Kate Copsey's Blog
Posted by Kate Copsey
When we moved into the current house last year, we inherited a pool. We decided to give the garden around the pool a tropical look. The essence of the tropical look comes from large leaved plants and hot colors. The garden already had lots of cannas that came in flower colors of red and yellow as well as those with burgundy leaves, green leaves and variegated leaves. Taking these large leaved plants along with some newly purchased palms soon fill in the space needed. The palms are tall with large knife shaped leaves that contrast with the cannas broad leaves. For added color I have some dark colored elephant ears. Two hardy banana plants finish off the basic design for this garden. For an added touch I will add a few hot pink petunias to sizzle in the heat poolside. Learning what is hardy and how much water these new plants need is going to be a fun lesson.
Getting an idea for what you want an area to look like is only half the battle – knowing how to address the design and get the right plants for that look takes time and experimentation. For this tropical look, we went to the Atlanta Botanical garden and saw ideas of plants that worked together in displays there. We were then able to take those ideas and try them in out own garden. Visiting local gardens is a great way to find plant looks that work for your area. Always go ready with a notebook and camera to help jog your memory you are planning the garden and shopping for plants.
Posted by Kate Copsey
Daylilies are perhaps the most common colorful perennial of today’s gardens. The newer varieties were introduced a decade or so ago with the now common Stella D’Oro daylily. Since that time many new daylilies have arrived on the market to woo the buyer.
The plants are perennial through zone 3 and love full sun, even in the south, although they will take some afternoon shade. They will not bloom in shady corners though. I had a bunch of daylilies that really were not performing well in a too shady area that I transplanted last year. Many of them had not produced a bloom, so this year I have been delighted at the variety of blooms that I have. One stunning bloom is large and sunshine yellow with a streak of white down each of the petals. Another is almost burgundy with a bright yellow area at the center.
Each flower lasts just one day, but overall the blooms are consistent throughout the whole summer. I like to keep the plants tidy by snipping off the spent buds. This is a pleasant and clean garden chore to relax with in the evening. Talking a walk around the garden is also an excellent way to observe any changes in the garden. Look for bugs that might land on the plants and take a moment to look under a few leaves as well for eggs of insects. Also note any ants that are racing up and down the stalk of a plant – this can be an indicator of scale or mold. Frequently scale insects secrete a sweet sugary substance that attracts ants, so they are a good indicator of trouble brewing.
Of course on your trip around the garden take the time to marvel at a new bloom in the garden or a maybe a humming bird or butterfly that lands on your plants
Posted by Kate Copsey
Over the past few months I have been busy at a local garden where we are reestablishing the mid 19th century garden. The garden was the talk of the town for many years, but due to a change in industry, family age and wealth, the whole property slowly declined.
Although some improvements had been made to the property in the last 20 years, the garden was really on basic maintenance only. There were rumors that the boxwoods had been chain sawed down, and many trees were removed, not to mention a wall that was built for privacy when the town widened the adjoining road.
When I arrived the boxwoods were deemed to be not worth saving but were defended by the local garden club who claimed they were 50 plus years old. The garden itself was cleared of weeds, but still it was still in need of being brought back to its former glory. With pictorial evidence along with letters from different eras, an idea of what the garden was like took shape. A design was established and we went to work.
The first problem though was the boxwoods – what to do with them. There was a double ring that was barely two feet apart that were growing into each other. We needed a single ring of boxwood. We decided to take a chance on moving some of them to a holding bed and some to the outer ring of boxwoods that formed the design. New boxwoods were brought in for the shorter inner circle. Six weeks later we are struggling to keep some of the larger boxwoods alive. We have water restrictions that have to be observed and a few that are affected by scale. Some are plain dying. Remarkably many are still alive and kicking. One antique rose that was looking very sad after its move, this morning was showing several signs of renewed growth and I really think we will get blooms on it before July 4th.
The garden is finally taking shape though and it will again be the star of the town!
Posted by Kate Copsey
I had the misfortune to go into my local large store today to buy some sodas and a matching fuschia for the deck (I had already purchased 3). As I walked into the garden area the floor was soaking. The plants were dripping too. Clearly I had just missed watering time. However, when I looked at the plants hanging above me, they were indeed a sorry looking set of containers. The watering had been sufficient to water the leaves, but not soak into the soil for the roots. Consequently at 9 in the morning they were wilting.
