Welcome, cyberjzz!! I'm sure you'll find lots of suggestions here. One idea you might want to try - go to the Garden Design (aka Curb Appeal) forum. There are some very talented folks there that would love to help you design your space. I personally can't visualize anything in my head, so I'm sure a photo of the area you are concerned with would help others tremendously, as well.
I have no idea what kind of look you are going for, but I am a pretty lazy gardener that wants it all. The most color, fragrance, and constant blooming I can get for the least amount of work. I just started planting last July and have begun discovering what I like and what I don't. The perennials I have enjoyed the most this past year have been lilies of all types, (daylilies, asiatics and orientals are so EASY,) dahlias, gardenias, and hydrangeas. As far as annuals, Vinca of all types, Caladiums (crazy about 'em) and Gladiolias everywhere! Hostas are great for so many areas, too, and there are a ton of varieties. I love Hibiscus' as well, as the large blooms are really showy from a distance. I have hardy and tropicals planted, but will probably dig up my tropicals to try to overwinter them this year.
Then, there's always next year. I know I will come across something else I have to have and will be my new favorite!
What is blooming for you today?
Adora Brug
That Brug is beautiful. Not a bad job on the photography, either!
The red spider lilies are blooming. My favorite fall flower that springs up from the earth over night. One day there is nothing and the next a forest of pale green spears 6 to 8 inches tall. I swear you could probably see them growing if you had the time to sit and watch.
Beth
Yes, I have spiders for the first time this year. I had never planted them, and got some in a trade. I didn't realize I should have made a planting with more than a couple together...wasn't sure how fast they multiply, so they are almost lost in the rest of the garden, but they are soooo cool! I was trying to remember who I got them from, will have to check my dmail and send a picture...
I have blooms on my azlaeas. They aren't the re-bloom variety. But hey, I'm not complaining.
I know what you mean...I don't have azeleas, the deer eat them to the ground, BUT my Gardenias are reblooming and I had no idea they did that...they are beautiful! Plus the smell is wonderful on the deck! How are you doing this morning Deb, is it raining there it is starting here this morning.
Deb, I'm jealous. My azaleas are pitiful. I am reduced to praying for them, 'cause I don't know what else to do. My azaleas aren't blooming and some of them ARE Encores!!
I moved most of them to a shadier location and planted them according to the wonderful advice I received here, so maybe next spring they will be beautiful. (At least they're still alive.)
Guardian, when all else fails, pray, I've done that alot this year. Yea, if you move them I think they have to have time to adjust to their new spot.
Janet, no rain in sight for the next three day forecast. It feels like springtime here. Cool and brisk mornings/evenings, with sunshine.
Beth, you always have something blooming. I'm going to call you the "the bulb woman".
Cyberjzz, Guardian's advice is right on. The people on the Garden design forum are excellent when it comes to ideas and advice.
Georgiaredclay, I'm jealous. Got to get me a Brug just as soon as I learn more about how to care for them.
Plantnutga, I want to hear about your place when you are well. Look what you can do when you are incapacitated. Amazing variety!
Ya'll all have a blooming good weekend!
Deborah
It is so nice and cool out this morning! It's supposed to heat up again this weekend but my goodness this is a nice reminder of fall!
Deborah, what I have done best while incapacitated is acquire! the boxes have started to arrive- I haven't been able to trade since I'm not really allowed to dig (i cheated once for 5 minutes but that's another story) Luckily I found so many DGers who were generous enough to just let me send postage or do a "later on" trade!
Plus there is eBay.......
***sigh***
My LH is horrified by how much trouble I can get into without leaving the house, and he doesn't know the 1/2 of it yet! I got in on both the Allium co-op (not allium, though) and the iris, hopefully he'll be on a road trip next week :)
now I'm potting things up so that I can plant them when I'm allowed to. The potting bench is just the right level so I'm not breaking any doctor's rules.
I just had a little rain lily pop up, a white one from the panhandle of FL, very cute and cheery. I'm hoping to see a couple more of my fall bulbs bloom- if I remember right some of them are hidden under the monsterous salvias and mexican petunias that I can't prune yet. It's killing me!
