My Newest Toy and Lorepetalum

At one time in my life I used the good old-fashioned, arm/shoulder-operated trimmers - whew.. .glad those days are OVER. Then I graduated to the electric shears. The electric shears weren't bad, but it was unwieldy and you always had the electric cord strung across the yard and had to be aware of the cord when you were trimming. When the electric one played out, I purchased a Black & Decker (B&D) lithium battery-powered hedgetrimmer.

Today was the first time I've had to truly put it into action. It's lightweight. It has a dual-action safety switch. It will operate only when both switches are engaged and will stop if either switch is released. It comes with two batteries and a charger - so if you run out of power, you don't have to wait for a charge to start back up. I dearly love it.

I'm not proud of what I'm showing you, but you need to see it to get an idea of what the B&D is capable of doing.



Lorepetalum Before


Within in 25 minutes using the B&D trimmer I had it looking like this - including the debris removed.



Lorepetalum After

  A little hand shaping and it will be good as new!

The lorepetalum has proven to be a very reliable hedge for me. They were purchased about 10 years ago to hide an ugly 1,000 gallon propane tank. It took about four years to accomplish this, now I only have to shape her periodically and give her some food/water.. In spring the entire bush is covered with crimson colored honeysuckle-type, fragrant blooms for several weeks. It's one of the first shrubs the hummers hit when they return in the spring! The shape, color, and fragrance of the blooms beckons them.

I know you've heard it said - and probably from me - a good rule of thumb is to prune a spring blooming shrub immediately after it blooms. But, since the stems of the lorepetalum bloom from bottom to top - even on the new growth, this rule is an exception for the lorepetalum.

The leaves are a deep bronze in the fall/winter.

These shrubs can stand alone, they can be grouped, hedged, or most anything else you want. I have one that I'm allowing to grow into a tree.


I have seen them shaped into a ball. The trunk was allowed to grow to about three feet then allowed to bush. The top was maintained in a round shape. It was absolutely beautiful. I thought about trying to do it, but I'm not sure I have the discipline to maintain it .. . .

Some of the newer hybridized lorepetalum bloom periodically throughout the growing season.

At any rate, I'm sure you'll love the B&D trimmer and the lorepetalum! Happy Pruning!

Yummy, Yummy!

We had a neighbor, God rest his soul, that used to get our pears. He would make preserves and relish for days on end - then share them with anyone who wanted some. I miss him. He would prepare pears for me any way I wanted them! Oh, to be able to train hubby that good!!

Yesterday, hubby came in and told me the pear trees were loaded. He isn't prone to exaggerate and I don't think he has it in him to lie (unless maybe to save his hide - or to keep me from spending money), but because of this horrendous drought, I didn't really believe him.

So I went and checked myself! Those trees are about to fall over with pears. This photo was made back in the spring. I think every bloom must have made a pear. They are blemish free as well.

Man, the limbs were hanging almost to the ground with fruit!!! So I came back to the house - got two 5-gallon buckets and headed back to the pears!

All afternoon on Sunday, I peeled/cored/halved some/sliced some until my fingers ached! While he watched football, no less! I soon realized I was overzealous with my quantities (who can peel/core/slice 10-gallons of pears??)

I made a few phone calls to folks I thought might want be interested in having some. There were a few 'takers', but most people in this area have their own pear trees and I'm sure their's produced just as well! The remainder went on the compost pile!

Got up this morning and cooked them. Put some in the freezer for pear salads and cobblers during the upcoming holidays and prepared some for yummy,yummy fried pies that I intend to do first thing tomorrow!. I considered making some pear relish but since it's so much trouble, I decided against it.

Tonight I got my dough ready for the pies and have it in the fridge so it'll be ready to go first thing in the morning . ..can't wait! Sure wish you were here to share!!!

I truly can believe this harvest during the worst drought we've had in years!!! So, friends, if you want a tree that gorgeous in the spring, provides fruit in the fall and requires no care, this is the tree for you! By the way, I have Bartletts.

Now if I could just train hubby as well as the neighbor was trained. ..sigh

Pregnant Onion (Ornithogalum longibracteatum)

Several years ago Kevin, one of my followers and internet gardening buddies, and his wife Ellen sent me one of the most unique plants I've ever seen!

