Christmas 2009

Natural Foliage

I have noted that several organizations in Middle Georgia focused on using Natural Plant Material in the decor for Christmas 2009. Even the Grand Home of the South, Macon Georgia's Hay House focused on using Natural Plant Material.

The arrangement shown above is in the entrance of the Neel Reid designed home on College Street in Macon, Georgia. This is also the Headquarters of the Macon Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.

Except for the three gold objects in this arrangement this design on the top of the Hutch in the Breakfast Room at the Garden Club Headquarters in Macon also uses Natural Plant Material.

Have a Blessed Christmas Season!!!

Fall Beauty

Preparing for Winter

These close up photographs of the Fatsia Blooms are shared here because I have never had seen this bloom. These plants are in four foot tall planters with a Southern exposure here in Macon, Georgia. This will be their second Winter and they remained out of doors last Winter with no damage.
The Gardens here are in a tree sheltered situation so I suspect that they will endure cold temperatures more efficiently than plants in planters in a landscape without trees.


No Fall Garden is complete without the lovely Confederate Rose. This pink bloom was just waiting to be photographed.

Frequent visitors to this Blog will know that I enjoy the "Angel Trumpet" plant. This one is in full flower here in late October. It is in the landscape on the East Side of our home in a wind sheltered area. I always cut these plants down to the soil line just before a frost. I collect about a dozen cuttings of the stems about ten inches long. I root them in water over the Winter in the Garage. The garage is not heated, but it is warm enough that these plants do not freeze. I also maintain the "Angel Trumpet Mother Plant" in a sixteen inch planter which I Winter over each year in the garage just in case we have a severe Winter.

I have been enjoying this beautiful plant in our landscape here in Middle Georgia for about eight years now.

As I visited the East Gardens I noted that the one Yuletide Camellia that we have is setting a plethora of buds which will soon become beautiful Flowers. I will share photographs here when they start blooming.

As we anticipate cooler weather it is prudent to think about plant protection for the upcoming Winter Season. Sometimes I wonder if the labor of toting the planters in and out from the garage is worth it, only to remember that the beauty that I enjoy makes it all well worth while.

Enjoy the Fall Season. Soon the Burning Bushes and other Fall Shrubs will be in full beauty.

Top Award Winners

Georgia National Fair

2009 Standard Flower Show

October 11, 2009 is the final day for this Show at the Georgia National Fair. The Flower Show is a real testment to the design skills of the Garden Club Ladies of Georgia. Additionally the horticulture displays gave every fair attendee the opportunity to view the plants that thrive in Georgia. A very educational event.

There were other Top Award Winners at this Flower Show, but I can only display so many. I took 167 images so that the Flower Show Chairperson could compile a Book of Evidence to submit in Garden Club Competitions.

You do not have much time left to enjoy this event, but I would urge everyone to attend the Fall Flower Show today or tomorrow, October 11, 2009.

I believe that this entry was in the "Hahira Honey Bee Festival" Class.

If I remember correctly, this entry was in the "Gold Rush Days, Dahlonagha" Class.

Fall Flower Show

2009 Georgia National Fair

Perry, Georgia

A Standard Flower Show

Yesterday, October 8, 2009 you had the opportunity to view the Fall Flower Show Staging. Today you are viewing the Complete Flower Show after the Judging had been completed. Of course there are visitors to the beautiful show.

2009 Georgia National Fair

Flower Show

Hosted By The

Camellia District IV

Garden Club of Georgia, Inc

What you are viewing here is the Standard Flower Show Staging. Tomorrow I will display the Show with all of the entries. This Flower Show was open to all citizens of Georgia.

Night Blooming Cereus

Today I will show you the cycle of bloom on this delightful bloom. The time and date are shown on each photo. It is amazing how this bloom progresses in a twelve hour period. Enjoy this sequence of blooms. For those who have never experienced the bloom of this flower please be aware that the fragrance is also wonderful. Last evening it was especially nice because of the humid conditions. We actually had a party!!!! Some of our Neighbors, some of our Camera Club Buddies and also some fellow Garden Club Members also enjoyed the show this lovely flower presents.

