March Blooms in my Georgia Garden: Coastal Leucothoe

One of the most unusual flowering shrubs in our garden is the Coastal Leucothoe. Also known as Dog Hobble, Leucothoe axillaris is native to the Southeastern United States. Racemes of fragrant white blooms resembling Lily of the Valley dangle from arching branches in early Spring. Leucothoe usually blooms for us in April, but this year Coastal Leucothoe began blooming in March.

Coastal Dog Hobble is lovely on the banks of a creek or pond, especially when massed, if you are fortunate enough to have water on your property. 

Leucothoe prefers some shade, but can take more sun if water is available. 

Foliage on this evergreen shrub consists of coarse pointed leaves that are a deep green. Lovely fall color is a very showy reddish bronze to purple.

Plant your Leucothoe where winter winds won't dessicate the foliage and remember to water regularly in the absence of rain to keep the leathery foliage looking fresh and vibrant.

The arching branches look good along the edge of a path or massed in a shrub border. Leucothoe's small size make it an excellent foundation shrub too if it's not in too much sun.

Mature size is 2-4 feet tall, but Dog Hobble can get much larger in the deep South if water is plentiful. Ordinarily, Leucothoe is a moderately slow growing shrub that will not quickly outgrow its space.

Like many native shrubs, Leucothoe axillaris can be grown in almost every part of the United States, since it is hardy in USDA Zones 5-11. 

Leucothoe is an excellent shrub to help control erosion on a shady bank. 

If you are looking for a low-maintenance plant for your landscape, Leucothoe is it. There are no disease problems, pruning is not required, and as long as water is available, you can just plant it and leave it for beauty year after year.

April Blooms in My Georgia Garden

Well, today is April 2nd, and the garden is literally exploding with blooms. Most of the plants that bloomed in March are still in bloom, but new flowers are opening every day. Each time I go out, I find that another bud has opened. I sure do love Spring! Here's what's blooming in my Georgia garden today.

Kerria japonica Plena

Kerria, often called Japanese Thornless Rose, is a deciduous perennial that grows more like a large shrub. And I do mean large. The double-flowered Kerria Japonica 'Plena' beside the greenhouse is over 7 feet tall. It is covered with bright yellow blooms that resemble pompoms. Kerria likes regular water and will bloom quite well in shade, but this one receives morning sun. And as for water, it gets sprinkled every single day, since I must water daily all the container plants I have out there for sale. We also have the single blooming Kerria japonica 'Shannon', but it's still trying to get established, as it was planted just last year. I'm told there is a white blooming Kerria, which I have yet to obtain.

Lady Banks Rose is another early Spring blooming plant available in either yellow or white blooms. Lady Banks Rose blooms just once a year, but when she does, it is spectacular. Blooms on Lady Banks are smaller than the typical rose, but there are several flowers to a cluster, and when in bloom, one can hardly see the leaves for the flowers. Speaking of leaves, Lady Banks is mostly evergreen here in Georgia, losing most of her leaves only during severe winters. And unlike Kerria, which is truly thornless but not really a rose, Lady Banks Rose is a true thornless rose. As if that were not enough, Rosa banksiae is quite drought tolerant and will still bloom even when grown in a good bit of shade.

Fothergilla Mount Airy

Some of the cutest blooms in my garden are on the Fothergilla. We have the large Fothergilla major 'Mount Airy'. A common name is Witch Alder - I'm not sure why. Fothergilla enjoys regular water, so the one near my greenhouse has been growing rapidly. Fothergilla is a rare and endangered American native plant found in the mountains and piedmont areas of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. We grow our own, or obtain some from a friend who also grows this wonderful plant. Blooms are white bottlebrush type flowers that are sweetly fragrant. I fall in love with Fothergilla again every Fall, when the leaves appear to light on fire with colors of yellow, orange, and red.

Leucothoe axillaris

Leucothoe is an evergreen shrub that would be lovely beside a creek or a pond, which I do not have...Leucothoe axillaris is planted near the fence, also near the greenhouse, where it can get plenty of water. This species will ultimately be about 4 feet high, which will be almost tall enough to hide that unattractive fence. Also known as Fetterbush, Dog Hobble, and Coastal Leucothoe, this shrub grows best in part sun with regular water. The blooms remind me of Lily of the Valley, as they are very fragrant white bell-shaped blooms that hang in clusters from the stem.