I have a couple of gorgeous glads blooming, now I can't remember where I got them! They are short and bright fuschia- large flowers. Not the famous Byzantine, these were either part of a cheapie eBay buy or a Walmart/Lowes purchase months ago but boy are they pretty!
The firespike is going nuts. So are the butterflies and hummingbirds! Red spider lilies are up all over town, mine won't be this year but I am looking forward to next.
Sharon: I finally IDed my Clerodendrum Incisum Musical Notes ( I should have read the earlier posts here!) it is absolutely lovely. I did notice that in the Tropical forums there are some complaints of it throwing seeds everywhere and being unruly, I have seen no seeds, have you?
plantnutga
not much is blooming today; some mexican petunias, purple speedwell, several red cannas are left, red fire thorn is blooming like crazy, so is the mona lavender, there is also some bedaggled society garlic, some budelia, one hosta has a flower and yet another crimium lilly has bloomed, one seems to come up about every two weeks.
The cool mornings have been delightful. Even this afternoon has not been too hot. I am off for two glorious weeks. I have to put in at least one appearance at the school to put some posters in the mail, but after that I am free to read, potter around in the flower beds, and drive up to Birmingham to check on Mom. I am planning my trip to Birmingham for the second week so that the nurseries will have time to get the fall bulbs in. I am allowing myself fifty dollars, which won't buy that much, but maybe i will be able to get it all planted in a timely fashion.
I am having to talk sternly to myself about tulips. I really want to dig up the Lady Jane planting to see if they have multiplied at all. They bloomed well last spring. Some even put up a second bloom. I hope that they are as heat tolerant as their reputation says they are.
Beth
Didn't know there was a tulip that would rebloom in Georgia, even up here...I have a terrible time with them acting more like annuals...
Plantnut, the clero. incisum is now blooming for the fifth time!! She is in a pot on my deck so I don't know about the seeding problem. Right now, the tea olive and gardenias are blooming, both around the deck and the smell is delicious.
Out in the woodland gardens the spiders are in bloom, the fragrant ginger, AND a really pretty, pink brug..........not as large as Gared's though. I'll post a pic when it opens.
In the meantime, for anyone wanting a fragrant shrub the tea olive is so nice. Although the blooms are so tiny, they pack a powerful scent!!
Tea olive is my absolute favorite shrub, bar none!!!
Just the scent of them makes me happy. Not just happy to smell them but it literally affects my mood. We have 2 big ones, I plan to plant more.
I was on some website reading about aromatherapy and it turns out that Osmanthus fragrans (tea olive) is a mood enhancer. They actually use it to treat depression. I would believe it! How could you be sad with such a glorious fragrance?
:( With lips pouting. My tea olive is covered with blooms, and I can't smell a thing. It's not my smeller, because the gardenias next to them are heavenly! I hope when it gets bigger it will smell like its reputation. Maybe it's lonely. Maybe I should get another one to keep it happy. I have heard you can never have too many plants, is that true??? Sounds like a good excuse to me.
My impatiens are in full swing, some hostas still blooming, one alstromeria and another with buds, rose of sharon, butterfly bushes, hummingbird plant, butterfly ginger, mums starting, sedum in full bloom, hibiscus, black eyed susan, summer poinsetta, one brug (either Isabella or Frosty Pink), toad lilies, heuchera, trumpet vine, purple obedient plant, beautyberry and I'm sure I'll remember something when I hit send.
Brenda
Ack - I knew it - phlox still going.
And salvia, red, blue, black and blue and yellow.
Endless summer hydrangea
This message was edited Sep 23, 2006 10:01 AM
This message was edited Sep 23, 2006 3:29 PM
guardians: tea olive likes to scent in the evening, don't give up! Is it Osmanthus fragrans or Osmanthus fortunii? both get sold in GA.
Beth please let us know about the Lady Janes. I can't remember if that's the one listed in Old House Gardens, if so thats the only one we have a shot at! I would love to have a perennial tulip.
