Spring will soon be here but in many parts of the country plants don’t seem to be following the calendar and are blooming ahead of schedule.  As gardeners know, the weather is unpredictable and plants don’t read the books.  If you’re looking for ideas, techniques or new plants to try here are a few suggestions for events to attend that will inform and I hope inspire you to get out and work in your own garden.   

  Sat., February 25, 2012 Perennial Plant Symposium “The Inspired Gardener”- 8am-3:30pm, a cooperative effort between the Georgia Perennial Plant Association and the Atlanta Botanical Garden, this event takes place at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  A great lineup of speakers including Katy Moss Warner (former head of horticulture at Disney World) talking about “Beautiful Landscapes,” Steve Brady, former UGA extension agent for over 30 years presents “Easy-to-Grow Fruits,”  Shannon Pable, garden designer on “Transforming Wild “Weeds” into Residential Ornamentals,” Other People’s Gardens,” by landscape architect Norman Kent Johnson and the entertaining and informative Stephanie Cohen closes out the day with her talk on the “Nonstop Garden.”  For more info go to http://www.georgiaperennial.org/events/2012/index.htm 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, The 28^th Horticultural Davidson Horticultural Symposium“The Roots of Passion:The Inspired Gardener,” this all day event at Davidson College in North Carolina and offers an impressive lineup of speakers including Andrea Wulf, author of the Founding Gardeners and The Brothers Gardener as well as David Howard, Bill Thomas of Chanticleer, Sean Hogan, Andrea Sprott, Dr. Larry Mellichamp and Tiz Johnston.  Registration required by Feb. 24^th http://www.davidsonsymposium.org/

Water garden at Chanticleer

Friday, March 16, 2012 Garden Conference-A one day Conference for the Home Gardener, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, speakers include Kerry Ann Mendez, Doug Tallamy, Charlie Nardozzi, Jo Ann Gardner and Mitch Rand.  To register http://www.2012garden.uconn.edu/

my garden, April 2011

Tuesday, March 13 and 20^th, 2012 6:30-8:30, Designing A Four Season Garden-more than just flowers, Evening at Emory, Emory University, by Erica Glasener http://ece.emory.edu/classes.cfm?cla=2150001968&pt=3

Thursday and Friday, March 22-23, 2012 Callaway Gardening School, Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia Garden Design Workshop,  Erica Glasener, workshop, lecture, panel discussion and an opportunity to purchase plants, http://www.callawaygardens.com/info/calendar/calendar.callaway_gardening_school.event.aspx

Container Gardens by David Ellis

Courtyard Garden in winter by David Ellis

Structure, David Ellis garden entrance

Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata' in garden designer David Ellis garden

Daphne odora 'Aureo-marginata' in my friend Julie's garden, she took the photo and her son shows just how large the plant has grown

Daphne odora 'Alba' in my garden, small but fragrant

If you seek winter fragrance and are not a plant snob, Mahonia bealei is reliable and hardy from Zone 7 to 9.  I know this because it was a dominant plant in my landscape when we purchased our current home over 6 years ago.  A stalwart shrub, it thrives in the shade and has tough spiny evergreen leaves.    I still have more than I want of it and as time and my budget allow, I plan to replace the majority of them with other shrubs.  Still, in December through February I  appreciate its yellow sweetly scented blooms especially  in other people’s gardens when I’m out walking our black lab.     If I were going to plant a mahonia it would be Mahonia ‘Soft Caress.’    This smaller and more diminutive mahonia is great in the garden or in containers and as the name suggests, the shiny evergreen foliage is soft to the touch.

Other plants of note this month include the buds of  Edgeworthia papyifera, the Chinese rice paper plant, colorful bark of many different trees, fuzzy  buds of deciduous magnolias, winterberry with brilliant red fruits (deciduous hollies)  and foliage of Angelica keiskei which I see offered by Plant Delights www.plantdelights.com , a mail order nursery in Raliegh, NC.   One note here about this Angelica, Plant Delights describes it as an evergreen rosette of foliage.  Mine is evergreen until summer heat sets in and then the foliage disappears for a few months, only to return when the weather cools off.  Because of this you may want to underplant with a low creeping evergreen groundcover. 