Never would I try to pronounce the botanical name.. .Pregnant Onion suits me just fine!

This is another easy-care plant that requires little attention. The pregnant onion is a great conversation piece as well. When people see it, their first question is "What in the world is that?" I wait for that question because I LOVE to show and explain how it got its common name!!

See those little nodes on the right of the onion? They're baby pregnant onions! These babies drop to the soil and make new plants. Pop a couple off - hand them to your friend and tell him/her to drop them in a container (no planting necessary) and just watch them grow! Hardly any care is required for these plants, but it is not cold hardy so winter protection is required.

Not only is the plant entertaining, it puts on one of the most magnificient and aromatic blooms in the plant world.

When the stalk emerges from the plant it's covered with tiny buds. These buds open from the bottom upward and provides aroma and beauty almost the entire summer. Notice the tinge of green on each petal in the photo below . . just gorgeous!

During my entire experience with it, which has been several years, I've seen no insect on it and I've seen no disease on it! The only special care it gets is a little Micacle Grow during the growing season.



Thank you Kevin and Ellen - I say a little prayer for you each time I look at it!

Camellia Seed (capsule) Propagation

If you really and truly love a gardening challenge and patience is one of your strong virtues, try propagating a camellia seed (capsule). Of the 11 camellias I have, only ONE seed was formed this year (due to the drought?) and it was on my Professor Sargent. Since I only had one capsule to form, I felt it incumbent to do my best to help this baby live.

Odds of getting a truly unique, pretty, hardy camellia run from very slim to none. My plants are polinated by nature which reduces these odds even more. The Professor Sargent is a deep red, slightly ruffled petal, fast growing shrub. Some of the blooms last season meaured 5" in diameter! Close to it is a solid white with small deeply ruffled petals and a deep pink of no unique qualitites. I don't know what I"ll get from this capsule, but, hey, I've been told that even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes . .maybe I'll stumble on something really unique.

Horticulturist polinate their flowers in a controlled environment and they know exactly what the male and female virtures are, and even they are sometimes disappointed with the results. To increase their odds, they polinate several hundred flowers each year. But, nothing ventured is nothing gained.

Keep in mind that it takes from four to 20 years for a camellia propagated from capsule to bloom. In fact, I have one that I germinated for BS that is about five years old and I haven't seen a bloom yet! BS'll be moving into a new home this fall and hopefully I'll see some sign of a bloom this season! I'd sure love to see it bloom before I turn it over the her! And I certainly don't have 20 years to wait!!!!

In the early summer you will begin to see the seed capsule form. It will be wrapped in a dark green hull. It will be fall before it's mature enough to remove from the tree. When you see the hull begin to turn brown and break off from the capsule.. . .you'll know the time is right for harvesting.

Below is the capsule with the hull completely removed.

Soak this capsule in clean water for about 12 hours. Remove from the water and wrap in a moist papertowel.

Place the moist papertowel wrapped capsule in a bag labeled with the date and the plant from which it was removed. Place the bag in a warm area. I put mine on top of the refrigrator. In about four to six weeks, you will begin to see roots emerge from the capsule. I wait until the roots are 1.5 to 2 inches long before I transplant it to a pot. A few weeks after moving to a pot, you will begin to see the plant emerge. From there it's just wait and wait and wait!!

I love the Professor Sargent camellia so much that this summer I did three airlayerings on it. I haven't checked it yet to see if any or all of them 'took', but it's getting close to show time! PrayPrayPray!

English Ivy

An Old Southern garden just would be incomplete without English Ivy. And mine is no exception. I use the ivy mostly as a ground cover under my hickory trees. I allow it to grow up the trees to about eye level and keep it maintained at that height. It takes about an hour three times a year to keep it within bounds. When it tries to climb the trees, I use an icepick to get under the stem and pull the tentacle's from the trees then cut it at eye level. I use a shovel at ground level to break and remove the runners to ensure that it doesn't get into the lawn. I maintain a moat about eight inches wide to prevent the ivy and lawn from getting intermingled. Hedge trimmers are used around the circumference to keep it tidy. Mine has been on the hickory trees at least 20 years or maybe even longer.

