The Power of Perennials

When it comes to gardening in Georgia...I have to tell you, we've got it pretty good when it comes to working with perennials. Perennials come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors and can be used stand alone in the garden or combined with other plants, perennial and annual. They are hardy plants, designed to bloom for more than one season, so you get hardier plants, longer bloom cycles and plants that are less prone to disease and pests.

One more benefit to perennials is the ability to keep your garden interesting throughout the year. You can select perennials that bloom in the winter, spring, summer and fall to ensure you have blossoms and flowers in each season. You also get the added benefit of the different styles of foliage, with varying greens, oranges, purples and more, shiny vs. matte, airy fern-like fronds to dinner plate sized leaves. Leaf surfaces range from fuzzy to smooth, silky to rough.

There are several things to think about when choosing your plants, both their foliage and flowers. Cool colors like blue, purple and green tend to be soothing or calming, and can help make a small space feel airier. Warm tones in red, orange and yellow help to stimulate the senses and will help fill larger spaces.

Making Your Garden "Green" - Part 2

Go Native!: Already adapted to local conditions, native plants are easy to grow and maintain, generally requiring less fertilizer and water and require less effort to keep away the pests and critters.

So, how do you find out what's considered native to our area? Did you think we'd leave you hanging. We're going to list several popular native trees, shrubs and flowering perennials. Then we're going to provide you a link to a full list courtesy of Plantnative.org.

Trees Native to Georgia:

1. Red Maple
2. Eastern Redbud
3. Pagoda Dogwood
4. Swamp Dogwood
5. Tulip Tree
6. Southern Magnolia
7. Sweet Bay Magnolia
8. Live Oak
9. Cherry Laurel
10. Cedar Elm

Shrubs Native to Georgia:

1. Flowering Dogwood
2. Dwarf Huckleberry
3. Star Anise
4. Mountain Laurel
5. Leucothoe
6. Honeysuckle Azalea
7. Yellow Native Azalea
8. Summer Azalea
9. Dwarf Palmetto
10. Elliott's Blueberry

Flowering Perennials Native to Georgia:

1. Columbine
2. Butterfly Weed
3. Wild Hyacinth
4. Green n' Gold
5. Pink Lady Slipper
6. Blazing Star
7. Crested Iris
8. Coral Honeysuckle
9. Black-eyed Susan
10. Jacob's Ladder

Here's the link to the full list: Click Here

Making Your Garden "Green" - Part 1

Did you know that gardeners are responsible for producing an estimated 320 million pounds of plastic waste every year? How is this possible? Every time you buy an established plant in a plastic pot, every time you purchase soil packaged in a plastic bag, you've got plastic waste. How can you help reduce the waste?

Be aware of packaging. Many nurseries and garden departments now sell flowers, vegetables and herbs in plantable biodegradable flower pots. Not to be found at your favorite gardening store? Reuse those plastic pots over and over again, for each year's seedlings or to store small gardening materials like stakes. Some garden supply outlets will also let you bring your plastic pots back in so they can reuse them.

To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to...whatever, don't fret about your maters!

I've heard a lot of gardeners complain that they're already behind the eight ball when it comes to getting their tomatoes into the ground.

STOP WORRYING!!!

According to the Farmer's Almanac, Good Friday is your starting point to put your stuff in the dirt. And think about it, tomato plants always have a good run into the late summer and early fall. If you sink your plants into the earth a couple of weeks from now - no problem you'll just have the joy of enjoying the fruits of your labor a little later in the season.

With that being said I wanted to let you know about a gardening recipe. It's a selection of plants that get along great together and help ward off pests. Think of tomatoes, peppers, basil and marigolds as best friends. Now I can't tell you the technical ways these guys work together but I can tell you its always worked for me. Plus don't worry about overcrowding...even if you're planting your plot in a pot just shove them all in to mature at once. Teddie Berry, a local Master Gardener, says there isn't any research that supports any of this except that the scent of the marigolds may keep pests away. But she did add that a lot of folks believe in this combination.