Edgeworthia papyifera buds in January 2012

Helleborus x hybridus in my garden, Jan 2012

Magnolia buds in January

I have been thinking about how much I enjoy deciduous trees in the winter landscape. Here in Atlanta, Georgia, Zone 7, the weather today is in the 60’s but temperatures are predicted to dip down to the 20’s by the weekend.  Then I’m certain we will have more mild weather followed by periods of cold, this is our winter.  While I enjoy winter blooms, especially,  Daphne odora, Helleborus x hybridus and the Japanese flowering apricot, Prunus mume, deciduous trees never disappoint.  Some have colorful bark while others offer striking silhouettes or curious forms like Harry Lauder’s walking stick, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ which only looks good in the winter when one can appreciate its twisted branches and catkins.   In the autumn I was charmed by the fruits of Taxodium distichum .  In January, these same fruits take on a new look.   Below are some of the plants that I enjoy at this time of year. 

Taxodium distichum fruits in January

Acer japonicum in January

Stewartia pseudocamellia bark in January

Wisteria at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC

Edgeworthia papyifera buds in January

LSU Gold Fig

On Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 10am to 12 noon, gardeners have the opportunity to  choose from 32 varieties of fruit trees, vines and berry bushes for  purchase .  The  location for this sale is the Atlanta Community Food Bank , 970 Jefferson St. NW, Atlanta.  This third annual sale benefits the Atlanta Local Food Initiative ( ALFI ).  Over 5000 fruit trees and shrubs have been planted as a result of this sale over the last two years.  ALFI will once again donate fruit trees to an area school to plant a children’s orchard.  For more information or to pre-order visit http://www.atlantalocalfood.org/

Among the offerings are apples, pears, figs, pawpaws, pomegranates, persimmons, kiwis, blueberries and more. 

Diospyros kaki 'Pendula' in November

Callaway crabapple

Leyland Cypress topiary, Pearl Fryar's garden, photo by Erica Glasener

I am often asked if past episodes of “A Gardener’s Diary” can be purchased.  I am always sorry to say no, HGTV owns the show and does not offer it for sale.  I am happy to report that you can now watch past episodes on Hulu.  Here is the link, 

http://www.hulu.com/a-gardeners-diary , Happy Viewing!

Bob Reese in his camellia garden, Jacksonville, Florida photo by Erica Glasener

http://www.earthboundexpeditions.com/journeys/western-europe/chelsea-garden-show

Rosa 'Veilchenblau'

Hydrangea (mophead type) foliage in late November

Rose of Sharon seedheads

Recently I was a guest on the Martha Stewart Living Today Show (Sirius radio, a live show) and I talked with the host about creating holiday decorations from plants growing in our gardens.  Let me start out by saying that I am a horticulturist and plant lover, but have no expertise as a flower arranger.  My method is to “cut and cram” flowers, foliage, colorful fruits, seed pods or branches into a decorative container.  Over the years friends have given me some beautiful vases and I find that I get the most pleasing results if I keep it simple.  In other words, less is more.  Even a single blossom in a vase can make an elegant centerpiece.  The good news is that most of us have a wealth of material to choose from in our own backyards.  While fresh cut evergreens may be an obvious and popular (with good reason, many are aromatic too) choice, less conspicuous are flowers, fruits and seed heads of common shrubs including those of Nandina domestica, Fatsia japonica and hydrangea.

Nandina domestica

  A few days ago I noticed some decorative seed pods that had dried on some rose of Sharon plants that I inherited when I moved to my current garden.  Camellias, Magnolia grandiflora and Magnolia virginiana all offer handsome foliage to use for filler or in combination with hollies, both evergreen and deciduous types.  Although I don’t have one growing in my garden, the fruit of hardy orange, Poncirus trifoliata is aromatic, curious and pretty; especially when you fill a glass or silver bowl with them.  And, according to Michael Dirr, author of the Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs (Timber Press, 2011),  “ the juice can be used to flavor adult beverages but is extremely sour (acid).”      If you seek out the weird and unusual, consider the cultivar Flying Dragon with its contorted, twisted green stems and extremely sharp spines—not a good idea if you have young children.   

Fatsia japonica flower stalk

Camellia in bud vase, December

holly berries and variegated holly

Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold'

In some region of the US where osage orange, Maclura pomifera is still a popular choice for hedgerows, the funky looking fruits could be used in a creative way. 

Pine cones of different sizes and shapes are also an option including the tiny cones of hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, a native in many parts of the country.  Shrubby dogwoods, with brightly colorful stems are a favorite of mine, especially  Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Flame’ and Cornus sericea ( hardy to Zone 2, there are numerous selections ).  The fasciated branches of the Japanese fantail willow, Salix udensis ‘Sekka’ and the contorted branches of Harry Lauder’s walking stick, Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ are dramatic in  winter, whether in the  garden or in a vase. 

