first blooms of 2011!

As big snowflakes flurried around Nashville this morning, I saw the first signs that spring is in fact right around the corner…daffodils peeking through the soil! It will still be several weeks before they bloom, but it is exciting nonetheless. Today I was also greeted by the first bloom of 2011, Witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis).

Witchhazel is a beautiful large shrub of which there are several native varieties. Landscape features include gorgeous yellow fall color and pungently fragrant yellow/orange flowers in late winter. This is a great shrub for massing in the back of a naturalized border planting. “A tough plant with an alley-cat tenacity” says woody plant expert, Dr. Dirr.

Another plant on my bloom watch list is the Lenten Rose (Helleborus). Speaking of Lenten Rose, the person who introduced me to that amazing perennial, Dr. Allan Armitage has revised Armitage’s Garden Perennials. The new version will be out this summer and is a must-have book for any perennial gardener.

Last weekend I took advantage of extraordinarily mild temperatures to finish cutting back all remaining perennials and mulching a few of the planting beds. Working in the garden, I noticed how graceless my large butterfly bush has become. I’m going to have to cut it back and remove a lot of water sprouts before it leafs out.

[Water sprouts are vigorous growths along a branch that grow almost vertically and are aesthetically displeasing.]

This time of year can be down-right depressing with grey days and freezing temperatures. Knowing that spring will soon be here provides some relief from winter doldrums. Until then, I will keep thumbing through garden catalogues and dreaming of warmer days and the beautiful blooms to come!

guarding my garden!

Despite the 4’ tall mesh fencing, some critter/person is still nabbing all of my ripe Roma and Big Boy tomatoes, and stomping all over my Sedum in the process. For whatever reason, the Black Cherry’s have remained safe, and I’m hoping Mr. Stripey will look so strange to the tomato thief that those will be passed by as well.

I think I reached the peak of exasperation last week when once again we realized we had been had; without sign of a struggle with the fence or remnants of the ill-gotten treasure, it was gone without a trace. I became convinced that stealing someone’s vegetables was the lowest form of larceny, and began devising plans for video surveillance of the garden.

Maybe garden surveillance is a bit extreme, but short of that I'm running out of options. The 'Roma' and 'Big Boy' are still growing so much and I'm hopeful that I will be able to harvest just a few more this season. They are growing so much in fact that I had to use the nearby Butterfly Bush branches for support!

It is extremely frustrating to not be able to enjoy the proverbial ‘fruit’ of my labor, and equally frustrating that I’m not able to share with friends and neighbors. On a positive note, I have discovered that grilling cherry tomatoes is absolutely fabulous. We now put them on skewers with other chopped veggies and they have such a great flavor!

The basil is kicking it up a notch and the Rose of Sharon has really hit its stride too. My peppers have slowed down, and I finally cut back the Baptisia. Thankfully, I was able to collect some Hollyhock seeds before I cut them back to the ground; I’ll start those in the greenhouse this fall.

I have especially enjoyed watching the Monarch butterflies flutter around the Butterfly Bush lately. To watch them float around the lilac blooms is like witnessing an ethereal dance that defies gravity. Their elegant movements will mesmerize any visitor to the garden. These are truly amazing animals and I feel honored to host them on their migration.

le jardin de pizza

It has been 3 weeks since my last blog post and all I can say is I’ve been busy; and so has my garden. Last night we made a pizza using homegrown Roma tomatoes, basil, and bell peppers. It was so delicious, it has inspired this ‘pizza garden’ blog!

Part of the reason I have been too busy to blog was that I read 'My Life in France' in record time for my first book club meeting. Julia Child's book was absolutely delightful in every way; I felt as though I was travelling and eating all over France with her, ergo the blog's title. [Pizza, however, was not a part of her French culinary escapades.]

Pizza gardens are gardens that simply contain the ingredients one may want to put on a pizza. Looking into it, I found that ‘pizza gardens’ all usually contain at least tomatoes and basil. The rest of the ingredients/plants could include sweet peppers, hot peppers, oregano, onions, parsley, eggplant, scallions, rosemary, jalapeños, cilantro, spinach, etc.

This theme could be wildly popular with kids too; picture a raised vegetable/herb garden actually in the shape of a pizza pie, with dividers made to look like ‘slices’ of pizza! It was a lot of fun enjoying the ‘fruits’ of my vegetable garden labor. And as the Roma’s continue to ripen and the garden yields more peppers, I hope to try another pizza soon!