Actually, if you check out Scott Ogden's book on bulbs for the south there are several species tulips that are reported to do well. Most are small in stature so would need a rockery or front of the border placement. He also states that the lily flowered forms are heat tolerant. I expect that that may differ from cultivar to cultivar, but the older ones like West point and ballerina might be worth trying. T linifolia , a red bunch flowered species, is such a prolific perennial that it is listed as a pest. The secret seems to be a really well drained sandy position for summer dormancy.
Beth
I tried a couple a few years ago with very little success but I think the soil was too heavy. I actually may have a perfect spot at this house
I absolutely LOVE Scott Ogden's book. I need to re-read it. Of course that could send me on another buying spree.....
Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blooming today:
Salvias -lipstick, anise blue, friesland, tall spires
Platycodons-Sentimental Blue
Veronica spicata -Blue and white
Impatiens
Rose of Sharon
Morning glories - G. Otts
Wild Violets
Crepe Myrtle
Tulip tree (onesies)
Marigolds
Lantana
Toadwort
Apple blossom yarrow
Chives
Purple Basil
Portulaca
Begonias
Dahlias
Clematis-Jackmanii
Evovulus
Buddleia
Guarana (pink)
~Sunny (who wants a tea olive but can never find them cheap!)
Sunni, check out Wmart for the tea olive.....I've found them very cheap. They were small but grow fast.
The newest bloom for me today is this pretty, pink brug. She lost her name but who cares?
She has her own personal exterminator.............LOL
The dahlias are blooming beautifully also..........
Pretty Sharon.
Thanks Bugme, I'll have to follow up on that this week then. I appreciate the tip!
~Sunny
oooo! I have a little freebie dahlia that is doing great! I hope I tagged it...little blooms, same color as Bugme's, quarter to half-dollar size. It came with an ebay purchase and is doing great!
I have blooms on a new ginger. Purple dancing lady is the common name. I think that it is a Globba but am unsure which one. I did not think that it was doing very well, and overnight stems of purple and yellow blooms.
Turtle do your gingers have the glorious scent like the tall white gingers?
Bugme, I haven't tried brugs yet, but I did receive several datura seeds in a trade that I am going to try wintersowing this year. That one of yours has just gorgeous color. I've been reading up on the differences - mainly that dats are less picky (thank goodness since I'm a newbie at gardening).
Your little dahlia sounds cute plantnut! My second set I bought are now blooming, the tag read "Salvadore Dahlia". These are in ground, so I'm hoping the tubers overwinter with some mulch. I have clematis out there too, which I have to research on how to overwinter as well.
Here's a pic of the Salvadore.
~Sunny
Hineni, your Salvadore is beautiful. Is it just me, or do you think the name is a play on Salvadore Dali? Or is that just too obvious. Lovely, lovely colors.
I have some roses that I am trying to salvage that were here when we moved here. They are all blooming beautifully but the foliage is sad still. Some dahlias are blooming, and mums that I transplanted and rooted last year have buds about to burst open. But probably the biggest surprise when I came home today when I rounded the corner to the side driveway was the Cosmos! These are the only thing I had any luck with from seeds. I wasn't really happy with them during the summer; they looked very gangly. But the cooler weather seems to suit them. Their little purple faces seem so happy on top of those really tall stems!
I'm pretty sure that is the intent of the word play - I hope they don't start to have like sliding petal faces or something...(grin) Thank you for the compliment, although I think I like the color of the no name one better, a little more striking with the red/yellow combination.
I bought the little mums in pots this year and they looked great when I transplanted them - then boy they looked scruffy. So I deadheaded them, and I thought they had pretty much died - now all of a sudden I am seeing new flowers on them. I can't say as they are a plant that I'll try again if these don't make it. What I have loved are the impatiens that I got -6 little cells and boy have they grown and spread! Now that's a return on my investment in my opinion. They have started to set seed, so I'm collecting some to grow in other places next year, and leaving some to seed where they are in hopes that they will return next year. You can see them under the apple tree in this pic.
