Buying Locally

By Ms Sherry

In my home county of Calhoun (Alabama) and the city of Anniston, we are fortunate to have not one but two venues for purchasing local fruit and vegetables, one sponsored by the downtown association and the other by the local extension office. With so many recent warnings in the media lately about vegetables that might make us very sick, it seems to make more sense to buy locally – to buy from the growers you are bound to meet early in the morning, proudly selling their crops. Yesterday I ventured downtown to check out what was available this week. No need to worry about shipped in vegetables; everything was absolutely fresh and very inviting. Buyers and sellers often form relationships as the buyer returns year after year, week after week to purchase from a farmer they have begun to know as a friend. Yesterday morning at Buckner Market (held in a park), one could buy everything from sunflowers to soap. A huge kettle was turning out hot kettle corn. Two stands sold much desired Chilton County peaches, a delicacy in this part of the South. Tomatoes, both traditional and heirloom, dotted the tables. Fresh corn stacked almost a foot high was available as was okra (I even saw some purple okra). One vendor was grinding fresh corn meal on the spot.  Peppers, cucumbers, and fresh eggs were readily available. I met a friend shopping for blueberries to make a pie. Refrigerators could easily be full for the entire week.

In addition to lugging sacks full of fresh produce, people were visiting and meeting political candidates for various local and statewide elections. If your community has a farmers’ market, visit it often. If you do not have one, lobby with your local town council, chamber of commerce, or extension office to get one started. Not only will you eat healthier and cheaper, but your food source will likely also be safer too. Summer isn’t summer for me without tomato sandwiches (made with a genuine Calhoun County tomato), one of the true treats of the season. Try one. I guarantee it will only be the first of many!

A Tropical Touch

By Ms Sherry

The pink bossomed hibiscus is Disco Belle. I am not sure what the red one is called, but the blooms remind me of velvet.

Nothing says summer more beautifully than a hibiscus. A red (or a pink or a white) hibiscus in the garden will surely grab center stage. H. moscheutos, the perennial hibiscus, is truly a favorite in the Southern landscape and lends a tropical flair with its huge brightly colored, saucer shaped flowers. The blossoms can grow from six to ten inches across. The plants can get anywhere from 4 to 6 feet tall and about half that wide. They prefer full to part sun and do like to be watered in the growing season. Like just about all plants, they prefer organic, well drained, rich soil. Normally my hibiscus begins to bloom (in late June) just as the Japanese beetles appear and the beetles do love the blooms as much as I do. But this year there have been no beetles munching (yet), and the hibiscus are probably the most beautiful I can remember them.

I can remember the first time I saw a perennial hibiscus in a friend’s garden. The glorious blossoms took my breath away. It seemed that beautiful perennial should be a staple in my garden too. I recommend you make it a part of your garden as well. 

Yet another oriental lily

By Ms Sherry

Just wanted to share this photogrpah of the Lilium ‘Casablanca’ in full bloom in the garden. There are not alot of pure white flowers, and maybe none as beautiful as this one.

Daylilies

By Ms Sherry

I do not remember the name of this daylily but it is a delight—the color reminds me a little of Halloween.

In last week’s blog we talked about the stunning oriental hybrid lilies. The summer garden is fortunately blessed with many lilies in mid-July. One garden stalwart has a lily-like flower but is not related to the oriental or the Asiatic lily; it is the daylily (hemerocallis) – an easy to grow and beautiful perennial. Nothing major seems to bother the daylily – either disease or pest. That is not to say that problems may not exist; but in my garden the daylily appears to be almost bullet proof. It can become prey to a few insect pests and one can succumb to disease now and again, but, on the whole, daylilies are pretty tough plants. I only wish they bloomed longer. I want the flowers there throughout the summer growing season, the beautiful vibrant blossoms providing wonderful bursts of color wherever they are planted (but then sadly leaving an empty spot in the garden at the end of their blooming season). Each daylily flower blooms only one day, hence its name; but not to worry as the daylilies’ claim to fame is a succession of flowers throughout its blooming season.  Daylilies come in lots of sizes from the miniature, growing a foot tall, to large plants that grow several feet tall. The blooms come in every description with blooms that may be one or two colors. They can have ruffled petals, narrow petals, wide petals; you name it, some grower is probably producing it as we speak.  Although Stella De Oro daylilies are supposed to be rebloomers (repeat bloomers) I have not had much luck getting them to put on a second show as special as the first one. Unlike most daylilies which have only one blooming season, “rebloomers” will bloom more than once. Daylilies make glorious cut flowers if you have the heart to pick them – I don’t; therefore, I rarely have flowers picked from the garden in the house. I want them all to remain in the garden where they make my own personal flower arrangement.  (A friend once suggested that I pick all my tulips to make an arrangement and I felt faint.)

