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rosie_gw

December 1--what are you glad is in your garden?

rosie
15 years ago

I confess, I'm looking for ideas, but I do have to offer:

Spirea thunbergii--after our drop to 8 degrees the other day, it's still putting on a lovely gentle show of pinkish-orange-gold colors. With white flowers to come in early spring and then pretty foliage and form all summer, I want more.

Rose 'Martha's Vineyard'--I have't fallen in love with this rose because it's not fragrant, but it's such a gracious mannered lady of a plant it deserves to be loved. After a summer of severe drought and no pruning at all, the little pink roses it managed to product for months are gone but it's still a handsome green mound showing off the first snow flurries of the year. From a distance more like a boxwood or holly than the typical rose.

Rosemary, same as above but its branchlets pointing skyward, and it went in our stuffing and gravy for the holiday.

Violet odoratas Mme. Armandine Pages and Lianne. I haven't had them long enough for much of a spread yet, but they're still green reminders that their little flowers will be back early next year.

Comments (28)

  • GAAlan
    15 years ago

    I also have a Spirea to mention, 'Magic Carpet'. Its been a fabulous plant. The color right now is beautiful, sort of a burnt orangey red. The foliage in summer is just as colorful with red new growth against yellowish green mature growth. It doesn't need flowers, but they are a wonderful bonus! I'll share a photo of the fall color when I download them. I was out wandering around in the 30 seconds worth of snowflakes yesterday.

    I also enjoy my winterberries. 'Winter Red' and 'Sparkleberry' being the best for me. Sparkleberry always turns a nice yellow before leaf drop which makes a stark contrast to the berries. Here it is from November 11.....

  • girlgroupgirl
    15 years ago

    Nice thread, Rosie!
    I am so glad for rose hips (first decoration, now I eat them) and the beautiful purple kale I am growing next to the golden lime green of some Japanese cabbage variety. POW punch of color all through winter (or as long as my taste buds can hold off on those!!), The rose which never looks bad and is climbing up around the windows, the rose which is a monster eater and must go in spring - but I'm glad it will ward off people coming through the front gate for now. Our community is struggling with crime.
    I am also very glad for the blueberry bushes I planted. Glorious colors of red and deep, dark purple right now in their magenta tire containers - they make me smile!

  • nippersdad
    15 years ago

    Having just passed several immense tracts of land bulldozed to make way for prospective strip malls, I vote for trees; any trees.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    15 years ago

    Same here...trees, the beautiful winter silhouettes are popping out now and the evergreens are glowing.
    I passed a mature grouping of oaks? today and they were so beautiful, a rusty red that really stands out right now.

    But in my little plot, the Nellie R. Stevens Hollies are covered in berries and the nandinas ( I like them!) are loaded with clusters too.
    And, one little thing, a white nancy lamium is a standout.

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    Most of my Holly berries have already disappeared. Likewise the Beautyberries! The Nandina berries appear untouched. They are not a favorite of birds and I usually cut them off and bag them for disposal. I also remove all of the berries that I can get at on a Ligustrum hedgerow next door. I don't bother the berries on the rear neighbor's Privet, I cut the entire bush down and dispose of it! They never miss them.
    I have a number of JM's that are displaying vivid red, orange or yellow fall colors and a row of Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' that will continue to bloom during this month. Saw the first bloom on one Camellia japonica 'C.M. Hovey' last week and expect C.j. 'Debutante' to burst into bloom any day. It is usually the earliest one to show color.

    Only have one Spiraea, (S. japonica 'Shirobana'), that I grew from a cutting that a friend gave me several years ago. It has become shaded by a nearby tree and flower production has become sparse. I suppose it's time to root some cuttings from it, as a backup, and then move it into a sunnier location.

    Many of the Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) are still up and so far, unaffected by the freezing temperatures. I grow many of them in pots, sitting in trays of water, all around the garden, wherever I can find a sunny spot.

    Won't be long before the Hellebores will brighten up the garden. My first blooms each year are on a Lenten Rose, Helleborus x hybridus "Royal Heritage seed strain". I have 3 of those, but the other 2 bloom much later than this one.
    Ain't Nature wonderful?, so unpredictable!
    Rb

    Here is a link that might be useful: Spiraea japonica 'Shirobana'

  • lzygrdner
    15 years ago

    Great Thread! I am thankful for my parsley which reseeds and all the other evergreen herbs, sage, rosemary, oregano that are always there to add to a dinner. The ornamental quince is beginning to flower, and the lavendar is making a neat little hedge right now. Soon the hellebores will start flowering. Lastly, the parsley hawthorn planted by the mailbox is finally taking on a more architectural shape.