Illicium floridanum

Florida Anise is a large-growing evergreen shrub that is, as the common name suggests, a native of Florida. Every part of Illicium floridanum, Florida Anise, is fragrant--the blooms, the foliage, and the stems. I love any evergreen shrub that also blooms, but flowers on the Florida Anise are very unusual. Red, star-shaped flowers appear all over the bush in Spring and if the plant likes its location, sporadic blooms will appear on and off throughout the summer. This is another shrub that likes water. Our largest one is planted where I seldom water, so it pouts when the summer drought shows up, reminding me to stretch a hose out there. So last year, I planted another Florida Anise behind the greenhouse, where I run the sprinkler every day. I am excited to see how fast this little bush will grow. 

Vaccineum ashei

Blueberries are in full bloom too. I am tickled with the thought of how many blueberries we will have this year. This is one shrub that appreciates all the rain we've had. Bumblebees are all over the rabbiteye blueberries planted behind the greenhouse. It's hard to beat the birds to the berries. It helps to plant them in a high traffic area or an area where you spend a lot of time, so you can pick and eat blueberries as they ripen, before the birds have a chance to get them. It also helps to plant as many blueberry shrubs as you have the space for. That way you have enough berries to share with the birds and squirrels. Although I seldom see this, blueberries make an excellent foundation shrub. The shrubs will eventually be thick enough to provide a little privacy if planted around a porch or patio. Although blueberries don't need pruning to promote more fruit, they can be pruned to a certain size if necessary. Blooms are pretty, and in Fall, the leaves turn a burgundy red, adding to the beauty of the Fall landscape.

Memorial Garden: My Ideas to Honor my own Mother

After the passing of my mother last year, a friend brought me a gift of a lovely garden bench with the suggestion that I start on a memorial garden in honor of my dear sweet Mother.

Mama's sudden death was very painful for me, so it took awhile to be able to bring myself to begin the project. Each time I would think on it, memories would overtake me and I'd be unable to get started toward any real progress. I'm a thinker, a ponderer, a daydreamer. When I begin a new garden area, I spend lots and lots of time just thinking, as I wander around in the garden.

It took a long while to pick the spot for this memorial garden. Recent years of drought kept reminding me of how many plants I have lost over the years because I could not keep them watered enough. I knew I had to choose a spot that could be reached with the hose.

Once I picked my spot, I began to consider plants I wanted to include in my memory garden. Since most available garden space here is in the shade, I would need shade plants. Certainly, I wanted plants that would live and flourish. I wanted plants that would be beautiful in every season. Plants that would provide privacy would also be best, as my intention was to end up with a secluded spot to sit and remember my Mother. And finally, I wanted to include some of her favorite plants and her favorite colors. This would prove to take a lot of time and planning. I wanted shrubs that would grow large over time and fairly quickly. They would need to be thick shrubs that would offer seclusion and screening. Perhaps I might want to hide in there some day to be alone with my thoughts.

I tried to make the area large enough to include a spot for the garden bench I mentioned, as well as a birdbath or some type of statuary which I might want to add later. I ended up lining out a rectangle about 10 feet by 15 feet.

Red Knockout Roses 

Initially I planned on having only white blooms, which is most often used in memorial gardens, meditation gardens, and prayer gardens. But since I needed plants that are dependable, I began with Knockout Roses and Ruby Loropetalum.

Loropetalum Ruby

I placed the evergreens in the foreground for privacy. The roses and loropetalum were planted on the corner of the spot that will receive a good bit of sun. I knew I could depend on them to at least double in size the first year. (Yes, that's right...our climate does that to Knockout Roses and Loropetalum.) 

At the back of the garden, I placed some larger specimens: Mock Orange,

Mock Orange, Philadelphus coronarius

and two types of Doublefile Viburnum, Shasta and Mareisii.

Viburnum Shasta

Although they are not evergreen, they leaf out very early in Spring and will have lush, thick, green foliage until frost. There will be plenty of privacy when weather would permit my sitting out there for any length of time. 

To finish my enclosure, I planted  a few more evergreens.

Banana Shrub, Michelia figo

Leucothoe axillaris

Viburnum Sandankwa

This project will be ongoing. Mama loved hydrangeas, so several types will certainly be included. They will be protected and accentuated by the evergreens.

I will post pictures of the finished project once the shrubs have grown.