Here's another tip and this was given to me by the Bacon family in Irwinton. Ray Bacon grows a gazillion tomatoes. One year he shared his secret for huge ripe fruit, just put a handful of powdered lime in the hole when you plant your tomato. Don't hold back...make it a nice big handful of the chalky stuff. This will help (not prevent) but help with blossom end rot.

Hope these tips help and remember don't stress out over one of the season's greatest joys.

Roses: Battling Blackspot

Blackspot is not your friend - but roses seem to attract this fungus, especially in hot and humid weather.

A weekly spraying program with a few ingredients does the trick to scare this pest away.

When George and I first started growing roses in 1987 (that's a whole other story!), we were given a simple blackspot preventative spray formula by rosarians at the local rose society that we joined to learn about growing good roses. It worked for us then and it will work for you now.

This what we hand out to beginning rose growers and those folks who want to have a clean, blackspot-free garden:

For Blackspot Control on Roses

1. 1 TBL/GAL DITHANE M45
2. 1 TBL/GAL ROSEPRIDE (formerly Funginex)
3. 4 TSP/GAL FURICIDE (Worm Control)
4. 1 TBL/GAL White Vinegar
5. Few drops of soft soap (Ivory)

• Always spray before temperature reaches 80 degrees so you will not have leaf burn.
• Always wear protective clothing (long shirt and pants), goggles and facemask. Remove clothing immediately after spraying and wash.
• You can purchase DITHANE M45 at a good nursery, or they can order it for you. Rosepride is an Ortho product. Thuricide is a very safe control, farmers use it on their crops before harvesting. The white vinegar and soft soap act as surfactants to hold the spray solution on the leaves.
  

Judy and George Lawler, Consulting Rosarians, will guest blog regularly about roses and other gardening topics. They're Suzanne's folks, so we hope you'll give them a huge welcome!

Flowers A-Z: Alyssum & Astilbe

Sweet Alyssum: I fell in love with alyssum when I wandered my mom's garden beds in California, way back when I was just a little thing. In fact, alyssum might be the flower that finally got me gardening many years later in Georgia.

Alyssum plants are tender, a delicate annual, though they are very easy to grow. They are often used as a border plant and also make for gorgeous, sweet smelling goodness in a rock garden. I like them in containers too, as they will drape a bit over the edge and they're just so sweetly pretty. I rarely see the plants at local nurseries, but they are very easy to grow from seed and they are part of my annual gardening plan each year.

They are small plants, growing between six to nine inches tall. Carpet of Snow, the white variety, is the most common, but I've got purple and pink varieties this year that I hope will provide pretty color bordering my perennials this summer.

Alyssum - A Purple Variety

Alyssum like full or partial sun and they tolerate dry soil, though you shouldn't let them get too dry, as I've noticed mine get leggy if I let them get too thirsty. They're fairly bug and disease hardy, though they cannot handle frost. They'll bloom through the frost, then it's time to remove them.

Feathery, Fluffy Astilbe: Gorgeous feathery fronds of pink, red, white and purple top leaves that bring ferns to mind. The pink variety makes me think of the sweetness and fluff of cotton candy. These sweet blooms don't mind full shade, but you'll get better flowering if they get some sun. I use them to border the back of a semi-shady bed at my home and they always make me smile.

You want to start out with established plants. That's right, the seedling queen says not to try these guys from seed. I've had no success. Though the flowers themselves appear narrow, the foliage is too pretty to crowd, so give them a little room, say 18-36 inches.

Feathery Fronds of Astilbe

These tall, sweeping beauties like to be near water, but they don't want to stand in it. They're great around a bog or pond, but be careful the roots don't end up in the water. And keep 'em covered! As they grow the root crown likes to rise, so you'll need to apply soil to keep 'em grounded, not just mulch.

