Dirt Therapy

Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama at Ivy Green, her family home. It is within 6 miles of my house and I'm embarrassed to say that, until two weeks ago, I had only been there once and that was on a class trip when I was very young. I'm writing an article for Alabama Gardener about gardening restoration at Ivy Green and I've been engrossed in a biography on her. I've heard of Helen Keller my entire life but I never realized just how famous she was. She was especially popular overseas, where admirers mobbed her like they do rock stars. She was a fascinating woman and her achievements are quite remarkable. Try as I may, I just cannot fathom living in a world of darkness and silence. I also find the whole concept of sign language and reading lips (Helen did it by placing her fingers on a person's mouth) quite fascinating but totally perplexing. I still don't understand how Annie Sullivan could transcribe lectures by spelling it all with sign language. How ...

Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis) (aka Leopard Flower) Hardy to Zone 4 Bloom Time - June through August Color - Orange or yellow with red/brown spots Foliage - Narrow sword like blades (similar to iris) Size - 1-3 ft. Exposure - Full sun or partial shade Culture - This short-lived perennial has dried seed capsules that split to reveal clusters of black seeds which resemble blackberries. The plant is actually a member of the iris family. It grows wild along roadsides and in rocky woods. In the garden, the vivid orange blooms look good next to delicate foliage plants like Russian sage, baby's breath or yarrow. It grows well in average soil and full sun or partial shade. The vibrant color of the blooms will be prolonged if given afternoon shade. You can expect the plant to self sow or collect the seeds and distribute them in the fall. Native to China and Japan where the dried rhizomes are used medicinally.

Hallelujah, we finally got some rain! Not a lot, I'm guessing around 3/4 inch, but anything is welcome at this point. We also got a brief sprinkle this afternoon. This is the shrub rose Gruss An Aachen . Considered to be the first floribunda rose, it is a low growing (under 3 feet) upright shrub which is covered with plump, pale pink flowers that fade to creamy white with age. The name means "greetings to Aachen" which was the city where Emperor Charlemagne made his home and also the hometown of the rose breeder.

This month's topic at Gardening Gone Wild is whimsey and I have to say, I almost skipped it because I don't feel that there is a great deal of whimsey in our garden. I've been running across things though and I would think, "That might be considered whimsical" and decided to join in. Some of these objects probably don't fit the category at all but I threw them in for good measure. For a better look at things whimsical, check out some of the links on the GGW blog . First of all, I'm a huge fan of statuary, plaques, ornaments, birdfeeders, wind chimes, you name it. A few years ago, during a trip to Mentone, Alabama, we found a wonderful little shop that sold unique handmade items. This wind chime is made with forks and spoons - perfect for the vegetable garden, no? They also had these cute little things made from broom handles I did a presentation on hydrangeas for the Master Gardener's a few years ago and this is what they gave me. I be...

This is hydrangea 'Ayesha' which finally decided to bloom for me. I've only been waiting about 4 years! I've always wanted this hydrangea because it looks so unique and different from other mophead hydrangeas. The clusters of flowers are densely packed with sepals that are spoon-shaped. It is also described as being fragrant, but I haven't detected a strong scent. I first had this hydrangea planted in the secret garden area and decided to move it because it would not bloom. I transplanted it last year, again with no blooms but this year she seems to be coming out of her shy spell. Not prolific yet, this is only the second bloom but isn't it gorgeous?

Michael and I did something this past weekend that we haven't done in a long time - we took a road trip. We decided to drive up to Memphis to visit our friend JoAnn with an alternative agenda which was to stop at a huge concrete statuary place along the way. Well, it figures that the statuary place was closed. We drove on to Memphis and had a good time. JoAnn took us to some places that we don't have in Florence, like the Davis Kidd bookstore, the Whole Foods grocery store and some really cool (and expensive) gardening shops. I had spied a nursery before we got to her house on Poplar St. called Trip's so we headed back there. As I was surveying the rows and rows of plants, I came across a pomegranate and knew that it would be coming home with us. For some reason, pomegranates have been popular here lately. People had been asking me if I'd seen that gorgeous orange shrub blooming here and there and when I tracked down what they were describing, it was the pomegranate. I...

We are back in drought mode here in north Alabama so it is back to lugging the hoses around. Yesterday was a super nice day with low humidity, a pleasant breeze, lots of clouds and temperatures in the 80s. Unfortunately, I was stuck at work. Why is it that all the nice days come on work days? Anyway, I took some photos in the evening. Here is what is blooming right now - Crocosmia Lily 'Muscadet' in a pot - the fragrance is incredible Hosta 'Gold Standard' The common orange daylily Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) Plume Poppy Creeping Jenny and Wire Vine