Summersweet Clethra

Summersweet Clethra has induced me end my blogging hiatus. Passing by a massing of this shrub yesterday, I was caught off guard by the fabulous scent. Dr. Dirr describes it as “delightfully fragrant.” It’s not a scent that is overpowering, but rather one of which you can’t seem to get enough.

Summersweet Clethra (Clethra alnifolia) is a large summer-blooming shrub that grows 3-8’ high and 4-6’ wide. The fragrant blooms are not terribly showy but will last 4 weeks or more. This plant is “tremendously pest free” and will do well in sun or shade and wet soils. Fall color is also a “worthwhile attribute.”

The pictured shrub is the ‘Ruby Spice’ variety which is a lovely soft pink. Bees, butterflies, and a variety of insects love this native plant. If you have an informal shrub border with some space, use this plant. And in other garden news, the American Plums are ripening!

fall planted bulbs are abloom!

I don’t need a calendar to tell me it is spring. With temperatures in the 70's, there are new blooms to enjoy every day. Among my favorite flowers right now are crocus, grape hyacinths, daffodils, and my favorite deciduous magnolia, the Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana).

Perennial Crocus grow from corms (like a small bulb) planted in the fall. Their grass-like foliage and petite flowers won’t grow taller than 5”, so use them in the front of a planting bed. The white and purple varieties nicely offset the electric orange central stigmas. The spice saffron is obtained from the fall-blooming cousin of this plant (Crocus sativa).

Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) received their name from the spikes of blue flowers that resemble a bunch of grapes. This perennial, grown from a bulb planted in the fall, is even more petite than the Crocus. It’s perfect companion is a yellow daffodil, King Alfred for example, planted in alternating clumps/drifts.

Despite it’s observed commonness, the Saucer Magnolia is truly a thing to marvel. I first noticed this tree while going to school in Athens, Georgia. One specimen in particular (pictured in Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs) located out front of the AGD house on fraternity/sorority row is particularly memorable.

Its canopy of tulip-like pinkish-purple flowers is “one of spring’s greatest spectacles” according to Dr. Dirr, and I’m inclined to agree. This deciduous magnolia is a real show-stopper, with an attractive multi-trunked habit. But, since it’s just a one season wonder, I would plant this only as a specimen or focal point of a spring garden and not in a group.

This weekend marks seed planting time for my lettuce, carrots, and Swiss Chard! Another landscape project I hope to start is installing a stone border that wraps around all the planting beds against the house. Aside from aesthetic benefits, the border should also help slow the spread of Bermuda grass into the planting beds.

And speaking of grasses, if you haven't already cut back landscape grasses such as River Oats (Chasmanthium), Sioux Blue Indian Grass (Sorghastrum), Sweet Flag (Acorus) et cetera, do it now, before the new shoots emerge!

11 days til spring!

The Hellebores (pictured) are looking better everyday. Peonies are starting to come up out of the ground; their little red spikes look other-worldly. I’ve also noticed the Star Magnolias (Magnolia stellata, pictured) blooming around town. There is nothing quite like a deciduous magnolia’s bloom, and if I had room in my garden, I’d plant one!

Last weekend I cut back all of my Catmint (Nepeta) to reveal new leaves at the base of the plants. It has rained a lot here lately and the damp ground made weeding out maple seedlings that were overwintering in my planting beds much easier.

More daffodils (Narcissus) are popping up, including King Alfred, which is another good trumpet variety. Daffodils make fantastic cut flowers; cut three stems for a simple (and fragrant!) arrangement.

Another garden task to be done this time of year: soil testing. Soil tests are fairly cheap (about $7 in Davidson County), can be performed at your local county extension office. I recommend testing every two years, or every year if you’re trying to correct a serious problem like pH.

Also, I planted an onion that had sprouted in my kitchen; not sure how that will fare outdoors, but I plan on eating the sprouts in a future salad. Now is a good time to plan the veggie garden and purchase seeds.

I bought lettuce, Swiss chard, and carrots to try from seed this year. All of these should be planted 3-4 weeks before the last average frost date. So I’ve marked March 20th (first day of spring!) on my calendar to kick off my vegetable garden. To find your last frost date, check here.

According to the Environmental Working Group, carrots and lettuce are a few veggies that contain high concentrations of pesticides. This isn’t surprising since these plants all have ‘thin skins.’ Because of this (and so many other reasons), I’ll be eating as much as I can from my own garden, and relying more on my CSA this year.

To find a participating farm near you, visit localharvest.org. In Nashville, I recommend Fresh Harvest.

Only 23 Days 'til Spring!

Currently, there are several blooming plants in the garden: Witchhazel, Hellebore, Forsythia, and Daffodil! What’s interesting is that three of these four bloomers are yellow. I happen to like yellow, think it’s a fresh and exciting color. But you may be surprised that in talking to clients, it’s one of the least favored flower colors.

Some of the Witchhazel (Hamamelis) varieties are still blooming and the fragrance is quickly becoming one of my favorite. It’s a sweetness tinged with citrus that makes you literally stop in your tracks to take in the aroma, delightful!

The Hellebores started blooming this week, and that show will go on for months. One of my favorite perennials, this plant is a real trooper. I went through and clipped out any tired-looking foliage, which made the flowers stand out even more. My hellebores are lavender blooming, but I love the white and speckled varieties just as much.

Forsythia is a great shrub to use en masse, if you have a large area to devote to them. But more often then not, they are (over) planted in small areas and pruned incorrectly. What results is a boxy-looking shrub with sparse flowers. This plant will grow 10’ tall and needs delicate pruning immediately after flowering to ensure a good show next year.

Rijnveld’s Early Sensation Daffodil (Narcissus) is the earliest hardy daffodil to bloom. It is classified as a trumpet daffodil, which means it has one of the larger blooms of the species. The two-toned yellow blooms stand about 12” tall, and will keep blooming despite any future blankets of snow.

There’s only 23 more days until spring, let the count down begin!

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!