Archive for September, 2019

‘Early Bird’ Blooming Bulbs

These tiny flowering bulbs are truly early birds. Fall planted bulbs often emerge in late January and February here in the Southern Appalachian region. Once they are up and blooming, frigid temps don’t damage the flowers or plants. Instead,  the winter weather causes the hardy blooms to last and last in February and March. They often […]

Fall Garden Chores

Fall is the perfect time to take on a few of the many spring garden chores. Here is a list of ten of the most important tasks:  Weeding– get rid of newly emerging winter annual weeds now before they flower and set seeds. Perennial weeds such as dandelions, plantains, and thistles can be sprayed and eliminated in the […]

Types OF Tulips

Over the centuries Dutch tulip breeders have brought to market 15 groups of the spring blooming goodies (USDA hardiness zones 3-8). The properties determining the group to which each tulip belongs are the shape of its flower, its parentage and its flowering period. Let’s take a peak at “the world of tulips”. Here is a […]

Fall Planting And Dividing Iris

Tall bearded (Iris x hybrida), Japanese iris (I. ensata), Siberian irises (I. sibirica) are very popular with U.S. gardeners and are favorites in my spring flower garden (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). The period from late August through mid-October is the ideal time to plant and/or divide irises. Don’t procrastinate…the earlier the better. Give plants enough […]

Peony Care in the Fall

October and November are ideal for fall herbaceous peony bed cleanup and to get ready for winter. Fall is the ideal time to dig up and divide old clumps of peony roots and to plant new plants. Old yellow and brown foliage comes off easy with hand clippers. Don’t pull or yank off the foliage! […]

Zone 6 Hardy Camellias – Plant Now!

More and more people gardening in zones 6 and 7 have discovered that they can successfully grow camellias. Once considered an exclusively Southern plant, many camellia varieties are very cold hardy where winter temps drop to 0 to 5°F. Their floral buds burst open with bright whites, pink and red shades, and spotted color blends. […]