There are ‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes ripening everyday, from the bottom of the plant upward. That tomato plant is now almost 7’ tall. I also harvested my first ‘Big Boy’ tomato over the weekend and will be trying that soon. ‘Big Boy’ only has a few more tomatoes ripening so I’m a little disappointed in its yield.

‘Mr. Stripey’ has yet to produce any fruit, but I am hopeful as it continues to grow and flower. The other no-name tomatoes are still growing, but remain fruitless as well. The jalapeño plant is producing lots, though I have yet to actually try one. And the red bell pepper is growing like a weed, but hasn’t set fruit yet.

The Black-eyed Susan’s are blooming profusely, and look great next to the sedums which are finally flowering. The butterfly bush and Verbena are flowering nicely as well. Although I was surprised that the butterfly bush I relocated across the drive has a lighter bloom color, almost a soft pink/purple as opposed to the lilac of the parent plant.

The Rose of Sharon are starting to bloom more, but are darker in color than I was expecting. Now, the blooms are lilac with a darker, magenta eye. The hollyhocks have completely petered out and I see no signs of seed pods so I’ll be cutting them all back soon.

The mint is almost taking over that planting bed, but it is nice to smell. The evening primrose is still blooming, and its fragrance is light and lovely in the evenings. We’ve received plenty of rain lately, so I’ve been able to cut back on watering. Also, our mid-to-upper 90 degree days have cooled slightly. Until next time, happy gardening!

the image used above is not my creation, instead i found it here.

a redneck garden

After moving to Nashville I kept hearing the term ‘Redneck Garden’. This term refers to an ornamental garden that includes edible plants normally associated with a vegetable garden. [I’ve chosen to ignore other components of said ‘redneck garden’, i.e. beer can wind chimes and the like] I’ll concede the idea was a foreign one to me, having grown up with a separation of ornamental and vegetable.

However, when you think about it, it really makes sense. I don’t know many people that have the space for fully separate ornamental and vegetable gardens, at least in an urban setting. Also, I think most people forget how aesthetically pleasing some veggies can be. Not to mention, growing your own vegetables saves money! So why not grow veggies in our flower beds?

I’m totally on-board and look forward to having my very own redneck garden soon. Just think of the positive consequences this idea could have if implemented in low-income ‘food deserts.’ We could all be eating better and/or more cheaply if we grew a few tomato plants in with our holly bushes, as an example.

The attached photo shows peppers grown alongside Salvia and Black-Eyed Susans. The color combination is phenomenal. I think I’ll achieve a similar effect planting veggies next to my Butterfly Bush and Black-Eyed Susans. Aesthetic benefits aside, growing some ornamentals like Marigolds with your tomatoes will actually prevent pests.

At the garden center this week I found a variety of herbs and vegetable starters available. For $15, I picked up Italian parsley, variegated Basil, a variety of Cilantro, and a Roma Tomato plant. Those herbs, along with the thyme and mint (and Rosemary) I already have will complete my herb ‘garden’ (which will actually be a pot to ensure good drainage).

The Roma tomato plant caught my eye because my boyfriend really likes Roma’s. But I’m also trying to grow several different varieties of tomatoes to hedge my bet that some will thrive. I should be able to plant all of these this weekend, and I’m still searching for more tomatoes and peppers to add.

longer days, more gardening adventures part 2

With eastern exposure, the planting bed across the driveway gets almost as much sun as the bed on the west side of the house. This planting bed sits between my neighbor’s fence and my asphalt drive and is only about 2’ wide. When I first moved in, it was nothing but Bermuda grass and I soon found out why. The soil is full of rocks. Every time I plant something new, I feel like I’m gardening in a rock quarry. On the bright side, the soil drains very easily.

Nevertheless I’ve removed most of the Bermuda (worst gardening chore ever) and amended the soil with soil conditioner. On the left is my recently transplanted butterfly bush, which I cut back to about 18” in height. The other 5 shrubs you see are Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus), a plant very near to my heart, which hasn’t quite leafed out yet. Between the Rose of Sharon groupings are several Hollyhocks (from the Hollyhock House!) that have over-wintered.

Beneath the shrubs are several sedum varieties as well as mint (Mentha). This aromatic herb (non-native) spreads quickly by way of underground rhizomes and I like to caution people that it should be planted in a contained/ well-maintained area. In the right corner of the bed are coral-blooming Canna Lilies. But after this past winter, I’m not holding my breath to see if the Cannas will make an appearance this summer (they can be borderline in zone 6b).

