Dog Days Planning

This cool-season flower bed of mine had California poppies, toadflax, Telstar dianthus, and sweetpeas in it.  It was wonderful to see in March and April of last year.  During these dog days of summer, I'm trying to plan out my strategy for cool season annuals so I can have this again next year. 

This wall of sweetpeas was so successful that I will definitely plant more of them.  So much fragrance and beauty!  These need to be planted in late October / early November where I live.  They have to be some of my favorite flowers of all. 

I tried some nigella ("Love in a Mist") last fall and they turned out well.  They are easily grown from seed and mix well with other flowers.  They will definitely find a place to grow in this fall's garden.

Larkspur are another favorite of mine that grow very well from seed and look nice in a cool season bed.  Hummingbirds appreciate coming to these in the early spring too, as do the bees. 

Some of my other plans for fall planting include some Wave petunias, pansies, and violas for containers.  I like to have a few hanging plants around the house and these look gorgeous in the cool season.  Toadflax is another option that grows and blooms quickly in the cool season, plus I love their bright colors and they are easy to grow from seed.  Alyssum are a great favorite of mine because they fit so well at the front of a bed where their small size works well.  Plus, the honey-sweet fragrance of alyssum wafts tantalizingly on cool evenings.  California poppies are so simple to grow that I have to plant some of them.  Calendulas are another bright-colored annual to fill in some spots.  I've never had much success growing snapdragons from seed, but I love them so much that I want to get some seedlings from a nursery to plant in my beds.  A new plant I want to try this fall is nicotiana ("flowering tobacco.")  I hear it thrives in the cool season down here and has heady fragrance.  Anybody out there have some more suggestions for cool season annuals in the Deep South?

Some Things Make Me Want To Cry

Last year at this time, I had a wall of sweetpea's growing on one area of my chainlink fence.  After they finished, I planted some morning glories in the same place.  Because these morning glories were still going strong in late October and early November when sweetpeas should be planted, I didn't pull them out and plant some more sweetpeas in the spot.  Now I'm really regretting not having any sweetpeas as I see the bare area of fence and remember the beauty and fragrance that was there last year.  The following pictures from last year just make me wanna' cry!

This wall of sweetpeas put out enough fragrance to be smelled from 50 yards away if the wind was right.  Not to mention it was a show-stopper that made everyone who passed by ask about.  Don't even try planting these at any other time in Louisiana besides late Oct - early Nov.  They just can't take the heat that arrives in May. 

The Progress of My Vines

I'll start out with the ones that look the best right now. This wall of sweetpeas is my pride and joy right now.


It might be hard to see, but there's a Mexican Flame vine growing in the midst of all the leaves you see here at the base of the iris.


Here's a Carolina Jessamine that I just planted this fall. I'm expecting great things out of it starting with next year.

This is a coral honeysuckle growing at the base of my mailbox. Hopefully it will cover the mailbox and be a favorite place for hummingbird gatherings. I just planted it last fall too.

This last is a Confederate jasmine that I also planted last fall. (You can tell this past fall was a busy one for me!) I'm wanting it to cover a large portion of my front chainlink fence and fill the yard with fragrance.

All of these vines come heartily recommended for Southern climes. Please help me in my crusade to cover all ugly fences with delectable vines!

My Wildflower Garden

I don't know why I call this my "wildflower" garden since it's not made up of wildflowers. Maybe because it's wildly unorganized. Here's what I did: Early last fall, I cut down a hedgerow that was right here and then put a truckload of cotton waste on the spot. The cotton waste was still "hot" and pretty much killed everything that would have grown up in it. After a couple of months, the cotton waste had aged to the point where I felt it was safe to plant seeds in it. So I purchased a hodge-podge of seeds and threw them in the ground on the spot. Seeds included were California poppies, Telstar dianthus, toadflax, Rocket larkspur, Old Spice sweetpeas, and some others. The above mentioned were the ones that survived this battle of the fittest. Some flowers that did not make it were snapdragons, alyssums, hollyhocks, and petunias. I guess they were crowded out by the more vigorous plants. This is what it looks like today. The only thing I did to this bed was water it during dry spells last fall - no watering this year. Probably in a month or two when it starts looking ragged, I'll pull up everything and do it again with warm season annuals.

April Garden Blogger Bloom Day - The Others

Here's a pic of the "wildflower" garden. How about this wall of sweetpeas? The fragrance is unimaginable!

A close-up of one of the dark pink larkspurs.

A mound of dianthus.

Sorry for the poor picture quality. My camera is not the best and I'm not a great photographer.

How about some cottage material?

Today's posting is all about some "cottage" garden favorites. These are some good choices for Louisiana.

First off, the first of my larkspur blooms this year. These come in all different shades of blue and pink and red. They are easy and often will come back the next year on their own. One thing I really like about them is how the hummingbirds love them. Their are different types, but the ones I have get pretty tall - 4'. They melt in the Louisiana heat around May. Plant them in October down here.

Next up, some Telstar Picotee Dianthus. These little rascals are prolific! They stay covered in blossoms and should bloom till around May. The Telstar variety is a Louisiana Select one and should do well all over the South. I think this would also be a perfect candidate for container planting. It gets about a foot tall.

Last, is a close-up of one of my Old Spice sweetpea flowers. Old Spice is supposed to take the heat better than other types. It still melts away around April down here. Right now I have a section of fence covered with these vines and the fragrance really wafts on a still day. Mine are all different colors from this wine red to lavender blue. If you deadhead the flowers when they fade, the vines will keep producing blooms longer. Plant them in late October / early November in the deep South. This is about the only cool season annual vine I know of for down here, but it's a good one.