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Southern Gardening

The warm, cheerful yellows of a large, naturally growing forsythia and a patch of daffodils complement the cool, deep purple flowers of a fine saucer magnolia. A concrete bench encouraging visitors to pause and take in the beauty of spring is the perfect finishing touch. (Photo by Norman Winter)
February 19, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mention complementary color schemes in the garden and your first thought is probably of flowers. The idea can be carried further to include shrubs and small trees, and spring is a great time to put it on display.

Groundcover conifers offer a staggering difference in texture because their leaves are needle-like. This Parson's juniper contrasts with the smooth, glossy leaves of the fatsia, a large tropical-looking shrub.
February 12, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Your first thought of shrubs for your home is probably the staples like hollies or ligustrums and showy bloomers like azaleas or camellias. Those are great choices, but I want you to consider using some conifers.

While many conifers are tall trees like pines or bald cypresses, shorter conifers like the shrub-type junipers offer a lot for the landscape.

This outdoor fireplace with Adirondack-style chairs, matching coffee table, end table and loveseat creates a room that is soothing and inviting on our cooler days. (Photo by Norman Winter)
January 22, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A trendy new word used throughout the landscape design industry is “nesting,” and the outdoor fireplace certainly has become a focal point in new nests. While the phrase “feather your nest” may be for the birds, each of us has that opportunity as well.

Wine and Cheese is a new blend that offers red, burgundy and peach in a most enticing arrangement.
January 15, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Flames are dancing in the fireplace and I know an arctic blast is on its way, but I am looking at photos of Cotton Candy, Wine and Cheese, and Roccoco, which sounds like a delightful chocolate. These tasty-sounding names are all new selections of verbenas.

While we're stuck inside waiting for warmer weather to arrive and the rain to stop, this is a great time to plan which plants you will use this year in your landscape and mixed containers.

Winter landscapes look good when they include bones, berries and bark. This scene has all three, with American holly and its plentiful red berries in the foreground, the smooth, shiny bark of crape myrtles, and the deep, dark greens of the bushes, which serve as the "bones," or structural foundation, of the garden.
January 8, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A lot of people dread winter because the landscape starts looking a little like Siberia, but it doesn't have to be that way if you remember the “three Bs”: bones, berries and bark.

The widely varying Acanthus family of plants has many terrific varieties for the landscape. Here Persian Shield shows off its iridescent purple and silver foliage. (Photo by Norman Winter)
January 1, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I've decided to go where no garden writer I know of has gone before and give a “Family of the Year” award for 2008. Time magazine recognizes people of the year and Barbara Walters lists her 10 most interesting. I want to recognize the Acanthus family as my “Family of the Year.”

I was inspired to give this award this fall when a couple from Brookhaven sent me a photo of a 4- to 5-foot-tall plant with the most amazing blooms I have ever seen. They wanted me to identify it.

Joey is a hot, new plant from Australia that is coming this spring. Its 4-inch-long flowers have an iridescent sheen of neon pink and silver that are bottle brush-like with a little tilt at the top that hints at a feather. (Photo by Norman Winter)
December 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

At this time of the year, some people look back and reflect and others look to the future. Joey, a hot new plant from Australia that is coming this spring, will have us looking to the future.

Nonstop Fire, or Begonia tuberhybrida, is a blaze of orange and yellow. The plants develop lateral branches, giving a great mounded look for baskets and planters. (Photos by Norman Winter)
December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

2009 looks to be the Year of the Begonia. This is not an official proclamation but my expectation of the incredible new begonias that will debut this spring. From hanging baskets to the landscape, begonia lovers can rejoice.

Penny violas and ornamental grasses make great cool-season mixed containers. Here a few Penny colors are mixed with the long stems of the carex.
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A few Pennies can make your winter landscape look like a million bucks.

I'm not talking about the proverbial penny saved or even the penny found lying on the sidewalk. The Penny I am talking about is not copper-colored but perhaps a rich orange, deep blue or one of more than 20 other colors.

Use differing textures to keep winter landscapes beautiful. (above) Here the multiple trunks of a river birch partner well with the huge, palmate leaves of a dwarf palmetto palm. With few flowers blooming, our landscape's main interest at this time of year comes from differing textures. (Photos by Norman Winter)
December 4, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With few flowers blooming, our landscape's main interest at this time of year comes from differing textures.

I recently stumbled on a combination planting that featured natives in an awesome show of texture. Had I kept my eyes open, I would surely have seen Mother Nature, rather than a landscape architect, do it first. Nevertheless it struck me as a partnership worthy of writing about and photographing.

An old pyracantha grows next to a stately oak and drapes over it almost like Spanish moss. This combination is found not far from my office in Hinds County in front of the courthouse, which was built in 1857 and served as a hospital during the Civil War. (Photo by Norman Winter)
November 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Winter is often cold and dreary, but the pyracantha, a member of the rose family, helps landscapes remain beautiful, interesting and a great source of food for cedar waxwings.

