Deck the Halls......

Ilex x 'Emily Brunner'

We don't often think of gardening and decorating the house together until it comes to the Christmas season. Then all of a sudden, we can't wait to fill the house with the aromatic smells of a freshly cut tree, to blanket the doorways with garland and mistletoe, and to cover the mantel with greenery loaded with red berries. But unless you want to just go out and buy all these trappings, you must make a little advance planning and planting in your garden. Now is the perfect time for planning what you might want next year, and actually the perfect time for planting most anything that is woody.

Cryptomeria japonica 'Yoshino'

Cupressus glabra 'Limelight'

Cupressus glabra 'Silver Smoke'

Let me just recommend a few wonderful plants for your garden that make above average Christmas decoration cuts. First, for cut greens, you can't beat Cryptomerias- excellent green color and loads of cool looking cones. For other colors, try the Cupressus glabras 'Limelight' for deep yellows to 'Silver Smoke' for silvery blues.

Ilex latifolia

Ilex vomitoria

Ilex vomitoria 'Saratoga Gold'

The hollies are an easy choice, or maybe I should say that there are so many hollies it is really hard to choose sometimes. I love Ilex latifolia- Lusterleaf Holly. The leaves are big and luscious, and the berries are clustered all around the stems. This is a large holly, but excellent for shady areas. Another great choice for shady areas is Ilex vomitoria- Yaupon Holly. The southeastern native comes in many sizes and shapes, but many people do not know that it also comes in a range of berry colors. The species has translucent bright red berries,

Ilex vomitoria 'Virginia Dare'

Ilex vomitoria 'Virginia Dare' has luscious orange berries, and 'Saratoga Gold' berries are bright yellow.

Now is the time to check out unusual plants that you can have in your garden AND as decorations in you house this time next year!

The Bounty of Fall- Hummingbirds

I was working on a display bed yesterday when I gradually became aware of lots of Hummingbird chatter in the background. I turned around to find maybe half a dozen hummingbirds hovering and circling the Anisacanthus wrightii patch. When disturbed, they flew to the Salvia 'Hot Lips'. This probably had been going on for days and weeks, but I had just noticed.
Hummingbird activity has stepped up heading towards fall and their migration south. It is nice to think that my planting scheme has included many Hummingbird favorites.

Anisacanthus wrightii

Anisacanthus wrightii (Texas Firecracker) is a tough competitor in heat and drought. It flowers thru the summer till frost, and attracts bees, butterflies, and especially Hummingbirds.

Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'

Salvias There are many Salvia species and cultivars that perform very well in the heat and drought of summer. If you want a perennial that does not require any work, but flowers all summer, attracts all sorts of wildlife, and is also deer resistant, this is your best choice.

Guara lindheimeri

Gaura lindheimeri I used to think I did not like this slightly floppy perennial. Although still  little loose in full sun, it does really flower well all summer, and attracts the same range of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Abutilon megapotanicum

Abutilon megapotanicum LOVE this shrub, loaded with red buds and flowers opening with their dainy yellow petticoats showing. And so do the Hummingbirds!!

 It is pretty easy to entertain me, I guess. But there's no substitute for watching those aggressive little acrobats fight for food and territory, and enjoy those flowery food sources in your garden at the same time!

The Bounty of Fall

Finally the heat and drought of summer has been broken. Sure, it will be hot again before it is cold, and dry again before we get to the rainy season. But this little break has me thinking about the clear blue skies and the blaze of colors just around the corner. So maybe now is the time to name some of those beauties who are getting ready to show themselves off.

One of the easiest perennials to own and grow is Amsonia hubrictii. This ferny foliaged fellow is clean all summer, pest free, and makes a great companion to broad leaf perennials. But it turns copper in the fall, and as the angle of the sun changes and catches the lower angles, it literally shines in the landscape.

We certainly think about tree color when we think of fall color. Here's one on the very top of my list: Pistacia chinensis. This is a very tough tree in the heat, and particularly in the drought. It makes a nice large tree with a beautiful head on it. But take a look at that color.....Can you imagine any better color?

Color doesn't just come from foliage, either. The bounty of fall is full of beautiful, colorful, fruits of all kinds. One example is Ilex vomitoria 'Virginia Dare'. Yes, this is one of many many hollies. The foliage is nice and clean, the deer won't bother it, and these luminescent orange berries last all winter long.
It is time to start dreaming about fall, and planning for it, too. I'll be adding to this list of "must have" fall plants over the coming days.

Start taking notes. Fall is also for planting, and you are going to want to include some of these gems in your garden. Something to look forward to!

Plants with Pop

Spring is just about over, and it has been a good one. But don't let that stop you! If you plan things right, your garden can be just getting started. As we wind our way into summer, here are a few reliable choices for the heat of the upcoming days.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'

Hydrangea paniculatas are exceptional as shrubs for your garden or even as cut flowers for your summer arrangements. Here are two of my favorites:

Limelight habit

The early flower color is a dead giveaway- limey green opens to a clear white, with many flower heads opening as the days go by.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom' is a monster- no doubt- but a friendly one. I don't know of a bigger better flower for this time of year. The flower heads are HUGE and right white even as unfolding buds.