    Harriet

  • rosie
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Lots of super ideas for plants to go looking for after the new year, with reluctant adjustments for climate. This time of year I'm jealous of you guys farther south. Yesterday's rain, as always, makes me think anything should be possible.

    Right below our porch is a young native witch hazel, with has a lot of dead leaves and a few flower buds. When it's more mature, it should be in bloom now. Same for the baby Pyracantha 'Mojave' that's supposed to grow up the retaining wall next to it.

    GaAlan, would Sparkleberry do okay in average to occasionally dry soil, do you think? I'm planting for birds and us and have almost brought it home to try a couple of times. GGG, what is the monster rose that sadly has to go? BTW, we used to live in Hollywood, where two-legged prowlers were as common as cats, but we loved it too.

    Sadly same problem here, of course, Nippersdad, including right at home. I'm currently wandering around with an Acer truncatum wondering where it should go now that it's been bounced from my initial thought by a tulip poplar. We have way too much cleared land because of construction, severe loss from drought and pine bugs, and a passing tornado, and it'll take some years for the shade to come back.

    Glad to hear your parsley is doing nicely, Harriet. I let mine die out and need to get more in. make that mistake. How old are your parsley hawthorns? My young ones haven't really grown yet because of the drought, and architectural form is just a dream for the future.

    Thanks for the tip on the 'Royal Heritage' hellebores, RB. A friend here in Gainesville grows and sells hellebores, and I'd be surprised if she didn't have that strain among all the others... :)

    Another offering from my stroll this morning: Cotoneaster lacteus (Parney cotoneaster). The EG leaves are a sort of mauvy color now, berries red and not yet appealing to the birds, and it has a dainty arching form.

  • rosie
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    It's Cotoneaster franchettii. Parney also became a must the instant I saw big clumps on each side of the entry to a friend's garden filled with flocks of happy cedar waxwings one winter, but, although arching too (and bigger), I particularly like franchettii's pretty daintiness.

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    rosie...
    Thought you would like to know....Cotoneaster franchettii is on California's hit list, as an invasive plant. So, what else is new!

    Walked out the back door of my basement, onto the driveway, this morning to search for some containers to pot up a few Amaryllis bulbs and the first thing that caught my eye was a young Jack-in-the-Pulpit, with a fully developed spathe, that came up in a pot of soil, apparently unaware of the freezing temperatures we have had during the past several days. This is the second time that has happened during the past few years. There must be a microclimate there around that pot, that is many degrees warmer than at a rainbarrel, only a few feet away, which had a sheet of ice on the water.
    Also found, what appears to be a Mtn Laurel seedling, in another pot farther down the driveway. Strange thing, because the nearest Mtn Laurel to that location is very young and has never bloomed? Am I receiving help from the abundant wildlife around here? If so, it's about time they did something constructive!
    Rb

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    I can't believe you guys have ventured outdoors! Brrrr. Actually, I did go on a plant rescue today (my family thought I was crazy, but I had already committed). Golly gee, it was cold. By the way, the mature sparkleberries there still had gorgeous burgundy leaves and lots of tiny fruit. I grabbed a few berries to try at home (they can be hard to transplant).

    My highbush blueberries still have some beautiful leaves on them at home. I have one Viburnum prunifolium (young) that still has all it's leaves and they are a luscious shade of purple. The Georgia aster also has purple leaves now. Other than that, I am grateful for all my evergreens - hemlocks, mountain laurel, rhododendrons, evergreen gingers, ground pine, galax, etc. Lots of red oaks still looking real good now with their fall color.

    And I can't believe it - all the berries are gone from my Viburnum acerifolium already. Last year, they hung on all winter as if they weren't tasty. Still have some bright red berries on the Chokeberry (formerly Aronia). That is definitely a plant that more people should get.

  • rosie
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hi, Razorback. You nearly gave me a heart attack for fear I might have to destroy C. franchetii. We have Chinese privet all over the Southeast, so I'm in no particular hurry to eradicate it from all places it's planted itself usefully, but my lone little Franchetii would have to go. I just googled, though, and fortunately--so far--it seems it's invasive in Mediterranean climates, and there are no reports of invasive tendencies in the temperate Southeast. However, sadly, at this point it can't be recommended to others.