I have cosmo seeds that I am going to wintersow this year - but having a hard time deciding what to interplant with them due to the gangly look you mentioned. I adore cosmos and the single zinnias - I'd have a yard full of those if I could (and will try with w/sowing!) Very pretty color on yours, I like it.
Well, back to work!
~Sunny
Hinedi, your Salvadore Dahlia is so cute. I'd trade you with my dahila if you are interested. I have many named varieties.
Back to tea olive;it has been my experience that not all tea olives are fragrant,and I don't know how to tell,unless someone who has a fragrant,would let me get a start from it.I am so reluctant to order a shrub,because it might not be the fragrant type.Mock orange, for instance, is more than one shrub,and that makes it so confusing,how does one know?? mike
Heya farmerpickle,
Just drop me a dmail and we'll what we can do :)
~Sunny
blooming for me on october 16...blushing knockout roses, daylily red with yellow center, pink balloon flower.
mqiq77 - I am so glad to know that I am not the only one with a "Non-fragrant" tea olive. I planted a bed of gardenias, anchored by this tea olive , by my deck. The gardenias smell heavenly, but the only way I can smell the tea olive blooms is to press them between my fingers. I cannot find the tag for mine, but thought it was osmanthus fragrans. I have been advised on the fragrant gardening forum to give it some time, that it may smell more when it gets larger. I think what I am going to do is go to my local gardening center and find one that is in bloom before I buy it.
Things are looking pretty sad here, as far as blooms. I have a few Cosmos still, some unknown, red, pink and yellow roses, lavender dahlias, some burgundy mums, and of course, my pregnant onion, which my DD now calls the "bloomin' onion!"
Tell me about your burgundy mums. Is it one of the hand me down pass along plants or is it a newer garden or cushion mum? Years ago at one of the houses I lived in I had several of the extremely hardy unimproved Korean mums. I have been trying to find them again ever since. There was a form that had deep wine blooms, another was a bright rust red, yet another was a golden yellow. They all grew tall and floppy, but were tough as nails. They never bloomed before October, never got mildew or boytritis, and never seemed to be hurt until the cold got below 18 degrees.
If anyone recognizes these plants and will trade me starts of them, i'll send postage, plants, heart's blood, or maybe my first born son (although you might not want him, I certainly don't like him all of the time. Love yes, like no.)
Beth
Hi, after several years in the plant wholesale industry I can tell you that many garden centers sell Osmanthus fortunii as "tea olive" but it is not fragrant. "Osmanthus fragrans" is the one to get, the leaves are less serrated. (toothy)
Also Osmanthus fragrans seems to prefer bursts of cold weather.
just a hint.............
Beth, I bought some of these mums from a road side traveling plant sale about 5 years ago. I bought white and burgandy, but the white ones died long ago. We have moved twice (this is it, no more!) since then, and I have carried these mums with me to both homes, by way of rooting broken stems. And I truly mean, just sticking them in a pot and off they go. When we moved here they were tiny little plants and I planted them in the existing beds where they are now thriving. They are burgandy with a golden center and just started blooming this week. They are not big enough yet for me to know if they are going to be tall and floppy; right now they look like a pretty well mounded form.
I bought some at a Kroger last fall 2/$1 in large containers that were root bound and dried up. I planted them in a bed and paid them a little attention. They tried to bloom in July and I pinched them back, and now they are blooming again. They are not as healthy looking yet as the other ones, but I'll give 'em another year. They are solid burgandy cushion mums.
If you want to try any of them, let me know; I know for a fact that the burgandy with gold center roots easily, but take a little while to get going to blooming size. I'll take a picture when it's in full bloom.
Susan
Hi, after several years in the plant wholesale industry I can tell you that many garden centers sell Osmanthus fortunii as "tea olive" but it is not fragrant. "Osmanthus fragrans" is the one to get, the leaves are less serrated. (toothy)
Also Osmanthus fragrans seems to prefer bursts of cold weather.
If you purchased one in a 7 gallon or larger size it should be fragrant, I never really checked out the smaller ones.