Watering containers is tough in the summer. Plants use far more water through evaporation than they do in cool springs. This frequently means that you need to water well twice a day. When you water though you should do so for long enough that the water drips out of the bottom of the pot. This way the plant roots are encouraged to spread out and reach the water throughout the pot. Adding some fertilizer to the water will help keep your container plants happy for the whole summer.
If you need to leave the plants for a day or two, move them to a shady place so that they do not use as much water. Of even place them in a cool basement for a few days. They may look tired and weary when you return but they will not be dead, and they will recover nicely within a day or two of being back in the sunshine. Make sure that your plants are well watered if you go out of town for a longer period of time.
Posted by Kate Copsey
A stage two drought has hit the State of Georgia. This is remarkably early and is going to make the gardening year rather tough. Currently we are restricted to watering every other day from midnight until 7 in the morning. So the weekend has been an exercise in setting up watering timers in such a way as to water newly planted shrubs and vegetables, whilst at the same time adhering to water restrictions and good watering practices.
Some thing that is important to consider whether you are in a drought or not include using soaker hoses for perennial and shrub beds. These deliver water directly to the root zone of the shrub rather than the leaves. Additionally, a well placed soaker hose, preferably covered with mulch, will not loose as much water to evaporation as an overhead sprinkler.
The time of day that you water is also important. Watering during the noonday or afternoon sun, will again cause much of the surface moisture to evaporate. This is less likely if you water in the early morning, or evening. Although there are concerns with evening watering, such as an increased tendency to fungal and mold problems, they are secondary in comparison to a plant that is wilting and in need of water.
These two practices will not only allow your landscape to weather a drought, but they will also conserve much needed water.
Posted by Kate Copsey
In early April, the south was blasted with a very cold night or two. This, after a month of 70 degree weather. The results were devastating for some farmers and crops, but they were also troubling for homeowners. The crape myrtles and hydrangeas, along with many other shrubs and perennials, had broken dormancy and were well on their way to full spring growth patterns. The tender new growth was killed by the abnormal cold temperatures. Some items such as the hydrangea that is hardy well into the northern zones, recovered well, and after a week or two it started to put out new growth. The crape myrtles are more problematic, and even now, after almost a month, they are struggling. In part this is because of cool temperatures during the past weeks, but also because the crapes are southern shrubs that are near to their northern limits in zone 7. Additionally some smaller shrub versions are putting on new growth from the root zone, indicating that the shrub was not totally killed, but the upper woody part may be struggling.
Trees were also affected and show some interesting patterns of new growth. One mature hackberry tree must have been slightly protected on one side, because it now shows one side is still dormant and the other has bright green new growth on it. These patterns are, of course, along with charred black leaves on evergreens, repeated on many plants, shrubs and trees across the south. They will recover, and the extreme cold did not kill many items, but it has certainly taken a toll on the landscapes in the area.
Posted by Kate Copsey
My thermometer hit 23 degrees F on Saturday morning and 29 this morning. Outside, the leaves on Crape Myrtles, hydrangeas and Canna lillies, that had been doing so well, have been killed and the beautiful blooms on the Rapheolus and wysteria have also been killed. So the biggest problem now is to decide what effect it has had on the garden.
In general the effect will be cosmetic only. Early blooming shrubs have lost their flowers but the leaves are not yet out, so they will continue to grow again as soon as the temperatures mediate. For new growth already on trees and shrubs it is going to take a little longer. The shrubs will have other leaves that are put out, but the ones already out there, or close to maturing will be lost. It will likely take a week or two for the new leaves to show, so this event has put things back to perhaps mid March. Cannas and other perennials that were already up and growing, will likewise loose what is out there and have to start again. These need to be trimmed, so that the rotting dead foliage is pruned away.
Truly borderline perennials though such as fruit sages (Salvia elegans) are more of a problem and will have to be watched to see if they have tolerated the frost of have been lost. The critical thing to look at will be how much top growth it had acheived already. All the top growth will be lost along with the ability to photosynthesize, and thus these may not recover.
