Choosing Plants for Year Round Appeal

"Another dreary day. And I have got to drive in this."

I was about to leave for Atlanta to visit my son Mark when I poked my head out the door yesterday morning and sighed. Predictions were for fog and rain all day. Then a yellow color against the gray mist caught my eye.

The yellowing foliage belongs to a sweet bay magnolia in the front garden.I blinked, the world shifted, and in that moment I was transported to a dreamland. I stepped outside with my camera, and for the next thirty minutes I wandered around in the drizzle. They say mist is good for a lady's complexion. I'm sure I was absolutely dewy when I came inside.An overview of the front garden. Our zoysia grass is still green! Not sure why - my neighbors' lawns are brown.Everything here will lose its leaves, except for the evergreen white pine.

I thought about why my garden looks like this, in the middle of December. I choose plants for several reasons:

1. The plant will grow well in my yard. Native plants, such as yaupon holly, are great because I know they are adapted to my climate. While I also choose many plants that aren't natives, all permanent plantings must survive our sweltering summers, as well as occasional hard frost. They have to be able to endure torrential rain, as well as draught. They have to be tough. 

Nandina domestic 'Fire Power' grows in front of dwarf yaupon hollies.

2. The plant will provide interest through more than one season. I always consider the plant's form and color.  The plant should complement what is already there. I repeat groupings of plants throughout the garden to provide cohesion, but I'm likely to throw something different in to add punch. I like quirky, odd plants. As for color, I look at foliage. There are many shades of green, there are yellow leaves, purple leaves, variegated leaves, gray and blue leaves. If a shrub or tree has flowers, that's a great bonus. As for flowers, these are my garden's accessories to the trees and shrubs, which provide the main interest throughout the year. And smell. Viburnum, roses, gardenia -and so many more. Fragrance makes me pause and inhale the beauty of it all.

Azalea, rosemary, and blue juniper (front row) are colorful year round. Behind is Spirea 'Anthony Waterer.' Its deciduous leaves have beautiful fall color.

Spreading cotoneaster grows below a weeping blue cedar.

The beautiful branch structure of japanese maple and other trees are highlighted during the winter.

Camellia japonica will soon be blooming. Hydrangea 'limelight' seed heads provide interest.
Raindrops on a branch shine against the gray sky.Seed heads of a crepe myrtle treeA few leaves still cling to this japanese maple.3. I also consider what the plant offers to wildlife. I get great joy watching the many different birds, the squirrels, the rabbits, and even the occasional fox who visit my garden. I love lizards, butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs, and bees. I feel good that so many creatures choose to live in my garden.Dwarf burford holly provides shelter and food for wildlife. Camellia japonica is behind, on the other side of a path.

4. I plant some things because of emotional reasons. 'Annabelle' hydrangeas are planted in honor of my mother, whose name was that. A weeping Japanese maple is planted over the grave of my beloved black lab, Jasmine. Some plants were given to me by dear friends. I have a ginger lily passed through the generations from my great grandmother. I love my garden because it is full of memories.

The yellow foliage belongs to a mock orange, given to me long ago by my friend Nancy.

5. Sometimes I choose a plant just because I love it. It may not meet some other criteria, but I just gotta have it. I love lavender. It never lives long, but I keep hoping. I have one, lavendula 'provence', in a small southeast facing raised bed. It is one year old and still living. I am optimistic. If it makes it through the winter, I will plant more in that area.

After I put away my camera yesterday, I drove to Atlanta, and the dreamy atmosphere of my garden stayed with me. The fog continued all the way. I listened to Christmas music on the stereo. It was beautiful, and I was content.

Peace - Deborah

You might also like "With the voice of Thanksgiving" or "A magic morning in Helena".

Pruning is fun and other basics you need to know

Give me some good loppers and a pruning saw, and I am a happy woman. Pruning is my favorite garden chore. I don't have to do it very often, and the results are both immediate and long term. Limbing up, shaping, and removing dead branches can all have a positive impact on a garden. Proper pruning can make a plant more attractive and healthier, promoting growth and improving the quality of stems, flowers, and fruit. Kolkwitzia amabilis, known as beauty bush, and a 'waterfall' Japanese maple, both benefit from judicious pruning.

I prune the lower branches of trees to allow easy walking along the garden paths.However, improper pruning can deform a plant and, in some cases can lead to a plant's decline. A lot of people are afraid to prune their shrubs and trees, and it's no wonder suburbia is half hidden by overgrown, misshapen plants. 

Entire books have been written on pruning guidelines and techniques, but it is easy to remember these five basics:

1. Plant the right plant in the right place. That means a shrub that is destined to grow ten foot tall should not be planted three feet from your living room window, unless it grows slowly and you don't mind pruning it regularly. Yet, why do that, when there are many other, more appropriate plants that won't cover your windows and send their roots snaking under your foundation?

2. You can prune dead wood anytime. Otherwise, it's best to prune spring flowering plants immediately after they have bloomed. Prune summer flowering plants in late winter or very early spring. If you prune at the wrong time, you might not harm the plant, but you will reduce the next season's blooms. Also remember if you prune in late autumn, you could stimulate new growth just in time for frost. 

3. To maintain a plant's natural appearance, cut in layers. Most of the time it's best to let the plant keep its identity. That means don't saw straight across the top of the plant. That is ugly. Cut some from lower, middle, and top branches, and make your cuts just above buds that point outward.

4. Hedges should be trimmed so that the top is a bit narrower than the bottom, so that sunlight reaches the lower part of the plant. Otherwise, the bottom branches will loose their leaves. 

5. Use good quality, sharp tools. Dip in a 1:10 bleach solution between plants to keep from spreading disease.

6. This one is controversial, so I didn't include it in the five basics, but I think it's important to remember. Pruning is fun. It's creative. Your plants will love you for it.

While I like to think I have complete artistic control over my garden, regarding pruning I have had to compromise. My husband and I have a difference of opinion about the yaupon holly shrubs out front. I like a natural shape, but he likes the little ball look. We have discussed this for years, but he is a man who loves his power hedge trimmer. So for now my garden has a lot of these proper balls. Besides, Lou cheerfully hauls off the great piles of clippings and branches I make when I am pruning, so he deserves something for that.This is a view through the rose arch, taken in November.