grouping plants together by color it creates a combination
than the individual plants. Dr. Rick has some tips on grouping
using a technique called " color echo." An example
is a Day Lily with a
strong yellow, he then plants in close proximity a Daisy
with a little
yellow in its' bloom. Next to the Daisy he will plant something
yellow or even white. By weaving colors together we get
a sense of
unity. Keep your color scheme simple and try to echo from
group to the next.
Another example is Heuchera Peter Veil and Japanese Painted
Fern. If you have a situation with shade in the afternoon,
these plants thrive. The Heuchera has a strong purple leaf
while the Japanese Painted Ferns have a strong purple stem
and purple mid rib of the frond. This combination has an
interesting textural contrast as well.
Helen Phillips reviews a seed packet showing the important
they contain. The California Poppy package has a lot of
lists the botanical name, Eschscholzia Maritima Prustrata-Golden
it means that worldwide if you see this name you will get
The information continues with a description - masses of
golden yellow flowers with blue green foliage. The habit
trailing. It is a half hardy perennial, that means it most
survive all but the coldest of winters. This seed has an
award. This is
important because awards are given out sparsely. It says
"sow in March" this tells us that it takes cool
temperatures for this seed to sprout. It prefers a sunny,
well drained situation and reaches a height of about 8 inches.
The packet tells us how deep to plant the seed, this is
important and often ignored - not a good move. It likes
soil, raked to a fine silt. Simply put get out all clods
and make sure
the soil is fine. Sometimes it will have a sell by date.
packets may say "continue to sow" if you continually
plant the seeds
you'll continually have flowers. It may say Germination
75%, this means
not all seeds will come up. The information on these seed
important and helps us be better gardeners.
Helen is digging up some older plants, Pansies, and Daffodils.
a spading fork for the bulbs, it gets under the bulbs, doesn't
them and pries them up from the earth. The Daffodils will
elsewhere, the Pansies will go on the compost pile. Leave
the foliage on the Daffodil bulbs so they can continue to
feed the bulb. She then rakes the bed, moving the Pine Straw,
but will put it back on the bed when the replanting is complete.
Smooth the soil and she's ready for planting Parsley, which
makes an excellent edger plant. Plant them about 1 foot
apart, they will grow together and make a tight border,
lasting about 2 years. Rake the pine straw back around the
Parsley, spread a slow release fertilizer, water and these
plants should be set.
Hank Bruno feels we should plant cover crops when our beds
are not being used. It helps control erosion and adds nitrogen.
Farmers use Rye, it may be too tough and wiry for our tillers.
Another option for a cover crop would be Red Clover. Protect
against erosion and feed the soil, use a cover crop.
Hank Bruno talks about several invasive plants. Honeysuckle
wonderful fragrance. Japanese Honeysuckle is a vine, it
plants and chokes them out. It covers them with such a dense
other plants can't breathe.
Another invasive, Chinese Privet, is a hedging plant, an
white flowers turn into blue fruit in the fall. The birds
eat the fruit,
then spread it throughout the woodlands. This plant forms
dense thickets under which nothing else can grow. It is
becoming quite a problem. Another is Microstegium, it is
an annual grass and grows in shady areas. It becomes a dense
carpet, if we keep it mowed and keep it from going to seed
it can be kept under control. A light spray of Round-up
will keep it under control, otherwise it chokes out native,
woodland wildflowers. The Princess Tree or Mimosa has a
beautiful flower in the summer. It is prone to several diseases,
hence short-lived. It has spread throughout the south.
Kudzu needs no introduction in the South. It was originally
the USDA to stop erosion. It will grow hundreds of feet
each year and
covers thousands of acres. Once it is established it is
difficult to stop. A combination of cutting back the stumps
the cut stumps with Round-up can be effective, but it must
again and again. Once established it will be a long battle.
Muscadine in the garden is cut back to the stump each year,
controlling their vining habit. In the wild they tend to
grow up and
over just about anything. They smother more desirable species.
general need yearly pruning, and kept on trellises.
The Georgia Exotic Pest Plant council www.gaeppc.org
has been formed to monitor and report on invasive
Dr. Rick has a good way to keep your hands clean when gardening.
prevent dirt from getting underneath your fingernails, use
a dry bar of
soap. Scratch your fingernails on the soap, putting soap
nails. This will easily wash out when cleaning your hands
fingernails will be clean. Another idea is to cut off a
leg on a pair
of pantyhose, place a bar of soap in the leg, attach the
leg/soap to the
outside spigot, when you're finished working you have a
place to wash
Gardens and South
East Exotic Pest Plant Council
Back to Top