New Year’s Resolutions for the Gardener

        The beginning of the New Year is not the time to reflect on the past year, but to make resolutions for changes in your gardening practices.  Here are a few of my suggestions of gardening resolutions for this coming year that may give you ideas for your own.

·       I resolve, when ordering seeds this winter, to only order what I can plant, and take care of during the season.

·       When sowing vegetables in the garden, I will make successive plantings every 2-3 weeks so everything does not mature at once.  Just because there are 30 seeds in that package of squash or cucumbers does not mean you have to plant them all at the same time. 

·       I will build and maintain a good compost pile. No leaf of mine or my neighbors will go to waste.

·       I will make it a priority to get the perennial beds cleaned and mulched early this spring so the weeds will not get a head of me this year.

·       MORE sunscreen will be applied on sunny days.  It is never too late to start.

·       I will take better care of myself.  My body does not function like it used to function.  I will begin a stretching and weight lifting program this winter to get prepared for the spring.  I will probably need to stretch and loosen muscles before gardening, to drink plenty of water, and to take breaks (especially when hot).   I always used to think that gardening was exercise.  Never thought I would need to exercise so I could garden!

·       I will label my perennial plants better.  I am going to use more metal labels.  I think the squirrels and chipmunks (or maybe my grandkids) carry off those plastic stakes.

·       For the birds, I resolve to keep bird baths cleaned and filled regularly.  I will help my grandsons build some bird feeders.

·       I will plant the plants that I have been keeping in pots in case I moved.  A few have already ‘planted’ themselves since they have been there so long. 

·       I resolve to work in the garden in the mornings and early evenings and avoid the mid-day heat.

·       And lastly, when tired of gardening, I will take a break.  The most important resolution is to take time to smell the roses, to savor the vegetables, sip the wine and to just enjoy the beauty of your efforts.

Recycling Your Christmas Tree

Christmas is over and you need to take down your tree.  Do not just toss it in the trash. It deserves better than that and certainly has many uses after you take it out of the house!

      

But before you begin the recycle process, be sure to remove all lights and ornaments.  If you used "natural" decorations, such as strung popcorn or cranberries leave them on the tree to provide food for birds and animals.

1. If you have a chipper, run the tree through it.  The chips make great mulch.

 

2.  You can cut off the boughs and place them on the ground around your plants.   Save the trunk for a use in your garden as a trellis. 

3.  Move the tree in its stand outdoors for the winter where it can provide food and shelter for birds.

4.  The trees could be used as artificial fish attractors in ponds or lakes

5.  If you are in a hurry, just pile the trees in fields and forests for use as wildlife cover.

       Reuse your tree any way you can.  Remember it took 5 – 10 years to grow this tree.  Do not waste all of Mother Nature’s time for a few weeks of your pleasure.

Paperwhite Daffodil Flowers for Christmas

2013 has been interesting weather year.  A wet warm winter followed by a cooler wet summer before a short very warm dry spell.  The early fall was pretty good football weather before a very cold November and December.

Some plants have responded exceptionally well to this weather pattern.  I have already posted how well my few early camellias are doing.  My japonicas are loaded with buds also.

Paperwhites for Christmas!

An unexpected but pleasant surprise has been my small planting of paperwhite  daffodils (Narcissus papyraceus).  Most years they produce flowers in mid-January.  This year they had some blooms in late November.  Now they have peaked just in time to decorate the Christmas day table!

If someone gave you paperwhites already in bloom as a Christmas gift, do not throw them away when the flowers dry up.   Find a well-drained spot in the landscape that gets plenty of sun.  Prepare a hole 4 inches deep.  Separate the bulbs and plant 3-4 inches apart.  Cover with the excavated soil but try to leave some of the leaves extending above the soil line.  The leaves need to provide some food to replenish the bulbs.  Hopefully, you will be rewarded with a new crop of blooms next Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all!

'Shishi Gashira' Camellia

'Shishi Gashira'  at MSU-Meridian

The ‘Shishi Gashira’ camellia, a 2002 Mississippi Medallion award winner, is at near peak bloom around Meridian, MS.

'Shishi Gashira' as a pot plant.

‘Shishi Gashira’ camellia is a very slow-growing, evergreen shrub that can reach 5 feet tall but is more typically around 3 feet. Their small size makes them well-suited for pot culture. 

This camellia is known for its beautiful flowers and 6-8 week long blooming season. Dark, pink rose-form flowers 2-3 inches across are produced in abundance from November to early January.  Their waxy, dark green leaves coupled with the blooms make these camellias not only a good shrub but also good for use as foundation plantings or high-profile ground covers.

Although ‘Shishi Gashira’ blooms during the C. sasanqua season, it is considered to be a hybrid between C. japonica × C. sasanqua, referred to as Camellia x hiemalis.

If you can find these at a nursery now, buy it; cover the pot in festive paper; and give to a friend as a Christmas gift.  It will truly be a gift that keeps on giving.

Author's note:  In my previous post I stated that 'Yuletide' camellia was a C. sasanqua.  Others say that it is a C. vernalis  which is a hybrid.   I am not a taxonomist so I try to use the most reliable sources.  Most gardeners do not care.  They just enjoy the pretty flowers.

Hot Plant: Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’

'Yuletide' camellia

      The magical blooms of the sasanquas are the beginning of the camellia blooming season. There thousands of sasanquas and tens of thousands of other camellias, which makes it difficult for a particular variety to stand out in the crowd, but ‘Yuletide’ is one of those amazing stand out camellias.

     This spectacular landscape camellia has a long blooming season beginning in October and lasting into December. It is often in full bloom with red flowers and bright yellow stamens during the Christmas season, hence the name of ‘Yuletide.’  Right now mine is in peak bloom.

      At a time when camellias have been overlooked in the landscape, ‘Yuletide’ has become a mainstay in the garden centers where camellias are sold. It can be used as a dense evergreen hedge or stand alone as a specimen plant.

      Like all camellias, ‘Yuletide’ grows best in an acidic, well-drained soil in partial shade to full sun. Do not plant in deep shade because flowering will be greatly reduced.