Daylilies will bloom in full to part sun. They do not bloom as well in a shaded garden; but like all good southerners, they prefer a bit of shade from the afternoon sun. I have seen the old fashioned orange ones blooming in ditches on the side of the road. (But not many of us choose the common orange daylily.) Daylilies prefer, like just about everything that grows, well-drained soil to which lots of organic material have been added. They need to be watered during the growing season and appreciate a dose of fertilizer in the spring. My sister visited Roy Croft Nursery, a day lily grower in South Carolina, where she was told that the reblooming day lilies needed regular applications of a water soluble fertilizer to keep them blooming. When clumps get crowded, it is time to divide – an opportunity to share your bounty with friends or start another bed in your garden. Daylilies make wonderful borders, or focal points, or just friendly members of a cottage garden. I have read that daylilies look best when they are massed but I just plant one wherever I have the space. Try both ways and see what appeals to you.(If you don’t have the space in the ground, daylilies, especially the smaller ones, will make great container plants.)  Pinch off the spent blooms to keep the plant from producing seeds; I also groom mine, removing the old stalks and any leaves that have browned. The leaves will remain green until the frost comes.

And in a nod to the growers daylilies have delightful names. From a grower in Jasper, Alabama (JTM Gardens) come ‘Fire King’, ‘Follow Your Dreams’, ‘Dynasty Pink’, ‘Destined To See’ and on and on. Two of my favorites are ‘Joan Senior’, which has almost pure white six inch blooms, and ‘Hyperion’, which has fragrant soft yellow blooms.

There is not a simpler beauty to grow in the garden. Just plant, and wait, and accept the applause. Daylilies make it so easy; thank them every day for that favor.

Gazing at the Stars

By Ms Sherry

Lilium ‘Star Gazer’

Sound the trumpet; bang the drum: the grand old lady of the summer garden is in bloom. And what glorious flower deserves such an introduction? None other than the stargazer lily, an oriental hybrid, Lilium ‘Stargazer’. The 3 to 3 ½ foot stem is topped with rose colored flowers with darker rose colored spots and the blooms are edged with white. ‘Stargazer’ has a delightful fragrance; its only downside as far as I can see is that the pollen can stain clothing or whatever it touches. Mine in my 7B/8A garden just started blooming and will continue to bloom for several weeks.

Although ‘Stargazer’ can steal the thunder in the garden right now, ‘Casablanca’, another oriental hybrid with pure white flowers, makes a stellar companion. Asiatic hybrid lilies also make a very easy to grow beautiful flower for the landscape. Asiatic lilies tend to bloom a bit earlier than oriental lilies and come in a wonderful range of colors.

Oriental lilies are not difficult to grow, but as do all plants, they also need the “right place” and “the right care.” Once those two are provided, they are a long-lived addition to the garden (providing the voles don’t eat the bulbs). Like most flowers, lilies prefer well drained, loose deep fertile soil. Before you plant, add lots of nice rich organic soil to your bed. Lilies need water all year; you can give your lilies less water when the foliage has turned brown or is completely out of sight, but if your fall and winter are very dry, water them just as you would other landscape plants.  ‘Stargazer’ does need staking,  possibly as it grows, instead of waiting until it is falling over and in bloom to stake. Lilies do better in filtered sun, light shade, or afternoon shade. They are also plants who love cool feet and warm heads so plant among a low growing ground cover. Like most plants, lilies do like to be mulched to help save moisture and keep the soil cool. When the plants have come up, give them a dose of bulb fertilizer. Like other bulbs, planting depth will depend on the size of the bulb. Unlike bulbs such as daffodils and tulips, it is better not to plant them too deep (most bulbs from reputable nurseries will come with planting directions). Space lily bulbs anywhere from six inches to a foot apart. The nice thing about lilies is that you can tuck them in anywhere in your garden. If you must move them, do so when the foliage and the stems have turned yellow, usually fall; however lilies can also be moved in spring. I have read that the deer are fond of the buds so a spritz on the buds/blooms with some deer repellant can’t hurt. Just like daffodils and tulips please leave the foliage alone while it dies back and turns yellow and remove when completely dead.

Lilies make good container plants, especially if you have creatures who may burrow and eat the bulb.  If your winter gets really really cold, the containers will need some protection from the winter temperatures.

If you don’t have lilies in your garden, it is high time to get some! White Flower Farm and Brent and Becky’s Bulbs have some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. If I gave you only one piece of gardening advice, it would be: plant lilies – and then plant some more. Prepare to be intoxicated by their beauty and their fragrance. Until you have stargazer lilies in your garden, your garden is not complete.

“The Southern Living Garden Book” was used as a resource for this blog.