Cornus 'Winter Flame'

Go forth with your pruners (I like Felco #2)  and create your own arrangements. Have fun, experiment and enjoy!

http://www.timberpress.com/blog/2011/11/giveaway-one-chance-to-win-dirrs-encyclopedia/

When it comes to ornamental trees and shrubs, Michael A. Dirr’s books have long been the go-to references for gardeners across the United States.  My copy (the 1990 edition) of the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture and Propagation  is tattered and both the front and back cover are missing (it was a hardcover so you know it’s been used) but it is still invaluable when I want to confirm the identity of a plant.  The one thing it doesn’t have is color photos.  Now, seasoned gardeners, landscape professionals including nursery and garden center personnel, designers, architects and enthusiastic beginners need look no further.  Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs is chock full of more than 3,500 photographs of specimens and cultivars in 380 genera, building on previous books he has written , this one is comprehensive and includes his recommendations for the best introductions (both native and exotic, evergreen and deciduous) of the past 10 to 15 years.    

As with his other books (including more recent titles on the subjects of viburnums and hydrangeas) this one covers the best of the best, including both familiar and more obscure selections.    Starting with the A’s (who knew there were so many selections of Abelia)  and continuing through the alphabet, the enticing photographs of flowers, foliage, fall color and bark of numerous trees, shrubs and even vines are sure to boost plant sales everywhere.   I already have a list started of plants I would like to add to my garden.  I was glad too that with some plants like Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn-olive, he stresses the fact that this species is invasive and can become a pernicious pest.  The good news is that once gardeners know this they can choose other more desirable options , of which he offers plenty.  For certain genera like Magnolias (I counted at least 18 different species and many more cultivars) his list is comprehensive including Magnolia sieboldii which I have long admired for its fragrance and odd fruits but never grown .

A bonus is the section at the back of the book called Selecting Plants for Specific Characteristics or Purposes- with lists of plants for flower color, flowering sequence, fragrant flowers and fruit.  

 The recipient of prestigious awards, Dirr was a  professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia for nearly three decades. Worth noting too, is the fact that  he grows or has grown many of the plants he writes about.

Fortunately for the rest of us, his passion for plants continues and this book is bound to gain him even more fans.

Acer japonicum foliage November 15

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, here in Atlanta there are still some remnants of fall color in my garden, neighborhood and at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  If there were a competition this year among the different genera of trees for “Best in Show” it would be hard to pick a winner but the maples, especially the Japanese maples, Acer palmatum, ( Zones 5 to 8 ), have been luminous.  Even my non-gardening friends have noticed.  An unnamed seedling in my yard (I inherited it when we moved to this property about 6 years ago) held on to its brilliant red leaves for several weeks and just a few days ago Acer japonicum (several different cultivars) at ABG was still turning shades of orange and red.  (Zones 5 to 7 )  Ginkgos continue to be one of my favorite trees for fall, and this year is no exception.  Thinking about Ginkgo biloba (Zones 4 to 9 ) and its fascinating history I am grateful for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (established in 1872 ) and their long history of plant exploration and conservation.   For an interesting read check out arnoldia, Vol. 41, No. 4 The Ginkgo in America by Peter Del Tredici  http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/issues/74.pdf

Acer palmatum 'Dissectum' November 15

Ginkgo biloba, November 12

Ginkgo-- another view

In addition to maples, ginkgos, hickories (different species of Carya), oaks, sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) and sweetgums, I am impressed by the late showing of the crapemyrtle, Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ ( Zones 6 to 9 ) and Parrotia persica,( Zones 4 to 8 )  commonly known as Persian parrotia, this handsome witchhazel relative has beautiful bark, curious small red flowers in winter and rich green leaves all summer.  The leaves on native American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia  (Zones 4 to 9 ) are now turning from bright yellow to golden tan and will continue to turn brown, then almost gray or transparent, persisting late into winter and early spring.

Parrotia persica November 15

Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' November 15

Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo) foliage- November 12

oak foliage-November 5

I look forward to these last few weeks of fall its lingering blooms and fading foliage.  Before you know it,  winter with its own delights will be here but not too soon ( I hope ) I still have bulbs and plants to get in the ground.