Dirt Therapy

Spring really arrived with a bang this past week with the blooming of the ornamental trees. Walking around the garden is like being in a fairy land. The most spectacular is the Yoshino Cherry. This was the first tree I planted in my garden back in 1993. It is a fast-growing tree and gets lovelier with each passing year. A few years later I added another Yoshino close to it. I'm not sure what I was thinking - maybe I wanted our garden to look like the Washington D.C. Tidal Basin? This tree is somewhat restricted with a sweet gum on one side and a red maple on the other. I sometimes get carried away. I can't say that I'm a deeply religious person and the only spiritual feelings I do get come from nature. Sitting on the bench under the canopy of this tree is an awesome feeling (only problem is I don't have time to sit on that bench!) Looking down the street - This crabapple has never been this beautiful. I don't recall the variety and I believe I bought it at Wal-Mart....

On Wednesday, I took a day off from gardening and went on a nature hike with some local Master Gardeners. Cane Creek Canyon Preserve is located in Colbert County (which neighbors my county to the south), just south of Tuscumbia. The property is owned by a couple who have accumulated over 400+ acres over the years and founded this conservatory which is fascinating. I'd been hearing about it for years but this was my first trip. Our mission was to scope out wildflowers, which I admit I know very little about. Deep ravines, gorges, caves, waterfalls and huge boulders cover the property and hundreds of wildflowers and native shrubs flourish. Some plants can only be found in this area. The trees had not leafed out yet and the azaleas were just budding so I hope I can make another trip and take more photos in a few weeks. The trek was not for the weary or the faint-of-heart. There were all terrain vehicles to carry those around who couldn't climb the steep hills. By the end of the da...

I have an article in the April issue of Alabama Gardener . It is a garden profile of John and Lynn Ingwersen's garden in Killen, Alabama (just outside of Florence). Here are a few photos that I took of their garden last year (some of these appear in the article, some don't) -

This shrub is blooming beautifully in my garden today! Alabama Snow Wreath (Neviusia alabamensis) Native to the southeastern U.S. Mature Height: 3-6 ft. Growth Rate: Moderate Soil: Moist, well-drained, not picky Light Requirements: Sun/partial shade Foliage: 1" - 2" long medium green leaves, deciduous, alternate with sharp-toothed margins Flower/Fruit: White protruding stamens in early spring Hardy to Zone 4 Discovered in 1857 by Reverend Reuben Denton Nevius on a bluff above the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, this is a rare shrub not often seen in nurseries or gardens. I obtained mine from a local nursery that specializes in native plants but it can also be purchased at Forest Farm (www.forestfarm.com). The shrub forms arching branches that eventually form a rounded mound. The flowers (which are actually stamens) appear very early, as soon as other plants are leafing out. They resemble a spirea or maybe a loropetalum in appearance. I have mine growing underneath a yosh...

I was off work Friday for Good Friday and I'm off this entire week for Spring Break. I'm hoping to get some major gardening chores accomplished and I decided that the first order of business would be to clear out the Rambling Rector rose on my pergola that I wrote about a while back . Well, after wrestling with RR all day Friday, recuperating on Saturday, and finishing up today, I can say that the deed is done but I'm telling you it was a fight to the finish. Lord, this is one vicious rose - I swear it had it in for me! I had already cut the rose back a few months ago so the major clean-up involved getting the long prickly canes off the top of the pergola. Since I couldn't stand on top of the pergola, all I could do was work from a ladder or stand beneath it and reach up with lopers. I did both and it was a long and tedious job. I don't know what was more pleasurable - having my body pinned against the ladder by swinging canes with death hooks digging into my back a...

The daffodils are blooming everywhere and the tulips are getting ready to pop. The little grape hyacinths seem to get lost in the shuffle. I should plant more of these. They are not a problem to grow and they spread rapidly. I admire the large ribbons of grape hyacinths planted in Holland but I've never seen them grown like this in the United States. They are so tiny, you almost have to lay down on the ground to appreciate their beauty (which is what I did to get this photo!)

It's mostly camellias this month! 'C. M. Wilson' 'Mary Agnes Patin' 'Nuccio's Pearl' 'Drama Girl' 'Magnoliaflora' 'Spring Festival' Carolina Jessamine Candytuft Viburnum 'Spring Bouquet' Alabama Snow Wreath ( Neviusia alabamensis ) Saucer Magnolia 'Rustic Rubra'

{{{This post was written for my website A Southern Garden }}} Size: 10’ – 15’ feet in height and spread Leaves: 2” – 4” inch oblong, coarse and dense, much smaller than other magnolias Flowers: White, sometimes pink tinged, star-shaped with thin petals Growth Rate: Slow Culture: Does best in partial sun in moist, acidic soils but is adaptable to a wide range of soil pHs This delicate and fragile beauty blooms so early that it is often nipped by frosts which can be a frustrating experience. I once saw a spectacular specimen growing at a local dentist’s office and had to have one. I’ve had it now for twelve years and I’ve had those stunning shows maybe twice. I almost always get blooms but they may only last a few days before the cold get them. But on those occasions, when all the buds manage to open, it is a sight to behold. One year, during one of the rare fantastic displays, a passer-by stopped and asked me what kind of tree it was and went on to say that it was the prettiest tre...

{{{This post was written for my website A Southern Garden }}} Italian Arum (Arum Italicum) (aka Lords and Ladies and Painted Arum) Hardy to Zone 5 Bloom Time - Flowers in spring, berries in summer Colors - White flowers, orange berries Foliage -Arrowhead-shaped, long-petioled, glossy grayish-green leaves with pale green midribs, 8-12" long Size - 12 - 18 inches in height Exposure - Shade or partial shade Culture - Best in humus-rich, well-drained soils in light dappled shade. Stumbling upon this plant in the winter landscape might lead you to think that someone accidentally set out a houseplant. It does indeed resemble the common popular houseplant called Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium). Both are members of the philodendron family Araceae but Italian Arum is a much different plant. Dormant during the latter part of the summer, growth appears in late fall and continues throughout the winter. Cold weather doesn't phase it a bit although extreme temperatures may ca...