For all summer herbaceous color, why not try Butterfly weed? There are several species and multiple colors- mostly yellows, oranges and reds- within those species. You'll have butterflies and hummingbirds in addition to flower color!

 And speaking of butterflies and hummingbirds? Check out this amazing Abutilon megapotanicum! It starts flowering in early May (April this year!) and goes until frost. It is a real beacon in a container on a deck or in the ground in a garden. You will love these little red lanterns with the yellow skirt!

Hot Happy

Amsonia hubrichtii

 Hot. Too hot. Too soon. They've already started talking rainfall deficits, lake levels, drought. The spring started off with a lovely, gentle, moist whimper, but now shouts rough, parched summer sizzle.

So what to do?? Start taking notes on what is wilting already. It may be headed to the compost pile soon. Start your new "want" lists. here are some items to include:

Amsonia hubrichtii- what a delicate companion to larger, coarser leaves. Blue star flowers in spring, elegant drought tolerant foliage all summer, glorious copper colored fall foliage.

Iris germanica 'Hello Darkness'

Iris germanica 'Hello Darkness' (and many others) - for some reason, Iris is out of style. But I cannot imagine a plant that wants dry and hot more than these beauties. Many colors, color combos, foliage contrasts with the swordlike leaves. EASY.

Carex phylloacephala 'Sparkler'

Carex phyllocephala 'Sparkler'- shade gardens are often very dry. Trees take the water away, compact the soil as they do, and leave pretty inhospitable patches to work with. But some of the sedges will do the trick- and look pretty doing it! Variegated foliage is particularly desirable in deep shade.

Phlomis fruticosa

Phlomis fruticosa - This is one of many many in the Sage family. Fantastic gray green fuzzy foliage, incredible yellow tubular flowers arranged around the stem, and a very large presence. Never flags, but always commands attention.


Opuntia 'Thornless Blue'- Nothing says dry weather like cactus! But it is quite an ornamental plant if you look carefully. New foliage is attractive, fruits are purple, flowers are yellow and huge.

Opuntia 'Thornless Blue'

Windbreak at Specialty Ornamentals

Combine that texture with Yuccas, Teucrium, and Atemesia 'Powis Castle', and you've got a totally drought tolerant garden with incredible interest year round.

Pinus palustris is tough and drought tolerant. Nolina is, too. And what a lovely couple they make. Start making that new list.

You'll listen to the weather reports with a smile on your face forever after.

Pinus palustris and Nolina texana

Uncommon Gardening

 As I begin this blog, I guess I want to try to explain what I mean by "Uncommon Gardener"? First, it speaks to "any person who gardens, or who is skilled at gardening". My translation of that definition from Webster's Dictionary would be people who dig in their own dirt, plant their own plants, and who learn from, enjoy and even share their garden experience. Why "uncommon"? The dictionary defines uncommon as "unusual, rare, ....above the ordinary....exceptional, remarkable..."
There are so many wonderful plants that can add "exceptional, remarkable, above the ordinary" pleasure in one's garden, yet fewer and fewer choices are offered as the nursery industry condenses and mid-sized garden centers give way to the big box approach. I would like to spend some time offering a look at year round gardening with good, low maintenance garden plants that could be included and enjoyed in a garden that was "above the ordinary".

Chionanthus virginicus in flower

For example, our SE native Fringe Tree- Chionanthus virginicus- is just such a plant. It is a smaller understory tree, fully suitable for residential sized gardens. It is tough, drought tolerant, can grow in full sun or full shade, from zones 4-9. It produces the most unique, fragrant flowers in mid spring of any plant I know. It is one of those plants you might walk by 11 months of the year without noticing at all. But when it is in full flower, you can hardly take your eyes off it.

Acer palmatum 'Mikawa yatsabusa' leaves and seed

Also absolutely delightful in spring are the Japanese Maples. There are a few that are offered in the larger markets, but many many more with all sorts of leaf shapes, habits, sizes, and colors. Acer palmatum 'Mikawa yatsubusa' is just one of them that caught my eye yesterday. Go to a public garden with a good collection of Japanese maples and look carefully. They will charm you one by one.


    

Opuntia 'Thornless Blue'

And just for foliage, texture, and downright invincibility, I am adding this big blue cactus- Opuntia 'Thornless Blue'- to the mix. This picture shown the flower buds lined up along the edge of each pad. I'll follow up in a few weeks with pictures of the huge flowers. If you have an area that is so hot and sun baked that you think nothing will grow, try this!

I hope you will join me as uncommon gardeners, and offer your own experiences with some of these plants. We can all continue to learn and enjoy.