Russian Sage - Perovskia atriplicifolia

I think I've posted something on the Russian Sage once before, but due to the horrible growing season of 2011, I felt it merits another post. It is a garden 'must have.'  It was named Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association in 1995,

And don't let the name fool you - neither is it true sage, nor is it from Russia. See? I'm not the ONLY weird gardener!

The plant is actually from Asia and named after the Turkestani Governor, B.A. Perovski.

This is a deciduous plant which begins growth in the early spring and reaches about 5' high and about that wide in a short period of time. Each stem grows directly from the ground and its habit is mounded-airy form.

Due to its location, I forgot many times this year to get water to it. But as you can see, it's done just fine. It gets morning sun only and is planted at the drip line of an ornamental crabapple tree. I've decided that I'm gonna divide these plants next spring and make a continuous hedge around this tree. As you can see, the leaves of the crabapple tree turn a golden yellow in the fall and I think the blue/purple/white flowers around it will make a superb showing!

The leaves have a silvery tinge and they are fantastic when they are billowing in the breeze. Various shades of blue, purple and white blooms grace the end of each stem. The blooms are at least 8" long with most of them being 12". It begins its show in late September and continues until frost.

After the frost kills it back, leave the stems on the plants until you see new growth the next spring. Then cut them down to about one foot.

Bumble bees were working like mad when I took this photo . .unfortunately none of them are visible in the photo.

Add this to your xeriscape garden!

Good Memories!

Sometime in the '80's mother sold her home in Atlanta and moved to a condo in Marietta. Mother had this Sanservia and I'm almost (emphasis on almost) certain it originally came from my grandmother's house. The lighting in the condo was not the best in the world, therefore, mother asked me to bring it home with me.

At the time I took possession, it was planted in a two pound Maxwell House coffee can. I brought her home and repotted her and within two years she was this big. I've divided and repotted her umpteen times . .and she just thrives!

The Sanservia is also known as the snake plant and also the Mother-in-Law's tongue.

She demands very little attention. I give her about 1/2 gallon of water with 1/4 teaspoon of Miracle Grow twice a month during the growing season and limit the water to once a month in the winter with no fertilizer.

She is turned 1/4 of a turn each week. She will grow toward the light if you neglect to do this. And if she starts growing toward the light, she will eventually fall over and is not pretty at all. Sometimes you'll have a frond to fall over no matter what you do. Cut these off even with the soil - do not try to stake.

Did you know the Sanservia blooms? I didn't . . until one day I smelled this fantastic aroma when I would pass a certain area. I couldn't locate where the aroma originated, so I took it on as a project to find it. Well, at the back of the plant was a stem with tiny white blooms on it. Very insignificant blooms . ..but very fragrant!

Notice that chair? I'd always wanted one for my dressing table, but never went to the trouble to find one. We went to my bosses house one afternoon and saw two of them sitting on his carport. They were filthy and covered with rust. I asked him what they used them for and he said 'nothing - but sometimes we do take them down to the pond to fish'... ..I asked him if he'd be interested in selling them (he looked at me like Id lost my mind) and a couple of days later he told me he had them in back of his truck and his wife wanted $10 for them .. .happily, I laid a $10 bill in his hand - with him shaking his head all the while and muttering, 'can't imagine why you want those things!'.  I brought them home . .and scrubbed them down good then started sanding .. then painting . .then upholstering!

My sister's (Hellon) husband had just passed and I did the same for the second chair and gave it to her - but I did allow her to select the fabric she wanted. The last I noticed, she was still using hers at her dressing table.

I just LOVE good memories

A Day Without Learning is a Day Wasted

A day without learning is a day wasted. If you'll remember last weekend I did a post about Loropetalum. But I learned some new things about it today.

This mornng I was watching The Georgia Gardener and he had a lady from the University of Florida as a guest speaker and she was talking about the old-fashioned, white witch hazel; which she apparently loved.

Now I've heard of witch hazel all my life - mostly as a healing astringent. She stated that the many loropetalums we enjoy today are hybridizations from the old-fashioned, common witch hazel, which was sometimes call the 'fringe flower'.

Of course, I did a search on witch hazel and was totally amazed at how much it's used for hybridizing and medicinal purposes!  More colors, shapes and sizes than a person can imagine! It's health benefits are touted as beneficial for everything from soothing teething infants gums to curing toenail fungus!

The most difficult thing about this plant is learning to pronounce her name, but it's pronounced just as it's spelled.


lor o PET a lum.

When I finally learned how to pronounce it, I'd take EVERY opportunity to work it into a conversation and would even say it when I was just strolling the yard! I'm so comfortable with it now, it just rolls off my tongue.

Oh, and it's on my xeriscaping list!


http://www.natural-soap-making.com/witch-hazel-uses.html
http://www.absolutewonder.com/loropetalum.html

Rain - Real Rain

After agonizing through a summer of drought, we finally got some rain last night. This week I've been watching the national weather maps and seeing rainfalls all around us while looking up at blue, beautiful skies! How Frustrating!

Then last night I thought I heard water running through the downspouts and when hubby came to bed he asked, "Is it raining?" (His hearing isn't what it used to be so he was definitely unsure.) I told him I thought I heard water in the downspouts, but was afraid to go check - afraid my mind was playing tricks on me! He opened the french doors to the balcony and hollered, "Come and look at this!"

It appears to be about three inches. But in view of the fact that we've had less than two inches since the end of March, it's not enough to pull us out of the drought - we need several days of rain to soak the soil through and through! But I am grateful that I don't have to drag the hoses all over the yard for a few days.