The first blooms on this plant were on August 1st, 2009. Now we know that the bloom cycle is at least forty days. It will be interesting to see if we have one more bloom cycle this year. Please be aware that we Winter over this plant in the garage. We do not desire that it be killed by a freeze.

First Impressions

Part II

Yesterday I posted two pictures of the plantings at the Front Door. After that Blog Post I took the camera to the closet. As I looked out the second story window I decided that I could get a better image to show the whole set up.

First Impressions

All Summer the urns which flank our front steps consisted of Green foliage. The Fatsia and the Potato Vine in the planters. Today I obtained two Mariposa plants and placed them in the concrete planters. They certainly add a nice bit of color to the formerly green plants. I hope they grow rather fast so that the scale will also be improved. I submit this post today to encourage everyone to consider dressing up the plantings near their front door. It is so easy to accept what we have done without adding to the concept to improve the eye appeal.

Angel Trumpet Blooms

I never tire of enjoying these blooms. These five blooms were on full display this morning. They are on the one plant that was acquired many years ago. I refer to this plant as "The Mother Plant." This plant is in a pot that I winter over in the garage, just in case we have a very cold Winter and the Angel Trumpet Plants in the ground are killed because of a freeze. Of course there are other plants and blooms that give great pleasure, but the beauty and delicate flower of the Angel Trumpet are tops on my list of plants that I must continue to cultivate. As always, I will have an abundance of cuttings this November.

Angel Trumpet Blooms

These plants have been in the garden for at least five years. Every Fall, before the first frost I cut them back to nothing and apply a heavy layer of pine needles/leaves about six inches deep.

When all danger of frost is past I uncover them. Thus the growth you see here is all from 2009.

This is an array of blooms on one plant. I took this shot using natural light in the early morning.

A Close up taken with flash which creates more vivid color. The shot was taken just moments from the first one above but I zoomed in on this blossom to show the detail of these lovely flowers.

On more flash photo with several blooms to show you the arrangement of blooms near the top of this plant.

Again, a flash photo. All of these pictures were taken before the morning sun was too bright. Using the flash at this time allows the distractions of the background to be somewhat muted. It was 8:00 A.M. when I took these photos.

You can be sure that I will also have cuttings of these plants this November to share with fellow garden club members.

Night Blooming Cereus

(The Morning After)

As you can tell this is an image of the Night Blooming Cereus the morning after the lovely display on the evening of 1 August 2009. Please scroll down to the next post to view the cycle of bloom of this lovely "Pass Along Plant" that we have enjoyed the past two evenings here in Middle Georgia.

Night Blooming Cereus

About five years ago one of the members of a local Garden Club here in Macon, of which my Bride is also a member, told us about a beautiful flower that blooms for only one night and is a lovely flower. We were told it was a Night Blooming Cereus. We were able to attend a late night garden party after she called us to tell us that the flower was in full bloom. Of course she shared several cuttings with us.

Our two plants have been growing and we bring them into the garage every Winter. The plants are potted and thrive in the shade. On July 21, 2009 I noted small buds forming on the edge of the leaves of our plants. The pictures below give you an idea of how this flower develops. Note the date and time of the image at the bottom of the picture.

Not only are these flowers lovely to look at, they also have a lovely fragrance. We had one flower on the night of 31 July 2009 and had friends and neighbors over to enjoy it. Then on the evening of 1 August 2009 we had eight flowers bloom. We started watching the flowers open at about 9:20 P.M. and the flower watching party did not end until Midnight.

If you desire more information about the care of this easy to grow plant may I suggest that you perform a search on the World Wide Web and look for organizations that are Land Grant Colleges. They appear to have the most reliable information. You can be sure that I will be sharing cuttings after the potential of a late September 2009 flush of blooms is past.

