December 2, 2012 by Sandra Jonas

DECEMBER DELIGHTS

December delights, in the garden that is…..

The crunch of leaves under my feet, I find myself shuffling through the leaves to amplify the sound, much as my children did years ago. Living in the city we would have to go to a park to find this carpet..

I refuse to have them raked just yet. The ‘Mighty Oak’ has not yet dropped its leaves….

so that’s my excuse, but really….too much fun!

French Breakfast radishes from the Potager and Spicy Baby Lettuce ready for a small salad.

Perfuming the air is the shrub “Wintersweet” Chimonanthus praecox.

It always blooms for my birthday. What a gift!!

More on Wintersweet here

November 23, 2012 by Sandra Jonas

THANKSGIVING DAY

THANKSGIVING DAY…..

No fine china or wine glasses that need hand washing.

First totally Vegetarian Thanksgiving .

November 12, 2012 by Sandra Jonas

THE GOLDEN SEASON

The Golden Season is upon us. The quality of light has changed and there is more than a touch of nostalgia in the air.

The weather in Georgia is still fine; the daytime temps are mild with crisp early mornings and evenings.

While we cannot boast the colour changes of the northern states, there is still much to celebrate.

The early camellias are blooming……

and the salad garden is coming along….

Gardening may slow down a bit but it does not end. Still have to weed!

To see the name of the plants, hold your mouse over photos.

October 18, 2012 by Sandra Jonas

THIS ‘N’ THAT

Due to an injury I have been unable to garden. I finally got to take a walk and snap some photos so here goes.. a bit of this ‘n’ that.

This scene makes me smile every time..the faded flowers on the hydrangea and the Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ perfect partners.

Stewartia showing some of its famous exfoliating bark. This was the year to remove all the lower branches, it will look somewhat awkward for a few years…

Camellia sasanqua ‘Daydream’ I rescued this plant from the trash at a nursery. Margaret Moseley told me it was the only fragrant sasanqua in her garden…If Margaret was growing it ..I needed to have one too; but it was an old variety and no one carried it. One Autumn day, plant shopping in Alabama, I caught a sweet fragrance and went to investigate…there it was, a broken scraggly mess, lying in the trash heap… the treasure I was seeking! They gave it to me.

Beautiful colours on the lacecap hydrangea…

eggplants and peppers still going in the potager…

and the clematis that bloomed all summer & going strong still… Clematis ‘Odoriba’

Life is good.

November 16, 2011 by Sandra Jonas

A COLOURFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

Autumn is definitely the most colourful time of the year in my garden. Above, fall foliage and camellias.

The dogwoods (Cornus florida) are at their peak with both the foliage and the fruits ablaze.

I just love the way this tree frames the veranda and gives me a marvelous view of the cardinals who fly in to devour the berries.

Elsewhere, the Oakleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) are in phase 3 of their 4 season show. This native is unsurpassed.

Some views from the veranda…

For more autumn beauty see Boy Fenwick’s photos on the blog Reggie Darling. He has also captured the most incredible sunset. Enjoy!

October 25, 2011 by Sandra Jonas

GARDENING IN THE SOUTH

Perhaps what I appreciate most about gardening in the south is the fact that it is year round.

While many of the deciduous hydrangeas are loosing their foliage, the Arum groundcover is coming into its own and will soon blanket the ground.

Then there are the shrubs that bloom a second time. Above, the Chinese Witchhazel (Lorapetalum chinensis) in its second flowering.

For the rest, far from looking bare the camellia sasanqua are putting on quite a show. From a distance they could be mistaken for cascading roses ….

Close up, just as enchanting with as much diversity in form.

The potager is done with the summer crop and we are now planting garlic (late), seeding lettuce and arugula, planting kale, cabbage and broccoli. Believe it or not the summer peppers are still going strong, I just harvested these….

When the summer wildflowers die down I can see the bee hives…. wish you could taste the honey….

