Still Going to the Dogs

I'm still sitting inside during these dog days planning out my fall gardening strategy.  In this last installment of this series, I'm showing what shrubs and trees I want to plant in the yard.

 

The above picture shows one of my all time favorite shrubs.  It's evergreen, gets about 15' tall, and wafts fragrance all over a yard during the fall, winter, and spring.  It's the Osmanthus fragrans ("Sweet olive.")  I've already got one of these in the front yard, but I'm thinking about putting a row of them along my back fence as an evergreen privacy hedge.  They are fairly slow growers, but eventually fill out - and that fragrance!

Another plan of mine involves putting some Encore azaleas in between the sweet olives in my new hedge.  Autumn Moonlight and Autumn Angel are the two I'm considering.  They are both white blooming azaleas.  The above Encore is my Autumn Twist.  Encores take sun much better than regular azaleas, plus they bloom up to three times per year.  I've always wanted some white ones in my yard, so the above choices would fit the bill perfectly. 

Two flowering shrubs/trees that I've been wanting are Eastern redbuds and Innocence mock orange.  Red buds have been one of my favorite flowering trees since I was a child and saw the one blooming in my grandma's yard.  Mock oranges are another of those fragrant blooming shrubs that are great for an understory planting beneath large trees.  I'm thinking of planting a small grove of redbeds in my back yard.  The mock orange would compliment the area too.  Innocence is a variety known to have strong fragrance.  I may also plant a Korean Spice viburnum to add to my collection of fragrant shrubs.

Azaleas Still Going Strong!

Azaleas are almost never still blooming this late in the year in this part of Louisiana.  In fact, it's rare for the azaleas and roses to be blooming at the same time.  This year is very unusual in that about everything is blooming at the same time this spring.  It makes for about the prettiest spring I remember.  My azaleas are still at their peak and today is show-off day for them.  The former owner of my house planted many azaleas along the north side of the house, some where they get almost no sun at all.  They still are thriving.

First up is Red Ruffles, a semi-dwarf variety that blooms profusely for me.

Next up is Pink Ruffles.  This poor azalea gets almost no sun, so it's not as big as my others, but that doesn't stop it from blooming!

Next is the ever popular Formosa azalea.  Several years ago I stupidly pruned this plant over the winter and cut off all the flower buds.  (Note to all: Never prune azaleas in winter!  They should be pruned just after they finish blooming.)  It put all efforts into growing bigger that year since it had no blooms.  Now it's making up for lost time.

Last, I'm showing two pictures of the only azalea that I've personally planted.  This is Autumn Twist Encore azalea.  It blooms 3 times per year and is the only azalea I have that reliably blooms at other times of the year than spring.  It's not as profuse as the spring-only azaleas, but still looks great.  Encores need more sun than other azaleas, at least if you want them to repeat bloom.  This one is on the south-east corner of my house.

Formosa Azaleas

The most commonly seen and familiar azalea in the South is the old standby, Formosa.  It gets huge - sometimes 8' x 8' or even bigger - and is covered in blooms for a couple of weeks.  They are everywhere around where I live.  My house came with one and I would never consider cutting it down.  I don't care if it looks like a green meatball for the rest of the year because right now it is breath-taking.  Below is a shot of the whole bush.  Isn't it lovely?

The blooms look just as good up close.  I've taken some close shots of the blooms for your enjoyment.  You northerners that get to grow lilacs can eat your hearts out!  : )

3 Beautiful Flowers

The azaleas are in full bloom where I live and they always make nice backdrops for photographs of children.  My wife's parents were down visiting this last week and my mother-in-law took this wonderful picture of my kids.  They're more precious than anything I have and I hope to carefully nourish them to healthy maturity.  They're standing in front of Formosa and George Tabor azaleas in this picture.  My girls love the flowers and plants, but my boy is not overly fond of them.  I'm gonna' have to work on him! : )

Azaleas Getting Ready to Burst

This is the latest I remember the azaleas starting in my section of Louisiana.  Usually, by the end of March they are filling the countryside with color.  This cold winter has put everything behind schedule.  But the show must go on and and azaleas are just about ready to explode into vibrant pinks and pastels.  My Red Ruffles typically are first to bloom in my yard and some buds are just sprouting.  Here's a close-up of a bloom.

Here's a shot of one of the bushes as it's starting.

Here's what it looked like two years ago at this same time.

Reason to Plant Encores

This is the reason you plant Encore azaleas. This is my Autumn Twist in full bloom in November. You can't help but love getting azaleas at this time of year. This one will only get better as it gets older. One thing to remember about Encores is that they like a little more sun than normal azaleas. This one is on the East side of my house and gets full morning sun and isn't shaded until mid-afternoon when the sun is at its hottest. This is about perfect for my plant. Keep it watered and mulched and let it go.

Azaleas With a Twist

Azaleas are a Southern staple. The area where I live is wonderful to behold in March when all the Formosa azaleas are in bloom. I love azaleas, but hate that they look like big, green meatballs for most of the year. Enter the Encore azaleas which were developed by a fellow in Louisiana. These babies can have up to 3 flushes of bloom per year if given the right conditions. I've read that Encores need more sunlight than normal azaleas, at least if you want several flushes of bloom. Also, they come in an amazing array of colors. The one I have is called Autumn Twist. It has speckled, streaked blooms in addition to having the occasional solid magenta bloom. This is a bloom pic taken on April 27 when all my regular azaleas were completely finished blooming for the spring. This is my first Encore azalea, but it probably won't be my last. Incidentally, this is my best year ever for azalea blooms and I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I installed a drip irrigation system that ensured they never suffered from lack of water over the last year. I hear azaleas have a shallow root system and do not tolerate drought well. I also keep mine mulched pretty well.

More azaleas, plus a beauty queen

Rhonda standing in front of the Red Ruffles azalea. The date on the pic is wrong - it was actually in March '09.

My big Formosa azalea. This is it's best year ever. The beauty of the picture is enhanced by Uncle Huey's nice boat in the background!

Snapshots from March 24, '09

Above is my best Red Ruffles azalea bush. This must be the peak for it this year. It's so covered in bloom that you can hardly see the leaves. I have several of these bushes, but most are in full shade and so don't bloom as prolifically as this one that gets partial sun. I've heard that these can bloom more than once in the year, but mine bloom one good time and may put on some spotty blooms at other times of the year. I wouldn't call this a true re-bloomer. It sure puts on a show in March though. Gets about 3' high.

Next up is a bloom from my Abraham Darby rose bush. This time of year the blooms are a deeper shade of peach/apricot/pink than they are later in the year. The blooms on this rose are everything you can dream of in a rose: huge, full, and amazingly fragrant. In the late summer I always contemplate chopping this bush down because it gets blackspot badly and the leaves look ratty. However, when it comes into full bloom again, I forget all about that! The bush gets huge here in Louisiana and mine is growing on a chain link fence where I'm trying to make it into a climber. If you plant this rose plan on it getting blackspot, but it's worth the hassle because of the glorious blooms. Maybe later I'll post pics of the whole bush in full bloom.

Another shot of my Red Ruffle with some calla lilies. This one is just to give some context for the other photo.