A Forgotten Favorite

This is the venerable Summer Snowflake ("Gravetye Giant.")  It's Latin name is Leucojum aestivum, so use that term if you're looking for information on the internet to make sure you have the right plant.  This plant blooms at the same time of year as daffodils, has a slight fragrance, and forms large clumps over time that are very attractive.  I think they look nice as a bordering plant.  They also make a nice addition to a mixed bulb bed.  Once upon a time, these were quite popular, especially in the Deep South.  This was mostly because they thrive where many other bulbs won't grow.  For one thing, they don't need as much chill as daffodils, tulips, and many other spring bulbs.  For another, they take clay soil and boggy conditions like a champ.  To me, they resemble Lily of the Valley.  This neat old plant will naturalize well with basically no care at all.  Plant the bulbs 3" deep anywhere that it will get at least part sun.  They should be planted in Fall along with daffodils.  For some good information on this plant, I recommend you make a side trip to Floridata and check it out.  On a side note, this would be a perfect plant for a moon garden.

My Favorite Harbinger of Spring

Without a doubt, daffodils are my favorite early spring bulb.  The cheerful yellows bring such joy in the early season when dull browns and grays permeate everywhere.

With the colder winters of the last couple years here in Louisiana, these daffodils have received more of the chill they need to really thrive in the Deep South.  Usually this King Alfred type don't do as well, but these are thriving for me. I don't even know what exact type this is since it was given as a gift and I just plopped them in one of my garden beds.

This last little bloom comes from my back yard where last year I put in nearly 100 bulbs to naturalize.  This is the old-fashioned "Campernelle" type of daffodil.  They are known to perform better in the Deep South and are recommended for naturalized drifts.  My dream is to make a whole area of my back yard into this huge drift of springtime daffodils and muscarii (grape hyacinths.)  Hopefully these little, fragrant beauties will spread and thrive. 

Let's Go Tubing!

Tubing on the river is a common summer activity around this part of the South in the hot part of summer.  Around this same time, the tuberoses start blooming with their sweet-smelling spikes of bloom.

The blooms are set on long spikes of buds that open starting from the bottom buds.  The fragrance is very gardenia-like and wafting.  A stand of these can make a whole section of yard fragrant.  The blooms can crisp quickly in the blazing sun, so I tend to pick off the crisped blooms each day and keep the fresh ones on the spikes so as to keep the blooms tidy.  Cut off a whole spike to put in a vase for natural air freshener in your house.

I have way more bloom spikes this year, but they aren't as big and lush as last year.  I think this is because my little bed of tuberoses has become crowded and needs to be divided.  I can leave them in the ground year-round here and they will keep coming back.  I suppose they need protection in winter in zones colder than zone 8.  The variety I have is called "The Pearl."  Mine keep sending blooms up until frost, as you can see from the date in the above picture which was taken last November.  They like a sunny, dry spot.  I suggest they would make a nice additiion to a bulb bed where you might want some blooms later in the year after other plants have finished.

Crocosmia Explosion

Crocosmias are hard for me to photograph.  Their airy habit and bright colors make them easy on the eyes but hard on the camera lens.  They are among the easiest of all the summer bulbs to grow in the Southeast and are extremely prolific.  Within two years of planting one specimen, you will have more than enough to share with your friends.

Here are some growing near my small herb bed.  They look nice alongside the achillea (yarrow,) bronze fennel, rue, parsley, and dill. 

Here's a close-up of the blooms.   I don't know what this variety is since it was given to me by a friend.  Nearly all cultivars grow the same and they come in all the fire-colored shades - yellow, orange, and red. 

Such bright colors don't mix with everything, but sure do brighten up where they are.  This is quite a versatile plant that will grow and bloom anywhere from bright sun to half-shade.  They don't do so well in boggy soil, but they tolerate drought superbly.  I have some growing in a dry un-irrigated bed and they are doing just as fine as the ones that get plenty of water.

The tube-shaped blooms are near the top of the food list for ruby-throated hummingbirds.  I've seen them busily buzzing around these blooms nearly every morning.  This is a perfect pass-along plant that will reward you over and over again with little effort.  What more can you ask for?