More of a concern are those trees where the fruit is the prime reason for growing them. Depending on which stage of flower, pollination and fruit set that the tree is in, will determine if the fruit will be lost. Clearly if the flower has been frozen off, then pollination cannot occur and thus this year that tree will be barren. The days immediately after pollination are able to stand some frost. How much frost and freezing is determined by the species and cannot be generalized. If you think your tree was affected, look at the state agricultural site and see if they give a chart for fruit set temperatures such as this one for blueberries or try plugging in the fruit name + freeze data into your browser.
Late frost are normal, but a really hard freeze is not so common and will be the cause of much concern over the next few weeks.
Posted by Kate Copsey
This is our first spring in the south, and although we have had pine trees before, I have never noticed the pollen. Southern pines seem to produce way more than northern species and as a result there is a film of yellow dust over cars, plants, driveways and anything else that stands still for more than 2 minutes!. This morning we have a slight breeze and that is creating what can only be called a small dust storm. Fortunately the pollen is so heavy and large that it does not cause sneezing and other spring allergy symptoms, but it sure is interesting. And there are plenty of other pollen producing trees out there to give people problems.
Posted by Kate Copsey
Sometimes you can look at a shrub and tell yourself that it looks like its' neigbor, so you can guess what it might be and then gather information along the way - like flower structure, color, and so on. So last year I found not one but two camellias that bloomed in November through January. A little research told me that some camellias bloom into spring as well. So my non blooming 'camellia' I assumed must be one of those. Nope. As I was grubbing around the shrub, I came across a flower that was definately not camellia like. Fortunately I also came across a label. Raphiolepis 'Snow White'. This is also known as white hawthorn which is only hardy to zone 8. As we are not zone 8 here it is doing very well and must be in a protected spot.
There is something wonderful about being able to absolutely determine what something is!
Posted by Kate Copsey
I often suggest to people that they walk around the neighborhood to see what grows well in their garden. Today I am going to suggest another place to visit – the local Zoo! Most major cities have a zoo of some sort, and almost all of them landscape the grounds to be attractive to the visitors. Some zoos, such as the Indianapolis Zoo, even have the status of Botanical Garden too. The zoo in Indianapolis sends grounds personnel to various regions of the earth to investigate the local habitat for their animals and reconstructs that in the zoological garden. All this botanical knowledge is on display when you visit the animals. If you are really lucky you will also be able to see tags that identify the plants and trees too. This is invaluable to those who move around the country or are landscaping a new piece of property – you can see how big some things get! Early in the year you will see trees and shrubs, and by summer there will be a bounty of annuals to look at. If there is one that you want information on, most zoos will have a grounds person around to ask. Many zoos also rely on volunteers to work in the gardens and they can also be a valuable source of information. So visit your local zoo occasionally and enjoy the grounds as well as the animals.
Posted by Kate Copsey
There is something about the warm of spring sunshine, coupled with a light breeze that is invigorating. Additionally there is the delight of seeing new life sprout from the ground. Not only is spring a time for revival, but it is also a time for finishing your planning for the new gardening year. The first few weeks of spring are usually too early to plant anything, but there is time to prune back shrubs before they start growing again (unless they are spring flowering, in which case leave the for now). Dead branches that were broken during winter storms can be clearly seen and removed. As your perennials come up, see how far they have migrated – you might want to trim some of them back so that other plants get some ground to grow.
Of course along with the delight of perennials coming back, those uninvited weeds are also reappearing. While these are small it is an easy task to how them out, or pull them. Sometimes it seems as though the weeds grow into mature flowering beasts overnight. This is particularly troublesome, as the average weed seems to set thousands of seed, and distribute them, in a matter of just days.
Posted by Kate Copsey
Spring Garden Shows
You can tell that it is close to spring when garden shows start. These late winter events vary throughout the country, sometimes combining with home shows, but they are always a showcase for local nurseries and landscape companies to show what they can do. In milder climates these shows have already started. Attending shows can be beneficial for several reasons. In the show I attended last weekend, I met with herb growers, camellia growers and native plant growers, plus I saw an inventive display of benches and raised gardens that were built on wheels and suitable for people confined to wheelchairs. The landscape gardens featured a new heuchera in pale green colors plus a coral bark maple that was very striking. Seeing these plants and imaging where they can be placed in the garden is always a great way to spend an afternoon. So if you have a garden show or home and garden show coming up, take some time to welcome spring and see what is new in the gardening world where you are.
