Southern Gardening

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Once a year, the horticulturists from Mississippi State University travel around to see how the nursery industry is doing and brainstorm how we can help. While touring Mynelle Gardens in Jackson, an old spotted aucuba caught my eye.

Mynelle Gardens is undergoing restoration, and you can see exciting plans being put into place everywhere. If you've never been there, think about making a trip to the gardens this spring during the azalea and dogwood season.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Sometimes we take for granted native plants and forget about the outstanding attributes they bring to the landscape. One example is the parsley-leaved hawthorn.

My office is located at Hinds Community College, and the campus here is a virtual arboretum. Every tree and shrub looks as though it was part of a plan, and winter color from berry-producing plants was definitely in the design.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The Bright Lights have finally come on in the landscape. Kind of catchy, isn't it? This outstanding, award-winning Swiss chard is being planted in cool-season landscapes everywhere -- from homes to office buildings and even the mall.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A new foliage plant called Cardoon is sweeping the South in popularity, and it's being used extensively in Mississippi. We've been growing this perennial for a couple of years at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

When we were filming a Christmas Southern Gardening TV segment on cyclamen, we should not have been hit with spring fever, but that is what happened to us in November 2006.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

No tree can paint a picture in the landscape quite like the Ginkgo biloba. I recently wrote about the Autumn Blaze red maple and how its fiery scarlet oranges were lighting up landscapes, and now it's the Ginkgo tree's turn.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Once again I am surprised by the fall leaf color, especially after the drought across so much of the region. Native hickories are showing outstanding golden orange color, but the stalwart performer in many landscapes is the Autumn Blaze red maple.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With cold weather arriving and the holiday season nearly upon us, I could write about fall leaf color or cool season flowers, but I cannot pass up the opportunity to tell you about Blue Fortune agastache.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Colorful, cool-season containers near the front door or entryway serve as welcoming beacons to friends and visitors coming our way this fall and during the holiday season.

I just returned from speaking at the 19th annual Southern Garden Symposium in St. Francisville, La., where historic homes were accented with colorful flower containers. The landscapes all had incredible form and texture from evergreen trees, shrubs and groundcovers.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Flowering kale and cabbage are starting to show up in garden centers everywhere along with the other cool-season flowers. There still seems to be a little perceived mystery about using these plants for their colorful foliage in the landscape.

Your first question might be, “How cold tolerant are they?” The Chicago Botanic Garden has seen them survive minus 10 degrees.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Spilanthes caused quite a stir this year at Mississippi State University's Fall Flower and Garden Fest held at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs.

I say its botanical name first because the marketing and common names are really just a hoot. If you are looking for a plant to get a child interested in gardening, this one will do the trick.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Some unbelievably colored violas have come on the market in recent years with little notice. Most gardeners pass up these rugged, cool-season performers in favor of their larger cousins, the pansies.

The viola is the wild ancestor of the pansy, and it is even called wild pansy in some countries. In  addition to the names viola and wild pansy, we also know it as Johnny jump-up.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It seems like only yesterday that midday temperatures were reaching the century mark, and it was hard not to break a sweat, even on morning walks. Now, as the bright, crisp mornings greet us, we are reminded that cool-season planting time is upon us.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The performance of Angel's Trumpets at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs recently had me mesmerized. I predict they will do the same for the many visitors expected at the Fall Flower and Garden Fest on Oct. 12 and 13.

These Angel's Trumpets, which are yellow-gold and rich pink, look exotic and tropical. They have been coming back for years without much attention. They really complete the tropical section in any garden.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

After the long, hot summer, you almost feel like celebrating fall's arrival. I am already seeing neighbors searching out pumpkins and doing a little fall decorating. The feeling of fall and festivals is in the air.

To celebrate, consider a little neighborhood decoration that just might catch on from one end of the street to the other. At one of my previous homes, I lived on a cul-de-sac that always had children playing, but it also had two unsightly storm drains.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If there were a color that represented happiness in the garden, it would have to be yellow. One of the three primary colors, it has the power to evoke hope and excitement.

When the forsythia breaks forth in the early spring, it not only catches your eye but it also invigorates your step. You know winter is over and a new season has been born. As we head into early fall, the dark yellow goldenrods make our roadways photogenic.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Angelface Dark Violet angelonia came out this year and caused a stir with its unique color. It is by far the darkest angelonia we've seen in the market. It is also vigorous, sending up a bounty of wonderfully spiky flowers that are so welcome in the garden.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Beyond Paradise leads a parade of new copper plants finding its way to garden centers across the country. You will love the plant for its brilliantly variegated, colorful leaves.

At the end of the summer, when little else is looking good, Beyond Paradise will be a beacon in the garden, garnering admiration from those who pass by your home.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My recent stroll through the display gardens at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station brought a few pleasant surprises. The biggest was the Persian Shield.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Dancing Flame salvia lives up to its name in a couple of ways. This spectacular variegated salvia with scarlet flowers mesmerizes like a fire dancing at night.