The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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March comes marching in with the wind, where there may still be a slight chill, but one senses winter is over. By mid-March we can confidently plant begonias, certainly geraniums plus impatiens, while getting ready to say goodbye to pansies and dianthus with the next 6 weeks. Everything seems to be happening at once: the grass suddenly needs mowing, regular watering is needed, fertilizing is now a task, and weeding becomes a priority. It would be nice if family members would lend a hand. My...
February, in the gardening world, is a transition month from winter to spring. February is also a month of great expectation for things to come in the next garden cycle. But most of us associate this month as the month of love with cupid's arrows finding their mark on Valentine's day. It is this month that many have high expectations that this is the years they will create the best garden ever. Of course, garden beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think we can all agree with Fielding...
First of all let me wish all of my readers a Happy Happy New Year. This country has been through a lot, but I have always been of the mind, that if lemons come your way, do not despair, make lemonade. In spite of the prophets of gloom and doom, 2013 will soar with hope, new ideas, new inventions and a new commitment to making our world a better place to live. And that include beautiful gardens. January is the month of hope of things to come. A group wanted to visit my garden in the dead of winte...
The magazines shout that Christmas is near with colorful photos of tables groaning with turkeys, hams, casseroles, and fabulous desserts. Holidays in America and in the South do revolve around food and drink. And speaking of food, these make great gifts to neighbors, friends, and family. One such food gift would be Pesto which can be put in jars and the tops wrapped in gold foil with ribbons to match The recipe is simple, adding about 2 cups of fresh basil and blended in the blender with a good...
We are now more than a month into Fall and one of the busiest times of the year. Fall reminds me of family and friends with loads of fellowship thrown in. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It is a time that family gathers at my farm in Dallas County for a wonderful reunion with between 17 and 20 souls, and all ages represented from one year old to those retired. It is a cherished time for outdoor treasure hunts, croquet tournaments, and just sitting around a fire pit under twinkling...
We have always heard in politics of an "October surprise". What can we come up with for a surprise on the garden scene? Whether you have a public garden, which I name as flower beds which can viewed by the public, or a private garden secluded behind a wall or privacy fence, there is always something we can do to gain this notoriety. Some ideas which gardeners have used that are somewhat whimsical and out of the ordinary are as follows: 1. Use hay bales in the back of the bed to raise up a group...
We are heading into the home stretch of 2016, and September can be a spectacular month for the garden. Many flower beds have that tired, fatigued and worn out appearance. And rightfully so, since the summer garden has been producing since late May. Between the stifling heat and daily rains which have left some areas soggy, the annuals need a facelift. Many annuals such as coleus, zinnias, and cleome, can be pruned back and with some liquid fertilizer, are ready for the second act in late...
With the summer slipping away from us, and school days about to begin, there is still plenty of time to refresh out gardens. Some of the summer blooming annuals and perennials will need cutting back such as Begonias, Cone flower, scabiosa, most daisies, Coreopsis, Canna lilies, Lilies of the Nile and Cleome, to name of few. Some will get a new lease on life and shoot up more bloom heads and bloom until end of September or later. If you have Dragon Wing Begonias and they have gotten real tall,...
I do not know about you, but the Zika virus has me nervous. And the first thing I want to do is to fumigate my yard, besides emptying any and all standing water. This means for me that I have to check after my sprinkler system comes on daily for water that may have collected in magnolia leaves and other receptacles. I was reading an article published in a gardening magazine, that we should be very careful when spraying insecticides in our urban yards. The United Sates bee populations have...
June is the month for graduations, weddings, family vacations, trips to the lake or to the beach or to the mountains. In other words, June may be the most fun month of the year. Maybe June is my favorite month because of my birthday. It seems that the older I get, the more time I allot to celebrate my birthday and it is truly getting to where I may be celebrating the whole month. We have had such glorious weather, that the weeding, planting and trimming tasks have been a pleasure. We all know...
Not too long ago, I became intrigued by May poles with all the ribbons, colorful flowers, and small children dancing around weaving the wide bands of ribbon into a basket like pattern. I read several articles on the history of May poles, and found in a magazine a step by step process for accomplishing the result. At a mechanic's shop, I was given a 8 foot long iron pipe with a 2 inch opening and took this potential pole home as if I had been given the crown jewels. My family was very inquisitive...
When the earth renews itself with a patina of pale greens, wherever one looks there is evidence of exuberant energy, and what we are viewing is nature establishing her glory. Gardens can be the sum total of our expressions of beauty, love and joy. What are we waiting for, so lets get started with April plantings so that April showers can bring May flowers. Much is heard today about organic foods, and many have asked me about organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers are natural substances which...
What a month we have before us, with the Ides of March, Easter and the first day of Spring right upon us. In March our neighborhoods shimmer with spring flowering trees and shrubs along with bulbs bursting with such sweet fragrances. Hurrah for Spring. We also associate spring with spring cleaning in our homes. Well, we can also include spring cleaning in our flower beds. This will include raking away old soggy mulch, broken dead twigs, and sticks. If the last cold snap killed other plant...