    Hi, Razorback. Your micro-microclimate is fun. I'm hoping to discover some good ones around here. So far the discovery has been that the whole hillTOP is in a significant cold pocket. BTW, I did find the compact form of tulip poplar you recommended, thanks (at McMahan's in Clermont). It's tucked in where it will protect the living room from 6 hours of summer sun--someday.

    When I first looked Aronia up after bringing it home, Esh, it was described as a weedy shrub. I was still glad of anything that'd hold our slope and be happy, but how nice to know in your experience it's a glad-to-have.

  • rjinga
    15 years ago

    As simple as it may sound, I am just thrilled that my italian parsley is thriving. I thought I had lost it all to some kind of caterpillar that chomped it all back late in the summer. But it came back and is healthier than ever, I planted it into my flower beds and have about 4 big plants. NOTHING better than fresh herbs like that.

    I also am happy with my lemon balm (I know I know, it's like growing weeds) but I sure do enjoy it.

    I'm mostly thankful for my GREENHOUSE :) since all my ferns are just in hog heaven in there, in fact I peeked in today and saw some new growth on them!! They are confused, but I"m not going to tell them any differently :) I also have basil and green peppers growing in the GH,

    And finally, I'm just starting to see the narcissist blooming, and all my daffodils are all up and green and pretty.

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    Aronia arbutifolia, renamed by some extremely bored taxonomist to Photinia pyrifolia (it is almost unheard of, to change a sacrosanct specific epithet, when flipping a Genus!), can produce shoots from the root zone and the seed are dispersed by birds, along with a shot of nitrogen fertilizer!
    But not to worry, if your neighbors are like mine, they can use a valuable native plant, to upgrade their nauseous landscape, consisting of Privet, Ligustrum, Chinese wisteria, Japanese honeysuckle, English Ivy, Bradford pear, x leylandii cypress, Variegated Euonymus, Elaeagnus and ___, ___, ___.(you fill in the blanks !).

    esh__Back to the Bluffs again? Must be a highly productive rescue site. Too bad it's so far from me, at least an hour's drive each way. Probably more drive time, than onsite time.
    Red chokeberry was fairly common at the 2 GA20 sites, but I believe all but one, were taken. It was a mature shrub, about 6' tall, near and roots intertwined with a fairly large deciduous tree. Never observed flowers or fruit on it at anytime during the several years the sites were worked. No one, including me, wanted to tackle that one!

    Still have red foliage on some of the V. cassinoides and one lone Dogwood, which has a glossy evergreen Osmanthus americanus for a backdrop. Probably the last year for the Devilwood, as it has suffered a lot of wind damage during it's 45+ years of existance and I'm tired of pulling up the thousands of seedlings, distributed by the birds. Probably replace it with a couple of Yaupon or Dahoon Holly seedlings, from our daughter's backyard on the coast. If the Devilwood adapted to this Zone, then the Hollies probably will, also.
    Have to consider the birds, you know!
    Rb

  • lzygrdner
    15 years ago

    GGG. My parsley hawthorn has been in the ground 3 years. I think I planted it from a 3 gallon, I know I bought it at the dunwoody nature center plant sale (usually in fall and spring - offering great plants).

    It barely flowered last year, so hopefully this spring.
    Harriet

  • jrodr01
    15 years ago

    I planted a grouping of red twig dogwoods this fall and they look amazing in the bright afternoon sun. Paired them up with some Muhle grass popping up behind some large moss-covered boulders and I just want to stare all winter. ;-)

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    jrodr01, perhaps we'd all enjoy seeing a picture of that! Sounds nice.

    Rb, yes it is a very good site. It is rich with oaks, poplars, sourwood and bigleaf magnolias. Shrubs include native azaleas, at least 3 different kinds of Vaccinium, Lyonia, 3 kinds of Viburnum, 2 kinds of Ilex, beaked hazelnut, mountain laurel and umpteen different herbaceous perennials.

  • PRO
    Nell Jean
    15 years ago

    Bulbs, even the ones still chillin' in the fridge.
    Camellias: C. sasanqua is blooming and shedding a carpet of petals and has a heavenly tea fragrance.
    Camellia japonicas have buds and Mathotiana is blooming, formal pink blossoms.
    Cuttings in the greenhouse: pentas and pineapple sage in bloom; purple heart, persian shield, porterweed.
    Dogwoods: the red berries and bright leaves are mostly gone but next springs buds are starting to grow.
    Pine trees: all that lovely pine straw for the beds.

