It is rather difficult writing about what has been going on in the garden these days because I have not been in the garden these days, or in fact, for most of the summer. Rather, I have been in a Star Wars storm trooper-like orthopedic boot. Consequently, things have gone on essentially un-manicured, unmanaged, and …
six on Saturday, 16 July 2022
Last week's post focused on trees and was very green. I promised some color for the next post. A promise fulfilled below. 1. Throughout the garden Althea, also called Rose of Sharon or Rose Mallow in the UK, provides white and purple hibiscus flowers in a range of shades. Hibiscus syriacus is a non-native originating …
six on Saturday, 9 July 2022
I love trees. I really do. In fact, I this spring I completed a six-week workshop on the identification of trees held by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. In the last two decades, though, a tornado and various straight line winds took down three large oaks and four very tall pines, punching through the lake …
six on Saturday, 25 June 2022
Black-eyed Susans head up this set of six on Saturday entries in part because I especially like them--in fact, rather consider them name sakes. They bloom in mid-June right around my birthday, and I am a Susan. But they also signal a shift in my work routine in the wooded area of the garden. Until …
six on Saturday, 7 May 2022
1. I begin this week's six where I began last week's with the Blount County Master Gardeners' plant sale. But instead of announcing the sale, I'm reporting on my purchases: marigolds, wave petunias, hydrangea paniculatas, impatiens, columbines, coleus, Asian lilies, basil, a massive hanging pot begonia, and one very tall Japanese maple that was just …
six on Saturday, 30 April 2022
A pretty quick six today. It is Blount County Master Gardener plant sale weekend. There was setup on Friday, labeling, pricing, and arranging plants at the Oneonta, Alabama, Agribusiness Center. Then the sale is today. I think that our own Master Gardeners buy just about as many plants as we sell. These plant sales are …
six on Saturday, 9 April 2022
Spring, in shades of yellow-green and pollen covered, has arrived here in Blount County Alabama. The following six items offer a pretty good sense of what's going on in the garden. 1. I'll make the pollen point with a photo of one of the birdbaths. The rocks are in the bowl because a year or …
six on Saturday, 26 March 2022
Today's six are a simply gallery of native wildflowers and one small native shrub growing in the wooded part of the garden this week. They are Alabama snow wreath (Neviusia alabamensis) in the large photo. Top right is false garlic, also known as crow poison (Nothoscordum bivalve). Below that is Philadelphia or daisy fleabane (Erigeron …
six on Saturday, 19 March 2022
Wildflowers and budding shrubs are the headliners of the garden this week. There are a few fading daffodils and the hellebores as well providing some pale color, but this week I focus on the coming rather than the going. Before I begin, I want to remind readers to visit The Propagator, our Six on Saturday …
six on Saturday, 26 February 2022
I am posting on Saturday, but this week's six reflect the whole of another erratic week of weather in Alabama. Maybe you will find a kinder and more consistent Spring at the site of The Propagator or the many fine gardeners who join in this weekly garden celebration. So, on to the first. 1. My …