The month of February reminds me of the phrase, a prelude to the future, your garden that is. With the hope of spring coming on March 22nd, we have turned the corner on winter. We can turn our dreams, hopes and wishes into realty if we start making plans now. Go out to the flower beds, and visualize your garden. This is always easy if your beds present a clean slate. After the hard freeze we had the end of January, there will be dead plant material drooping around the beds. Clean this out...
My, my how time flies. It seems only yesterday that I was waxing on about the January 2015 garden. This year, according to all of the weather procrastinators, we will be experiencing mild temperatures which may be record setting. However, do not let down your guard, because we will get some freezing weather which mandates protecting some of the more tender plants. If we still have begonias, or even impatiens, this is the category which will need a night time tarp while taking it off during the...
December conjures up such pleasant ideas, scenes and scents, that it is difficult to enumerate them all. Ideas of the past and present that include new uses of ribbons, greenery and ornaments. Mistletoe which used to be just hung with a single ribbon has now become this huge ball of glittery circles and strands of ribbon to the extent that one can hardly recognize the mistletoe with in. And perhaps forgotten in the shuffle, is that if someone stands beneath, then a kiss should be planted on...
November in the South can be summed up as "a good weather" month. The weather is good for going to ball games, hiking, traveling to places far and near and best of all, for gardening. Anything I have ever planted in this month, whether annuals or perennials, have thrived. Not too hot and not too cold, and in the words of the Three Little Bears, "just right". I have searched through the gardening centers and have noticed the Johnny Jump Ups (violas), pansies, and different varieties of dianthus...
Hoorah for fall, as it is now upon us. When we think of fall, we visualize strong color. Our garden color scheme can be jazzed up with yellows, golds, purples, and oranges through several plants other than mums. Find purple in lantana, along with yellows and gold. Lantanas do well in the fall and have few requirements besides sun and are drought resistant. Just plant, water in really well, add a tad of fertilizer and watch them take off. Marigolds, both the dwarf and tall size, have a rich...
September, the transition month between summer and fall, is the month for lots of celebration from Labor day to football victories, and back to school rallies. Also, I suggest it is a great month to travel the region in search of beautiful gardens. These gardens have reached the zenith of growth and beauty. One that comes to mind is the Birmingham Botanical Garden which is only 1 1/2 -2 hours from Montgomery. Birmingham and the State should salute this elegant, well-maintained garden with many...
For all the words I have uttered about what a cool spring we had, these words have morphed into, what a hot humid summer we are living through. The Montgomery Water Works is pleased to send enormous bills to further support my declaration of this long hot summer. I had to replant vinca which usually do not thrive in the shade, but there they thrive, getting only about 3-4 hours of direct sunlight. Vinca can be planted now and through mid August, but start to flagged in September when the nights...
I hope everyone has kept their patriotic spirit up since Memorial Day the end of May because the 4th is upon us. Happy Birthday America. We know that the new settlers from Europe came to the shores of this country with deep roots in gardening. Be it herb gardens, vegetable gardens and flowers thrown in the mix, they looked to gardens for healing and sustenance. I have been to Williamsburg several times and loved seeing these historical gardens laid out from authentic plans, with historically...
With Memorial Day behind us, I hope we can keep our patriotic spirit through June until the 4th of July. Do not take down the flags, plant a red, white and blue flower bed, or travel to Boston, Philadelphia or to Jamestown, Virginia to immerse oneself in patriotic fervor. Check out some biographies from the library on Samuel Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson for starters. And for the 4th, bake a Flag sheet cake covered in white icing, with strawberries for the stripes and blueberries...
May Day has been celebrated throughout the world since ancient times and the festivals held commemorated the astronomical mid-way points between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. One of the earliest celebrations stemmed from the Celtic festival of Beltane. I can remember as a child in elementary school, watching the erection of the May Pole and being taught, along with other classmates, to weave the wide pastel colored ribbon around the pole. The May Pole had a bonnet of flowers at...
I wonder if there is any month of the year I do not like. April is the time we enjoy many flowering trees and shrubs. Gorgeous Japanese magnolias are about to finish blooming, but forsythia, lorepedulum, dogwood, cherry trees, red bud, azaleas, Indian hawthorn are just spectacular. Montgomery and surrounding areas are simply a fairy land of vibrant colors and fragrances this time of year. Fertilizing these trees and shrubs should be at least an annual routine, but some just do not get around to...
March madness in our part of the country describes the many tasks that befall the avid gardeners when the temperatures get warmer and we suddenly see our gardens with a clear eye. Where does one start? I always start with the planning instead of the planting. If we made a rough plan last fall, then time to get it out and make decisions. Are we changing color schemes? Should we add perennials and biennials? Should we have a formal plan where we have long swaths or entire area with one plant and...