The Dog Days Blues

During the dog days of summer when it's too hot to do much in the yard, you have time to make plans and dreams for the fall.  Fall is one of the busiest times of the year for gardening in Louisiana.  It's when you separate many perennials, plant all the cool season annuals, and plant shrubs and trees.  Here are some of my plans for dividing perennials:

First off, my daylilies need to be divided and planted in new beds.  I have big plans for how to re-arrange my daylilies.  The white Joan Seniors are to be put in mixed beds with other flowers because their cream color mixes so well.  The darker colors should be put in part shade where their colors won't get faded by the sun.  I also have family and friends that might really like to get some nice daylily starts.

 

The Becky Shasta daisies have really spread a lot and can finally be divided this fall.  I'm really excited about this since I've been patiently waiting to spread these around to other flower beds in my yard.  I can think of many places where an unfloppy, mounding, white and yellow flower would look good. 

My other plants that need dividing and re-planting are the irises along the fence.  I don't like them being along this fence because it becomes quite hard to weed this area in the summer.  Irises don't like to be mulched, so it's really hard to keep weeds and grass out of the area they are growing in.  Hence, this fence gets ugly in summertime.  I'll put these in a proper flower bed where I can get to them easier.  This fence will get some other plants that like mulch.  I'm thinking of making up a bed that has all bulbs, corms, and rhizomes and that will have nearly continual blooms all year.  I could have daffodils, gladioli, lilies, irises, crocosmias, tuberoses, and etc in this bed.  Wouldn't that be neat?  Speaking of tuberoses, they need to be divided this fall as well.  I can't wait!

"I've Got a Tiger By the Tail"

Certain plants just look more tropical than others.  One of those REALLY tropical looking plants is the canna.  Cannas are common all over the South and everyone has them.  They are almost too easy to grow and you commonly see huge stands of thickly growing, stunted ones that do not look good at all because they have been devastated by leaf roller caterpillars.  This is certainly not the look that I wanted.  However, there was one canna that really captured my interest and I had to have one - the Bengal Tiger canna.

This is my little Bengal Tiger canna as it first began to come out this year.  Can you guess why it got the name Bengal Tiger?  It's because of the striped leaves, of course.

Here's another picture as it came out even more.  Notice the yellow stripes on the leaves and you can also see the red outline on the outer edge of the leaves.

Here's a full bush shot of the plant as it is about to bloom.  These plants have a beautiful form when at their best.  They will keep looking good as long as they are kept from getting too thick and you keep canna leaf rollers off of them.  You may have to use pesticide to keep those evil insects away. 

Here's a close-up of the blooms.  Maybe some of the Bengal Tiger name also came from the bright orange coloration of the blooms.  By the way, this canna is also called Pretoria in some places.

If you want to grow cannas, plant them in almost any soil and give them plenty of water.  They do not perform well in dry conditions.  They are great to plant in a boggy area of your yard.  They need full sun to bloom best, but they perform remarkably well in part shade.  You can even grow them in nearly full shade, though they probably won't bloom.  Bengal Tiger looks great even when not blooming, so it would be a good candidate for a shady area.  They spread rapidly and should be divided at least every three years.  There will be plenty to give away to friends.  I have a strong preference for cannas with variegated foliage because they look good even when not in bloom.  They need to be dug up in the fall if you live in an area where the ground freezes.  There are many different flower colors to choose from as well as ones with red foliage.  There are even dwarf varieties that you can try.  If you are wanting to grow a tropicalesque garden, you must have cannas along with your bananas, palms, and hedychiums.  So give them a try and you might find yourself enjoying this old Victorian favorite.

The Irises Have Arrived

Finally got the first open blooms on my bearded irises.  I mostly just have the old-fashioned purple type because they are practically fool-proof even in hot and humid Louisiana.  Other varieties of bearded iris sometimes don't perform down here.  Irises are usually so easy, but it's funny how many people make mistakes with them.  The main mistake is to plant them too deep.  Keep the fleshy rhizome with it's top exposed to the elements and not under mulch or dirt.  Also, don't water bearded irises too much.  Louisiana irises should be planted in areas that will be getting lots of water or they can be planted in water, but bearded irises like it reasonably dry.  Divide and replant every 3 years - there will be plenty of extras to give away to friends!  Irises and daylilies are my two easiest plants to pass along.