In summary a delightful flower and one that you will never forget. Now to show the complete the full cycle of this bloom please be aware that I will make an additional post to show what the bloom looks like on the morning after it's full beauty.

Summer Time Beauty in the Garden

Fatsia and Sweet Potato Vine make an interesting arrangement in the gun metal grey urns at both sides of the entrance. The Fatsia plants were able to survive the Winter Season in these planters.

The colorful Cordyline Plant is always interesting year round, but it certainly ads color in the Summer landscape. I have a pair of these plants that flank a metal bench in the shade garden. A restful area with a bit of color from these plants. I Winter over these plants in the garage.

The Dinner Plate Hibiscus remain in the garden year round. I have a planting that grows by the Deck and they come back every year. This is also a colorful that is enjoyed every Summer.

When taking pictures of colorful plants it is sometimes important to take a close up for the dramatic effect. I am confident that you will enjoy this view much more than the previous picture.

When taking pictures of garden plants I have found that using the flash in the early, almost dark hours of the morning allows the flower to be the feature in the picture when the background is dark.

You can click on any of these images to see a larger view. Additionally, should you desire additional information about any of these plants you can perform an internet search.

Enjoy the Summer Beauty that surrounds us all.

"Vitex"

"Texas Lilac"

When I first observed this plant several years ago I thought it was a well developed "Butterfly Bush." The color of the flower was very correct and I thought that the shrub was well cared for an properly pruned to maintain a compact/tight look.

During my attendance at a Flower Arranging Workshop during National Garden Week in 2008 I learned from the program presenter that it was a "Vitex" plant. I generally feature shrubs and plants that I have growing in my Gardens; however my mantra for this Blog also indicates that I will also write about plants that I enjoy.

This is a sun-loving, drought-tolerant plant that does well in the soil filled islands in parking lots here in Middle Georgia. In fact this plant and many more like it are well placed in the soil filled islands at a Macon, Georgia Elementary School. To bad school is not now in session so the students could enjoy this delightful looking plant. It is visible from the street that runs by this school and it sure attracts attention.

I post this information today because I know that many, many Georgia Garden Club members are also involved in landscaping activities in their respective communities. This is certainly a plant that would do well in similiar locations, like the soil islands in parking lots at community centers, and other areas of almost every Georgia Community where there is plenty of sun light.

I did a quick Internet search and ascertained that this shrub can grow rather large, however I do think that it would also perform well with severe pruning when needed to maintain a proper size in a large scale landscape setting such as the parking lot shown above.

As always, I look forward to your comments so that we may have a sharing Blog. Thank You!!!

Hydrangeas and Angel Trumpets

In Bloom - Middle Georgia

Everlast Hydrangeas in Bloom. Soon it will be time to dead head the blooms. This plant will repeat blooms through November.
The first Angel Trumpet blooms here in Middle Georgia. These blooms are on the first plant I acquired many years ago. Since then I have shared rooted cuttings of this lovely, and special to me plant.

This plant is still in a large fourteen inch flower pot which I winter over in the garage. I have at least a dozen Angel Trumpet plants in the soil and they are slower, but I will enjoy them later this Summer.

Interesting Flowers In Bloom

in

Middle Georgia

Of course everyone has seen the Lace Cap Hydrangea in bloom here in Middle Georgia. There is not very much excitement about this bloom, but I feature it today because these are the first Hydrangeas to bloom in my Gardens.

The exciting Hydrangea in Bloom today is the Climbing Hydrangea. This plant was placed on the North Side of our Home and the planting was conducted using the recommendations of the County Extension Agent. I acquired this plant on a Horticulatural Society Field Trip to various Nurseries in the Athens, Georgia area. I was introduced to this plant when a Speaker from Calloway Gardens gave a presentation to our Central Georgia Horticulture Society some years ago. I paid five dollars for this plant and was told that it probably never ever flower here in Middle Georgia in as much as it thrives in the higher country near Calloway Gardens. I planted it with love and used garden soil, peat moss and fine pine bark chips as well as sand. I did not write the formula down but I do believe that I used a bag of each items and dug a really deep hole. Of course I am excited about this plant and it's blooms here in Middle Georgia.

