Shrubs
WAIT A MINUTE
If you don’t like the weather “Wait a minute” I was told when I first moved to Georgia; so it’s no big surprise that while last week was cold & rainy and even frosty some mornings, this week we are in the high 60’s.
I have no idea when the Fragrant Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) started to bloom but here it is Dec 3rd.
Wonderfully fragrant, not overly sweet but a clean rather fresh scent, usually starting in mid to late November in my garden.(I usually look for it around Thanksgiving)
Not the best looking shrub in the border, rather a bit course and ragged so I camouflage it with a clematis during the summer.
Winter blooming shrubs or perennials are worth their weight in gold…even at today’s prices.
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!
MORE FALL FRAGRANCE
A beautiful fall fragrance from the tiniest of blossoms on a shrub described by Dirr as a “genuine horror ….. long shoots wander in disarray from all areas of the plant….. fast, does not adequately describe the speed with which it grows.”
Elaeagnus pungens, often refered to as ‘UGLYAGNUS ‘ emits a fragrance that is incredible, somewhat reminiscent of Gardenia.
The very first time I encountered this plant was with my (then) new friend Tara Dillard, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The fragrance was so marvelous, notes were immediately made to acquire this shrub; then Tara gave me the lowdown on this ‘weed’.
Years later I discovered the variegated Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus pungens ‘Maculata’ or ‘Aureovariegata’) … smaller, slower growing, I was told, a perfect garden shrub.
I succumbed… they lied!
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.
FABULOUS FALL FRAGRANCE
It’s blooming…. As soon as I walked out the door I caught the fragrance. Osmanthus fragrans, known in the south as ‘ ‘Tea Olive’.
Tiny but abundant cream coloured blossoms emit the most remarkable and penetrating fragrance.
This is a beautiful, pest free, evergreen shrub that matures at 10 to 15 feet, and blooms TWICE a year; fall & spring.
To quote Dirr* “to not try the plant is to cheat one’s garden.” I so agree, and cannot recall a garden design where this plant was not included. It also makes a remarkable evergreen hedge.
This spring, at the suggestion of my friend Marsha, I acquired a new selection (Osmanthus aurantiacus) that blooms only once in the autumn, and the flowers are ‘pale orange’. 
It’s hard to say how fragrant it is because I have Osmanthus fragrans planted much like Margaret Moseley* advised with gardenias, every 25-30 feet or so ,where an evergreen was required and the conditions are favorable, so the entire garden is permeated with the fragrance. I have followed her advice on this with almost every fragrant shrub in the garden. Something you might want to try if there is a fragrance you are particularly fond of.
I don’t take lightly any advice given by a 95-year-old gardener. Clearly she has much more experience than I.
*Dirr, Michael, Renowned woody plant expert. Author of the textbook A MANUAL OF WOODY LANDSCAPE PLANTS.
*Margaret Moseley, famous Atlanta Gardener.
SCENT-SATIONAL!
The Gardenias are blooming! The fragrance is amazing. I follow *Margaret Moseley’s advice and have a Gardenia planted every 25 feet or so where conditions allow. According to Margaret the fragrance will permeate the entire garden. And it does.
Every Gardenia in my garden came from a bouquet she gifted me when I lost a bidding war over a house. Turned out to be a good thing….that house was not right, and I got these fabulous plants!
* Margaret Moseley, Dear friend & famous Atlanta gardener, celebrating her 95th Birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Margaret!
HYDRANGEA SEASON!
Hydrangea Season is perhaps my favorite time of year. It signals the beginning of summer and triggers memories of summers past to be savored in the peace of the garden.
Long before it was “The Mourning Bench” this area was ‘The Morning Garden’. Here, in the shade of a dogwood, with variegated Boxwoods on either side, I would bring my mug of coffee and notebook to plan the gardening day.
Originally, the bench was surrounded by hydrangeas, struck from cuttings, of the bouquets brought to me by Penny McHenry* on the occasion of my daughter’s wedding. I imagined sitting there embraced by all those hydrangeas and reveling in the happy memories of that time shared with family members and good friends.
Unfortunately, this site was windswept in the winter. Year after year the hydrangeas would die back to the ground. Although they produced luscious foliage every year, there were no flowers. A change needed to be made. I swapped them out for other hydrangeas… ‘Annabelles’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’), these bloom on new wood (i.e. this years growth) so they were perfect for this area. The wedding hydrangeas were moved to a more protected space.
BLOOMING NOW:
(For names of the hydrangeas in this post, hover over photo with mouse.)
To be continued…..
* Penny McHenry- Dear friend, client and founder of the American Hydrangea Society.
“ONE SICK PLANT”
My husband came in from the garden and told me I had ‘One sick plant in need of some nitrogen’.
Ha! introducing Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) ‘Little Honey’ .