The pyracantha gets its name from the Greek word “pyr,” for fire, and “akanthos,” for thorn, hence the common name firethorn. This is very appropriate, as the pyracantha has sharp, painful thorns. I remember as a child reaching in to retrieve baseballs from the branches and coming out screaming.

An Ocean Springs Master Gardener developed these three compost bins, which are more elaborate than most home gardeners create. Each bin holds compost at a different stage of decomposition. (Photos by Norman Winter)
November 20, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

You may have heard the term black gold in your lifetime. While it is most often associated with oil, gardeners worth their salt will associate the phrase with compost. Compost is that dark, crumbly, organic material that is often a prerequisite for the green thumb.

The Amazon dianthus is the thriller plant in this early-summer container. The filler plant is Flambe Orange chrysocephalum, which produces small, button-like, yellow flowers on striking, olive gray-green foliage. Silver Falls dichondra is the spiller plant that cascades over the rim. (Photo by Norman Winter)
November 13, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Pinks or dianthus are among the most loved cool-season flowers. While they are described as cool-season flowers, varieties like the Amazon series perform in the cool season and for much of the summer, too, giving us combination possibilities we may never have considered.

The Fizzy Lemonberry is a new pansy mix that is predominantly a cheerful yellow with a dark blotch and ruffled, picotee edges that are dark purple.
November 6, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Pansies and violas are planted in the fall, and they bloom until late spring when temperatures get too hot. Without a doubt, these are the best value for your gardening dollar. They are so good that I wonder why some people don't take advantage of these colorful, workhorse-type flowers.

I attend the California Pack Trials each April and am always amazed by one group of pansies produced by a company called American Takii, located on the outskirts of Salinas.

Four species of plants lend their special colors and textures to this old piece of pottery. An Etain viola is the focal point, and its lavender edges contrast with the golden blades of Ogon dwarf sweet flag. Lemon Coral sedum gently tumbles over the rim of the container, and the tiny Thumbell bellflowers add visual interest and finish the fine piece of art.
October 30, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

An old masterpiece may be tucked away in your potting shed or garage just waiting for you to bring it to life. This masterpiece is an empty piece of old pottery or even a concrete planter with a chip or two missing and moss or lichens growing on it.

I saw a cool-season container like this a year or two ago that took my breath away. The designer had carefully placed the plant material to create a living work of art.

Lindheimer's muhly grass has a blue-gray-green color and fine leaf texture. Here it is partnered with Knock Out roses and Kathy Ann Brown Mexican bush sage for a fabulous fall display. (Photo by Norman Winter)
October 23, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Muhly grasses native to the southern United States offer dazzling performances for the fall landscape. One of the most picturesque is commonly called Lindheimer's muhly, or blue muhly.

The blue-gray-green color and fine leaf texture would make this grass a winner even if it never bloomed. But it does, sending up plumes on 4-foot-tall plants. The blossoms begin as a creamy pink that turns whiter and finishes tan.

Gardeners who like edible landscapes should put cardoon at the top of their lists. Here, edible cardoon is planted with flowering kale, which often is used as a garnish. (Photo by Norman Winter)
October 16, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The cardoon is a plant the Romans and Greeks ate as a vegetable, but today its popularity is sweeping the South as it is the newest Mississippi Medallion award winner.

Although the ancients ate it, at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station, we use it for its looks. Botanically, cardoon is Cynara cardunculus, and it is related to the globe artichoke.

The Indian Summer coleus is like a kaleidoscope of ever-changing red, orange, rust, cream and green that seems to change color patterns from morning to afternoon. (Photo by Norman Winter)
October 9, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

You'll be seeing the stars of next year's gardens and landscapes if you are among the thousands expected to attend the 30th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest Oct.17-18 at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs.

This cool season container has Citrona orange in fiery contrast with the purple from Matrix pansies and alyssum. Sorbet Sunny Royale viola either harmonizes or contrasts with every other plant in the container. Easter Bonnet alyssum softly tumbles over the rim. (Photo by Norman Winter)
October 2, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The change in gardening seasons has given many gardeners a renewed enthusiasm for getting some dirt on their hands. One reason to celebrate the cool season is that it holds great promise for creating small perfume factories near outdoor areas where visitors gather or family frequents.

Violina Orange is a fragrant selection in the Violina series that reaches about 6 inches tall and spreads 14 inches. (Photo by Norman Winter)
September 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Cooler temperatures mean it's almost time to use pansies and violas to add a breath of color to landscapes and containers. There is nothing quite like going to the garden center with brisk fall temperatures in the air and seeing all the vibrant colors. You'll probably notice enticing fragrances, to boot.

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