    Nell

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    esh_
    Is the Lyonia species a Maleberry or the Fetterbush?
    I think the Fetterbush prefers wet feet, but the Maleberry will grow in either damp or dry habitat.
    Do you have one...or both, in your native plant collection?

    Thought I had found Lyonia at the edge of a forest sink, during a rescue several years ago, but I'll never know for sure, because it died!

    I guess rosie is still running around with the Painted(Shantung) Maple, looking for just the right location to dig! I like those a lot, but it's girth is problematic for me, in a location where I need to replace a contorted Silver Maple. I discussed a replacement with a friend recently and he recommended our native Chalkbark Maple, Acer leucoderme. He said that he grows several that has outstanding fall color. He collected the seed from a specimen on a street corner in N. Dekalb Co. about 25 years ago.

    Just finished planting a number of Natives, from a central TN garden, which included 2 species of Trillium that aren't found in GA, T. sessile (Toadshade) & T. recurvatum (Bloody butcher), also, Twinleaf, Shooting Star & Goldenseal. They included a few Dutchman's Breeches & Squirrel Corn for me to kill! Have had limited or no success with either one.

    jrodr01.... Keep us posted about your success with the red twig Dogwoods. Which cultivar do you have? I tried growing them in the garden, about 40 years ago, and failed. Think I had them in an inhospitable location. Too much competition from constantly spreading Maple tree roots and not enough moisture, I suspect. Don't know if the summer heat was a factor or not. (since we are several hundred miles south of their natural range).
    I received 5 more, plus several other trees/shrubs, from a TN nursery, as a token gift, in appreciation for their executing a large sale, upon my recommendation.
    I have them in a large pot and they seem to be growing well, but some still have green leaves and none of the stems are red. (Some appear to be green-ish/yellow)There was no cultivar name attached, so they are probably nursery grown stock, from a common native collection.

    There is a mountain of leaves, some mixed with pine straw, awaiting the shredder, before going to the compost pile. Since the price of gasoline has retreated, maybe I can afford to crank up that large engine this year. It is a gas hog!
    Rb

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    Rb, it is Lyonia ligustrina, the maleberry. I have had pretty good luck transplanting this one and have several planted now for about about 5 years. I am particularly fond of this species and try to convince others to rescue it when we come across it on sites. In the winter, the leaf buds are a vibrant red against the tan branches.

    I purchased Lyonia lucida, the fetterbush, just this past spring from Nearly Native. Got two of them; one of them died (probably due to drought), the other is hanging on. I planted so many things in the spring that I had a hard time keeping up with the watering chores.

    I planted my first red twig dogwood this fall. I hope it does well.

  • GAAlan
    15 years ago

    Rosie, my Sparkleberry is in very similar conditions to what you describe. It also has to deal with a lot of afternoon shade from a very nearby, huge red maple.

    I finally got around to loading a picture of Magic Carpet spirea in nearly full color on December 1. The timing of this topic was amazing because I spent that morning taking a few shots. I check in on GW soon after and spot a topic about whats going good on December 1!!

  • razorback33
    15 years ago

    I checked Jim Rodger's website and he is sold out of L. lucida, Pink-flowered form. I think I may try the Rusty Staggerbush, L. ferruginea. It appeals to me because it has the brown scaly indumentia on the leaf backs, similar to it's cousins, the small-leaf lepidote Rhododendrons. Some studies indicate that the scales contain essential oils that defends against damage by insects, such as the black vine weevil.
    Found 2 nurseries that have it, one is Woodlanders, Aiken, SC. I am going to Charleston-Savannah-Brunswick after Christmas and may detour by the nursery to pick up a couple. (Assuming they are open.)
    Although all 5 native species of Lyonia are documented in the GA coastal plains, I have never found one in the wild, nor at any of the coastal nurseries, which specialize mostly in tropicals and Azaleas.
    Rb

  • georgia-rose
    15 years ago

    Great photo, gaalan! Very attractive fall color. How old is your plant?
    I have always been afraid to plant Spirea, as I've heard they are very invasive.
    But I think that was in reference to Bridalwreath Spirea, a white-flowered variety. I assumed that applied to all varieties?
    Do you find that you have to remove suckers every year, to keep it from spreading?
    I googled Spirea Magic Carpet and on one website, they described it as a compact shrub, 2'x2' , but then listed the maximum height as 4-5'. A photo that was included, presented a small tree, 15-20' tall!! Really confusing.

