Pineapple Lily

By Ms Sherry

The summer days have brought with them so many divine flowers and this is just one of them, the pineapple lily or eucomis. I think it is rather an unusual plant, but many of my gardener friends have one in their yards. As you can see, the flowers look like small pineapples. Eucomis can be started from bulbs in the fall or seeds in the spring. I am not sure I would ever have the patience to grow these beauties from seed. Like every other growing thing they like well-drained, well amended soil and I do keep them watered during the summer. Sometimes it is a challenge to figure out the best way to stake a flower. Mine grow in part sun but they will also take full sun.

This has been a wonderful growing season for us here in East Central Alabama. We have had good rain –  not too much to drown everything and not too little to let plants dry out. Most of the perennials have finished their show,  leaving the annuals to continue their job of providing color and interest. Unfortunately, some of them may be getting a little tired. Hopefully you pinched your impatiens and your begonias so they have not gotten too leggy. It is not too late to do some judicious pinching but they may not recover from a really hard pruning before the first frost. Annuals planted in pots will probably need water, either from mother nature or a hose, every day as their expanding root systems has filled up their pots. If your annuals are a bit weary, a shot of water based fertilizer may help. But if they are hopelessly leggy or chewed by any variety of local insects the big box stores seemed to continue replenishing their stock of annuals – so replace those that are really tired. We will have many months before it will be pansy time.

Along with the good of the garden there has be “the evil.” Right now my garden is under attack from what I refer to as the horde of locusts, lubber grasshoppers, who spend their lives chewing plants or reproducing themselves The other morning some of my mg friends were sharing their efforts to get rid of them One offered that she cut off their heads with a scissors because when she stepped on them they splattered on her leg. She wondered if there was a shellac like substance we could spray them with to suffocate them. I step on them or smash them with a shovel. And still they keep coming. When they were much smaller, I sprayed them with seven dust, to no avail. The Japanese beetles season came and went without too much damage. Although I have seen lots of deer, they are avoiding my yard perhaps because of the continuous spray of deer repellant made of putrefied eggs.

I love gardening, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hate it when something dies as did a six year old Japanese maple the other day. But as a friend said, that is an opportunity to get something else.

I hope I never get too old or too senile to make the morning rounds, deadhead some flowers, pull weeds, prune a wayward branch, crank up the lawnmower, or any one of a hundred other tasks. Even doing battle with grasshoppers and the deer and other garden pests will keep me fit, (I hope) for life. 

Vacation Pleasures for Gardeners

By Ms Sherry

succulent bed and container planting at Brookgreen Gardens

flower bed at Brookgreen Gardens

swallowtail caterpillar on the fennel

 

Roycroft daylilies

Last week we traveled to the coast of South Carolina. As most gardeners enjoy doing, I visited area nurseries and public gardens. My first stop was at Roycroft Daylily Nursery. Oh my goodness!! I was six years old again and turned loose in the candy store. The marvelous selection of daylilies was overwhelming. Ranging in price from 16 dollars to more than 60 the specimens were fabulous–healthy and lush. I am sharing a couple of pictures from their hybrid garden where they are actually creating new daylilies. One of the owners told me the secrets to beautiful daylilies are water and fertilizer. They have a colorful catalogue and ship world - wide (bare - rooted plants). Their web site is http://www.RoycroftDaylilies.com. Take a look and perhaps order one or two. You will not be disappointed and will probably develop a new passion!

At our destination we visited an herb nursery. Rows of green lush basil lined the shelves. Every manner of oregano and thyme that you could think of sat in flats. I became acquainted with scented geraniums. But the best sight was the swallowtail caterpillars munching on the fennel. The staff was quickly moving the caterpillars from the plants to be sold to a stock plant, so the caterpillars could eat to their heart’s content.  Remember, please, if you see these creatures snacking on your herbs they will soon be graceful caterpillars. Plant extra for them and be mindful of pesticides and herbicides, so you can also welcome them safely into your garden.

We also visited Brookgreen Gardens, a place so beautiful it could take your breath away. Between the magnificent sculpture, manicured lawns, marvelous old trees, and glorious flower beds . . . a visit there is a must if you are anywhere near Myrtle Beach or Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. The succulents were especially interesting. They were planted in pots as well as the ground. Succulents make a wonderful addition to our gardens! Frequently overlooked in favor of knock - your - eyes out blooming flowers, succulents add an great touch to the garden; they are trouble free, low maintenance plants. Not all are winter - hardy, so take a little time before you choose one for your landscape. 

Be sure to use some of your vacation to visit nurseries and gardens. It can be both educational and pleasurable. And, besides, you never know what kind of treasure you may come home with!

 

 

Butterfly Weed

By Ms Sherry

Asclepsis tuberosa or butterfly weed is a wonderful addition to the summer garden. Its bright orange flowers are irresistible to butterflies, especially monarchs. Although the flowers lure the monarch butterfly, the monarch caterpillar loves the foliage of the butterfly weed. Despite being called a weed (milkweed more specifically), I do not consider it a weed. As a matter of fact, it is a well-behaved, easy - to - grow, beautiful perennial in the garden. After the blooms fade (which mine have now done), green seedpods take their place. The seeds do eventually migrate through the air; this plant, however, seems only to have spread in my garden by forming larger clumps. Butterfly weed prefers full sun, although mine is doing very well in part sun. It is not a drought tolerant plant, but enjoys water during dry times.

Ascelpsis tuberosa provides a double gift for the gardener. It not only attracts flights of butterflies to the garden, but it also brightens any flower bed.

A Real Beauty

By Ms Sherry

I am not sure of the name of this lily (but think it may be an asiatic hybrid); it bloomed in early June; I was thankful the neighborhhood deer did not have it for a snack. It is so beautiful that the first thing I did every morning was to go admire it.  If anyone can identify it, please do. 

Lily-of-the-Nile

By Ms Sherry

Agapanthus, also known by the exotic name lily-of-the-Nile, can be a difficult plant to grow in my climate zone, 7B/8A. The one pictured is my fourth attempt to grow this striking perennial. Thus far three that I have planted have succumbed, possibly due to my gardening techniques or the climate here in East Central Alabama. In New Orleans they grow like weeds; everybody has them in their yards. Up here I rarely see them. Agapanthus will grow in part to full sun; mine is in the morning sun. They do not require lots of water but are not drought tolerant. The deer have yet to make a snack on the electric blue blooms – but stay tuned. A nice layer of mulch over the winter will help to keep them warm. Agapanthus grows in clumps depending on your climate and the cultivar can be evergreen or
deciduous.  But the beautiful green, strap-like leaves will remain after the blooms have faded until the arrival of the first frost around here. The agapanthus above is ‘Storm Cloud’, now about 2 feet tall and deciduous. This photo was taken last week; agapanthus is a marvelous summer bloomer and the bright blue flowers add a marvelous spot of color to the landscape. A Master Gardener friend visiting here the other day said that ‘Storm Cloud’ might not grow here, but mine has been doing so for more than three years.

I am often hesitant to recommend a plant that is not completely bullet proof. However, in this case I say plant one; read up on the selection you choose to see if it is hardy in your area.  Agapanthus is so beautiful that it is well worth the effort. Perhaps, as in my case, it will not realize it is not supposed to do well here and will flourish.