Residue from these trimmings is either soaked in charcoal lighter and burned or bagged until they're completely dead.

Several years ago we had to have a dead tree removed from the lawn. Of course the tree removal company wouldn't take responsibility for the stump and that was as unsightly as the dead tree . . .since the stump was hollow (evidently reason for the demise of the tree) I decided to make lemonade from the lemon nature had left given me! I filled the stump with compost and garden soil - inverted a tomato cage over it - then planted some ivy.

Ivy has a reputation of being invasive and it also has a reputation of 'sucking the life' out of trees. Nothing could be further from the truth. It only takes about three hours a year to keep my ivy within its bounds. And the roots do NOT take its nutrients from the tree. Ivy gets it nutrients from the soil in which it's planted and from the air.

But left to its own volition, I'm sure it would take over in a few seasons. I have read that left to grow up into the trees, ivy will act as a sail and help dislodge the tree roots in high winds. I don't know this for a fact - but I'm not willing to take the chance - besides I like the manicured, neat appearance rather than the 'natural' look.

I have a list of plants for my oldest son (my only true gardener) to remove if I'm ever incapable of caring for my yard - and the English Ivy is on that list.

I love the evergreen beauty of ivy as well as its stately appearance on the outside. Plus, when decorating for the holidays or special occassions, nothing is more useful. A gentle spray from the hose will wash off loose dirt or insects. A dip in the sink with cool water and a mild detergent gets them squeaky clean. A coat of Plant Shine brings it to floral quality making it suitable for almost any occassion!

Not only does this eliminate the need for silk ivy, when the occassion is over, I can just toss it out. No storing for future use - no taking up space in my decorations storage area. It's beauty lasts at least two weeks inside.

Love/Hate Relationship

Ever had something in your yard that you sometimes love and sometimes hate? Well,  I deal with that almost year round!!! In my yard are several large hickory trees with which I have the love/hate relationship.

Spring is horrible because they produce tassles that you have to deal with. They're light weight therefore get blown into the gutters, on the porches, on the porch furniture. Just anywhere they happen to fall! I really don't mind dealing with them anywhere except in the gutters! In a two story house, the gutters are not really too easy to get to . . besides I don't like 'walking the roof' to clean these gutters - but I do because if you don't they will pack down and are possible to remove.

But in the summer time, I dearly LOVE them. In normal years they provide enough shade and coolness that the AC is not activated until late June. As you know 2011 was the exception! I think the AC has been going 24/7 since April! !!! And I have established a 'rest' area under them that's really nice when I want to cool off prior to coming inside or just rest a few minutes and admire my work.

Then comes August. The hickory nuts begin to fall!!!! What a mess!!! Not only is it a mess, you have to be careful walking or you'll turn an ankle pretty quickly! Not only that, the squirrels sit in the trees and break the shells and dump the leavings to the ground. This lasts sometimes through October. But even during August through October they're still providing that wonderful shade - so you can't get too disgusted with them!

Better not walk out there barefoot (as I LOVE to do) when the squirrels are feasting or your feet will be cut to pieces. What nuts the squirrels don't eat we have to rake into piles - get the wheelbarrow and seed shovel - pick them up then deliver them to the woods. I think the squirrels just think we're providing a foodbar for them! But the hickory trees do provide some usefulness other than shade in the summer.

In October they provide this brilliant golden yellow color throughout the yard!

Then the leaves fall  . .. and it's mulch, mulch, mulch! (As I type this, I'm beginning to wonder why in the world I even want a yard!). I use a vacuum/mulcher to gather and store the leaves which converts into some fine, fine compost by spring of the next year.

In the winter they let the warmth of the sun plus plenty of light into the house.

Plus, my oldest son loves to grill - to watch him 'work' you'd think he was an artist preparing a painting for the one he loves most! He loves to put the nuts in with the charcoal to give his meat the real hickory flavor.

He resides on the Gulf and is home for the weekend.

One reason he's home is to get out of all that rain on the Gulf right now but the main reason is to meet his new grandson, Waylon, who was born last month.