For those of us interested in xeriscaping (gardening to reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water),  I'm gonna spend the next day or so checking for plants that have survived/thrived during 2011 with a minimum of care. Then I'll be compiling a list plants/shrubs that have survived this period and hopefully will get it posted early next week.

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates!!

Ogon is a small succulent plant that can be used as a house plant or as a ground cover.  It's winter hardy and will thrive almost anywhere, but like all succulents, prefers a sandy, dry soil.

If used outside, it will tolerate almost any type lighting - full or part sun as well as shade. But as a houseplant, it should be placed in a sunny window. As with most all succulents it requires less water in the cooler months.

Several years ago, BS gave me a few sprigs off her Ogon. From those few sprigs I had these two pots in a matter of a few weeks. It eventually trailed (can't find those photos) to about halfway down the table and the bottom plant trailed to the floor. Both containers did great for several years and suddenly it began to deteriorate. I have no what caused the deterioration, but I struggled to keep it going - to no avail.

She had told me that wherever you dropped a leaf, a new plant would begin. So I took a few leaves and sprinkled around my elephant ears (one of many gardening mistakes I've made). Sure enough, after a short period, the area around the elephant ears was covered with Ogon, but then it was GONE - quite suddently!!!

But at least I know why I lost that - I was just NOT thinking! The elephant ears require a ton of water and fertilizer on a regular basis and the Ogon requires very little of either .. . . . .how 'duh' can a gardener get????   .therefore, that Ogon gave up the ghost as well . . .so here I was with no Ogon!

Until . . . I went out to my flower pit yesterday and guess what I found? (drum roll please) Yep, a small sprig of Ogon. How it got there, I have no idea. . did the wind take it there? Did a bird take it there? Who knows? And how it's survived with no care, I have no idea . .think maybe this should tell me how to 'care' for it?

Now I'll just enjoy the little "Box of Chocolates" the plant gods gave me . . .and try to propagate more. And much to my chagrin, I have to say BS was right again!

Oxalis (Oxalidaceae)

The Oxalis is of the woodsorrel family. There are many, many varieties of the Oxalis. I have only two. Both plants produce pink flowers but the leaves of one are green; the other has wine colored leaves. Because the leaves are clover-shaped, they are sometimes referred to as 'false shamrock.'

Oxalis propagates by tuber, much like the iris, only smaller. The tuber looks like a small potato and has been used for many medicinal purposes over the centuries. Since the tubers are loaded with Vitamin C, it is said that the sailors of old used the tubers to prevent scurvy. They are supposedly good for mouth sores and sore throats. The women of old used the tubers as a dessert - they cooked them with sugar and fed them to their families. Keep in mind that I've never used it for any of these purposes and don't intend to; therefore, this is NOT recommendations - only statements!

The green-leafed oxalis that I have starts showing her leaves in October or November. Once the leaves are well-established, they produce pretty, small pink flowers all winter long. This flowering continues until the mid-summer of the following year. Once the temperatures get hot, the plant goes dormant - but is back in the fall bigger and brighter than the previous season. She seems to perform just as well in full sun or full shade. She is not particular about the soil she's in nor the conditions under which she grows. She is 100% reliable and requires absolutely no special treatment.

The other Oxalis that I have is Oxalis regnellii atropurpurea, commonly called Wine Oxalis simply because her leaves are wine colored. She is just the opposite of the green-leafed. She is dormant in the winter and starts emerging in early spring and puts on her show from spring until frost. The hot summers here in SW Georgia don't affect her at all.

 

But she is a little more particular than the green leafed oxalis. While she does OK in the sun, she flourishes in the shade. I use her as a specimen plant in and around my ferns, heuchera and hellebore. The burgandy leaves along with the pink flowering brightens up any shady area you place her. She's not fussy about the soil - just the light. Each of them will 'tell' you when they want water. The leaves and blooms will lie down on the ground - much like the peace plant. Soon after you give them some water, the tubers absorb it and send it to the plant and it immediately stands up again.

Both stand about 12" tall and their growth habit is mounded and neat. She makes a wonderful border or specimen plant.

Try them - you'll like them!

Nothing About Gardening

When I get something that I love, I also love to share it with others. Kevin has captured some beautiful photographs of some wildlife in his yard. I asked for and received permission to share them with you!

He is a fantastic photographer and I'm totally envious of his capabilities! What I'm really envious of is that he can have wildlife like this and a pretty yard as well!

Below is my favorite!  Ellen, Kevin's wife, 'rescued' this gorgeous cat from under their porch. Ellen found the poor thing sick and hungry - and together, they brought him back to health. And of course, gave him a good home!

They make good veterinarian nurses, huh? The cat's name is Cuy!

hmmmmmmmmmmmm.. . .wonder what Cuy will do with that thing (or what that thing will do to him) if he catches it?

Did I mention that Kevin's a fisherman, too? Well, look at this jewel!!! (Kevin - I"ll bet you're surprised that I still have this photo). Notice that since I didn't have 'permission' to post this one, I sorta blotted out your face.

And Ron, BS's hubby, is also a good photographer, but wildlife isn't his forte. Ron mostly shoots old buildings, courthouses and sunrises. But he does a good job on whatever he's shooting. I didn't ask him permission to post these, but I don't think for a minute he'll mind.

They live in the city so there's not a lot of opportunity to shoot wildlife. In his second childhood he's developed a strong passion for hummers . . .here's a couple of shots he got through their patio doors this summer.