Tuesday, April 29, 2014

April Showers Bring Lots of Flowers

Clematis "Crystal Fountain", purchased from Brushwood Nursery in 2012, growing very happily at the base of a Natchez Crape Myrtle
Clematis "Crystal Fountain", purchased from Brushwood Nursery in 2012. I seem to have failed at training this clematis into a crape myrtle, but nonetheless it is growing very happily at the base of that tree.

OK, it's not quite May yet (ergo I can't call these "May flowers"), but the recent torrential downpours we've been receiving in Middle Tennessee and throughout the South seem to be unleashing pent up Spring energy. Suddenly numerous flowers dot the garden landscape with a brilliant backdrop of lush green foliage.

Here are some of the late April highlights at Garden of Aaron:

Side view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (partial shade setting)
Side view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (partial shade setting)

Overhead view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (full sun setting)
Overhead view of flower spikes on Ajuga genevensis (full sun setting)

Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose", purchased from Bluestone Perennials in 2011
Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose", purchased from Bluestone Perennials in 2011

This is the first year I have an Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose" self-sown seedling!
This is the first year I have an Aquilegia vulgaris "Winky Rose" self-sown seedling!

Aronia melanocarpa, still full of flowers and pushing new growth
Aronia melanocarpa, still full of flowers and pushing new growth

Unknown pink azalea flower
The pink azaleas in the front of the house have begun to flower. They were here when we moved in, so I don't know the variety. Below the fresh new green leaves you can see quite a bit of damage on the older leaves, but this variety fared much better than another variety (possibly Encore?) that I shovel-pruned.


Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo) flower spikes
This is the second year in the garden for Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo) and the first year it has produced flower spikes. Very exciting! I didn't really plan it, but the flowers appear around the same and blend nicely with the blue Ajuga genevensis flowers growing (just out of the picture) nearby.

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) flowers, close-up
Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) flowers, close-up

Lonicera sempervirens, Coral Honeysuckle, growing at the foot of the front porch steps
Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) growing at the foot of the front porch stairs. I hard-pruned this last winter so nearly all of what you're seeing here is new growth!

Dianthus gratianopolitanus "Firewitch". Remember how I included Firewitch on last year's list of failed plant relationships? Well, going against the advice of Taylor Swift, Firewitch and I are getting back together!

Epimedium x perralchicum "Frohnleiten", beautiful new foliage
Epimedium x perralchicum "Frohnleiten", beautiful new foliage

Gaillardia x grandiflora "Sunset Cutie"
Gaillardia x grandiflora "Sunset Cutie", new addition from Mary's Greenhouse. Looking a little bedraggled, but bravely blooming nonetheless.

Chrysogonum virginianum, Golden Star, Green and Gold, "Allen Bush" flowers
Chrysogonum virginianum, Golden Star, Green and Gold, "Allen Bush" variety. Hardy to zone 5 and described as semi-evergreen, the foliage on this plant still burned badly without any snow cover during this past harsh winter, but it has recovered nicely and makes a charming (though diminutive) plant. 

Flower buds on Spigelia marilandica, Indian Pink
Another new addition to the garden from Mary's Greenhouse, these are the buds on Spigelia marilandica, Indian Pink, a Tennessee native whose flowers reportedly attract hummingbirds!

Fresh new Liatris spicata (Blazing Star, Gayfeather) foliage emerges
Fresh new Liatris spicata (Blazing Star, Gayfeather) foliage emerges

Beautiful new foliage on a Cercis canadensis (Redbud) tree.
Beautiful new foliage on a Cercis canadensis (Redbud) tree.
(This is another plant that I was too quick to jilt. We're getting back together too.)

Cercis canadensis, Redbud seed pod
When the Redbud has finished its floral show, pollinated flowers may produce these beautiful seed pods

New foliage emerges on Rose of Sharon alongside frost-killed leaves
Two weeks after its newly emerging leaves were destroyed by a late freeze, Rose of Sharon is giving it another shot and pushing out fresh new foliage.

New leaves on Vitex agnus-castus, Chaste Tree
The new Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste Tree) leaves were also killed by the mid-April cold snap, but the plant has produced a second round of new foliage.


Flower spikes on Salvia nemorosa, Woodland Sage
Salvia nemorosa, either "May Night" or "Blue Hill". I'm tempted to get back together with Woodland Sage, but then I remember how it looked last August...

Helianthus "Lemon Queen" perennial sunflower foliage
This miniature forest of foliage is a second-year Helianthus "Lemon Queen" perennial sunflower. The foliage in the lower right corner of the photo is Phlox paniculata "David"

Tiarella cordifolia "Pink Skyrockets" flower spikes
Yep, here's another relationship I might have ended too soon. Tiarella cordifolia "Pink Skyrockets" seems to have weathered the winter with ease and is looking good in the late April garden.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

So What's the Damage?

Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle, unhurt by a late freeze, looking bigger and better than ever this year.
Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle, unhurt by a late freeze, looking bigger and better than ever this year.