He's grilling ribs for the family as I type . . .can't wait until he says "Let's Eat!"  But when he's grilling, patience is the operative word. He's like the Hanes underwear inspector. It isn't Ready until HE says it's ready . .(settle down tummy) . . .his significant other is making us some corn grits (which I've never had - but looks and smells great ) and a gorgeous salad . . .oh, have I died and gone to Heaven???? Life is Great! It's just a shame that I can't stay this happy 24/7!!!!

Now how did I go from hickory trees to family and food??? Does it really matter?

Lawn Grasses

We've had less than four inches of rain since the end of March. In mid-July we had three to four inches . .and since the first of August, we've had nothing. Pair that with 100 degree or better temperatures and you can see why I've had such difficulty doing anything except trying to keep things alive much less maintaining the 'perfect' lawn . ..which I LOVE! So today I'll just talk about lawn grasses!


I'm a real stickler about the perfect lawn. So much so that my offsprings warn their friends to "Keep off the Grass."  I'm not really that bad, but I'm close! Nothing softens my heart more than to see children playing on my lawn!

Or better yet, see them working!

There are tons of lawn grasses out there for homeowners to choose from. However, there is only two out there that I am 'intimately' involved with; therefore, those are the only two I'll discuss here. One I love - the other I dislike immensely!

My love is for the centipede grass. It's a low growing grass that doesn't look too bad even if it's unmanicured. Four inches is about as tall as it grows and it grows profusely in the shade.

Centipede propagates by above-ground runners therefore you can always see where it's headed.

Approximately every inch on these runners are nodes. From these nodes other runners will begin and run in four directions, from those other runners are developed. Soon there's a carpet of grass. When we first planted mine (hubby helped me plant), we planted plugs on 12" squares and it took a couple of seasons to get the carpet effect. Once centipede is established it's almost impossible for a weed to germinate in it, much less thrive. I think that's because of the thick, dense root structure.

Centipede Grass

Since centipede runners travel on top of the ground it's also easy to control. When I see a runner headed for a flower bed or shrubbery planting it's quite easy to reach down and pull it out. The centipede is also very hardy and can tolerate abuse and dry periods but doesn't like extended droughts like we're in now. During drought periods it goes dormant but as soon as a good rain comes, it greens up. I have found that during these droughts, weeds and Bahiagrass can penetrate. I do my best not to let mine stay dry for too long, but in weather like we've had this year, it's impossible to keep EVERYthing hydrated.



Centipede Grass



Now to get to the one that I dislike immensely. That is Bahiagrass. Some well-meaning farmer brought this grass from Brazil in 1914 for use as a pasture grass. It's a shame the Bahiagrass doesn't remain in the pasture! Like the kudzu, left to its own volition it overtakes EVERYTHING.

The southeastern US is literally covered with this stuff and it will take advantage of any bare, sunny spot it can find!! The Bahiagrass is very, very drought tolerant, requires no fertilizer and when the centipede goes dormant due to lack of moisture, the Bahiagrass will literally take over the sunny areas if you let it.

It's ugly - it will not 'carpet' and even though a lot of people in this part of the country use it as a lawn grass, it's seedheads are atrocious!!!! I think the main reason they use it as  lawn grass is that it's so difficult to destroy - and unless a person is willing to be combative, in this dry, acid, sandy soil, the Bahiagrass will win.

After a rain those atrocious seedheads pop up. Cut them today and they're right back tomorrow. Don't even try to walk through it in nice slacks when it's seeding. .they 'll be ruined!!!

Until it puts on those ugly seedheads, it's difficult for the untrained eye to pick up the difference in the centipede and Bahiagrass. But I've trained my eye to pick up the difference in the color as well as the size and texture of the blades. I can spot Bahiagrass trying to get started a mile away (I've been known to exaggerate some). Also, the seedheads are murder on lawnmower blades. If you use this as a lawn grass, be sure to have a good grinder handy or be prepared to replace blades frequently!

There are two things that I do like about it though. One is that it's non-competitive. Other grasses, particularly centipede, will push it right out of the ground during good growing conditions. It has a thick fibrous root system that grows just under the top of the ground and any competition literally destroys it. Two is that it will NOT grow in the shade and since the majority of my lawn is in the shade, I don't have to deal with it there. But I do have to be vigilant in and around the flower beds - which are in the sun.