It seems to bloom a little later than the species (seen in the background), and I do love the golden foliage.
More Hydrangeas in the next post.
OVERWHELMED!
The garden is overwhelming!
Above, the rose New Dawn positively dripping…….
Below,Brother Stefan’s Clematis‘PolishSpirit’ 
Below,Clematis‘Madame Julia Correvon’ 
Tomatoes, eggplants & pepper plants waiting to be planted…they are constantly fed Fish emulsion & kept watered..those are small pots & growing roots take lots of moisture.
Seed for Zinnias and Foxgloves are sown ( late on the Zinnias) below
Then there are the onions to harvest….
So, on the way to do attend to all of the above, I pass …
Glorious Deutzia above, Clematis Ruutel and C. Piilu below
Below, another pairing, Clematis ‘Carnaby’ and Clematis ‘Odoriba’
I really like the two different forms of Clematis mingling, as they climb through Smoke bush ‘Royal Velvet’…. Below, Clematis ‘Catherine Clanwilliam’.
All in all, its very pleasant “GETTING THERE’ I designed it that way.
POTTING ON..
Another week has just slipped by! So much garden…so many weeds…so little time.
All the plants started from seed have been ‘potted on’ i.e. planted into larger containers and watered with diluted fish emulsion.
I do love the names on some of these tomato plants. “Boxcar Willie” was a favorite last year, new to us this year is “One Time Charlie”. Who makes up these names ?
The garden continues to unfold. Below, Clematis‘Liberation’ and ‘Barbara Jackman’ mingle with Viburnum ‘Kern’s Pink’ ( It never was pink. ) 
Showing off now too, are the early blooming Buckeyes. In my garden I grow three of the species. The early blooming Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia), below…
the Painted Buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica) …
the third,the Bottle Brush Buckeye ( Aesculus parviflora) is later blooming, end of june. Too bad these are such neglected & underused plants. They deserve a place in any garden with some dappled shade.
FABULOUS FRAGRANCE!
The moment I walked out the door I knew it was blooming.
Winter Daphne (Daphne odora aureomareginata) the most powerful fragrance imaginable. To quote a delivery person “That is LOUD!”
She is not hard to look at either. Fragrance reminiscent of Lilac…but more… and hauntingly beautiful.
© All photos & text 2011
MEANWHILE, IN THE GARDEN..
On a tour of the garden today, signs of spring …
The Meadow is coming alive..
Soon I’ll post the results of 13 years of rescuing daffs and trying to achieve the ‘English Thing’.
Meanwhile the Winter garden is doing what it is supposed to and is at its peak….The “peak” lasts a few months… Above, Prunus mume & Helleborus, below, a camellia…
Below, evergreen shrubs make this is a very satisfactory garden area.
Notice, below, the variegated Boxwood, the berries on the Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica ‘Alba’) and the groundcover Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ )…
This is usually the time of year projects get started &/ or continued to be worked on, some, for many seasons. There are so many projects…..
When we started this garden, we did not consider, EVER, declining physical stamina.
© All photos & text 2011
NEW GARDEN SEASON!
We finally got some rain…
a good, long, soaking, rain and temperatures have dropped to somewhere near ‘normal’ for this time of year. Hard to believe we are at the end of September begining of October!
One of the self sowing, perennials in my garden is the Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta). This plant has graceful arching foliage of matt, fuzzy, texture and flowers that look like orchids (below) which open along each axil of the leaf.
Its bloom time coincides with the first camellias, marking a NEW GARDENING SEASON.
In my garden, the first Camellias to bloom are the Tea Plant, (Camellia sinensis)
Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’
and Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana Jima’. (below)
Typically the sasanqua camellias bloom through the autumn followed by the japonica type that will continue all winter. More on the differences in the next post, when I welcome you to ‘The Camellia Walk.’… another part of the garden.
© All photos & text 2010
BROWN & CRUNCHY
Wish it were candy I was referring to, but it is not. Parts of my garden are brown & crunchy.
Variegated Weigelia (Weigelia florida ‘variegata’) in April…
Weigelia today.
Truth be told, I have neglected this part of the garden. There is just so much water one can pump out of a well during a period of drought. I do not remember the last time we had any rain, nor can I remember the last time the temps were lower than 90 F. Choices had to be made.
This part of the garden has been in a bit of decline and it was never ‘designed’ to my satisfaction. Another winter project on the To Do list.
The native plants are so much more tolerant of drought. Below, a photo of both the Native Oakleaf Hydrangea ( Hydrangea quercifolia) and the French mophead (Hydrangea macrophylla).
Both were watered last week.
I would like to introduce you to my new, constant companion! (below)
This is the best type of sprinkler for many parts of my garden, lots of water over a large area.
Moving on…
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