This copyrighted post, “Hidden Lily Ginger” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Curcuma zedoaria, or as my mother called it Hidden Lily, is a plant that dies down in the late fall and emerges fairly late in the spring.  This is one plant that I wish stayed around all year.  I love the large green leaves that sport a maroon stripe down the middle, and the flowers are so unusual.  The flowers emerge just before or just as the leaves are coming up.  The flowers can be somewhat hidden by the quickly growing foliage, hence the name.  These spikes of colorful flowers, which almost look fake, usually last a long time.

The foliage is my favorite part.  The deep green leaves grow to about four feet high.  The shape of the leaves and their upright growth remind me of banana leaves, but, unlike the latter, never shred in the wind.  The leaves look like they are ribbed and, as I mentioned before, have a maroon stripe in the middle.  This plant makes a great screening for the summer. 

This is plant is not a fast grower, but the clump does slowly increase in size.  It is easy to divide and move to another place in the garden or to share with others.  That is how my mother got my sister started on growing hidden ginger, and soon my sister was able to share some with me.  While hardy only to zone 8 in the ground, it can be grown in containers. 

This very dramatic foliage plant gives a tropical feeling to the summer garden, is easy to care for, has no pest problems, and displays unusual flowers.  What more could you ask for?

This copyrighted post, “Easter Lily” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Last year I ordered lilies (lilium longiflorum - White Heaven) from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.  I ordered 25 bulbs and they performed fantastically.  I had big plants and numerous flowers.  This year when they started to come up, I was overjoyed to see that they had multipled.  Instead of just 25 plants, I now have about 40 big ones and 15 small ones.  I will definitely have to move some later on so they will not be crowded.  I guess they like where I planted them.  Since I have clay soil, I planted these bulbs in a slightly raised bed and added some sand for good drainage.  I figured the first year I would have success, but had my fingers crossed for this year.  I have not been disappointed.

Today, the first ones opened, and I couldn’t wait to get a picture. This is one of the few lilies that is supposed to do well here, and these have done very well.  Not too many people grow these any more.  You tend to see them growing only in the older neighborhoods.  I think most people just throw away any they buy for Easter instead of planting them in the garden.  They won’t bloom for Easter, but that does not bother me in the least.  I remember my mother had a whole bed of these bulbs when I was very young.

The success I have had with these lily bulbs encouraged me to try other ones.  I purchased an assortment of bulbs this spring, and I have a few planted in the back garden and some now have buds.  It remains to be seen if they return next year.  In the mean time, I am going to do a little research and see if I can find some other lilies that are recommended for the deep South.

This copyrighted post, “Weeping Mary” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Buddleia Lindleyana is an old-fashioned butterfly bush that was imported from China in the 1800’s.  It is also called Weeping Buddleia.  One common name is Weeping Mary.  This is a semi-evergreen buddleia and is not cut to the ground each year.  It makes a narrow shrub about six feet tall that has very graceful, weeping growth.

I first saw this plant in a school garden, and later found a small one to plant in my own garden.  One of the things I like about this particular buddleia is the individual little flowers which are violet red on the inside and purple on the outside.  The individual flowers form about a twelve inch cluster.  The flowers continue to open down the ever lengthing raceme which can grow to 24 inches.  Since it blooms on new growth, trimming the spent flower clusters results in more blossoms.

This drought tolerant shrub blooms on new growth from early spring through late fall.  It attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.  I have read where it is supposed to be hardy to zone 7 and some sources say zone 5.  Other nice features of this buddleia is its cinnamon colored shedding bark, and foliage which is a semi-glossy, dark green.  In searching for this particular plant, I have read that it is supposed to sucker somewhat, but I have not had a problem with that.

I have found this to be a great plant for the garden because it is drought tolerant, attacts wildlife, and blooms for a very long time.

This post, “New Daylily” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

In the beginning of April, when I went to the N. O. Botanical Show, I bought some daylilies labeled “Vanillia Fluff” and  ”Misty Mayhaw”.  They were single fans, bare root, and cheap.  I was thrilled when one of the Misty Mayhaws put out a bloom stalk after less than a month in the ground.  Today, one of the blooms finally opened.

I had to take the photo before it was fully opened, so the picture may make the shape of the flower look a little deceiving.  This daylily will blend in perfectly with the Romantic Rose daylily that bloomed earlier this spring. 

Lately, I have had several disappointments regarding flower color when buying plants that were not in bloom, but this daylily was not a disappointment at all.  I can’t wait to see if Vanilla Fluff blooms this year.  This month’s Southern Living magazine featured a gardener who claimed Vanilla Fluff was a daylily everybody should grow. 

Well, my daylily passion has been reinforced by this new, blooming daylily.  I can’t wait for some of the other new ones I have to start flowering.

This post, “Sunflowers” was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana 

Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It’s what sunflowers do.
 Helen Keller

Sunflowers are such happy plants.  Bright, cheery yellow, and always facing the sun.

I have tried growing sunflowers from seed in the past, but, unfortunately, not very successfully.  I do not think they received enough sun.  But, the tenacity of nature can be amazing.  This photo of a sunflower is one that sprang up from the bird seed that we put out daily.  No seed planting, no real watering, no fertilizing, and, yet, here is a great sunflower.  We feed the birds a small, black oil sunflower, and I never knew those seeds could produce such a pretty flower.  It is about five inches across, and the plant is about four feet high.

I am seriously considering planting some of these seeds in the circle garden where I have mostly yellow plants.  If they do as well as this one, they would make a great addition to those flower beds.  Who knows, if enough of the sunflowers would succeed there, maybe this winter we wouldn’t have to buy seeds for the birds.