On the right edge of the photo, you can see the outstretched branches of a Mulberry tree (Morus), which has little to no landscape value. However, because this volunteer (which is actually rooted on my neighbor’s property) started growing in a fan-shape on my side of the fence, I’ve elected to train it as a ‘living fence’; to create a vertical screen between the two properties. Nothing against my neighbor, but I don’t prefer to see into her living room from mine.

The main goal of this bed is to increase my gardening space as well as improve the aesthetics of the space. Also, I’m not sure how much longer my neighbor’s fence will hold up, so I wanted to get some plants going ASAP. On one hand, it may have been more prudent to plant a row of Arborvitae or another evergreen, vertical screen. However, all of these plants were free to me, and will provide much more seasonal interest than a green wall.

And like the last blog post, this photo is not much to look at right now; but hopefully by this summer, there will be tons of beautiful blooms!

longer days, more gardening adventures

Last Saturday I worked in the garden until after sunset, which now is almost 7:00! Thanks, Daylight Savings Time. I weeded, planted, divided, relocated, mulched, and watered. I worked mainly in the planting bed on the west side of my house (picture). With almost due west exposure, this bed gets the most sun of any of my planting beds and eventually this bed will be home to my future tomato plants.

An early goal of mine was to screen the a/c unit on the left and for that, I choose Euonymus 'Green Spire'. [Normally, I am NOT a proponent of Euonymus in general, but these plants look pretty good all year, are very cheap, and as far as I know will not become invasive.] The Euonymus hedge has been planted for a few years now with an initial investment of less than $50.

In front of the Euonymus hedge are ornamental grasses (still dormant), and a new patch of sedum that replaces the Black-eyed Susan’s (Rudbeckia) that I just relocated to elsewhere in the bed. The large shrub, butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), which now reaches the top of the brick wall, is a personal favorite. In fact I plan to do another blog post specifically about this plant.

In front of the butterfly bush is Lambs Ear (Stachys byzantina). I believe I have the variety called ‘Big Ears’. This is a neat perennial with silver-green foliage and I can’t help but feel the soft leaves every time I’m nearby, they really do feel like lambs ears. In between the butterfly bush and lambs ear are my beloved peonies (which are just now starting to poke through the soil).

You can barely see the corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana) under the electric meter. This is a very cool, graceful plant with an extremely fine textured, medium-green leaf and yellow bark. Between it and the butterfly bush is my recently planted climbing rose (no clue what variety). There is a small trellis for the rose now, but I will probably run some wire for it to climb on this summer. The climbing rose takes the place of another butterfly bush, which I cut back and relocated to the planting bed across the driveway.

Near the middle of the bed, there’s a medium green groundcover that has basically taken over this portion of the planting bed. As of yet, this Sedum has remained unidentifiable. I have probably 10 different sedums growing throughout my various planting beds; they’re great low-maintenance perennials that come in a variety of foliage and flower colors (I’m a huge fan). But this one grows faster than any I’ve ever encountered. I’ll probably remove portions of this to make room for my tomatoes!

The blue pot will eventually be planted with herbs and/or seasonal color, and probably won’t remain in the bed. Behind the pot, against the house are a row of tiger lilies (Hemerocallis fulva), which will bloom creamsicle-orange. This plant is also fondly called ‘ditch lily’, and is a fine example of what I call a ‘native invasive’.

In the right corner of this bed is a newly planted upright rosemary, although the variety name escapes me now. I’m so excited about this rosemary and once it fills out (about 4’ tall) I think it will really help to anchor the space. My kitchen door is right around the corner, and I’m looking forward to using this herb while cooking!

Behind the rosemary is a patch of Pachysandra terminalis ‘Green sheen’. It’s an amazingly care-free evergreen groundcover, probably deserving of its very own blog post. Pachysandra has beautiful shiny dark green leaves of a medium texture. While no one buys this plant for the bloom alone, the dainty clusters of white flowers are quite nice; mine are in bloom right now!

This is my favorite planting bed because of the variety of foliage and bloom colors that all work so well together. I’m also really pleased with the year round presence the pachysandra, euonymus, butterfly bush, lambs ear, sedum, and now rosemary will provide. But in the summer, this bed literally comes alive with all of the warm flower colors of plants that haven’t even come up yet.

Throughout the bed are Black-eyed Susan’s (Rudbeckia), Tennessee Coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis), other sedums, and various daylilies (from my uncle). I’ll take pictures along the way to document the bloom/growth progress. Bottom line, the garden doesn't look like much now, but i promise, an amazing transformation is in the works!