Grape Hyacinths

This fall, I got a large bag of grape hyacinth (muscarii) bulbs for a bargain basement price.  With nothing to lose, I scooped them up.  It was easy to plant them in the back yard amongst the leaves near some trees.  This is an area that gets plenty of sun till the trees get their leaves in the spring.  I simply took a broom handle and poked holes into the ground and stuffed the small bulbs in them about 3-4 inches deep.  Now they are springing up in a broad patch of these cute little blooms.  They aren't very noticeable from a distance and don't really add much to my landscape, but I love them anyway.  They don't get more than 6" tall and you can mow over them later in the spring when it's time to start that tedious duty.  Just make sure they are in an area that doesn't stay boggy.  They make more a visible impact if you plant a cluster of them together in a smaller patch than I did. 

Nothing Says Spring Like Daffodils

I don't have many daffodils growing.  That's to my terrible detriment.  I sure wish I had more of these beauties.  Maybe I'll remedy this next year.  These bright beauties have stolen my heart and made me crave more. 

I don't know what type these are since they were given to me as part of another order.  I just stuck them in the ground near where I have my daylilies planted and forgot about them.  You have to be careful what types of daffodils you plant this far South because only certain ones thrive here.  This particular year about any type would do well since we had so many chill days this winter.  I'd love to have a whole swath of them growing in my backyard and that's what I plan to do some day.  Think of that - a river of daffodils!

More Paperwhite Perfection

Since not much else is blooming, I'll just share yet another picture of my paperwhites that are looking so pleasing these days.  Like many other people in the South this year, most of my paperwhites were severely bitten by the unusual cold weather.  These, however, are growing in a pot that that was in a more protected area and are not as affected.  Paperwhites are actually daffodils.  They fall into the tazetta family of daffodils and are known for being far less cold hardy than most other daffodils.  They can have multiple blooms per stalk.  Though they are less cold hardy, they are more tolerant of warmer winters than many other daffodils which require more winter chilling to thrive.  This is perhaps the only member of the narcissus family that will perform consistently well in the Gulf Coastal regions of the US.

Daffodils and Daylilies

These are some daffodils that I got free with an order a couple of years ago.  I have no idea what kind they are, but they look cheerful on this dreary, gray, and cold day in Louisiana.  Yellow is such a nice color to see in the late winter after all the drab brown.

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This is one of my many daylilies that are springing up promising great things this May.  This will be the third year after planting them, so it should be their best bloom yet.  I'll have loads of pictures, hopefully, later when they bloom.  The anticipation is killing me!

Paperwhites To the Rescue

Paperwhites are wonderful bulbs that do well in the Deep South.  They have an interesting fragrance that I don't particularly love.  However, at this time of year they are some of the only things in bloom - especially this year of the extra cold weather (for the South.)  I see them blooming all over abandoned yards and thriving on neglect.  The ones in this picture are some extra bulbs that I just threw into a pot I had lying around.  With no care at all they are cheerfully providing happy color in a sea of brown out in my yard.  Talk about just what the doctor ordered for this time of year.  Plant you some.

The Unpretentious Tuberose

My tuberoses started blooming back in July. I never expected them to keep blooming this long. They are still sending up these spikes of super fragrant blooms. The individual blooms look and smell like miniature gardenias.


This is the spike that's blooming now, but there's yet another one coming up close to it. The only thing that will stop them is the first frost. This flower will spread fragrance all over that section of my yard, especially after dark. If you live in the South, get you some! They have demanded no care at all from me.

A Few Summer "Bulbs"

My Joan Senior daylilies are starting to rebloom. This is a wonderful variety of daylily to grow. It has some fragrance, which is unusual for daylilies, and it reblooms. Not to mention that cream color that is so attractive.