The flowers and leaves dry well, on and off the plant. And for those of you gardeners with limited time on your hands, deadheading doesn't extend the blooming season. So if you like the look of the dried blooms, they aren't inhibiting growth.

Bugs do occasionally attack these feathery friends of the shade garden, but no more so than most hardy perennials. Battle the bugs as you normally do, no specific measures have to be taken to keep your astilbe safe.

Baby (little seedlings) It's Cold Outside

Typical. After the snow in early March, I thought I was okay. I was anxious and impatient to take my 2009 garden to the next level. So I planted some of my seedlings. They're doing great and they made it through last night's low 30's temps just fine. I'm a little more worried about tonight, but I do know that I can keep them safe with a little work after I head home this evening.

With time and research, I have learned that you can get your plants through an unexpected cold snap. I'm not saying I've never lost a plant, because I have, but I've found that if I do one or more of the "safeguard" techniques I'm going to list below, I see most of my plants survive the cold unscathed.

I water the plants before the cold. What? Yep. Sure, water freezes, but water also creates a vapor barrier of sorts. So, in my case, I believe that the moisture around the plants actually keeps them from freezing. I did this last night and my plants were looking just dandy despite last night's cold temps.

The wind is your friend...I knew it was going to be windy, so I set my seedlings up in a way that they could benefit from the wind without being blown to kingdom come. The wind, like the vapor barrier, keeps the cold air from settling in around your plant making it freeze.

If you're going to cover your plants, do it before dusk. Why? Stored heat in the ground starts to dissipate as the light disappears. You want to make use of that stored heat, so tent or cover your plants before the sun's down for the night.

Small plants, recent transplants and the like, can be individually covered with a small glass jar or plastic cup (though the wind might not be helpful with something this light).

If you cover or tent your plants in any way, do make sure to uncover them in the morning once the frost worry is over. You don't want your prized plants to overheat after you've worked so hard to save them from freezing.

I wish you all luck in the cold tonight.

Flowers Amongst the Veggies?

Why would you want to take up valuable vegetable growing space with some pretty, but merely decorative flowers? Well, some of those darling blooms have more going for them than their looks!

Many flowers and herbs have bug repelling powers that vegetable growers use to their advantage each season. Annual marigolds are easy to take care of, inexpensive and are known to deter Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, and whiteflies. The roots of marigolds contain a substance that is toxic to certain types of soil pests (nematodes).

One of my favorite annual heirloom beauties, the nasturtium, keep away potato bugs, squash bugs, and whiteflies.

Delicious herbs that can be used for added culinary diversity can also help keep the creepy-crawlies at bay.

Peppermint repels ants, white cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles. Peppermint can take over any and all space you allow it to conquer, so if you put it out, I'd suggest doing so in a container.

Garlic discourages aphids, fleas, Japanese beetles, and spider mites, while also looking absolutely fabulous with lovely spiking blooms.

So, a little dash of color and a little spice can actually help your veggie plots. So, maybe you want to make a little room for some flowers?

Don't Hack Your Hydrangeas

Hey Everybody! One of the greatest and simple joys of the garden at this time of year is walking around and seeing the new growth popping up out of the ground. For most plants its completely harmless and even encouraged for you to prune back the dead limbs to make room for the new shoots.

That does not ring true for two plants, hydrangeas and clematis. Many varieties of these only bloom on old wood. The second year I had hydrangeas in the yard I couldn't figure out why I didn't get the big poofy purple blooms. Well, I felt like an idiot when I learned that I cut them off at the neck and wouldn't see those gorgeous flowers for another twelve months.

I talked to Teddie Berry with the Houston County Extention service. She said they have a bit of a problem getting folks to understand not to cut off that dead wood.

But you know every year we get stronger and more diverse plants and that goes for hydrangeas and clematis too. Some of the newer varieties don't require such vigilance. The bottom line is that if you're in doubt...don't CUT!!!

Don't forget the Master Gardener plant sale going on at the fairgrounds this weekend. It will cost you five bucks to get in the door.

Happy Gardening!!!