The Details:

The weekend of April 12th, temperatures topped out near 80 degrees (Fahrenheit). Then a cold front came crashing through - two nights in the mid-30s and one night where temperatures dipped all the way to 28 degrees Fahrenheit in our neighborhood. (I foreshadowed this cold snap in a blog post last week.)

In true Darwinian style, I left most plants uncovered and unprotected to fend for themselves.

Remarkably and encouragingly, most pulled through without any problems. Here's a list of the ones that laughed off the cold and the few where winter got the last laugh.


Little or No Damage:

- Agastache foeniculum, Golden Jubilee
- Ajuga genevensis (leaves and flowers both unharmed)
- Alchemilla mollis
- Aronia, Chokeberry (buds, flowers and leaves all unharmed)
- Athyrium nipponicum, Japanese Painted Fern (newly planted)
- Baptisia australis (covered with an overturned pot for protection)
- Cercis canadensis, Redbud (flowers and emerging foliage both appear unharmed)
- Chrysogonum virginianum, Green and Gold

Chrysogonum virginianum, Green and Gold, undamaged by the cold, now bursting into bloom.
Chrysogonum virginianum, Green and Gold, undamaged by the cold, now bursting into bloom.

- Clematis "Crystal Fountain" (leaves and buds both appear unharmed)
- Cranesbill Geraniums (Biokovo, Rozanne and sanguineum)
- Dianthus gratianopolitanus "Firewitch"
- Echinacea purpurea
- Fothergilla gardenii (leaves appear unharmed, some flowers may have been damaged, others seem to be fine)
- Gaillardia x grandiflora "Arizona Apricot"
- Helianthus "Lemon Queen" perennial sunflower
- Hemerocallis, Daylilies
- Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea

Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea, seemed unfazed by the cold. I planted this shrub in autumn 2012 and did not see any flowers last year. Maybe this is the beginning of a flower panicle?!
Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea, seemed unfazed by the cold. I planted this shrub in autumn 2012 and did not see any flowers last year. Maybe this is the beginning of a flower panicle?!


- Hypericum frondosum "Sunburst"
- Juniperus virginiana, Brodie, Burkii and Grey Owl varieties
- Lavandula, Lavender, "Hidcote" (newly planted)
- Liatris spicata
- Liriope muscari (newly planted)
- Lonicera sempervirens, Coral Honeysuckle (leaves, buds and flowers)
- Malus, Crabapple, "SugarTyme" variety (leaves seem fine, flowers were pretty much finished blooming anyway, so it's hard to gauge whether they would have been damaged)
- Panicum virgatum, Switchgrass, "Northwind" (covered one clump with an overturned pot, but new growth on both protected and unprotected clumps seems equally unharmed)
- Philadelphus x virginalis, Mock Orange, "Natchez" (leaves and buds both seem unharmed)

Philadelphus x virginalis, Mock Orange, Natchez variety, leaves and buds appear totally undamaged by last week's cold snap
Philadelphus x virginalis, Mock Orange, Natchez variety, leaves and buds appear totally undamaged by last week's cold snap

- Phlox paniculata
- Platycodon, Balloon Flower (covered one clump with an overturned pot, but the control clump that was not covered looks fine too)
- Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas Fern (newly planted)
- Rhus aromatica, Fragrant Sumac, "Gro-Low" (buds seem fine, there may be a little foliar damage on some emerging leaves, but I think the majority of emerging foliage seems fine at this point)

Rhus aromatic "Gro-Low" Sumac does not seem to have been set back at all by the freeze
Rhus aromatic "Gro-Low" Sumac does not seem to have been set back at all by the freeze. Check out those beautiful lemon yellow buds and fresh multicolored foliage! I'm enraptured!!

- Stachys byzantina, Lamb's Ear, "Helene von Stein"
- Veronica umbrosa, Prostrate Speedwell, "Georgia Blue" (leaves and flowers both seem unharmed)
- Viburnum prunifolium, Blackhaw (buds and open flowers both seem unharmed)
- Viburnum x pragense, Prague (buds and open flowers both seem unharmed)

Neither the new leaves nor the flowers on the Prague Viburnums were damaged by the late freeze
Neither the new leaves nor the flowers on the Prague Viburnums were damaged by the late freeze

- Viburnum rhytidophylloides, Alleghany variety (perhaps a little foliage damage on some plants, another seems unharmed)



Moderate damage:

- Agastache rugosa, Honey Bee Blue (perhaps 30% of foliage seems damaged/killed on newly installed plants)
- Aucuba japonica (established leaves seem fine, some of the of emerging new growth may have been damaged)
- Buxus sempervirens, Hardy Boxwood (established leaves seem fine, but new growth seems limp and damaged, I suspect I'll need to break out the pruning shears and give the Boxwoods a haircut back to healthy growth)

Wilted and whitened foliage marks frost and/or freeze damage on a Boxwood (Buxus)
Wilted and whitened foliage marks frost and/or freeze damage on a Boxwood (Buxus)


- Cephalotaxus harringtonia, Japanese Plum Yew, "Prostrata" (established foliage seems fine, it looks as though the new growth may have been damaged, but I'm not familiar enough with this newly-installed plant to diagnose the degree of damage with any certainty)


Major damage:

- Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Leadwort Blue Plumbago (newly emerging foliage seems limp, dark brown and dead)
- Hibiscus syriacus, Rose of Sharon (newly emerging foliage and young leaves on both Rose of Sharons looks limp and dead)

Newly emerging foliage got fried on this Blue Bird Rose of Sharon.  This photo was taken about a week after the cold snap.
Newly emerging foliage got fried on this Blue Bird Rose of Sharon.
This photo was taken about a week after the cold snap. 