I just recently planted some Bengal Tiger cannas. I love them for their striped foliage. I don't even care if they bloom or not. Also notice the red edging around the leaves.


This last is another spike of fragrant tuberose. I cannot tell you how well these have thrived in my Louisiana weather.

The Wonderful Butterfly Ginger

I just got home from offshore yesterday to discover that my butterfly gingers are in full bloom. These are some of the most wonderful flowers to be had in mid-summer. Their fragrance fills my entire back yard in the evening. It smells remarkably like a gardenia. Every Southerner should have a clump of these growing just to sense the fragrance on the summer evening breeze.

Hedychiums (their real name) are very easy to grow. Put them in partial shade with adequate moisture and watch them flourish. They send up numerous suckers that can be transplanted easily all over the yard. I recommend putting some stakes around them to keep them from flopping over after getting tall. They don't do well north of hardiness zone 8 unless you dig them up in the winter. There are other colors besides white, but the white ones smell the best. The plants actually look something like a canna, but with narrower leaves. Give them a try and you will NOT regret it.

Lucifer Crocosmia

Crocosmias are such cheerful and easy summer bulbs that everyone should try them. The ones I have came from a friend in town who didn't even know what they were. He just told me about some nice red flowers on plants that looked a little like gladiolas. I immediately knew them to be Crososmia, and I'm pretty sure they are the common Lucifer variety. I got some from him and they are thriving in several places around my yard. Crososmias are fast growers and fast multipliers. You have to divide them about every 3 years to keep them blooming. This makes them nice bulbs to share with friends. Hummingbirds really love them and frequently visit the blooms. They start blooming for me in June and keep on for several months. Put them in a sunny or partial shade site in an area with medium moisture and they will thrive for years.

The Lovely Tuberose

Polianthes tuberosa is the Latin name of this lovely flower that comes from a bulb. It is a relatively little-known summer bulb that produces these lovely spikes of flower in mid-summer. What is especially attractive about these flowers is the heady, gardenia-like fragrance that they put out. Last year while ordering some bulbs, I had to order a few extras in order to make it to a minimum order from a certain company. On a whim, I ordered these. When they came in, I stuck them in a dry corner of my yard, watered them in, and forgot about them. The three bulbs put out delightfully fragrant flower stalks around July and August. I loved them and expected them to be only a temporary pleasure for just that year. Much to my surprise, this year I have about 12 new plants and they are all healthy. They must like where I have them! The type I have is a double variety called "The Pearl." I hear that the single flowered type is even more fragrant than this one - but that's hard to imagine! For any fragrant garden in the South, give this a try, especially considering what time of year they bloom. Also, these would look perfect in a moon garden. They can also be grown in the North if dug up for the winter to protect from freeze.

Go LSU!

I am a huge fan of LSU sports. Right now LSU is in the baseball College World Series. With that being said, a nice flower in LSU's colors of purple and gold will always get my attention. So you can imagine my delight in this gladiola that is a perfect match for LSU's colors. Geaux Tigers!

Just Glad to Be Here

This is a purple gladiola blooming in my yard. I planted a bunch of gladiola bulbs (actually corms) in my yard probably 4 or 5 years ago. They must like it here because they come back every year with no care or help at all. Their only problem is occasionally getting too tall and flopping over. I hear you can plant them deeper and they won't do this as badly, or just stake them. There are dwarf varieties that supposedly don't flop. My advice is to pick some colors that you like, stick them 6" deep in the ground in early spring, and let them "gladden" your heart.

Some New Bloomers

About five years ago I planted quite a few gladiolas. With no care at all, many of them still come back every year. This particular clump is so full that I'm planning on dividing it this year. These are the first blooms of the year from my glads. Glads are a great summer bulb. Anyone in the US can plant them, though you might have to dig the corms (bulbs) up in the fall if you live where the ground freezes. Give them sun and well drained soil and let them go. I've heard that you can plant them in 2 week intervals for continuous bloom over several months. You may have to stake the flower spikes to keep them from flopping over.


I also have a new daylily today. It's a deep pink with a yellow throat. It's fun to see what colors I will get out of the plants that I got last year.