The featured bloom in this Gardening Tidbits Post today is the Apostle Plant. Several years ago a Garden Club Buddy of my Wife gave this plant to us. We have kept it in pots and divided it so that we could Winter it over in the garage. This Spring I placed one six inch pot on the front stoop and it has flourished. It is also known as:

Neomarica gracilis

Walking Iris

Twelve Apostles

So far this plant has flourished in full sun and the blooms are a visual treat.

I have conducted a limited search using Google and have found one site that indicates that each bloom will only last a day, but that several blooms will open on each stalk. I have found that the quickest way to research a plant if I know the name is go perform a Google Image Search.

Fringe Tree

A Fringe Tree in Bloom against a backdrop of other trees in the Gardens. You may know this plant as an "Old Man's Beard" or "Grancy Graybeard." It also is known as "Chionanthus Virginicus."

I can not state when I first saw this lovely flowering tree which is usually seen in rural area off of the back roads, but I do know that I first saw this plant in full bloom in a yard in rural Georgia as I traveled to visit my Bride's Aunt in Danville, Georgia. Several years later I learned the name as "Grancy Graybeard." I finally acquired one tree several years ago and it always blooms the second or third week of April. It is not a fast grower but it is a very interesting tree with lovely looking fringe. It does well in full sun and I have been told that it will also thrive in part shade.

A great focal point in April and it then takes a back seat in the landscape. It does loose it's leaves in the Winter.

Tulip Poplar

Lirindendron Tulipifera L or commonly known as Tulip Poplar is in full bloom in Middle Georgia.

These fast growing trees have lovely flowers, but once they reach great heights you have to wait until the flowers fall. Here is one bloom that was not damaged during the trip to Earth. Click on the image to see full size.

I have several of these trees in the back gardens and they make great shade.

Clivia

Clivia, a member of the Amaryllis Family. This plant is native to South Africa. Here in Middle Georgia it is a house plant. I keep it on the deck with a North exposure during the warm months and place it in the garage during the Winter. When the flower buds appear I bring it into the house to enjoy. This plant has been blooming for three weeks and will most likely continue to have a nice bloom for at least two more weeks. A delightful plant which can also be shared. This plant has two developing shoots which I will cut away once the blooms are complete. It is a great pass-a-long plant to share with your gardening friends and a delightful house plant that does not require any direct sunlight. It is certainly low maintenance.

Lenten Roses

Hellebores

I have featured the Lenten Rose in several Post this Winter. The first bloom I posted was on December 24th, 2008. These lovely low growing flowers are a delight and once established require almost no maintenance. I appreciate them because the local Deer population does not bother them. You can note the seed pods in the center of the blooms in the three pictures displayed above. These flowers have provided gardening pleasure for three months.

I would urge all Gardeners in Georgia to try this plant. The Lenten Rose was the 2005 Perennial Plant of the Year.

Spring Time Beauty in Middle Georgia

With the abundance of recent rain this past weekend the beauty of Middle Georgia is now beginning to achieve the full display.

Of course no Spring Time Garden would be complete without an abundance of Azeleas. I have at least one hundred plants which were here when we purchased our home in 1992 or were added in the 1992 - 1993 time frame.

In addition to Macon's famed Blooming Cherry Trees, almost every garden includes at least one Bradford Pear tree which is also grown for the lovely blooms.

We also obtained an abundance of Dogwood Trees when we purchased our home. While these trees do not require any maintenance, I have been told that to insure their health that I should sprinkle a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer at the drip line of each tree. I usually do this when the bloom cycle is over because I do not want to encourage early growth until all danger of frost is past.

Here is a close up of a few Dogwood blooms with a pine tree serving as the backdrop. I appreciate these blooms and the Dogwood trees that have flourished naturally on our property.

Please leave your comments here regarding your favorite Spring Time Blooms. Thank You!!