  • rosie
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I'm especially glad to have rain in my garden! :)

    GaAlan, that is gorgeous! It must be especially welcome in a gray landscape like today's. The foliage on my thunbergias was for a few days a significantly less vibrant (but still very pretty) version. I do have to try some Sparkleberries where they can be seen from the house with sun behind them; I saw a picture yesterday of a well-tended pair that had me hyperventilating.

    Georgia Rose, I've planted some spring-blooming spireas that show no signs of being invasive--VanHoutte, Reeves, and thunbergia. Our neighbors across the street, however, do have a very upright bridalwreath-type one that does seed about pretty lavishly; I don't know what species. I love the ones I have, though.

    On strolling about the other day, I found another glad-to-have: a compact form of winter honeysuckle, Lonicera purpusii. It won't be blooming for another few weeks, but I'm glad now because, even thoug deciduous here, it's still green in a gray landscape (surprisingly with our drop to 8 degrees). Actually dots of green--a grader last August mistook my directions and scraped my nice clump away, burying the whole thing under a foot and a half of earth. I dug and dragged it back out (NOT easy!), hurriedly sawed the root ball apart into a number of pieces, and shoved them in shallow holes I scraped in baking soil. Today they're all alive, scrawny tattered relics of their former self, but this time next year the bigger ones should (almost) be handsome arching (green) mounds once again, getting ready to cover themselves with fragrant winter flowers.

  • GAAlan
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the compliments georgia rose and rosie. Mother nature did do a good job with the brush on it this year. Today it is mostly bare of foliage save for a few scraps near the tips of several branches.

    Georgia rose, I planted it as a one gallon size, on May 10, 2004. Upon looking through my notes I was disappointed to find I did not record the height or width for it at the time of planting, as is my custom. I don't know why but it slipped through the cracks of my system! I just measured it and it is 3'2" tall and exactly 5' wide. A very nice plant but not the small, ground hugging type some say it is.

  • laylaa
    15 years ago

    A Winter's Star camellia, and I am not a big fan of camellias. Like them, just don't love them, except Yuletide. I have 4 Winter's Stars that were here when I moved in, planted in a poor location and right smack in your face off my deck, blocking the view into the woods. They are 12'-15' tall and I haven't liked them a bit and keep plotting how I can move them without killing. They are in rock hard clay on a steep bank, buried in vines, thin and jaundiced looking. It's all wrong.

    I cleared out the vines, but did not fertilize or water and dang if those ladies didn't show me up. The first bloom opened Oct 6 and they are still blooming. A lot. The smallest and sickliest of them all is blooming wildly, and the leaves turned a stunning deep purple green.

    I've been told off by a plant. I owe them one now.

  • jrodr01
    15 years ago

    Hi esh_ga and everyone. I've posted a link to the red twig dogwoods I mentioned (see below).

    Razorback33 - glad to know about your experience with red twigs. The furthest south I had ever seen them was Western North Carolina. But I saw them offered recently at Hasting's and picked up a few (cultivar 'Baileyi'). They seem OK now, but just planted this Fall. I described my conditions (diffuse morning light, a few hours of early afternoon sun going in and out of shade by late afternoon) and they said they thought they'd do pretty well. Keep you posted.

    New to these forums so bear with me! Enjoy reading everyone's posts!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Red Twig Dogwood 'Baileyi'

  • Iris GW
    15 years ago

    Wow-wee! That is fire engine red! I'll have to keep an eye out for that one. Nice rock too.

    So it is Cornus sericea 'Baileyi', which is a native cultivar (although the native range does not include Georgia, you're right). It will have white berries, and that will be a nice point of interest as well.

    Thanks for the picture.

  • jrodr01
    15 years ago

    Thanks esh! When the strong afternoon light hits it just right they are very bright. It helps that the area in the background stays in shade most of the day, making for good contrast. That's right - Cornus sericea 'Baileyi' is what was on the tag. I'm a little concerned the more I read about care and range - I think it would prefer a wetter area and the hot Georgia sun may not benefit it. But just had to try it.

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