No, we don’t do that, we have a beekeeper in fact the bees are his, we just supply the nectar and then share the honey, good deal!

September 25, 2011 by Sandra Jonas

THE FIRST CAMELLIA

The first camellia to bloom in my garden is Camellia sinensis, the Tea Plant.

No big drumroll for it is not the showiest, but then neither are crocuses, yet we delight to see them.

This plant is my introduction to the Camellia Season, and yes, this is the plant from which tea is made.

Fast on its heels is Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’.

Camellias and hydrangeas have the same cultural requirements; below, another good reason to plant them in close proximity.

This was taken in the ‘Circle of Friends’ so you can see this area is really non-stop beautiful throughout the year.

A bit blurry, but you get the idea.

BTW my Camellia sinensis has provenance. It was gifted to me from Penny McHenry but it was a seedling from the garden of Martha Tate.

September 22, 2011 by Sandra Jonas

IT’S THE BERRIES!

There is so much colour in the garden now… it’s the berries!

Viburnum dilatatum ‘Erie’ Orange red berries

Viburnum dilatatum ‘Mt. Airy’ more what I call ‘Christmas Red’

Viburnum dilatatum ‘Michael Dodge’ yellow berries

Purple Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’)

American Beautyberry, the white form. (Callicarpa americana’Lactea‘) There is a more common purple variety which I do not have ….yet.

All of the above shrubs are exhibiting their second season of beauty. The viburnums will add to their show with fabulously coloured foliage, all the while retaining their berries. Viburnum berries require several frosts to make them palatable for the birds, so they have a long season. Between the flowering & berry show, they serve as supports for clematis.

August 28, 2011 by Sandra Jonas

CLEMATIS, HYDRANGEAS & BURNT SUGAR

Nothing signals the end of summer like Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) and hydrangeas cut for drying.

The hydrangeas are cut with some ‘old wood’ I find they hold their shape better that way. Later, when I arrange them, I will cut the stem to whatever length required.

Sometimes, when cut on the tender green stems, the flowers tend to curl up. These looks really luscious…

I hope they stay that way.

The fragrance of Sweet Autumn Clematis is one of my favorites; perhaps, because for me, it elicits nostalgia. When I went to cut a few sprigs, I caught the aroma of burnt sugar… Creme Caramel? I sniffed my way to the Katsuratree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum). Typically, when the leaves start to colour to a buttery yellow in fall, it emits a scent some have likened to cinnamon or cotton candy.

Mine, is definitely Creme Brulee!

With the temps consistently in the 90’s since May, I cannot say I am sorry to see this summer wind down. And…

the camellias are already showing their buds. I welcome another gardening season.

I posted about this clematis here, please read it if you plan on planting one.

November 14, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

GLORIOUS DAYS

The weather has been beautiful this past week and there is no better place to spend these glorious days than in the garden. Below, The Meadow gets its annual mowing.

It always looks so verdant after the cut. Next the Daffodils will pierce the ground and spring will be back in a few ~~short~~ weeks! (always an optismist.)

The photography however, has not been very satisfying. Too much glare now that the canopy is thinning out. Guess I’ll have to try earlier or later in the day.

One of my favorite blogs is Edith Hope’s Garden Journal. Her last comment made me realize that I need to show long shots of the property to give some context for the photos. So here are a few…

The front of the house, circa 1844. The meadow is to the right (east) below…

East side of the house from the meadow.

The east side of the house from the entrance to the ‘Camellia Walk’.

Backtracking just a few steps….

The meadow terminates at the entrance to the Camellia Walk on the left and the walk to the Circle of Friends straight ahead.

Here you can see some ‘Garden Arithmetic’; the camellias form both one side of the Camellia Walk as well as the background for the hydrangeas on one side in The Circle of Friends.

The expression is divide to multiply your space!

I’ll continue the tour with better photos this week.

November 9, 2010 by Sandra Jonas

PHOTO TOUR

And in the potager…

November 1, 2010 by Sandra Jonas