We’re visiting with Lilli Hazard today in southern Indiana.
24.07.2023 - 12:29 / hgic.clemson.edu
Everyone is familiar with the potted greenhouse mums offered at many garden centers that end up in the trash after the flowers fade, but are you acquainted with old-fashioned garden mums? These hardy heirloom mums have been shared by gardeners for generations. Blooming in the fall, they are excellent garden perennials that also provide food sources for pollinating insects.
I have been growing several old-fashioned garden mums in my garden for years. Two of my favorite cultivars, Ryan’s Pink (Chrysanthemum x morifolium ‘Ryan’s Pink’) and Ryan’s Apricot (C. x morifolium ‘Ryan’s Apricot’), were collected and introduced by Atlanta garden designer, Ryan Gainey. He then shared them with Goodness Grows Nursery, an excellent perennial nursery in Lexington, Georgia, that initially introduced them to the nursery trade.
They grow best in full sun with well-drained soil and benefit from additional irrigation during dry spells. Tightly packed soils should be enriched with organic matter to improve drainage and root growth. A layer of mulch will help in moisture retention and weed suppression.
Planting in the early spring will give the mums time to develop a good root system before blooming in the fall. It’s not necessary to cut them back during the growing season, unless you want to reduce the height. Old-fashioned mums can reach heights of 24 to 36 inches but may be cut back by half in early July to reduce the height. They are excellent companions to other fall flowering perennials, such as salvias, asters, swamp sunflowers, Japanese anemones, sedums, and goldenrods. Plant the mums toward the back of perennial bed but allow space for them to spill over and intermingle with shorter companion plants.
One garden pleasure is sharing plants
We’re visiting with Lilli Hazard today in southern Indiana.
Features to Expect in a Japanese Garden
Despite my garden being full to overflowing after the spring rain I have decided to create a new area for a Japanese Garden. When starting a new project I was advised to have a name that may colour the end result. I opted for the grand title of ‘Japan Land’Â This will be a long term project and I won’t rush it as I have on other projects in the past.
This summer has been damp and the plants have grown lush. In some way this has contributed to a dramatic cut in the number of greenfly on my roses and other plants (perhaps they found other feeding grounds or did not mate as prolifically).
Lilacs are members of the Syringia family and are named for the colour. There are deep lilacs verging on violet and light pinkish lilacs even some pretty floriferous white flowering Lilacs.
London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.
Previously I have stuck to traditional names for bits of my garden. Veg plot, rockery, orchard (when I feel posh), rose bed, border, hedge and similar names have delineate what and where I was trying to grow.
Also known as the Japanese rose, Kerria Japonica it is a cottage-garden regular that grows dependably almost anywhere. The flowers are a distinctive single or double yellow flowers in April and May. The arching stems are thin and the leaves serrated.
Holland Park has some Zen like features but fails my Zen test. The classic elements of a successful Zen are stone, sand or gravel, water, plants and space. Then there is a question of balance between yin and yang. Cramped or cluttered gardens inhibit the flow of spirit so space is potentially the key ingredient of a Zen garden.
I will use Shangri-la as an all encompassing name for spiritually based gardens and areas of harmonious natural beauty stealing a name from James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon.
My name is John Rohde. My garden is located 15 miles north of Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, in Zone 7b. This is the second full year for this pandemic garden. I enjoy mixing annuals and perennials with trees and tropicals in containers. There is a water feature, tubs of lotus, a patio, and a vegetable garden at the rear of my house.
A recent visit to Maplewood Gardens in East Flat Rock, NC where there is an incredible collection of Japanese maples. The Mr. Maple nursery specializes in these beautiful maples.