- Lagerstroemia indica, Crape Myrtle (most newly emerging foliage looks dead and blackened, fortunately several trees had not yet started to leaf out, interestingly foliage on a few branches of one Natchez crape seems fine, even though foliage on other branches seems dead!)

Luckily not much foliage had emerged before the cold snap on the crape myrtles, which are some of the latest trees here to leaf out. The leaves on this branch that had started emerging seem to be toast. All the green leaves in the background were still dormant buds during the freeze and have just awakened and put out green foliage in the past few days.
Crape myrtle with frozen dead leaves and fresh green leaves on different branches

- Vitex agnus-castus, Chaste Tree (newly emerging foliage appears to have been totally killed)

Vitex agnus-castus foliage appears to have bitten the dust.
No sign of any new foliage yet in the week since the freeze.


So that's the story.

Overall, I was very pleased with the way most plants pulled through.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Winter Gets in One More Punch

Screenshot from NOAA

Uh oh.

Tonight's forecast low is 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tomorrow night we're expected to drop to 29.

Wednesday night could see a chilly 38.


It's the frosty Tuesday night forecast that's got me concerned. The warm weather over the past few days (temperatures around 80 degrees Friday, Saturday and Sunday) induced many of the plants that had stayed safely dormant through an interminable winter to unfurl new leaves and flowers.


Fothergilla in full bloom. Will these flowers withstand a brief spell at 29 degrees?
Fothergilla in full bloom. Will these flowers withstand a brief spell at 29 degrees?

I'm worried there will be significant damage to all this tender new growth if and when temps dip below freezing tomorrow night.

Creamy nodding aquilegia flowers come have started to bloom
Creamy nodding aquilegia flowers come have started to bloom

New leaves on the Natchez crape myrtle
New leaves on the Natchez crape myrtle, one of the last trees in our area to leaf out.

Typically, I aspire to be a Darwinian gardener, prizing plants tough enough to survive on their own. But this time, I think I might just intervene a wee bit and use overturned clay pots to cover Balloon Flower and Baptisia australis.

Fresh bright green growth on Balloon Flower (Platycodon)
Fresh bright green growth on Balloon Flower (Platycodon). I think I will try covering this plant with an overturned pot tomorrow afternoon to retain some heat overnight.


Do you have any experience with late frosts and freezes? 

If so, which of your plants have come through unscathed and which have suffered major (or minor) damage?

I took lots more photos this evening. Stay tuned for another post toward the end of this week showing which plants sailed through without a scratch and which ones took it on the chin.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Tulip Extravaganza! (And Dogwoods too)

This morning we visited Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville.

Cheekwood has been going all out with tulips the last couple of years. Last year, they claimed 50,000 bulbs. This year, they upped the ante and doubled the count to a neat 100,000!

Here are some highlights from our visit - plenty of tulips, but also some dogwoods and ...

Yellow tulip with violas


River of orange tulips
River of orange 

Blowzy pink and purple tulips

Pink and lavender tulips surround a gazebo
What a lovely spot for a rendezvous...


White, pink and purple tulips mixed with blue and yellow violas
So many colors -- somehow they all work beautifully together!

White tulips mixed with purple fringed tulips
Who doesn't love a fringed purple tulip?

River of white and purple tulips flows beneath still bare mature crape myrtle trees
These majestic mature crape myrtle trees may still be bare, but their exfoliated trunks serve as the perfect vertical contrast to this flowing river of white and purple tulips

A patch of cheerful yellow tulips
What a sunny, cheerful sight!

Yellow and orange formal tulips surround a billowy informal yellow variety
Here's an unusual "deconstructed" yellow tulip surrounded by some complementary more formal peers


And it wasn't all about the tulips at Cheekwood. The garden has an impressive collection of dogwoods, many of which were in bloom. Our favorite was Cherokee Chief:

Cornus florida "Cherokee Chief" Dogwood
Cornus florida "Cherokee Chief" Dogwood

Cornus florida "Xanthocarpa" full of white flowers
Cornus florida "Xanthocarpa"


Cornus florida "Xanthocarpa" flowers against a blue April sky
Cornus florida "Xanthocarpa" flowers against a blue April sky

Side-by-side pink and white flowering dogwood trees seem to enhance each other's beauty
Side-by-side pink and white flowering dogwood trees seem to enhance each other's beauty