Posted by Kate Copsey
I strange thing hit me today - my oak tree, a white oak, like many white oaks around here, still has brown leaves on it. Oaks are deciduous trees and in the north they do the normal thing of turning brown then in some almighty early winter storm they all come off. Not so in the south. The white oak turns the usual copper brown in the fall, but the leaves do not fall off until spring. I had wondered if the mild winter was the reason, but no, this is normal for this specific oak tree.
This is another example of how climate can change the way a tree or shrub behaves. If we live and grow in the same climate or zone, we become accustomed to thinking that this is the way the shrub will behave wherever it resides. Some things like Butterfly bushes are killed above ground in the northern zones and come back from the root, yet further south they are pruned each spring to reduce the height of the bush before spring growth starts.
These little things take time to become accustomed too, but it gives another dimension to growing when you are faced with these quirks, and can marvel in how nature adapts without a fuss.
Posted by Kate Copsey
The identification of shrubs is sometimes tough and can take several weeks. First the leave structure is established, whether they are opposite along the stem or alternate; then the flower color. Sometimes though you can get a jump start, and that is what happened this week.
The pink shrub from the blog, on closer inspection was of a unique form. A form that I am familiar with seeing on a whitchhazel (Hammamelis), which are yellow, not pink. So I checked google for witchhazel varieties - not a pink among them. Knowing something about SEO content now, I tried 'Pink witchhazel' and there it was! A Chinese witchhazel - Loropetulum chinense. It only grows in zones 7b and south, so I have never had the chance of seeing this beautiful, early blooming shrub.
Posted by Kate Copsey
Over the summer I wrote a blog on Glossy Abelias being used inappropriately as a hedge. There was another one that had caught my eye along the road, and after several passes I finally took a photograph of it.
Well it has happened again! The need to stop and take a photograph of an interesting shrub in a garden. I pass this garden every day and it is not remarkable in any way, but there, in the middle of the trees, was a strange blooming shrub. The bloom is peach/pink and I suspect that the shrub is a young quince. I intend to take the camera with me next trip, so that I can get closer enough to indentify it and take a picture.
There is another similar shrub going south that is displaying a much redder color bloom. As this is on a main road, I will have to park and walk to see it. So far I have not inconvenienced other drivers in my travels, but the year is still young and doubtless I will see many a shrub that I 'just must see up closer'
Posted by Kate Copsey
Birdwatchers are a special sort of people, but casual enjoyment of birds is a natural by-product of gardening, and particularly fun in the winter months. Shrubs give shelter to the birds and grasses give seeds, so even without a formal bird feeder you will likely find yourself watching birds in the garden.
I am not sure that I watched birds at first, but the fascination suddenly crept up on me. I remember planting a new shrub in an area of the garden where there were just perennial flowers. Within hours there were birds sitting on the shrub as though it had been there for years!
Needless to say, I now plant with them in mind and do have a bird feeder. This past month or so I have been at war with the squirrels who also like the bird feeder (but that is another story!). I encourage all gardeners to take time to enjoy the garden and in do so, you may find yourself watching birds in the garden as well.
Posted by Kate Copsey
The Midwest ice storm has caused major damage and many downed tree limbs. Ice, more so than snow, hangs on the branches and weighs them down until they snap. Unfortunately there is little that can be done to prevent this, in part because the events happen rather fast and stocking up the house with essentials comes before dealing with the trees. If you do have enough time, some smaller trees and shrubs can be wrapped with sheets or burlap. The ice adheres to the covering rather than the tree itself, and thu the branches are not covered with ice. Flexible branches can also be carefully tied to the main trunk of the tree. If you do this, bend the branches upwards and support with rope. The angle of the branch will thus not be conducive to collection of ice dragging it down. This is also done with shrubs for protection in the winter from heavy snow falls that can also break branches.
When the storm is over, you can deal with the ice on the trees and then you will have a prime candidate for some late winter pruning.