Dirt Therapy

Do you need a fast-growing vine that will provide dense shade? When asked this, I always think about the Dutchman's Pipe (or Pipe Vine) but due to its tendency to invade I'm usually reluctant to mention it. There are hundreds of varieties of Aristolochia , some prettier and more interesting than others. The one I grow is Aristolochia durior which is grown mainly for the leaves. The word Aristolochia comes from the Greek - Aristos for "best" and lochia for "delivery." This refers to an ancient belief that the plants aided women in childbirth because the flowers resembled a human fetus in the womb. The flowers are pipe-shaped and appear in spring and are greenish-yellow in color (I don't have a photo of the flower but you can see on here ). They are underneath the foliage though and are hardly noticeable. Indeed, the large 8-10 inch heart-shaped leaves are the standout feature on this vine. This is a fast-growing deciduous vine and can easily attain 20-...

After months of frustration with no rain (and when there was rain, it always skipped our neighborhood), we finally got some relief yesterday. The rains from Fay arrived around noon and it rained non-stop until late in the night. Fortunately we didn't get any severe storms with the rain although there were tornado warnings and watches in south Alabama. I walked around the garden briefly this morning and didn't see any limbs or debris, just soggy leaves everywhere. So how much did we get? I'm not sure because I need a good rain gauge. I got a nice fancy one for Christmas last year with a copper tube that floats up as water fills it, but as Leslie Jordan says in 'Sordid Lives', "It ain't a working!" The weird thing is I can't seem to find a plain old rain gauge anywhere, not even at Wal-Mart. I did see one at Lowe's but it also has a thermometer attached to it. I never expected that finding a good one would be so difficult. So I guess I'm gonn...

This is what happens when you go to Lowe's on a Saturday morning in mid-August. They were practically giving things away. I came home with my truck loaded and spent less than $50. A pyramid trellis was marked down to $19.95 (from $69!) and the plants were either 99 cents or $1.99. Rudbeckia, coneflowers, barberry "Crimson Pygmy", hyssop and Loropetalum "Pixie" were among my finds. Most of the plants are in pretty good condition too. I felt like a kid in a candy store!

August in Alabama is usually not fit for man nor beast but this past week has actually been cooler and the humidity is down. This is my last week off before heading back to work next week and I've got a lot done in the garden this week. Here is what is blooming in the garden - Double Rose of Sharon We got a little rain on Tuesday and the Rain Lilies burst into bloom PeeGee Hydrangea Pineapple Lily Rudbeckia loves the August heat. I just bought some more plants this week - Obidient Plant The rest of the blooms this month come from container plants - Coleus Crown of Thorns Fan Flower Ornamental Pepper Be sure to visit Carol's May Dreams blog to get links to other gardeners blooms this month!

No, there is no debauchery or ribald action going on in the garden, it is just the Lycoris squamigera blooming. I don't know all the scientific names of plants but this one is one of my favorites because I love the way it rolls off your tongue. As much as I like to say it though, the common name, "Naked Ladies," is much more fun and amusing. Actually, this plant has a host of common names - Surprise Lily, Resurrection Lily, Magic Lily, Mystery Lily and the list goes on. Elizabeth Lawrence refers to them as "Hall's Amaryllis," a name which I never hear today. I've always heard them called "Naked Ladies" because the flowers appear on tall stalks with no foliage underneath. It would be interesting to see time-lapse photography of this plant blooming because they suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere in late July and early August. The blooms last for several weeks and if you want to transplant them, it is wise to mark the area because afte...