my surrender to the knockout

The garden has been sort of uneventful lately. The tomato production is slow; but I’m harvesting a bumper crop of jalapenos and have several bell peppers ripening. The basil, parsley, and cilantro are doing well too. I’ve spent a lot of time watering, as we’ve had record heat for weeks now.

Overhauling the Iris bed by my mailbox has been the current focus of my gardening energy. The Bermuda grass had practically taken over and the area was looking very unkempt. After hours of weeding and edging, the planting bed is starting to look good again. I've decided to add some knockout roses, a river pebble border, and pine straw mulch.

Knockout roses always seemed like such a horticultural cop-out to me that I’ve never considered planting them at my house before. But then I saw them on deep discount at Home Depot and thought, why wouldn’t I want something that’s low-maintenance and blooms half the year? So I bought three double knockouts, for only $15!

These knockouts will not have tightly bound blooms full of heavenly fragrance on long stems for cut flower arrangements. But they will bloom throughout the hottest, driest part of the year with nary a chemical application. All I'll have to do is cut them back once a year and it's the low-maintenance, inexpensive attributes that have finally won me over.

The pebble border fills in the newly-cut edge and I hope will be a barrier to the Bermuda grass. If nothing else, it will make it easier to spray the Bermuda with herbicide as it creeps into the planting bed. I’ve had a chance to try out several natural herbicides and will weigh-in with my results on a future blog posting.

I think my grandfather would be tickled that not only have I planted his Iris in the bed, but with the addition of the roses it will be almost identical to the planting bed he tended for so long at his mailbox (which is now my mom’s mailbox). Now if only I can keep those roses happy through the dog days of summer!

[Pictured is of one of my favorite plant and color combinations, Verbena bonariensis and ‘Veterans’ Honor’ Hybrid Tea Rose.]

the tiger lily: a welcome volunteer

Now the tiger lilies (Lilium) are blooming! A native of Asia, this plant has naturalized ditches and hillsides all over North America. I am happy to welcome it in my garden, though I keep it restricted to the very back of my west side border. It also is sprinkled all over the bank at the rear property line, where it receives no maintenance from me.

The beautifully detailed orange bloom stands tall, at about 3 ½ feet. The foliage is a medium green and looks similar to that of the Daylily. It is a nice transition between the spring and summer blooming flowers and the color complements most any other flower in the garden. These volunteers can be aggressive, and seem to spread by underground rhizomes.

Because of the foliage, and the name ‘Lily’, I had assumed that this plant was a cousin to the Daylily (Hemerocallis). After my experiment, however, I’m thinking that’s about all they have in common. Daylilies make a poor choice for the cut flower garden, with blooms lasting only a day (hence the name). I wondered how the tiger lily would do as a cut flower…

I was already cutting back some of my Baptisia to make more room for the veggies when I realized how nicely the Baptisia foliage complimented the Tiger Lily bloom. So I grabbed a vase and cut off a stem of Tiger Lily flowers and buds and added the Baptisia fronds. Instantly, I liked the combination, but knew it probably wouldn’t last.

To my surprise, the Baptisia leaves still look great, nearly a week later. The Tiger Lily flowers and buds continued to bloom for days (the blooms close up at night). It ended up being a great, long-lived cut flower combination!

[The photo on the pavement was the initial arrangement, and the photo on the deck was taken after several days.]

a good day to be GREEN

Spring is upon us. Everyday, driving around town, I notice the new blooms of daffodils, crocus, cherry trees, and witch-hazel. But the only thing blooming in my garden right now is Helleborus orientalis, the Lenten Rose. This is one of my favorite perennials. It is beautiful, evergreen, versatile, durable, hardy, and above all else, extremely low-maintenance. What more can you ask for in a perennial?

I was first introduced to this awesome plant by Dr. Allan Armitage, while a student at UGA. He is one of the foremost perennial plant experts and a big proponent of Hellebores. While I call most plants by their botanical (genus) names, it is rare that most people (non-horticulture-types) would do the same. The Hellebore, I’ve found, is one of the exceptions to this rule. Another interesting thing about Hellebores is that the blooming part of the plant is not actually a ‘flower’ or ‘petals’ at all, rather they are sepals, or modified leaves.

There are generally two species of Hellebores available at retail garden centers: Helleborus orientalis (Lenten Rose), and Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore). Helleborus orientalis is the only one in my garden, so that’s what I’m talking about when I say ‘Hellebore’. However, H. foetidus is a lovely perennial in its own right with many of the same characteristics, but having finer leaf texture. [Also, I don’t find that it particularly smells bad and I’m afraid its common name may turn people away from a perfectly good plant.]

An evergreen perennial, Hellebores can form clumps of dark green, coarse foliage with blooms reaching 18”. There size increases over time, but I generally think of them as 12” tall perennials. Hellebores do well in full shade and full sun. However, the best balance of foliage and blooms probably occurs in a partial shade environment. Full sun exposure produces prolific blooming, but can scorch the edges of leaves. Hellebores will become quite drought tolerant once established, but prefer regularly moist soils.

Obviously there is a connection between the common name and the bloom time, Lent. It’s a great time to have something blooming in the garden since everyone I know is incredibly anxious for spring right now. Hellebores do not have very showy flowers, but the bloom is so beautiful and intricate, I find myself on hands and knees trying to get a better look. The true species has a creamy white-pink bloom that faces slightly downward and can have darker-hued splotching or fading on the interior of the sepals.

Hellebores have been cross-bred so many times that there is a kaleidoscope of color options to choose from. Blooms range from white, green, pink, purple, and everything in between. Sometimes there will be different colored-blooms on the same plant. Newer hybrids have created more compact and upright blooming varieties such as ‘Ivory Prince’, which is becoming very popular in the trade. The Hellebores in my garden bloom shades of pink, from rosy-pink to a purple-pink, the richness of which is hard to find elsewhere. Although gorgeous, this darker color does not stand out in the garden as well as the lighter blooming varietals.

I use Hellebores in my garden as accents in the perennial border alongside ferns, epimediums, and gingers. But they can make excellent groundcovers as well. They are highly effective when planted en masse for a bold flower display in late winter and a carpet of lush foliage throughout the year. The only maintenance I perform is occasionally removing scorched leaves in late summer/fall and spring fertilization when I fertilize the planting bed, that’s it!

I’ve been told (and have witnessed this in Dr. Armitage’s garden) that hellebores reproduce from seed eagerly. I have not yet experienced this in my own garden, but I remain hopeful; mainly because they are one of the more expensive perennials to purchase. Hellebores are native to Europe and Asia, but they will not displace our native species, so I advise planting as many as possible if you like what you read. I find Hellebores available for purchase year-round but I suggest buying them now, so you can see the flower color.

On a side note, the 6 Hollyhock seedlings are still surviving in the greenhouse and at least 3 plants appear to have over-wintered in my garden. This would be reason enough to celebrate but lucky for me it’s also St. Patrick’s Day! Happy Gardening!